Three 30-minute rides each week of the year 2026 challenge

[FrothNinja]

W6R1 - 1 hour 54 mins - Mon - Preston to Brierfield
W6R2 - 2 hour 10 mins mins - Tues - Burnley to Clitheroe return. Dark and soggy foggy on the way back
W6R3 - 1 hour 27 mins - Weds - local miles around York
W6R4 - 35 mins - Sun - local miles
Travelled to York by train. I have to say that lugging a bike up and down the stairs in a station is not enormous fun & I have to overcome the urge to ride on the platforms.
Anyway - here is York Station from one of the bridges.

 

[bluenotebob]

A little bit of admin:

@FrothNinja … great photo of York station! You’re a week out – last week was Week 6.

@Jon George .. it’s not a problem if you want to report a Sunday ride from the previous week but remember that it won’t count towards ‘this week’s total’. Be careful that you don’t get into a position where you report Sun, Mon, Sat – as that would only be two rides.

Down to just 3 of us now? What happened to @wiggydiggy ?

 

[Jon George]

A little bit of admin:

@Jon George .. it’s not a problem if you want to report a Sunday ride from the previous week but remember that it won’t count towards ‘this week’s total’. Be careful that you don’t get into a position where you report Sun, Mon, Sat – as that would only be two rides.

Noted. No excuse. I've given myself a stern talking to.

 

[FrothNinja]

last week was Week 6.

Wonder if that beats my previous early in the year stuff up
Have another York station to make you forget

 

[Jon George]

I normally break out the Brompton and go for a 'constitutional' ride on Sundays (which are long enough to qualify), but faced with rain, turning to sleet, turning to rain, I decided on a brisk walk, instead. However, I did enough this week.
Mon 140 mins Ipswich – Westerfield – Witnesham – Ashbocking – Helmingham – Otley – Tuddenham – Ipswich
Weds 50 mins Nacton via Gainsborough Road – Sainsbury’s
Thurs 60 mins Shake down ride around Ipswich to check out my rebuild on Pasty #1 The Hybrid. (Now converted to Ix)
Fri 75 mins Morrisons via the river – Landseer Road - Puncture
Sat 55 mins Another shake-down ride around Ipswich.

And a photo for you all: Lady Marina

 

[FrothNinja]

W7R1 - 44 mins - Mon - Ride to Burnley for train to Preston then from station to collect work van
W7R2 - 36 mins - Tues - local miles
W7R3 - 1 hour 33 mins - Thurs - partial ride from Salmesbury to Pendle and a lift back home after dropping off van
W7R4 - 48 mins - Sat - local miles around Burnley, Cliviger, etc
Joys of Preston

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 7: 4 local rides over 30 mins; 6.5 hours on the bike; distance cycled 96.7km (405m of Ascent)

Ride 1: Tuesday 10th Feb – Mauron/Lézonnet (V3) on the Crosshill: 35.45km, 2 hrs 9 mins
Ride 2: Saturday 14th Feb (1) – Mauron/la Ville Cognac (V3 Link) on Katie-Mae: 9.47km, 44mins
Ride 3: Saturday 14th Feb (2) – VV ride on Katie-Mae: 22.65km, 1 hr 37 mins
Ride 4: Sunday 15th Feb – Mauron/Loyat (V3) on Katie-Mae: 29.13km, 2 hrs

Not quite as grand as York station, this is the old railway station in Mauron.

It’s not seen a train for 60 years and, although there are campaigns to re-open the line, it probably never will again.

I had thought it had become a domestic residence about 20 years ago. I am sure that the sister of a friend had bought it and was living there but perhaps it was a rental. It is directly opposite the local MOT centre and between Monday morning and Saturday lunchtime, the noise levels must be quite disturbing.

 

[FrothNinja]

W8R1 - 4 hours 26 mins - Mon - Brierfield to Whalley to Preston to Blackburn to Rishton to Burnley to Brierfield (total 52.1miles / 83.8 km, plus 1,032m / 3,386ft)
W8R2 - 2 hours 27 mins - Tues - Brierfield to Clitheroe return
W8R3 - 1 hour 40 mins - Fri - local miles around Burnley, Colne etc
W8R4 - 40 mins - Sun - local miles, taking it easy in the gusting warmer weather. Only 15% beyond zone 2.

Clitheroe Castle - as white as when newly built by the nasty Norman invaders

 

[Jon George]

Tuesday 50 mins Levington
Wednesday 50 mins Levington
Saturday 50 mins Levington
Sunday 65 mins around town.

And for anyone interested, some photos of Ipswich (A Sunday task that I am now associating with this challenge. )

The new Court House.

The Sir Bobby Robson Bridge and what were once salmon jump weirs.

Princess Street.

