The 2016 Half Century (50 KM or 50 Mile) A Month Challenge - Chatzone

[Eribiste]

Had a trundle around for about 120 klicks on the Malvern Mad Hatter sportive. Not triffic quick, and to my undying shame I had to walk up Croft Bank on the way up to West Malvern. Looks like I'll have to return and have another go. Or perhaps just drive up it in the car.
Still, it was a nice day to be out on the bike, and it was a well organised event too.

 

[NorthernDave]

A total of zero rides this weekend! I got out for a cheeky 9 miler after work on Friday, knowing I had no chance of a ride on Saturday and set the alarm for 6am on Sunday intending to get out for the morning on the road bike.

However, disaster struck, my back seized up, I could barely move and had to abandon plans for a ride - the furthest I got all day was the back yard.

Its an old problem that hasn't troubled me in over two years now, but it reappeared with a vengeance. I suspect it was triggered by being wedged into a theatre seat with insufficient leg room for a child for the best part of Saturday afternoon. (You'd think at £66 a ticket they'd provide somewhere to put your legs, wouldn't you..?)

Experience suggests it should settle down over the next few days, so I might be back in the saddle next weekend, so fingers crossed
I'm just glad I got my 50 km and 50 mile rides in at the start of the month.

 

[Lilliburlero]

Feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment

I booked this week off to get some nice miles in and planned my first 100 miler, but I snapped off my right hand shifter on Sunday night . I had a few problems shifting on Sundays ride with my mate and he told me it was down to cable tension. So that night I get the bike upside down and because my fingers were greasy I was idiotically changing with the palm of my hand and I put too much pressure on it . I can still change gear with the stub that`s left, but its a bit hard of the fingers....

New shifter ordered on Monday morning that should be here on Thursday.

New shifter as just turned up as I was writing this

 

[Sbudge]

Feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment

I booked this week off to get some nice miles in and planned my first 100 miler, but I snapped off my right hand shifter on Sunday night . I had a few problems shifting on Sundays ride with my mate and he told me it was down to cable tension. So that night I get the bike upside down and because my fingers were greasy I was idiotically changing with the palm of my hand and I put too much pressure on it . I can still change gear with the stub that`s left, but its a bit hard of the fingers....

New shifter ordered on Monday morning that should be here on Thursday.

New shifter as just turned up as I was writing this

How utterly frustrating... but good news it arrived early. So 100 miles tomorrow then?

 

[Lilliburlero]

How utterly frustrating... but good news it arrived early. So 100 miles tomorrow then?

I have nooo know how or confidence to fit it myself , so I`v contacted a lbs to do it for me (and fit a new set of Campag Khamsin wheels i`v had for a few months ). Popping it down there tomorrow and hopefully getting it back on Thursday in time for a meet up with some local lads for an evening 50 km`er.

I`m going out for another ride with my mate on Friday. I`ll try and rope him in for the 100 miler, but if that fails I`ll go for it on Sunday

 

[Sbudge]

I have nooo know how or confidence to fit it myself , so I`v contacted a lbs to do it for me (and fit a new set of Campag Khamsin wheels i`v had for a few months ). Popping it down there tomorrow and hopefully getting it back on Thursday in time for a meet up with some local lads for an evening 50 km`er.

I`m going out for another ride with my mate on Friday. I`ll try and rope him in for the 100 miler, but if that fails I`ll go for it on Sunday

Sounds like an excellent plan! I've got to find 2000m of elevation by Sunday to hit a Strava challenge. Probably about 350m I can squeeze in on the commute so I think Saturday looks like a 100km ride with 1650m of climb... weather looks ideal so far though at least.

 

[Lilliburlero]

Sounds like an excellent plan! I've got to find 2000m of elevation by Sunday to hit a Strava challenge. Probably about 350m I can squeeze in on the commute so I think Saturday looks like a 100km ride with 1650m of climb... weather looks ideal so far though at least.

Good luck

Btw.. Just popping the bike down to another lbs now that`ll get it sorted for tomorrow

 

[Lilliburlero]

I`m back in the game
https://www.strava.com/activities/655424115

Cant believe how quickly this took to sort out. Broke the shifter on Sunday night (my wife had to hug me... I was well and truly gutted), ordered a new one on Monday morning off ebay, arrived on Tuesday morning, took the new shifter and wheels down to Lloyds Cycles on Tuesday afternoon and picked it up today

Really looking forward to tomorrows 50 km ride now

 

[kapelmuur]

@Effyb4 and her husband are going to the Yorkshire Dales for a holiday in the middle of August and I have suggested a few cycling routes. One of them is a scenic 59 km loop from Gargrave which we have said we will try to ride together on Monday, 15th August. (If the weather turned out bad, the ride might get delayed by a day or two.)

Effy says that she would like to meet up with a few more CycleChatters for the ride so if you fancy getting an August half metric century in somewhere really nice and can make it to Gargrave (near Skipton) on the Monday, then come on down! (Or up, or over ...)

The route does have some undulations (hills!), a few are quite steep, but I am avoiding taking us over some of the real monsters in the area.

If you like the sound of it then watch out for a thread about it in the rides forum. I'm just checking a few details and will start the thread soon.

