The Metric Century (100KM) A Month Challenge ChatZone

[GuyBoden]

My last 100km ride for March today, that's six rides in total for March. I hope the weather improves for April, it's still a bit cold out there.

 

[Elysian_Roads]

Monday was a great day for a cycle ride. Sunny, fairly warm and several cyclists out and about. Sadly I was at work, so my only chance to keep the metric century challenge going was today.

Went out about 10am, to avoid the frost. First 20 miles was pretty good. Then the rain, and cold, and wind came along which made for a less than enjoyable ride.

Stopped a couple of times to warm up and keep out of the rain. But got there in the end (100.23 km) and still in the challenge.

 

[Sea of vapours]

My last March century too. Relatively flat route to make up for the previous one, and the weather was pleasant and sunny apart from half a dozen brief and uncalled for hail showers. It's definitely about time it became warmer - I've had enough of being covered head to toe. The one time I uncovered my face today I lasted about five minutes before re-adopting the Invisible Man look.

 

[Fiona R]

March done. Woke up feeling that my bad back was a thing of the past, and got out early for an impromptu 100km ride with absolutely no plan beyond "go to Stroud, climb something, and turn left .... or right". In the end, I carried on through Stroud on the A419 to Chalford. There were enough big trucks around for me to want to get off the main road before Cowcombe Hill so as not to hold too many of them up. (I can always feel their searing resentment burning through the back of my head).

Climbed a steeper, but very, very quiet little lane that started with Chalford High Street and carried on through Frampton Mansell to Sapperton. Not wanting to ride through any towns on a week day, I turned right just before Cirencester and had some more lovely narrow little lanes to myself for the next 20 miles or so, eventually turning for home at Upper Minety in Wiltshire and heading back through Malmesbury and Tetbury. Like @Sea of vapours, it was a beautiful sunny ride on mostly dry roads, but with the occasional surprisingly deep snow at the side of the road:
View attachment 401015
Other than a ten mile stretch between mile 40 and mile 50, I enjoyed this ride as much as any in this country that I can think of. That ten mile stretch from Tetbury to the top of Frocester Hill did rather suck the fun out of it a bit as I encountered a stiff head wind that wasn't supposed to be there. Back home and hosed now. 100.6 km done, with an economy of effort helped by a hundred tiny calculations as I went. Not bad judgment in the end, considering I'd had no idea where I was going to go. Strangely, if I hadn't deliberately changed my mind a couple of times, I might have done the entire ride without ever covering an inch of road I'd not ridden before .... and I don't go out that way very often.

Nice one. Having lived in Minchinhampton for 15 years I know of most of your route although I didn't cycle then, so lots of smaller roads unknown , as I have found when returning by bike.

 

[cosmicbike]

Finally got around to tidying the ride thread. 22 starters this year, and 18 have recorded rides each month in the challenge thread. Hoping @Sbudge @13 rider rider, @Katherine and @gbs have forgotten to post them, last chance tomorrow....

Edit, noted @13 rider ride posted on previous page

 

[Katherine]

March is done. I forgot we are editing our first post. I reposted instead of editing, after copying and pasting the original so I will go back and edit the original post.

 

[GuyBoden]

I think spring might have finally sprung, there was glorious sunshine on today's first April 100km ride to Nantwich. Hodge Lane was closed and unfortunately there was no way through, I could get around the fence last time, but they have now dug up the whole width of the road. Otherwise, an excellent ride.................

 

[Sea of vapours]

Weather the same here: sunny, a brisk and chilly westerly wind, but excellent air clarity and sunshine for the entire day. So fine and encouraging, in fact, that I even turned it into a slightly longer route by not going back the way I intended from Kettlewell (it's rare that I make a major change to a route part way through).

I made an 'exciting new mistake' too. I stopped on the really steep bit of Park Rash (going down) to look up a side valley towards the entrance to Dowbergill Passage (a very fine caving through trip). Stopping on a 25% incline is fine, but I found it remarkably tricky getting back on again as the weight distribution was such that the bike wanted to flip forwards over the fully braked front wheel before I could get weight onto the saddle. I managed it eventually, but it was almost as bad as trying to remount on 25% when heading upwards.

I also did a new, to me, bit of road out of West Witton and came across a 25% sign in the upward direction whose existence I wasn't aware of. That was definitely something of a shock, though it's very short (150 horizontal metres or so). An excellent ride with no equivocation
https://www.strava.com/activities/1491261082

 

[Lilliburlero]

April`s ride done today with a much craved ride to Skegness. 188 km`s in the sunshine

https://www.relive.cc/view/1491550081

 

[ColinJ]

Weather the same here: sunny, a brisk and chilly westerly wind, but excellent air clarity and sunshine for the entire day. So fine and encouraging, in fact, that I even turned it into a slightly longer route by not going back the way I intended from Kettlewell (it's rare that I make a major change to a route part way through).

