The Metric Century (100KM) A Month Challenge ChatZone

[Sbudge]

I had a couple of very close shaves last year, a 130km August Gran Fondo done on the very last day, very hot, got very lost and ended up ringing the husband to pick me up 30 km from home, fortunately I had planned 100 miles and had scraped over the 130km before phoning, it was dusk! Usually when you do a reserve ride the real one goes to plan!

Here too, a couple of illnesses (Bell's Palsy and Labyrinthitis)and 8 weeks of business travel made for some very close calls this year! Next year April is already looking dodgy too.

 

[cosmicbike]

2017 finishers to date, based on rides logged in the challenge thread. 15 finishers from 20 starters.. Well done all, you've earned your star

@13 rider
@GuyBoden
@Goonerobes
@Lilliburlero
@Donger
@tallliman
@Ajax Bay
@cosmicbike
@StuartG
@Osprey
@Rickshaw Phil
@ColinJ
@Dogtrousers
@Cranky Knee Girl
@Sbudge

 

[Sbudge]

2017 finishers to date, based on rides logged in the challenge thread. 15 finishers from ?? starters.. Well done all, you've earned your star

@13 rider
@GuyBoden
@Goonerobes
@Lilliburlero
@Donger
@tallliman
@Ajax Bay
@cosmicbike
@StuartG
@Osprey
@Rickshaw Phil
@ColinJ
@Dogtrousers
@Cranky Knee Girl
@Sbudge

How many finishers did we have last year btw?

 

[cosmicbike]

How many finishers did we have last year btw?

Honestly, I have no idea. I think @Dogtrousers was tracking things in 2016?

 

[cosmicbike]

For 2017 we had 20 starters, though I'm unable to locate the original list. Apparently 2 dropped out after January, no idea who, so I think we have 3 left to post qualifying rides

 

[Sbudge]

Just done a very quick check. Apologies to anyone I've missed. It would appear that the 2016 finishers were

@13 rider
@Ajax Bay
@Cranky Knee Girl
@Dogtrousers
@Donger
@Elybazza61
@Goonerobes
@Rickshaw Phil
@Sea of vapours
@si_c
@StuartG
@tallliman

(Edit. I messed up the tagging so when this got posted user "stuart" will have been tagged but not "StuartG")

Thanks, looking good for 2017 then. :-)

 

[tallliman]

Well done all!

 

[Milkfloat]

I need to pull my finger out and get this done. November and December have been horrible for me with other commitments, I think December will go down to the wire again like November.

 

[si_c]

I dropped off in feb before I even started properly, due to needing six weeks off the bike Hopefully pick up 2018 again.

 

[si_c]

Now might be a good time to discuss any changes to the terms and conditions, rules and regulations, laws and bylaws government legislation and international standards, red tape and pettifogging bureaucracy that the Metric Century a Month Challenge conforms with.

I'm happy with it as it is.

Any changes? Any aspect that people don't like... now would be a time to discuss.

I think the rules are pretty fair, simple and straightforward. Do a 100km ride, at least once a month.

The only thing that I might want clarification on, the rules state the stops for sightseeing and lollygagging are fine, however it makes no mention of commuting. By implication I'm assuming that commutes would be classified as two separate rides for the purposes of the challenge, however if not, then I might consider extending out my in and outbound routes, I'm already doing a bit under 50km daily commuting anyway.

 

[cosmicbike]

I like things as they are, but then I'm a bit like Garth

Personally, I think the ride should be a single ride. If your commute is 100km each way then that's fine, but I don't believe having an 8 hour break, albeit at work, is really in the spirit of it being a challenge.

 

[si_c]

I personally feel that if someone wants to claim a 100k round trip commute as a ride it's up to them. However, others may feel that two separate commutes are too far split to constitute a "100k ride".

If it encourages people to take part, and encourages people to ride their bikes then I'd be all for a rule change specifically allowing split rides during the day. But I wouldn't support a change that allowed people to ride 50k in the evening, have a nights kip, then ride 50k in the morning. (But replace "night's kip" with "work a night shift" and I'd be fine)

The Imperial century challenge is stricter and doesn't even allow stops at your own home. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't countenance such an idea.

Personally, I think the ride should be a single ride. If your commute is 100km each way then that's fine, but I don't believe having an 8 hour break, albeit at work, is really in the spirit of it being a challenge.

I don't necessarily disagree, I was just wondering. Last year (2016) when I did it, quite a few of my rides were extended commutes, but I rode in in the morning, and then did the 100km on the way home. My thinking was just in terms of easing participation.

 

[ColinJ]

I can see both sides of the argument. Is the challenge about encouraging riders to do more cycling, or just to do longer individual rides?

I know that I can do rides involving lots of hills and up to 200+ km in length, even though I don't do many of them. So for me there isn't a challenge in doing a single ride of 100 km (unless the weather is awful, and I'd rather not be riding in awful weather!) ... My problem is making the effort to keep going all year round. I therefore don't want to be put off doing longish rides in November/December because they won't 'count' due to some notional 'rules' infringement in June.

So for me a total of 100 km is to be ridden in a day and my definition of a 'day' is a 24 hour period not involving bed rest! YMMV, or should that be YKMV?!

I did a ride on holiday in Devon in September which I have counted on this year's challenge. What I did was to cycle from my holiday chalet to Exeter station, catch a train to Barnstaple, and then cycle back to the chalet again. A purist could say that it was 2 rides separated by a short train journey. What is more (horror of horrors ...) - I actually dozed off for a few minutes on the train!!!! It was 100+ kms of scenic riding and I had planned it to be that distance for the challenge. If I had to count it as 2 separate rides then I wouldn't have bothered doing it!

The single ride question ... So, how long and how many cafe breaks can there be? I can't see a lot of difference between somebody riding 50 km to the shops, spending 3 hours shopping then riding home and a 100 km ride with 1 hour breaks at 25, 50 and 75 km!

Some 50 km rides in this area are as hard as doing a 100 km ride in a flat area so I don't think that treating this ...

[4 hour break in the pub at Newton!]

Then this ...

As if this ....

... is 'cheating'!

PS I don't take a long break mid-ride on that one, usually getting round in about 7 hours these days, though I have done it in just over 6 hours in the past.

 

[Sea of vapours]

How about 'if you put your foot down, at all, then it's not a single ride'? A bit silly perhaps (well, definitely!), but clear-cut.

The problem with these tight definitions of what constitutes a valid, 100km ride is that they are all woolly to some degree, other than at the extremes. One extreme is the above, no stopping, idea; the other extreme is '100km within a 24 hour period'. Of those two, the more practical and sensible is the latter. I'd actually vote for 'within a single, calendar day' but I'm happy with 24 hours.

My own criteria include 'must be audax AAA compliant', which specifies minimum ascent (1,500m) and maximum elapsed time (6h40m). I won't be dropping those criteria for myself, but I think they're the sort of thing that we can all make up for ourselves within the broader, metric century challenge, same as our own definition of 'single ride'.

What that amounts to is that I'm happy with no change to the rules, but would be on the side of relaxing the 'single ride' rule to 'within a calendar day', and to 'within 24 hours' if pushed even very slightly.

 

[Sbudge]

I need to pull my finger out and get this done. November and December have been horrible for me with other commitments, I think December will go down to the wire again like November.

Good luck...plenty rooting for you!