Is this ride on Colin? If so I may be able to join in.

My main problem is that I couldn't get to Skipton before 10am.

 

[ColinJ]

Is this ride on Colin? If so I may be able to join in.

My main problem is that I couldn't get to Skipton before 10am.

Yes, it should be. Obviously, illness, horrendous weather etc. could scupper our plans, but otherwise - all systems go!

The ride is actually from Gargrave which is about 4 miles NW of Skipton.

Effyb4 and Mr Effy will be coming in to Gargrave by train from Clapham and the service is rather sporadic. There is a train getting in at 08:11, which is way too early. The next one arrives at 12:01, so I propose meeting them at the station in Gargrave at noon and setting off then. I will either ride to Keighley and catch a train to Gargrave, or ride over to Gargrave from Todmorden.

The last train from Gargrave back to Clapham is at 17:30 so that would give 5.5 hours to do the ride, including all stops. That is an overall average speed of about 11 kph or 7 mph. Obviously the average speed needed when moving depends on how long we stop for on the way. I'd guess that we need to ride at about 15 kph or 9 mph.

 

[kapelmuur]

Yes, it should be. Obviously, illness, horrendous weather etc. could scupper our plans, but otherwise - all systems go!

The ride is actually from Gargrave which is about 4 miles NW of Skipton.

Effyb4 and Mr Effy will be coming in to Gargrave by train from Clapham and the service is rather sporadic. There is a train getting in at 08:11, which is way too early. The next one arrives at 12:01, so I propose meeting them at the station in Gargrave at noon and setting off then. I will either ride to Keighley and catch a train to Gargrave, or ride over to Gargrave from Todmorden.

The last train from Gargrave back to Clapham is at 17:30 so that would give 5.5 hours to do the ride, including all stops. That is an overall average speed of about 11 kph or 7 mph. Obviously the average speed needed when moving depends on how long we stop for on the way. I'd guess that we need to ride at about 15 kph or 9 mph.

Unfortunately I can't fit in with the timings, I'd assumed that the ride would start in the morning and be finished mid afternoon, I have to be back for family duties by 16.30 so I will not be able to join on this occasion.

I hope the weather is with you and you have a good ride!

 

[ColinJ]

Unfortunately I can't fit in with the timings, I'd assumed that the ride would start in the morning and be finished mid afternoon, I have to be back for family duties by 16.30 so I will not be able to join on this occasion.

I hope the weather is with you and you have a good ride!

Oh well, can't be helped - another time then!

I planned the route to suit Effy's maximum cycling range. She would have to do an extra 16 miles down the A65 to get to Gargrave and that road can be a bit dicey for cyclists due to its narrow, twisting nature and fast-moving traffic. I did a very short stretch of it early in the year and saw an injured motorcyclist about to be taken away by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance! I try to avoid riding on it ...

Hence the reliance on trains to get to and from Gargrave but I was a bit surprised when I discovered how few trains there are. We've already moved the ride from the Sunday because of that.

It will probably take me 2-3 hours to get there so I don't fancy starting from Gargrave at 08:15 - I'd have to get up at before 05:00! With a noon start I can set off from here at a more civilised 09:00 (ish).

 

[13 rider]

Just back from my holidays and catching up with the challenge seeing who still in . There seems to be some fallers this month . If you not posted your July ride please post Asap thanks

 

[NorthernDave]

A total of zero rides this weekend! I got out for a cheeky 9 miler after work on Friday, knowing I had no chance of a ride on Saturday and set the alarm for 6am on Sunday intending to get out for the morning on the road bike.

However, disaster struck, my back seized up, I could barely move and had to abandon plans for a ride - the furthest I got all day was the back yard.

Its an old problem that hasn't troubled me in over two years now, but it reappeared with a vengeance. I suspect it was triggered by being wedged into a theatre seat with insufficient leg room for a child for the best part of Saturday afternoon. (You'd think at £66 a ticket they'd provide somewhere to put your legs, wouldn't you..?)

Experience suggests it should settle down over the next few days, so I might be back in the saddle next weekend, so fingers crossed
I'm just glad I got my 50 km and 50 mile rides in at the start of the month.

Although I haven't managed to get another qualifying ride in for July, I'm really pleased that after testing the water with a cheeky 8 miles on the hybrid yesterday, I got out for a 20-odd mile on the road bike this morning.
Really enjoyed it, lovely weather and best ride I've had for a while.

No ill-effects so far, so hopefully I'm back in the game - I'd better be as I've only got three weeks to prep for the 81 mile Yorkshire Tour Sportive that I signed up for in a fit of optimism a while back.

I'm just glad I got my half century rides in early this month.

 

[Sbudge]

Although I haven't managed to get another qualifying ride in for July, I'm really pleased that after testing the water with a cheeky 8 miles on the hybrid yesterday, I got out for a 20-odd mile on the road bike this morning.
Really enjoyed it, lovely weather and best ride I've had for a while.

No ill-effects so far, so hopefully I'm back in the game - I'd better be as I've only got three weeks to prep for the 81 mile Yorkshire Tour Sportive that I signed up for in a fit of optimism a while back.

I'm just glad I got my half century rides in early this month.

Welcome back, great to hear you're back on 2 wheels.