Three 30-minute rides each week of the year Challenge 2024

[FrothNinja]

Ha ha - I jinxed myself with that post...

I went out at sunset today. It had been raining more than forecast earlier and I was waiting for it to stop. I didn't bother taking spares/tools because I had intended to stick within about a 15 minute walk of home, and I certainly did not intend to fix a flat at the side of a damp road in the dark. I changed my mind about the route when I was out though and headed out of town on my extended lumpy loop. I have had very few punctures on these local loops so what was the chance that I would get one today at the most distant point?

Naturally, exactly at that far turn in Walsden was where I DID get a puncture!!! I haven't looked to see what the cause was but it was probably something like a sliver of broken glass. I couldn't really see well enough in the dark to spot small debris in the road.

That meant a 4 km walk back with the bike. I'm going to count it as an 11 km ride in 45 minutes even though it was really a 7 km ride and a 4 km walk!

Sod's law

 

[ColinJ]

I haven't looked to see what the cause was but it was probably something like a sliver of broken glass. I couldn't really see well enough in the dark to spot small debris in the road.

I have just seen to the bike.

Yes, the culprit WAS a sliver of glass. I took the precaution of checking the rest of the tyre, plus the other one. I found 2 more embedded pieces of glass which had not yet managed to cut all the way through to the tube!

I removed all 3 pieces. I dropped 1 but here are the other 2...

The pointed piece on the left is the one that caused the puncture. I think that the others would have cut through to the tube eventually. It's a reminder to check your tyres carefully after a puncture!

I think that the glass may have come from a wine glass which a guest dropped on my tiled kitchen floor on Tuesday evening. She picked up what she could with a dustpan and brush and I then went over the area again with my vacuum cleaner. We thought that we had cleared up properly but I think we must have missed a few pieces because my bike gets stored there when the folding table has been put away. If the glass came from my floor rather than out on the road somewhere, then it took 7 km of riding to cut through the tyre.

 

[FrothNinja]

I have just seen to the bike.

Yes, the culprit WAS a sliver of glass. I took the precaution of checking the rest of the tyre, plus the other one. I found 2 more embedded pieces of glass which had not yet managed to cut all the way through to the tube!

I removed all 3 pieces. I dropped 1 but here are the other 2...

View attachment 720593

The pointed piece on the left is the one that caused the puncture. I think that the others would have cut through to the tube eventually. It's a reminder to check your tyres carefully after a puncture!

I think that the glass may have come from a wine glass which a guest dropped on my tiled kitchen floor on Tuesday evening. She picked up what she could with a dustpan and brush and I then went over the area again with my vacuum cleaner. We thought that we had cleared up properly but I think we must have missed a few pieces because my bike gets stored there when the folding table has been put away. If the glass came from my floor rather than out on the road somewhere, then it took 7 km of riding to cut through the tyre.

A lesson for us all

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I have just seen to the bike.

Yes, the culprit WAS a sliver of glass. I took the precaution of checking the rest of the tyre, plus the other one. I found 2 more embedded pieces of glass which had not yet managed to cut all the way through to the tube!

I removed all 3 pieces. I dropped 1 but here are the other 2...

View attachment 720593

The pointed piece on the left is the one that caused the puncture. I think that the others would have cut through to the tube eventually. It's a reminder to check your tyres carefully after a puncture!

I think that the glass may have come from a wine glass which a guest dropped on my tiled kitchen floor on Tuesday evening. She picked up what she could with a dustpan and brush and I then went over the area again with my vacuum cleaner. We thought that we had cleared up properly but I think we must have missed a few pieces because my bike gets stored there when the folding table has been put away. If the glass came from my floor rather than out on the road somewhere, then it took 7 km of riding to cut through the tyre.

Anyone else own up to trying to read what is on the paper you've rested on? Don't worry, it's not too embarrassing!!

 

[Tail End Charlie]

4 rides for me this week.
Tuesday a little tootle round to get some milk from the dispenser. 10 miles
Thursday rode back after dropping van off for MOT. 20 miles
Friday collected van after MOT. 20 miles
Saturday rode the length of the Tissington trail from Crowdecote to Ashbourne and back. It's a lovely trail. There's been a whole load of tree felling along the route, I suspect ash dieback, but others had been taken down too. 32 miles

 

[FrothNinja]

Anyone else own up to trying to read what is on the paper you've rested on? Don't worry, it's not too embarrassing!!