I made an 'exciting new mistake' too. I stopped on the really steep bit of Park Rash (going down) to look up a side valley towards the entrance to Dowbergill Passage (a very fine caving through trip). Stopping on a 25% incline is fine, but I found it remarkably tricky getting back on again as the weight distribution was such that the bike wanted to flip forwards over the fully braked front wheel before I could get weight onto the saddle. I managed it eventually, but it was almost as bad as trying to remount on 25% when heading upwards.

I also did a new, to me, bit of road out of West Witton and came across a 25% sign in the upward direction whose existence I wasn't aware of. That was definitely something of a shock, though it's very short (150 horizontal metres or so). An excellent ride with no equivocation
https://www.strava.com/activities/1491261082

I would have set off across the road and turned down it. IIRC though it is a very narrow road so maybe that would be tricky ...

I have only done Park Rash once, and that was up it. I devised a 200 km route from Hebden Bridge specifically to tackle it. I was a lot fitter then (2006) so I actually managed the climb without stopping. ***





*** The steep bit almost finished me off so it had entered my mind to hop off and walk the top half of the climb. I had developed tunnel vision and was staring straight up the hill when suddenly I heard cheering from my left! There is a car park there and a couple of families were standing watching me in horrified fascination. The kids were really excited to see a deranged lunatic struggling superbly fit athlete cruising up the climb so I couldn't disappoint them! I eventually crested the climb, got out of sight of them, and then did a hurried dismount to have an oxygen break at the roadside!

 

[Sea of vapours]

IIRC though it is a very narrow road so maybe that would be tricky ...

I did something of the sort eventually. It definitely qualified as tricky though (for me) as there was considerably more chance of keeling over sideways than the near zero chance that I prefer. Going up, I suspect that stopping on the first third of the distance would lead to subsequently walking to the bit where it 'levels out' to about 18% before getting going again ....

 

[Donger]

.... I made an 'exciting new mistake' too. I stopped on the really steep bit of Park Rash (going down) to look up a side valley towards the entrance to Dowbergill Passage (a very fine caving through trip). Stopping on a 25% incline is fine, but I found it remarkably tricky getting back on again as the weight distribution was such that the bike wanted to flip forwards over the fully braked front wheel before I could get weight onto the saddle. I managed it eventually, but it was almost as bad as trying to remount on 25% when heading upwards.

I definitely know that feeling. My absolute nemesis is a local hill called Haresfield Beacon , which has a profile similar to that of a classic volcano. Every bend you go round is met my a steep ramp-up in gradient until you hit a stretch of about 100-150 yards of 25% stuff near the top, where I always grind to a halt. Last time I gave up (at the usual place), I turned the bike around to drop back down and had to walk it about 30 yards back down the hill to find any place where I could physically get back on the bike.

...... I had developed tunnel vision and was staring straight up the hill when suddenly I heard cheering from my left! There is a car park there and a couple of families were standing watching me in horrified fascination. The kids were really excited to see a deranged lunatic struggling superbly fit athlete cruising up the climb so I couldn't disappoint them! I eventually crested the climb, got out of sight of them, and then did a hurried dismount to have an oxygen break at the roadside!

That has happened to me a couple of times, too ... though probably much less impressively. There is a S.O.A.B of a little hill as you leave the Elan Valley reservoirs in the direction of Rhayader ... just before you get to a T junction. It was just my luck to come across a couple of families sat out on deck chairs having a picnic and waiting for cyclists to come along. I must have been a sight, but I didn't give them the spectacle of me slumping at the side of the road gasping. I did a silent prayer for some traffic to come along on the main road so that I could put a foot down as I got to the T junction. No such luck. Had to keep pedalling for another half mile or so uphill until I was out of sight! Then there was Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight. Made the mistake of having a pint of lager and a big bowl of chips in the Spyglass Inn by the beach. Immediately followed by having to climb back up a couple of steep little hairpins in front of a group of lads who had been drinking and were cheering us on "Dutch Corner" style. I very nearly saw my own lunch again. I'm taking some guys from our club there for a pub stop on a similar ride in a few weeks time. Do I tell them or not? (!!)

 

[Donger]

Those are the only times I have ever been cheered. Been jeered quite a few times though.

 

[Sea of vapours]

...a much craved ride to Skegness...

This must be one of the very few occasions when that collection of words has been arranged in that order I suspect.

 

[ColinJ]

I have just been reliving Park Rash on Street view and there is no car park! I have mentally replayed that climb so many times and could have sworn there was a car park on the left. The family cars must have been up on a grass verge ... TBH, I wasn't really focussed on anything other than the hill, but there were definitely cheering spectators on the left, including several children!

Funny old thing, the human mind ... This has just brought back the memory of an agonising cramp that I suffered in one foot at the top of the climb. It wasn't just trying to get my breath back that caused me to dismount, my foot was killing me. I was really worried about how I was going to get home. Fortunately after stretching the foot, eating and drinking, and a 15 minute rest, I was okay to continue.

When I was coming down the hill into Hebden Bridge at the end of that ride I realised that I was going to be a few kms short of my 200 so I turned left at Pecket Well and rode over to Midgley, descended to Mytholmroyd, and came home on the A646.