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

[Slick]

@Slick , Absolutely fine no rules against E bikes your riding if that requires the use of an E bike then so be it . Good luck for tomorrow

Perfect, I'm looking forward to it now.

 

[13 rider]

Perfect, I'm looking forward to it now.

Just take it easy and look after yourself it's not worth making an injury worse

 

[steverob]

@Slick Even if you don't manage to do a 50km ride by the end of the month, you could still enter the Lunacy challenge - set yourself whatever target you want (doesn't even have to be a round number) and to complete it you just have to register 13 rides of that distance by the end of the year. I've done it twice when I've had to miss a month in one of the regular monthly challenges for one reason or another and it was great for still giving me a reason to get out on the bike.

 

[bluenotebob]

A loop around Guilliers, then north to le Villot, a loop out to Perouais and back, then home via Corbinais and Evriguet (with a further loop out to la Plaisance to ensure the ride was over 50km).

On the Princess (the Shaper 200 hybrid) today – I think this is the first time that she’s done a qualifying ride since I bought my road bike back in May 2020. Which has got me thinking … you know I like to share my rides across all my bikes – so perhaps an extra challenge for me this year will be to get all five of my bikes to do a qualifying ride in this Challenge.

Still not missed a day on the bike in 2023 – 29/29 so far…

 

[AndreaJ]

I haven’t managed to get many miles done this month, I managed to come off 2 weeks ago after hitting a huge pothole in a flood 😭 then we had lots of ice which took ages to disappear!
Pleased to actually manage a decent ride this morning with no floods, mud or ice!

 

[13 rider]

I haven’t managed to get many miles done this month, I managed to come off 2 weeks ago after hitting a huge pothole in a flood 😭 then we had lots of ice which took ages to disappear!
Pleased to actually manage a decent ride this morning with no floods, mud or ice!

Hope the bikes ok , oh and you

 

[geocycle]

I haven’t managed to get many miles done this month, I managed to come off 2 weeks ago after hitting a huge pothole in a flood 😭 then we had lots of ice which took ages to disappear!
Pleased to actually manage a decent ride this morning with no floods, mud or ice!

Sorry to hear of the off, hope you are ok and happy to be back on the bike. Weather has certainly been challenging this month starting with wind and rain then ice gain. Bring on spring!

 

[AndreaJ]

Hope the bikes ok , oh and you

Bikes ok, a few scratches on the brake lever and had to fix the pothole induced puncture, I’m mostly ok😊, bruises nearly gone just a sore shoulder now.

 

[13 rider]

Bikes ok, a few scratches on the brake lever and had to fix the pothole induced puncture, I’m mostly ok😊, bruises nearly gone just a sore shoulder now.

Not your newish shiny Trek ( I think ) . Glad your back out riding

 

[Slick]

@Slick Even if you don't manage to do a 50km ride by the end of the month, you could still enter the Lunacy challenge - set yourself whatever target you want (doesn't even have to be a round number) and to complete it you just have to register 13 rides of that distance by the end of the year. I've done it twice when I've had to miss a month in one of the regular monthly challenges for one reason or another and it was great for still giving me a reason to get out on the bike.

Looks like its the Lunacy challenge for me then.

Got pretty excited last night getting the bike ready, even took it for a test ride around 10pm, which ended up lasting for 8 miles. Today was very different though, as I woke around 6am expecting good weather and an early start as the poor weather wasn't forecast until the early afternoon. I sat for a couple of hours waiting for it to improve and eventually there was a shaft of light, so I went for it. A bit slower and more careful than I am used to, even with the ebike, but started enjoying myself as I hit the first hill. I was starting to struggle a bit going through Glen Fruin, then the heavens really opened, and I'm sorry to say, I took the bale out option. I'm trying to figure out if I can fit the carbon bike in the boot of the car, as I'm heading to Norfolk for a work thing, but I am expecting lots of down time, so there might be one final chance for me.

 

[13 rider]

Looks like its the Lunacy challenge for me then.

Got pretty excited last night getting the bike ready, even took it for a test ride around 10pm, which ended up lasting for 8 miles. Today was very different though, as I woke around 6am expecting good weather and an early start as the poor weather wasn't forecast until the early afternoon. I sat for a couple of hours waiting for it to improve and eventually there was a shaft of light, so I went for it. A bit slower and more careful than I am used to, even with the ebike, but started enjoying myself as I hit the first hill. I was starting to struggle a bit going through Glen Fruin, then the heavens really opened, and I'm sorry to say, I took the bale out option. I'm trying to figure out if I can fit the carbon bike in the boot of the car, as I'm heading to Norfolk for a work thing, but I am expecting lots of down time, so there might be one final chance for me.

Valiant attempt ,don't blame you for bailing cold rain is horrid . Good luck for a last minute attempt . If you don't make it feel post in the challenge anyway from Feb or drop in to the Lunacy challenge

 

[AndreaJ]

Not your newish shiny Trek ( I think ) . Glad your back out riding

Yes, the not quite shiny Trek😥

 

[FrothNinja]

Got another miserable ride in today - soaking drizzle for most of the ride but got my Lunacy distance & climbing in. Exercise in determination rather than pleasure - except for the conversations at my breaks en route.

 

[ColinJ]

Ok, I'm in - on singlespeed/two-speed***!

It was chilly and windy today so I didn't fancy going up to Blackstone Edge, and that is the only big climb round here that I can get up on my singlespeed bike***. That leaves a much smaller choice of routes, unless I go off to somewhere flat by train, which I don't fancy doing at this time of year.

So, I rode a boring, largely A-road route, though I did take the chance to add some extra hills and country lanes where I could.

50 undulating km including a little bit of harder climbing to make it a total of 660 m of ascent.

*** I do actually have a second gear available to me on that bike if I can be bothered to stop and shift the chain manually, but I have decided that it is too much hassle at any time of the year, and especially when conditions are cold. For now, I am sticking in one gear - 52/19. Later in the year, I aim to put an old rear mech and friction shifter on to make it a 2-gear bike (with something like a 42/29 lower gear). I will allow myself to use both gears for this challenge otherwise I will be spending far too much time slogging up and down the A646 and A6033 in the local valleys! My rule will be 52/19 for any climb that I can get up in that gear, even if it is very hard work. If there is a nice steep hill that I want to climb on an interesting route and I need the lower gear, then I will allow myself the luxury of only semi-grovelling!

 

[Domus]

Caught the train from Grange to Barrow this morning and followed the Bay Cycle Way back to Grange. I bailed at the bottom of Bigland though, after 40kms in a cold and blustery wind I took the low level road to Flookborough instead. Finished back at the caravan with 56 Kms in the bag.
Just over 400Kms for the month.
Let’s see what February brings.