Begging letter from a cancer charity isn't it?

 

[annedonnelly]

A lesson for us all

Don't let your guests near your bike storage area!

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Begging letter from a cancer charity isn't it?

I'm not sure, I lost track after the stick of celery and flying helmet were mentioned! Or is that just my overactive imagination??

 

[FrothNinja]

W5R1 - Centurion 38 mins - local miles.
W5R2 - Hybrid 1 hour 21 mins - Barrowford & Higham Loop - just over 1000ft of ascent.
W5R3 - Centurion 47 mins - local miles (comprising 3 stints dashing out of the house between the showers - wind is getting a bit over playful so I am not doing anymore today unless it starts to act its age).

 

[ColinJ]

Anyone else own up to trying to read what is on the paper you've rested on? Don't worry, it's not too embarrassing!!

Begging letter from a cancer charity isn't it?

Ha ha. The first piece of paper that I picked up was a bank statement. I thought better of that and used the back of an Aldi receipt instead!

Don't let your guests near your bike storage area!

I'm not made of money so I don't have a dedicated storage area!

I put my glasses on and checked the floor again. I found another piece of glass, even bigger than the others! I will be much more careful about cleaning up broken glass in future.

 

[ColinJ]

I have 1 more ride to do and I will be wind and shower-dodging too. I definitely do not fancy roadside puncture fixing so I will stay within a 15 minute walk time and leave my tools/spares pannier behind. The pannier is fine in normal conditions but strong winds really catch it and make progress hard work.

 

[FrothNinja]

I have 1 more ride to do and I will be wind and shower-dodging too. I definitely do not fancy roadside puncture fixing so I will stay within a 15 minute walk time and leave my tools/spares pannier behind. The pannier is fine in normal conditions but strong winds really catch it and make progress hard work.

If we are being realistic, when the weather gets revolting or too pretty, that approach, + rides in lumps & including pushing your bike, are probably the only ones that safely allow people to complete this challenge.

 

[bluenotebob]

I haven’t stopped doing this challenge, despite appearances to the contrary. I’m still cycling for at least 30 minutes every day, whatever the weather.

After two years of reporting all my rides in detail every week, I got fed-up with reporting too much personal info. I’ll post weekly summaries of my rides here every few weeks or so. Fuller details of my longer rides are available in either the HMCAM or Lunacy Distance challenge threads, if anyone is curious.

Here are my rides for the first 5 weeks of 2024:

Week 1: 9 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 145.35km
Week 2: 10 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 158.84km
Week 3: 12 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 160.93km
Week 4: two HMCAM rides + 9 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 244.78km
Week 5: one Lunacy Distance ride, two HMCAM rides + 7 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 320.30km

Weeks 1 to 5: total distance cycled 1030km

 

[annedonnelly]

Two qualifying rides this week. A nice ride in pleasant weather on Tuesday as the postman turned up with my parcel in plenty of time for me to get out. About an hour.

Unfortunately couldn't get out on the best days of the week - Thursday and yesterday - so had to get out this morning before the worst of the wind arrived. Pottered around town keeping to the sheltered areas. About 35 minutes. Cold and damp, not the most enjoyable ride I've ever had! Though if the wind hadn't got much stronger after lunch I might have tried going out again. As it was I had enough trouble walking into the headwind.

Forecast isn't looking great for next week

 

[FrothNinja]

Two qualifying rides this week. A nice ride in pleasant weather on Tuesday as the postman turned up with my parcel in plenty of time for me to get out. About an hour.

Unfortunately couldn't get out on the best days of the week - Thursday and yesterday - so had to get out this morning before the worst of the wind arrived. Pottered around town keeping to the sheltered areas. About 35 minutes. Cold and damp, not the most enjoyable ride I've ever had! Though if the wind hadn't got much stronger after lunch I might have tried going out again. As it was I had enough trouble walking into the headwind.

Forecast isn't looking great for next week

When the weather is particularly vile I go out for short rides in the course of the day and add them all together. I also do this if I am working from home and too busy to take half an hour in one lump.