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 8: 6 local rides over 30 mins; 12.85 hours on the bike; distance cycled 183.04km (1107m of Ascent)

Ride 1: Tuesday 17th Feb – local ride on the RAID: 25.07km, 1 hr 53 mins
Ride 2: Friday 20th Feb (1) – local ride on the MASSI: 21.76km, 1 hr 40 mins
Ride 3: Friday 20th Feb (2) – Mauron/Grancastel (V3) on Katie-Mae: 40.45km, 2 hrs 41 mins
Ride 4: Saturday 21st Feb – Mauron/Lézonnet (V3) on the Princess: 34.22km, 2 hrs 13 mins
Ride 5: Sunday 22nd Feb (1) – local ride on the Urban Shaper: 29.07km, 2 hrs 15 mins
Ride 6: Sunday 22nd Feb – Mauron/Lézonnet (V3) on the Princess: 32.47m, 2 hrs 9 mins

Dragged myself over 1000km for the year this morning – 16 days later than last year. Hopefully the next 1000km will come a lot quicker.

No photo this week – sorry: it’s been mostly grey and drizzly (and I’m fed up taking photos of the floods)

 

[bluenotebob]

And for anyone interested, some photos of Ipswich (A Sunday task that I am now associating with this challenge

Keep 'em coming !

It's all interesting and Ipswich is far more photogenic than I'd imagined.

I've also enjoyed @FrothNinja 's photos of Preston, Clitheroe etc.

I'll try and chip in with some photos of local towns and villages (it'll be a good project for the Spring - whenever that arrives)

 

[bluenotebob]

To make up for not posting any photos for Week 8, here is a selection of photos of Mauron (my local town) taken over recent years. No shots of the church which I’ll attempt to rectify soon

 

[FrothNinja]

W9R1 - 5 hours 26 mins - Mon - Brierfield to Burnley to Barrow to Preston to Blackburn to Accrington to Hapton to Brierfield (total 66.9 miles / 107.6 km, plus 1,196m / 3,925ft)
W9R2 - 53 mins - Tues - local miles (zone: 0 - 2%; 1 - 8%; 2 - 45%; 3 - 45%)
W9R3 - 2 hour 41 mins - Weds - Two laps of a sometimes soggy convoluted route taking in Burnley, Fence, Thursden, Worsthorne, Nelson, Brierfield (total 31.1miles / 50.0 km, plus 770m / 2,525ft)
W9R4 - 30 mins - Sat - local miles
W9R5 - 40 mins - Sun - Clarion
May go for another ride this afternoon - possibly

Pic is from Tuesday. It's on one of my local rides and on a pretty heavily used road which is no safer to use as the bridge is closed - for up to 12 weeks. I have yet to see anyone doing any work, bar a secutity chap looking after the portacabin and the digger. Why would you use a digger on a bridge? Is it just for moving materials which have yet to materialise?

 

[Jon George]

Mon 23rd 50 mins Nacton via Gainsborough Road – Sainsbury’s
Tues 24th 120 mins Wherstead
Weds 25th 50 mins Nacton Via Gainsborough Road and Ravenswood - Sainsbury’s
Thurs 26th 40 mins Around town (Stoke)
Fri 27th 50 mins Levington
Sat 28th 50 mins Nacton via Gainsborough Road – Sainsbury’s
Sun 1st 65 mins (Plus an extra eight on mis-firing Brompton - now about to fettle) Holywells Park – Docks – Portman Road – Christchurch Park – Westerfield – Ipswich

And perhaps a couple of interesting photos from around the town.

Last remnant of a school founded by Cardinal Wolsey in 1528, known as Wolsey's Gate. (It was intended as a place to rival Cambridge University.)

And this was duplicated in the building of Ipswich School in 1851.

(Only discovered this myself about two weeks ago! )

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 9: 6 local rides over 30 mins; 13.48 hours on the bike; distance cycled 196.79km (869m of Ascent)


Ride 1: Monday 23rd Feb – Mauron/Loyat (V3) on the Urban Shaper: 31.37km, 2 hrs 7 mins
Ride 2: Tuesday 24th Feb (1) – local ride on the RAID: 13.29km, 1 hr 3 mins
Ride 3: Tuesday 24th Feb (2) – Mauron/Lézonnet (V3) on La Rossa: 32.04km, 2 hrs 5 mins
Ride 4: Wednesday 25th Feb – Lunacy Distance ride on La Rossa: 86.04km, 5 hrs 41 mins
Ride 5: Sunday 1st March (1) – local ride on the RAID: 10.32km, 57 mins
Ride 6: Sunday 1st March (2) – VV ride on the Crosshill: 23.73km, 1 hr 36 mins

Three photos from Wednesday’s ride: the towpath on the Nantes-to-Brest canal just re-opened after the floods – and somewhere I’d been wanting to visit for years: the chapelle de Ste-Geneviève. It was very hard to find and, in the end, I had to ask someone for help – unfortunately la chapelle is buried in a private wood so I couldn’t get any closer (but pleased that I’d found it).

The hamlet of Ste-Geneviève is just outside St-Marcel and Wednesday was the first time that I’d visited St-Marcel (although I’d passed within a couple of kms of it hundreds of times). I’d planned on taking a photo of the church in the centre of St-Marcel but it was so ugly and boring that I didn’t bother. I’ll be back there soon as I’ve now sorted out a safe link between the V3 Voie Verte and St-Marcel and that will give me a springboard to explore more of the upper Claie valley – and should provide two or three more new Lunacy Distance rides.