Annual Simplified Climbing Lunacy Challenge chatzone

[FrothNinja]

Completed my thirteenth ride in the challenge today, which was also my shortest qualifying ride by distance - actually tried to pack the climbs in on this one for once.

However I'd like to do one more hilly ride before the end of the year because that way I can get my lowest value to drop off the bottom of my list and that would mean my actual achievement could be updated to 2,300 feet / 700 metres, which sounds a little more impressive (but not much compared to some of you other peeps!)

Congrats! Climbing warms you up on the bike too

 

[Ridgeback Roller]

Completed my thirteenth ride in the challenge today, which was also my shortest qualifying ride by distance - actually tried to pack the climbs in on this one for once.

However I'd like to do one more hilly ride before the end of the year because that way I can get my lowest value to drop off the bottom of my list and that would mean my actual achievement could be updated to 2,300 feet / 700 metres, which sounds a little more impressive (but not much compared to some of you other peeps!)

I'm thinking I may need to come up with a shortish route packing in the climbs too - I'm one short of target and finding that my cycling is very social this time of year and my riding buddies don't take to unnecessary hills just to suit me
Although it goes against the grain, I might have to include a couple of hill repeats. Just need a reasonably dry day............

 

[steverob]

I thought I'd try and do a little icon for this challenge in case anyone wanted to put it in their signature. I tried to draw a crescent moon over a mountain range, but once I'd scaled it down to the right size, some of the details maybe weren't quite as visible as maybe they were previously!

Trouble is I can't actually put it in MY signature, because when I try to do so, it tells me my signature is now 1 line too long and has 34 characters too many in it!

Anyway, here is the icon if anyone wants it (or wants to try to make a better version):

It's also saved within the "Media" section of the forum as well, so you can link directly to it if you type in the URL "https://www.cyclechat.net/media/climbing-png.11695/full"

 

[FrothNinja]

View attachment 668812

Comes up as:

Page not found​

Sorry, the requested page or resource could not be found.
Try SEARCHING to see if you can find it.
Or maybe BROWSE OUR FORUMS to see if what you are looking for is mentioned in any of our discussion threads.

 

[steverob]

Try that link again. I did have to go back and edit it when it appeared incorrectly first time, so maybe you caught it just as I was editing.

 

[FrothNinja]

How does one load it under one's name?

 

[ColinJ]

How does one load it under one's name?
View attachment 669067

Click on your FrothNinja link (above right) to edit your details. Click on Signature and add it in the edit box there.

 

[ColinJ]

@Sea of vapours - I see you made good your promise to come back over here and hit the local hills today!

Did you get a stiff headwind when doing that steepish climb before Widdop? I had one once on that climb many years ago when wearing a HRM and hit 199 bpm on the second ramp.

I was out today too but only did about 10% of what you did... (18 km/340 m)

 

[Sea of vapours]

I did. Well spotted ! A very fine ride it was too. I spontaneously made it into an imperial century by going the wrong way around Ingleborough at the end, thereby adding 25km.

I had a sidewind at that point. Most of the day in fact. Since it was 15mph and gusting 30mph, I'd probably not have done that route today had the wind been adverse either way. As it was, it blew me up the hill out of Hebden Bridge towards Oxenhope quite nicely :-)

That Widdop road really is excellent in either direction. It's a bit far for me to actually get to and sadly involves traversing Colne, but I'll do it again sometime, I'm sure. At least I spotted that my 'avoid Colne' planned route went through this ford on Cockhill Lane before I set off. I don't think I'd go along there in dry conditions, and it is far from dry !

I did wonder whether I'd see you but thought it would be too restrictive to try and meet as it was a pretty long day anyway.

Oh! Why did you do that huge zig zag on your recent Hebden Bridge triangle forum ride; the one going up to Watersheddles Reservoir from Haworth? I wondered if there was an issue with the direct road but it seemed fine.

 

[ColinJ]

I did. Well spotted ! A very fine ride it was too. I spontaneously made it into an imperial century by going the wrong way around Ingleborough at the end, thereby adding 25km.

I had a sidewind at that point. Most of the day in fact. Since it was 15mph and gusting 30mph, I'd probably not have done that route today had the wind been adverse either way. As it was, it blew me up the hill out of Hebden Bridge towards Oxenhope quite nicely :-)

It is often handy in that direction. I encountered the headwind-from-hell when riding in the opposite direction in a few editions of the Spring Into The Dales audax.

That Widdop road really is excellent in either direction. It's a bit far for me to actually get to and sadly involves traversing Colne, but I'll do it again sometime, I'm sure. At least I spotted that my 'avoid Colne' planned route went through this ford on Cockhill Lane before I set off. I don't think I'd go along there in dry conditions, and it is far from dry !

I also managed to avoid that ford having wisely checked a new route on Streetview before setting out to ride it.

I got caught out by a different ford in pre-Streetview days (HERE) and crashed. That is the one I was telling my pal Carrie about when pleading with her not to ride through fords anymore! (There is also a shorter ford further up that lane but I walked the bike through that one!)

I did wonder whether I'd see you but thought it would be too restrictive to try and meet as it was a pretty long day anyway.

In mid-summer, maybe, but you wouldn't want to be hanging about for me at this time of year!

Oh! Why did you do that huge zig zag on your recent Hebden Bridge triangle forum ride; the one going up to Watersheddles Reservoir from Haworth? I wondered if there was an issue with the direct road but it seemed fine.

The same reason as you going round Ingleborough - to add distance. Even with the extra zigzag, our route only came to 52-53 km. Also, I like the views from the higher road.

 

[FrothNinja]

went through this ford on Cockhill Lane before I set

I decked out on that ford/stream last year (first time through it on that type of bike) and caught it on vid

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYQ2fDPqEMY&list=PLs1NkSMbl_WYpmmt6wXvYMaH6PsXuH-ug&index=5&t=70s

 

[Sea of vapours]

Yep - that convinces me of my choice to never go anywhere near it. I wasn't aware there was a path along the side, but that is a) pretty rubbish, b) quite possibly under water in vaguely wet conditions !

 

[FrothNinja]

Yep - that convinces me of my choice to never go anywhere near it. I wasn't aware there was a path along the side, but that is a) pretty rubbish, b) quite possibly under water in vaguely wet conditions !

Dry is the rarity - only closed to traffic in last 12 months or so. It is actually a road that shares a path with a stream. When the water has been low for a long period it is at its most slipper because of the algae on the stones. I left streaks on them and did the next 20 miles or so with a green left leg. Nearly everyone who rode through around that time came a cropper - that family had already watched a few hit the deck in the previous hour or so. I was unhurt because I slid along the deck. Been through a few times since without incident on that bike, but the water has been higher and the road is now closed to vehicular traffic - assuming the barriers were there when you checked it out

 

[Sea of vapours]

assuming the barriers were there when you checked it out

I noticed a closure on the one.network site and went to look at what the issue was. I could see on the OS map that a stream ran along the road. Once I could also see that there was also no raised path I scratched the thing from my route and all future routes ;-) I don't ride through any ford ever for reasons of slipperiness as I value the integrity of my bones !

Glad you survived your fall OK :-)

 

[ColinJ]

It's a shame, because otherwise that would be a very nice road!

I don't ride through any ford ever for reasons of slipperiness as I value the integrity of my bones !

Ditto, after crashing on the one time that I tried doing so!

As for Carrie riding through fords - she is as likely as anybody else to crash, and given that her leg now looks like this after an encounter with a length of slippery Swiss railway track...

... I reckon that would be a VERY BAD thing to happen!