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

[bluenotebob]

Didn't post last week, but I did three rides and have done so this week too.

You don't have to stop at three rides per week - you can do more. Unless you're still working and don't have time - in which case, you're excused.

I was rather hoping you were going to show off your newly-acquired language skills - and write your weekly report in Welsh.

Here's mine for weeks 10 and 11 (I was tempted to write it in French):

Week 10: one Lunacy Distance ride + 13 more local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 246.44km

Week 11: one Lunacy Distance ride, one HMCAM ride + 15 more local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 309.05km

Weeks 1 to 11: total distance cycled 2473km

 

[ColinJ]

Week 11: 3 qualifying rides, 125 km, 7½ hrs.

• Ride 1 (Thu): 9 km. LLL - I didn't extend it because weather was grotty. ½ hr.
• Ride 2 (Sat): 100 km. Tod, A646, Padiham Greenway, Old Roman Rd, Whalley. Then a loop: Longridge Fell, Chipping, Cow Ark, Waddington, Bashall Eaves, Whalley. Back on outward route. 1,350 metres of ascent. 6 hrs.
• Ride 3 (Sun): 16 km. Extended LLL: Tod, Harvelin Park, Mankinholes, Lumbutts, Hollins Rd, Walsden, Tod. 250 metres of ascent. 1 hr.

All rides done on the 6-er. I used my 42/15 'ex singlespeed' gear on all of ride #1, 95 km of ride #2, and 14 km of ride #3. My 2 lower gears were definitely needed for the longer/harder climbs on the second and third rides.

Success rate: 11 weeks out of 11.

34 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 753 km. Average progress now = 68.5%; last week = 62.8%. Total ride time approximately 45 hrs.

PS Special characters to copy and paste for ride durations - ¼ ½ ¾ !

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 11: 3 qualifying rides, 125 km, 7½ hrs.

Well done for getting a 100km ride in !

 

[annedonnelly]

W11R1 - Centurion 38 mins - local miles.
W11R2 - Centurion 34 mins - local miles.
W11R3 - Centurion 1 hour 5 mins - local miles.
One of my all time fave British wild flowers - Fritillaria meleagris [Snakes Head]
View attachment 724764

Mine too. Though I've never seen them in the wild. I have them in my lawn and I discovered a chap round the corner has a mini meadow of them. Not in flower here yet.

 

[ColinJ]

Well done for getting a 100km ride in !

Thanks.

My intention had been to take advantage of sunshine in the first half of the day but I didn't get to sleep until 03:00 and then my damn tablet woke me up at 05:00 with a low battery warning! I reset my alarm to get another couple of hours sleep but still only got about 5...

I ended up setting off at 11:30. It was still sunny then but the forecast was for drizzle later. I chatted with another rider on my outward leg. He had managed to get out early and 'd had a lovely sunny ride. He would have been home by the time the drizzle appeared, and appear it did!

The rain wasn't heavy but it was chilly, and I was riding into a headwind most of the way back. I didn't really enjoy the second half of the ride because of the weather, but once I was home, showered, warm, and refuelled, I was glad that I had made the effort.

 

[annedonnelly]

Bit of a damp week so the rides had to wait until the last three days. But I used a wet afternoon to fit mudguards to the Dawes so I've done two rides on that testing it out.

Just getting ready to go out this morning for the third ride of the week when I heard a really loud noise sounding like a helicopter. Opened the door just in time to see a massive helicopter flying really low over the house. I think it must be to do with the thing that looks like an oil rig which has been off the coast all week and has now come up the river into the port. The copter was back and forward a few times after that. I'm sure it wasn't as low as it looked!

 

[ColinJ]

But I used a wet afternoon to fit mudguards to the Dawes so I've done two rides on that testing it out.

After last week's 200 km worth of Devon puddles and mud, I think that I will do the same to my Devon bike on my next visit!

Probably SKS Longboards, as I fitted to my CAADX up here...

I think that I will also fit a rack. Probably a 'skinny' one, like the one on my 6-er...

 

[bluenotebob]

34 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 743 km.

@ColinJ .. I think your running total should be 753km, not 743. It was 628km last week + 125km this week..

Separate question: will you post your 100km ride in this year's Lunacy Distance challenge? I also wondered what you were going to do with the 81km ride you did in Devon - you could set a Lunacy Distance target of 80km and then post your two rides .. with another 100km scheduled for next weekend (?), you'd have done three qualifying rides before end March.

Just curious...

 

[FrothNinja]

Mine too. Though I've never seen them in the wild. I have them in my lawn and I discovered a chap round the corner has a mini meadow of them. Not in flower here yet.

