The Metric Century (100KM) A Month Challenge ChatZone

[13 rider]

Hi @graham bowers welcome . Some local roads to me I live in Anstey and ride out Bosworth way quite alot . I also organise Cyclechat forum rides with some local riders from south Derbyshire keep an eye out in the forum rides section your more than welcome

 

[Lilliburlero]

Well, I arrived late to the party but 3 in March.

I see that some of your rides start and finish in Moira. I`m less than a stones throw away in Overseal

Give me a shout if you fancy a few miles together

 

[graham bowers]

I see that some of your rides start and finish in Moira. I`m less than a stones throw away in Overseal
Give me a shout if you fancy a few miles together

Hi @graham bowers welcome . Some local roads to me I live in Anstey and ride out Bosworth way quite alot . I also organise Cyclechat forum rides with some local riders from south Derbyshire keep an eye out in the forum rides section your more than welcome

Thanks gents. It would be nice to ride with fellow forumites - it looks like I'm quite a bit slower at the moment though - although hopefully doing the right things to get less slow (apart from getting younger). On local 50 Km rides I'm at around 20 Kph on my touring bike so potentially a tad quicker on my roadbike (and a lot slower on my Dawes Kingpin ;-)) Lets see how it goes on the forthcoming Easter Sunday ride.

 

[Milkfloat]

An April ride done and dusted. 30 miles of fairly nasty headwind, eventually finding some new to me roads. One horrible/lovely shirt sharp climb to wake the legs, I will have to go back and visit that. A bad bit of route planning meant some free styling to get around the off-road section down a farm track, but soon back on my route. The mainly tail wind home was nice though.

 

[GuyBoden]

I've got started on my April rides, I had a go at climbing Mow Cop again, but I gave up again, it's far to steep 25% max, so on my way back I rode up The wizard, a nice and easy 11% max, a great day out, a mainly flat Cheshire 70+miler.

Mow Cop Crossing. Luckily, I had to stop until the train passed and have a breather. There's my 531c Reynold's steel framed bike, comfy.

 

[tallliman]

@GuyBoden, there's a level crossing part the way up?

 

[graham bowers]

Good ride up to Carsington Water today, light headwind becoming a bit stronger made for a nice tailwind home, 118.6 Km. Had a bit of an adventure on the way home between Burton on Trent and Swadlincote as the OSM cycle map indicates cycleways that are actually gated off tracks (not rights of way), but where there's a will there's a way! I've worked out a better route for that bit for the future.

Carsington Water

• graham bowers
• 4 Apr 2017

 

[Sea of vapours]

This Spring stuff is good; a nice change from perpetually wet roads, near-icy temperatures and wetness falling from the sky. That said, I did manage to select a route today which left about 25km at the end directly into the still-very-cold wind, which certainly lacked a high score on the 'cunning planning' scale. Descending from the Cross of Greet saw me actually covering my face fully due to the windchill.

I also found out why I'd mentally noted the northern road from Newton-in-Bowland to Cow Ark as one to be avoided. It wasn't the surface, it was the unremitting series of steep hills. I distinctly recalled thinking ''$%*£^&' at one particular point the first time I went along there as a wall-like road hove into view at the top of the preceding steep bit - and I thought exactly the same on this second trip along there. I only went along there as @ColinJ mentioned something about a Cow Ark road being resurfaced late last year. Still, it added a few hundred metres of climb so that was 'good' :-)

All in all though, very nice to be trundling about in April conditions.

 

[ColinJ]

@Sea of vapours and I organise a 100 km forum ride from Settle out into the Yorkshire Dales every year at the start of July. This year's outing is pencilled in for Saturday, 1st. He has come up with a great-looking route again - it will be pretty tough, but well worth making a trip to Yorkshire for. Why don't you get your July metric centuries in with us?

 

[GuyBoden]

@Sea of vapours and I organise a 100 km forum ride from Settle out into the Yorkshire Dales every year at the start of July. This year's outing is pencilled in for Saturday, 1st. He has come up with a great-looking route again - it will be pretty tough, but well worth making a trip to Yorkshire for. Why don't you get your July metric centuries in with us?

Will there be any hills on the route?

Full credit to all the riders using steep routes for their 100km rides, I feel a bit embarrassed about my easy, peasy, flat, Cheshire rides.

 

[ColinJ]

Will there be any hills on the route?

Full credit to all the riders using steep routes for their 100km rides, I feel a bit embarrassed about my easy, peasy, flat, Cheshire rides.

Unfortunately, no! SoV was looking for some decent climbs for us to tackle but the Yorkshire Dales are notoriously flat so will have to put up with these little bumps instead ...

 

[tallliman]

If I could descend with any confidence, I'd be up there in a shot....like climbing but not fast or technical descents.

 

[Sea of vapours]

If I could descend with any confidence, I'd be up there in a shot....like climbing but not fast or technical descents.

Simple solution to that: descend slowly, or slower, at whatever speed you're comfortable with. There are certainly several downhills on that route but mostly they're steep and short so going down them slowly makes little difference to overall elapsed time. i.e. don't worry that you'll be slowing the group down since you won't!

 

[tallliman]

Send me the route and I'll see what I think! Steep is the main problem unless they are dead straight.

Need to spend a day in the peaks at some point this year.

 

[Dogtrousers]

You tempted me enough to look at the practicality of getting to Settle.

It's completely impractical, so I'm safe. Phew.