The Annual Lunacy (aka "I Don't Do Winter") Challenge Chatzone

[GuyBoden]

Why not just change the rule(s) of the existing challenges to enable a rider to miss a month(s) ride due to bad weather, injury or illness.

I've been struggling with a sprained ankle since Aug, but have made it worse because I've kept on riding every month.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Why not just change the rule(s) of the existing challenges to enable a rider to miss a month(s) ride due to bad weather, injury or illness.

I've been struggling with a sprained ankle since Aug, but have made it worse because I've kept on riding every month.

I think they work really well as they are tbh and I doubt many members would be up for changing them.

The solution @ColinJ is proposing (subject to final iteration) seems to be workable and will cater for eventualities like yours without impinging on the core challenges.

Not a good idea riding with a sprained ankle imo. Hope it heals soon.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Change the rules?
Change the rules?

Are you insane?

Seriously the imperial challenge has been running since the year dot with the same rules and there is zero chance that it would be changed. And I quite agree with that. It's simple: Ride a ton in Jan-Dec. No ifs or buts.

The metric ton challenge is more flexible. You can already miss a month, abandon the year, and then join again for the company and laughs as @Cranky Knee Girl did this year. All the same you don't get the star at the end of it. Because, well, you haven't done it. It's difficult.

Quite. It’s a bit symptomatic of the times we live in, that many people don’t like being told “you’ve missed a month for ( whatever reason ) therefore you’ve not completed the challenge, tough, them’s the rules, try again / better luck next time” I missed a ride in April a couple of years back, I reckon I just forgot, I knew I was out, I came back the following year, no arguments from me. I still managed 20000 miles that year, so it really wasn’t the end of the world.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I understand the argument about activity dying off through the year, but doesn't that apply more forcibly to the "13 rides of at least X within the calendar year" scenario? For many, that could easily be complete in May or June, say, and then it's all over. I thought I was coming up with a scheme that would help maintain interest to the end of the year.

True. At least, I agree.

In practice it would depend on the targets people set and how challenging they are. I was envisaging 100 miles, as Colin originally said I think, which not many people are going to tick off rapidly - certainly I'm not. And having thought about it I agree that simply going for 'post your thirteen longest rides' is pretty simple really.

 

[GuyBoden]

Seriously the imperial challenge has been running since the year dot with the same rules and there is zero chance that it would be changed. And I quite agree with that. It's simple: Ride a ton in Jan-Dec. No ifs or buts.

Has there ever been any Northern rider who has completed the Imperial Century Challenge?

Just curious.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Has there ever been any Northern rider who has completed the Imperial Century Challenge?

Just curious.

I'm Northern

Though I live down south

 

[13 rider]

Certainly this year's entrants in the imperial challenge the furthest north is either @Lilliburlero in South Derbyshire or @Rickshaw Phil in Shrewsbury geography not my strong point . I believe @Edwardoka based in Scotland has tried it but nearly got hyperthermia on 1 ride a reason possible for this challenge

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Certainly this year's entrants in the imperial challenge the furthest north is either @Lilliburlero in South Derbyshire or @Rickshaw Phil in Shrewsbury geography not my strong point . I believe @Edwardoka based in Scotland has tried it but nearly got hyperthermia on 1 ride a reason possible for this challenge

@Lilliburlero lives further north than Shrewsbury.

 

[ColinJ]

Definitely leave the original challenges alone - this should be an alternative challenge not a replacement!

Has there ever been any Northern rider who has completed the Imperial Century Challenge?

Just curious.

I know several people from these parts who were audax RRTYs (Randonneur Round The Year - a 200 km audax ride every month!) so there are some people who aren't put off by northern winters, but they don't seem to hang out on CycleChat. They are more likely to be found on YACF?

As for what we are proposing here ... I like the elegant simplicity of only counting your 13th longest ride. That would give you a target to aim for with every ride beyond the 13th ride of the year. You could make your target whatever you like and increase it every year if you fancied that. It would allow people to drop in and out through the year without risk of being kicked off the challenge. If you had a rush of blood to the head, even in late December, you could always*** improve on your 13th ride.

*** Actually, that might not be true - if you had more than one ride in equal 13th place e.g. if you had completed 13 rides of exactly 100 miles in length, you would have to ride 13 rides longer than 100 miles to improve it by even 1 mile! That is a bit like the way that 'Eddington' works. We'd have to consider a way round that if we didn't like it?

 

[13 rider]

@Lilliburlero lives further north than Shrewsbury.

So he's a northerner then and last year I was the furthest north in the northern outpost of Leicester .
I believe @Soltydog completed 1 year and he's proper northern Hornsea

 

[GuyBoden]

Dunno. The threads are there to be checked if you're that curious. The only riders I can think of offhand are all Southern ones, but the ones I remember tend to be the ones I've met.

Yes, the Imperial Century Challenge can be done in the North. See piedwagtail's epic rides below. So, no excuses.

View attachment 159017 View attachment 159017 View attachment 159017
1/1/08 (C37) 101.1 miles, 5694 feet height gain. Light rain to Galagte, southerly wind. solo on pompino 47x20 fixed.
great harwood, whalley, edisford, clitheroe, sawley, wigglesworth, rathmell, settle, ribblehead, ingleton,A65 to cowan bridge, minor road to nether burrow, A683 to lancaster, minor roads and cycle path to galgate, scorton, garstang, inglewhite, longridge, ribchester, whalley, great harwood.

3/02/08 (C38) 100.9 miles,5947 feet height gain.cloudy with strong southerly wind.solo on pompano 47x 20 fixed, early start with new lights.
Great harwood, whalley, edisford, clitheroe, sawley, wigglesworth, giggleswick, eldroth, wray, hornby, warton, round the yealands to carnforth, Lancaster, galgate, scorton, longridge, whalley, great harwood.