Must be more tropical this side of the Pennines

 

[ColinJ]

@ColinJ .. I think your running total should be 753km, not 743. It was 628km last week + 125km this week..

Oops - well spotted! I have now corrected it.

Separate question: will you post your 100km ride in this year's Lunacy Distance challenge? I also wondered what you were going to do with the 81km ride you did in Devon - you could set a Lunacy Distance target of 80km and then post your two rides .. with another 100km scheduled for next weekend (?), you'd have done three qualifying rides before end March.

I have been battling with myself over the Lunacy challenge... The idea of the challenges is obviously to get us to do more riding. That is working for me on the 3-a-week (63 weeks and counting) and the 50-a-month (longer rides in the winter than I usually bother to do), but I discovered a curious disincentive with the Lunacy rides. I definitely don't want to do it at less than 100 km because I would be making it not quite challenging enough, but there were times in previous challenges when I deliberately cut short rides like that 81 km one to save myself for longer rides which I never ended up doing!

I think that I will have a go, but I will do metric centuries so the 81 km ride won't count. I will use it as a bonus ride in the '50' challenge, even though I don't keep a points count.

 

[ColinJ]

It's a lovely day here today but I am feeling tired from yesterday's very windy metric century so I think I will take the day off the bike and catch up with the cycling on Eurosport!

Week 12: 3 qualifying rides, 135 km, 8 hrs.

• Ride 1 (Mon): 13 km. ELLL. ¾ hr.
• Ride 2 (Fri): 21 km. Tod, A646 to Hebden Bridge to drop off a parcel, back to Tod then a LLL. 1¼ hrs.
• Ride 3 (Sat): 101 km. Garforth forum ride. Riding time approximately 6 hrs (we took over an hour of breaks on top of that).

All rides done on the 6-er in my 'ex singlespeed' gear (42/15).

Success rate: 12 weeks out of 12.

37 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 888 km. Average progress now = 74.0%; last week = 68.5%. Total ride time approximately 53 hrs.

PS Special characters to copy and paste for ride durations - ¼ ½ ¾ !

 

[annedonnelly]

I had done my three rides by lunchtime on Tuesday! I thought it was going to be a record breaking week. Then the gale force winds arrived and I've never been out since.

But the good news is that my fritillary are now in flower @FrothNinja

 

[FrothNinja]

W12R1 - Hybrid 3 hours 57 mins - Burnley, the Ridge, Sabden, Whalley, A59, Preston, A59, Old Langho, Billington, Sabden, the Ridge, Higham, Wheatley Lane, Brierfield, Burnley - (total 50.1miles / 80.6 km plus 1054 m / 3,458 ft ascent)
W12R3 - Centurion 31 mins - local miles.
W12R3 - Centurion 1 hour 22 mins - local miles.
W12R4 - Hybrid 2 hours 45 mins - Burnley, Fence, Spen Brook, Clarion, Roughlee, Blacko, White Moor, Barnoldswick, Salterforth, Foulridge, Colne, Laneshaw Bridge, Colne, Castercliffe, Trawden, Winewall, Colne, Nelson, Brierfield, Fence, Burnley - (total 36.7miles / 59.1 km plus 1035 m / 3,396 ft ascent)

 

[FrothNinja]

W13R1 - Centurion 33 mins - local miles.
W13R2 - Centurion 32 mins - local miles.
W13R3 - CX 52 mins - Clarion run

 

[ColinJ]

Week 13: 4 qualifying rides, 101 km, 6 hrs.

• Ride 1 (Tue): 16 km. Tod, A646 to Portsmouth, Carr Rd climb to Sourhall, descent to Bacup Rd, Walsden, Shade, Tod.. 1 hr.
• Ride 2 (Fri): 20 km. ELLL to Walsden and back, then extra to Cornholme and back. 1 hr.
• Ride 3 (Sat): 15 km. ELLL via Woodhouse Rd, Lumbutts to Walsden and back, including shopping trips to Aldi and Lidl. 1 hr.
• Ride 4 (Sun): 50 km. Tod, Walsden, Calderbrook, Caldermoor, Littleborough, climb to Blackstone Edge, 'Blue Ball loop' round and back up to Blackstone Edge, home by reverse of outward route. 3 hrs.

All rides done on the 6-er but easier gears used on steeper than usual climbs on rides 1,2 & 4.

Success rate: 13 weeks out of 13.

41 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 989 km. Average progress now = 76.1%; last week = 74.0%. Total ride time approximately 59 hrs.

PS Special characters to copy and paste for ride durations - ¼ ½ ¾ !