The 2026 Half Century (50km or 50 mile) a month challenge chatzone

[sevenfourate]

Looking cool; but dry - for any planned ride on New Year’s Day in the Costa Del Lowestoft area……..😙

Anyone else planning on making an immediate impact on 2026 ?

 

[bluenotebob]

Anyone else planning on making an immediate impact on 2026 ?

More snow forecast for here on Thurs (1st) and Sat (3rd) - so, no ....

 

[Jenkins]

Looking cool; but dry - for any planned ride on New Year’s Day in the Costa Del Lowestoft area……..😙

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Anyone else planning on making an immediate impact on 2026 ?

It's not looking much better a few miles south of you when I'm more likely to be up and about, so there's no chance of me being the first in January

 

[steverob]

Going to be dry here in Buckinghamshire as well on the 1st, BUT... freezing temps overnight mean I'm not going to risk going out early in case of any ice on the road.

 

[Zoglug83]

The weather isn't looking great hear on Thursday! I will be trying to get out, but not sure ill be doing 50 miles just yet!

 

[geocycle]

Yes I was hoping for a ride at the end of this week to get the challenge underway but with overnight temps of -5 ice is going to be a problem. And so it begins!

 

[Jon George]

2026 you say? Well, if I must.

 

[13 rider]

I'm amazed I've not been called out for the typo in the 1st post which is now edited it's the sort of thing @steverob notices . Serves me right for being lazy and copy and pasting last years post without editing dates 😁

 

[bluenotebob]

I was lazy at not bothering to call you out ...

There's another one in the 2026 MCAM challenge thread which I can't be bothered to mention.

And @wiggydiggy seems to think that 2025 starts this week ...

I've also been suffering from a disconnect between fingers and brain - I put it down to the cold weather

 

[sevenfourate]

I'm 99% sure my out of office says I'll be back on 05/05/2025.

Whereas; I only wish mine did……

 

[sevenfourate]

Yes I was hoping for a ride at the end of this week to get the challenge underway but with overnight temps of -5 ice is going to be a problem. And so it begins!

Just stuck my head outside and there’s crunchy moisture on my car-roof already..🙄

 

[geocycle]

Just stuck my head outside and there’s crunchy moisture on my car-roof already..🙄

I might get a window tomorrow, temperatures look ok but wind will make it feel v cold. Let’s see if we have ice in the morning, fingers crossed!

 

[sevenfourate]

I might get a window tomorrow, temperatures look ok but wind will make it feel v cold. Let’s see if we have ice in the morning, fingers crossed!

Got mine crossed for you too !

I’ve have no desire to ‘win’ the first ride of Jan or 26 accolade as such. I just ride early because that’s my enjoyment window / time that suits.

And deep-winter months especially I’m aware how a few weekends in a row can soon get wiped out with foul weather. Which means sweating in terms of this challenge.

I reckon I’ll get up early and take the dog out for a walk - and see what I think then.
Ideally I have a route I’ve not done for ages. To just get a January banker ride across the line - I guess I could do a few laps of the Town sticking to the main / salted roads. Or brave the Traffic later ? 😳 Or just not bother 🤣

 

[ColinJ]

I will be 70 in January so I will try to do a 70+ km (43.5+ mile) ride before the end of the month to celebrate (still being capable of it ). If I am feeling fitter than I do at the moment, and there is a really nice day with ice-free roads, I will make it a hilly route. My definition of 'hilly' is 20+ metres of ascent per km (or 100+ ft per mile), so my target would be 1,400+ m (4,350+ ft) for the ride. (If conditions were not good on the hills, I would do a flattish 70 then, and a hilly one ASAP after that.) Knowing that @13 rider would be on my case if I left it at 43.5 miles, I might do the extra distance, but I wouldn't promise to boost the climbing too!

Later in the year, I will do a hilly imperial equivalent - 70+ miles/7,000+ ft (113+ km/2,250+ m).

I already have routes in mind for the rides and might do both as forum rides.

 

[sevenfourate]

I will be 70 in January so I will try to do a 70+ km (43.5+ mile) ride before the end of the month to celebrate (still being capable of it ). If I am feeling fitter than I do at the moment, and there is a really nice day with ice-free roads, I will make it a hilly route. My definition of 'hilly' is 20+ metres of ascent per km (or 100+ ft per mile), so my target would be 1,400+ m (4,350+ ft) for the ride. (If conditions were not good on the hills, I would do a flattish 70 then, and a hilly one ASAP after that.) Knowing that @13 rider would be on my case if I left it at 43.5 miles, I might do the extra distance, but I wouldn't promise to boost the climbing too!

Later in the year, I will do a hilly imperial equivalent - 70+ miles/7,000+ ft (113+ km/2,250+ m).

I already have routes in mind for the rides and might do both as forum rides.

Sounds a couple of fab goals for the year !