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

[wiggydiggy]

1. Sat - 6.7m - 0:32
2. Sun - 8.9m - 0:48
3. Sun - 6.4m - 0:33

Usual for this week, 2 on 1 day and 1 on another. Might have to change it up this coming week as I have fantasies of doing a long ride on the Sat so need to cover these shorter rides earlier.

No pics for this week, was too cold to stop and take my gloves off. Instead have this one of the Llangollen Canal which I have a possible cycle tour idea for.

 

[FrothNinja]

W4R1 - 4 hours 18 mins - Mon - Brierfield to Preston and back with a couple of deviations (total 48.9 miles / 78.7 km, plus 846 m / 2,775 ft ascent)
W4R2 - 34 mins - Thu - local miles
W4R3 - 37 mins - Sun - local miles
May do a sub 30 mins ride later, but probably not as the light is poor and I have a long run out tomorrow - got to be in early (for me) to the office for a very boring and long meeting. At least the forecast is bearable and the wind seems to have sodded off.
Pic is from Thursday but annoyingly missed the bike's tyre on the edge of frame and didn't notice until later grrr. I suspect the blurriness may hint at what happened.

 

[Jon George]

18th 70 mins Holywells Park – Docks – Town Centre – Christchurch Park – Westerfield
19th 50 mins Nacton via Gainsborough Road – Levington – Foxhall
20th 40 mins Elmy's (LBS)
21st 50 mins Nacton via Gainsborough Road – Sainsbury’s
23rd 50 mins Nacton Via Gainsborough Road – B&Q
24th 55 mins Levington

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 4: 3 local rides over 30 mins; 4.9 hours on the bike; distance cycled 70.86m (342m of Ascent)

Ride 1: Monday 19th Jan – local ride on the Urban Shaper: 23.09km, 96 mins
Ride 2: Thursday 22nd Jan – VV ride on Katie-Mae: 22.42km, 94 mins
Ride 3: Sunday 25th Jan – VV ride on the MASSI: 25.35km, 104 mins

Everywhere is flooded, including my hallway which needs mopping out every 30 mins or so (and for a lot longer every morning).

Flooded fields south of Mauron on Thursday’s ride – I was back there today and the flooding is even more extensive.

 

[FrothNinja]

Just done 50 minutes on my local loop. Always surprised by how little ascent it is for such a hilly area. Only 36 metres, and a fair chunk of that is just getting to & from the loop. Apparently I now need 7 hours rest....

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 5: 6 local rides over 30 mins; 11.8 hours on the bike; distance cycled 177.5km (637m of Ascent)

Ride 1: Monday 26th Jan (1) – local ride on the RAID: 22.22km, 104 mins
Ride 2: Monday 26th Jan (2) – VV ride on the Urban Shaper: 18.18km, 77 mins
Ride 3: Wednesday 28th Jan – Mauron/Lézonnet (V3) on Katie-Mae: 35.31km, 2 hrs 22 mins
Ride 4: Thursday 29th Jan – VV ride on the Urban Shaper: 30.22km, 2 hours
Ride 5: Saturday 31st Jan – Mauron/Grancastel (V3) on the Crosshill: 37.52km, 2 hrs 20 mins
Ride 6: Sunday 1st Feb – Mauron/Lézonnet (V3) on the Princess: 34.05km, 2 hrs 7 mins

The good: those 19th century railway engineers knew to build the line well above the flood plain …

… and the bad: just to the left of the photo, the river Yvel in full spate

 

[Jon George]

Sun 70 mins Holywells Park – Docks – Town Centre – Christchurch Park – Westerfield
Mon 85 mins Holywells Park – Docks – Riverside – Sproughton – Burstall and return
Thurs 50 mins Egg run Nacton – Sainsbury’s
Sat 50 mins Levington

 

[FrothNinja]

W5R1 - 3 hours 32 mins - Mon - Brierfield to Preston and back without deviations (total 47.7 miles / 76.8 km, plus 824 m / 2,704 ft ascent)
W5R2 - 47 mins - Fri - local miles
W5R3 - 50 mins - Sat - local miles

 

[bluenotebob]

@FrothNinja .. I never tire of seeing towpath/canal photos and I encourage you to keep posting them in this thread. Apart from the L&L and the Rochdale canal, are there any others in your vicinity?

I walked part of the Ribble east of Preston back in the 1960s but I can’t remember if any of that is canalised.

I managed to cycle part of the Nantes-to-Brest canal (the Oust) in mid-January but since then, it has been impossible. Access to the whole canal towpath network in Brittany is now banned (for walkers, cyclists, and horse-riders) because of the extensive flooding. That’s a lot of towpath – easily over 1000kms and probably a lot more.

I’ve no idea when the ban will be lifted – more heavy rain due this afternoon and later in the week. The ground simply can’t take any more rain so it just floods.

Maybe it’ll be easier in March .. here’s a photo from last February (I dream of days like this)

 

[FrothNinja]

A few times a year I do rides that go in part along the canals in Shrophire (into Powys too)
I have just started a photo thread for bikes and canals - be interesting to see if it gets any hits - hope there isn't an ancient thread already...

 

[bluenotebob]

I have just started a photo thread for bikes and canals - be interesting to see if it gets any hits - hope there isn't an ancient thread already

Good idea - and it's already generated some excellent photo contributions.

I think there's some cross-over with the 'MBIFO some water' thread - but yours is more specific (and better for it).

I've got hundreds of photos of the Nantes-to-Brest canal in my archive, so I'll try to be very selective in what I post.

I'll also try and add photos from other canals in Brittany - if nothing else, it'll make me cycle a bit further ...

 

[Jon George]

Sun 70mins Westerfield – Christchurch Park – Docks – Holywells Park
Tues 50 mins Levington
Weds 190 mins Ipswich - Bucklesham – Kirton – Trimleys – Felixstowe – Trimleys – Kirton – Bucklesham – Foxhall – Ipswich – LBS - Ipswich
Sat 50 mins Levington

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 6: 5 local rides over 30 mins, including one HMCAM ride; 11.5 hours on the bike; distance cycled 177.04km (706m of Ascent)


Ride 1: Tuesday 3rd Feb – HMCAM ride on the Crosshill: 58.29km, 3 hrs 53 mins
Ride 2: Wednesday 4th Feb – Mauron/Lézonnet (V3) on the Princess: 32.19km, 2 hrs 5 mins
Ride 3: Saturday 7th Feb – Mauron/Loyat (V3) on Katie-Mae: 30.19km, 2 hrs
Ride 4: Sunday 8th Feb (1) – local ride on the MASSI: 18.65km, 1 hr 16 mins
Ride 5: Sunday 8th Feb (2) – Mauron/Grancastel (V3) on La Rossa: 37.72km, 2 hrs 16 mins

Photo below taken just outside St-Jean de Villenard on Tuesday’s ride: the one dry afternoon of the week. Well – mostly dry, I got drenched by a heavy shower 20km from the van – but, considering the rest of the week, that was almost totally irrelevant.

 

[FrothNinja]

W5R1 - 1 hour 54 mins - Mon - Preston to Brierfield
W5R2 - 2 hour 10 mins mins - Tues - Burnley to Clitheroe return. Dark and soggy foggy on the way back
W5R3 - 1 hour 27 mins - Weds - local miles around York
W5R4 - 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.