1/03/08 (C39) 101 miles,6334 feet height gain, cloudy , a few showers and the mother of all westerly winds. solo on pompino fixed 47 x 20.
Great harwood, whalley, chatburn, sawley, wigglesworth, giggleswick, eldroth, clapham station, ingleton, devils bridge, sedbergh, dent, ribblehead, settle, rathnell, sawley, chatburn, barrow, wiswell, great harwood.

4/4/08 (C40) 100.2 miles, 5532 feet height gain. Cloudy to carnforth ,then sunny and cloudy. 47x20 fixed with my son andrew
great harwood, whalley, billington, ribchester, longridge, inglewhite, catterall, cockerham, condor green, cycle paths to lancaster, minor roads to hest bank, carnforth, silverdale, leighton moss, round the yealands to burton in kendal, tewitfield, over kellet, crook o' lune, quernmore, scorton, inglewhite, longridge, ribchester, brownhill, great harwood.

6/05/08 (C41) 100.2 miles. 6841 feet height gain .Sunny all day (at last) 47x20 fixed. With my son Andrew.
great harwood, whalley, clitheroe, sawley, rathmell , giggleswick, paley green crossroads, eldroth, bentham, burton in lonsdale, A65 to just beyond cowan bridge, minor roads over barbondale to dent, ribblehead, settle, wigglesworth, paythorne crossroads, bolton by bowland, sawley, waddington, mytton, whalley, great harwood.

7/06/08 (C42) 111 miles, 6950 feet height gain.,cloudy with sunny spells and light winds. with Andrew . 47x20 fixed.
great harwood, whalley, worston, sawley, wigglesworth, rathmell, settle, horton, ribblehead, hawes, garsdale, sedbergh, middleton, minor roads through barbon to A65. A65 through clapham to austwick, lawkland, giggleswick, rathmell, wigglesworth, sawley, worston, whalley, great harwood.

20/07/08(C43) 101 miles, 4748feet height gain. sunny , cloudy, westerly wind. solo on 47 x 20 fixed.
Great Harwood, Whalley, Sawley, Rathmell, A65, Paley Green crossroads, Eldroth, Wray, cycle paths through Lancaster to Glasson Dock, Pilling, Inskip, Broughton, Longridge, Chipping, Chaigley, Great Mytton, Whalley, Great Harwood.

10/08/08 (C44) 157 miles, 7981 feet height gain. Windy , rain, some sunshine.
With 5 members of Blackburn and District CTC on the clubs 150 miles in 12 hours standard ride. On 47x 20 fixed.
Great Harwood, Whalley (start) Wigglesworth, Settle, Ribblehead, Hawes, Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Sedbergh, Kirkby Lonsdale, Caton, Lancaster, Great Eccleston, Woodplumpton, Broughton, Longridge, Chipping, Whalley (finish), Great Harwood.

4/09/08 (C45) 104 miles 4326 feet height gain, Torrential showers, a few sunny spells towards the end of the ride, about two dozen sections of flooded road. Light winds.With Randall. Pompino fixed 47 x 20. Great Harwood, Whalley, Ribchester, Longridge, Broughton, Woodplumpton, Lea, kirkham, St.Anne’s, Blackpool, Poulton, Singleton, Gt. Eccleston, Cockerham, Condor Green, Galgate, Scorton, Longridge, Ribchester, Whalley, Great Harwood.

5/10/08 (C46) 102 miles, 3620 feet height gain. Sunny, light northerly wind. Only 5 flooded sections of road. Solo on Pompino fixed 47x20. Great Harwood, Blackburn, Leyland, Eccleston, Mawdesley, Lydiate, Maghull, Crosby, Southport, Banks, Tarleton, Bamber Bridge, Houghton, Blackburn, Great Harwood.

2/11/08 (C47) 102 miles, 6271 feet height gain. Cloudy with sunny spells, strong/very strong NE wind. Solo on pompino fixed 47 x 20. Great Harwood, Whalley, Clitheroe, Sawley, Wigglesworth, Settle, Ribblehead, Dent, Sedbergh, Devils Bridge, A65 to Giggleswick, Wigglesworth, Sawley, Clitheroe, Whalley, Great Harwood.

5/12/08 (C48) 102 miles, 4155 height gain. North westerly wind, mainly cloudy with the odd sunny interval, rain for last 12 miles. No ice! Solo on 47x20 fixed
Great Harwood, Whalley, Hurst Green, Longridge, Inglewhite, Garstang, Scorton, Galgate, Lancaster, Cockerham, Hambleton, Inskip, Salwick, Woodplumpton, Broughton, Catterall, Inglewhite, Longridge, Ribchester, Billington, Whalley, Great Harwood

 

[ColinJ]

And a lot of the rides were on fixed too!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

@Lilliburlero lives further north than Shrewsbury.

Checking the map, not by as much as I thought.

 

[ColinJ]

All of them!

Oh, er, yes - I didn't spot all of the mentions of the bike!

I had considered heading out to that area myself to get some early/late season long rides in if I were going to attempt the full imperial challenge. I could probably do 100 miles in the minimum of 7.5 hours daylight in the winter. (Most of it is a lot flatter than here.)

 

[Edwardoka]

I believe @Edwardoka based in Scotland has tried it but nearly got hyperthermia on 1 ride a reason possible for this challenge

It was actually ok for the most part, the icy hills on my January qualifying ride made for some exciting riding but generally the cold didn't bother me that much. It was a temperature inversion on a wet day with slush/meltwater sticking to my legs that did for my gold star (leaving it to the last day of the year definitely didn't help either )

I know some folks up here who do ridiculous miles in winter as a matter of course, it's definitely doable and can be pleasant if done right.