The 2023 Half Century (50km or 50m) Challenge Chatzone

[kapelmuur]

Monthly update time and 1 weeks warning to those without a ride posted .We have 18 riders fully posted for November leaving 8 riders with rides up to October posted yet to post a November one so here's the nudge list @Spinney ,@ColinJ ,@kapelmuur ,@slow scot ,@bluenotebob ,@Chap sur le velo ,@C R and @Ridgeback Roller
Well done everyone 1 more to go

I really dislike riding in the cold and wet, so I got off the turbo to just complete the 1 x 50km ride this month.

16th Nov Ashley, Mobberley, Ollerton, Marthall, Chelford. 50.9km

 

[13 rider]

I really dislike riding in the cold and wet, so I got off the turbo to just complete the 1 x 50km ride this month.

16th Nov Ashley, Mobberley, Ollerton, Marthall, Chelford. 50.9km

I misread that at first and thought you were trying to claim a turbo ride and was thinking how to tell you it didn't count 😁
Well done for getting out ,I know what you mean since stopping cycle commuting I've become a fair weather cyclist

 

[Spinney]

Well done you had me worried a bit 🥶

Just moved house - tends to get in the way of cycling for a while!

 

[13 rider]

Just moved house - tends to get in the way of cycling for a while!

Stayed in the same area ? , I moved end of October so I know what you mean stuff gets in the way

 

[ColinJ]

I should be able to get the 50 done at the start of next week instead. 🤞

I finally did it today. Lovely sunny conditions but very cold, and feeling colder still with windchill.

One look at patches of ice on untreated roads put me off risking any of the quiet hilly roads that I like.

I could have done the Cragg Vale climb because I'm sure that route would have been gritted but there would have been horrendous windchill on the long, rapid descent to Littleborough, which I really didn't fancy...

So, just a slog up and down the busy valley roads. I'm glad that I made the effort to go out, but I was VERY glad to get back into the warm afterwards!

 

[13 rider]

Here's a novelty a monthly update with a day to spare 😁 ,we have all 27 riders fully posted up for November ,great work everyone just one more push and we're there

 

[ColinJ]

Here's a novelty a monthly update with a day to spare 😁 ,we have all 27 riders fully posted up for November ,great work everyone just one more push and we're there

I don't want to find myself having to go out in a blizzard at the end of December to get my '50' in so I will do it on the first dry day in the month with no ice risk and reasonable temperatures!

 

[FrothNinja]

I finally did it today. Lovely sunny conditions but very cold, and feeling colder still with windchill.

One look at patches of ice on untreated roads put me off risking any of the quiet hilly roads that I like.

I could have done the Cragg Vale climb because I'm sure that route would have been gritted but there would have been horrendous windchill on the long, rapid descent to Littleborough, which I really didn't fancy...

So, just a slog up and down the busy valley roads. I'm glad that I made the effort to go out, but I was VERY glad to get back into the warm afterwards!

Heck of a lot of ice on the steeper hills around Pendle yesterday - a few squeeky bum moments. Out again at the moment & it snowed overnight!!

 

[ColinJ]

Heck of a lot of ice on the steeper hills around Pendle yesterday - a few squeeky bum moments. Out again at the moment & it snowed overnight!!

Not for me these days...!

I used to be macho about the cold weather and would ignore icy conditions and go out anyway. Then one bitterly cold but sunny New Year's Day I went out on my MTB...

After 30 minutes I was descending a bridleway towards a farm gate when it suddenly dawned on me that the whole area was deep in shadow. I hit a big patch of ice which was lurking in the gloom and - BANG! - I went down fast and slid into the gate. There were a few scratches on my bike and my clothes were scuffed but I only picked up a few bruises. I remounted and carried on...

Another 30 minutes went by and I was just starting to relax again when I suddenly found myself off the bike again. More bruises and a couple of small cuts. It was due to a small patch of black ice which I hadn't noticed because the sun was low in the sky and shining straight into my eyes. I remounted and carried on...

Another 30 minutes went by and I was bombing down a farm track when I spotted a group of farmers gawping at a large 4x4 sliding sideways back down the track - holy crap - panic stations !!!! It was too late to brake as I hit the hitherto unnoticed river of black ice. I tried to keep going in a straight line, unfortunately there was a bend coming up. My front wheel slid from under me, I went down hard in a near faceplant on the ice, slid about 20 metres along the ice and ended up in a tangled mess of battered rider and battered MTB in a frozen ditch. The farmers looked on in shock, then burst into a round of applause ! Thanks a lot for your concern for my well-being you bastards !

Amazingly, I hadn't broken anything on me or the bike so I limped home and vowed never to go out on a bike when it is icy again. Yeah, I know that I could stick to gritted A-roads but (a) I don't like them and (B) I live on a cobbled backstreet which is never gritted, so even getting to an A-road is hazardous!

I'm sticking to power-walks on the hills and exercise bike sessions indoors until the ice goes away ! A broken hip isn't going to do much for my fitness. I'm amazed by how many reports there are on the cycling forums of riders breaking arms, legs, collarbones etc. in icy falls. Ice is God's way of telling us to put the bikes away for the winter!

There is a scattering of snow here today and probably ice everywhere interesting too. I will just go for a stroll to the shops 'the long way round' instead. (Via Todmorden park and the wooded hillside at the back of it.) I'll power walk to keep warm and get my heart rate up a bit.

 

[geocycle]

Lots of ice at the moment and it’s looking unlikely I’ll get out this weekend. Commuting was a bit hairy today especially on the cycle tracks. I came back on the A road which felt safer despite the traffic. I think I’ll be marking reports and reaching for the walking boots.

 

[Jon George]

Annnnnd back in the game! (Cannot believe I've done eight years of this glorious nonsense! Well done to everyone who participates.)
Looking at the forecast, I was awfully tempted not to try for it today, but I'm glad I did. Though I experimented with some of my usual country lanes, I kept mainly to clearer roads. Four more months to complete a 100 and kudus to those who have do so already.
And a pic that I believe sums up the conditions.

 

[13 rider]

Well done @Jon George are first finisher for 2023

 

[Domus]

Mission accomplished.
Almost turned around in Witherslack. The Wahoo was showing -7°C. I was struggling to change gear so stopped in a lay-by removed my cold gloves shoved them inside my jacket and ate a bar and waved my hands to get the blood back into them. The pain was awful. The pain slowly eased and I decided to press on. The right decision as I soon felt OK. Coffee and toast in Arnside with fabulous views back to Grange. The ride back was much more enjoyable. My feet and core were cosy all day, the search for the cold fingers remedy continues.

 

[13 rider]

Well did @Domus 🥶 makes me feel cold reading that , but that's 2 over the line

 

[Domus]

Views from Arnside pier today.