Three 30-minute rides each week of the year Challenge 2025 [NB Starts 30/12/24!]

[FrothNinja]

70% in zone 3!!
Last week the bike was less than 10kg including water etc - this week it was 26+.
Feel bushed, but quite pleased with the effort given that I will click over into an unacceptable age next week.

 

[ColinJ]

Back, changed out of muddy kit, hot coffee, bikkies, armchair and now time to listen to some music

Good effort!

I don't feel tempted to cycle outdoors** today in this grotty weather, especially since my legs feel a bit tired after 1,350 m of Yorkshire and Lancashire hills yesterday.

I will make do with a walk round to the shops between showers.



** I may do a very easy session on my turbo trainer this evening. I am getting it ready for its first winter and want to sort out my position on the bike plus a few settings in the software.

 

[FrothNinja]

Towpath flooded in places but only one spill way twixt Hollingworth and Tod (the last one) had a bit of water on. I pushed the bike up most of the cobble ramps after almost loosing the front end on the first. I rode the spillways. Surprisingly lucky with the weather, never wet enough to put more than a gilet on over jersey. Boardman arm warmers did a sterling job.

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 45: 7 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 150.92km (920m of Ascent)

Got my 2025 annual metric Eddington up to 53km this week.

Week 1(2025) to week 45: total distance cycled 10,051.73km

 

[FrothNinja]

W45R2 - 2 hours 40 mins - Ashton under Lyne, Shaw, Hollingworth Lake, Walsden, Todmorden, Cliviger, Brierfield (total 31.4 miles / 50.5 km, plus 492m / 1,615ft)
W45R2 - 40 mins - darkening local miles
W45R3 - 35 mins - local miles
W45R4 - 40 mins - local miles

Longlees Lock 36, Warland, Rochedale Canal

 

[ColinJ]

I did my 3 qualifying rides and was going to do a 4th ride today to make up my target distance but I woke up with a (mild) sore throat and decided to play safe and have a quiet day in.

Week 45: 3 qualifying rides... 89.1 km, in 4.70 h.

Total qualifying rides: 158. Distance to date: 5,222.4 km (vs 4,950 km; 45 x weekly target of 110 km). Time to date: 304.15 h (vs 315 h; 45 x weekly target of 7 h). 1 week with 1 ride short.

Ride 1 (Thu): 40.0 km. ELLL followed by A646 to WM, Lancs Cycleway up to Bp Rd, down to A646, WM, OT, SBm, Tod, bonus hill, Knowlwood Rd climb, Wn, Tod. 2.05 h.

Ride 2 (Fri): 27.0 km. ELLL then HB turning circle, Tod, Knowlwood Rd, Wn, Tod. 1.40 h.

Ride 3 (Sat): 22.1 km. Tod, Cgr Gorge lights, UT, LBS at Ce, Tod, bonus hill, Knowlwood Rd, Wn, Tod. 1.25 h.

Ride #1 on CAAD5; rides #2-3 on 6-er.

Abbreviated local place names (now sorted alphabetically):

• BE = Blackstone Edge, BH = Blackshaw Head, Bp = Bacup, By = Burnley
• Ce = Cornholme, Cgr = Cliviger, Ck = Calderbrook, Cn = Colden, CP = Crown Point, Cr = Caldermoor, CSR=Cross Stone Rd, CV = Cragg Vale
• ELLL = Extended Lumpy Local Loop
• GR = Great Rock
• HB = Hebden Bridge, HC = Holme Chapel, HG = Hubberton Green, Hl = Heptonstall, HP = Harvellin Park
• JB = Jack Bridge
• LC = Long Causeway, Lh = Littleborough, LLL = Lumpy Local Loop, Ls = Lumbutts
• MR = Manchester, Ms = Mankinholes
• OT = Overtown
• Ph = Portsmouth
• Re = Rochdale, Royd = Mytholmroyd
• SB = Sowerby Bridge, SBm = Southward Bottom, Sd = Sharneyford, Sl = Sourhall, St = Summit
• Tod = Todmorden
• UT = u-turn
• WM = Walk Mill, Wn = Walsden

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 46: 6 rides over 30 mins, including one HMCAM ride; distance cycled 188.36km (1105m of Ascent)

Week 1(2025) to week 46: total distance cycled 10,240.09km

 

[ColinJ]

I just did 3 easy qualifying rides out on the road this week. (I also did a 1 hour turbo trainer ride on a day with really unpleasant weather, but that doesn't count for this challenge.) My CAAD5 and 6-er have been put away until at least March 2026. My CAADX is finally back in action after a replacement fork was fitted following a safety recall notice. It is an ideal winter bike with really effective mudguards. It also has disk brakes so there is no damage to wheel rims from braking on wet, gritted winter roads. (My other bikes have worn rims from that, and so will need replacing soon.)

Week 46: 3 qualifying rides... 49.1 km, in 3.15 h.

Total qualifying rides: 161. Distance to date: 5,271.5 km (vs 5,060 km; 46 x weekly target of 110 km). Time to date: 307.30 h (vs 322 h; 46 x weekly target of 7 h). 1 week with 1 ride short.

Ride 1 (Mon): 15.8 km. ELLL incl. Knowlwood Rd climb, Wn, Tod. 1.00 h.

Ride 2 (Thu): 18.3 km. ELLL then towards HB, UT, Ls, Wn, Tod. 1.20 h.

Ride 3 (Sun): 15.0 km. Tod, HB, (cafe with friend), Tod. 0.95 h.

All rides on CAADX.

Abbreviated local place names (now sorted alphabetically):

• BE = Blackstone Edge, BH = Blackshaw Head, Bp = Bacup, By = Burnley
• Ce = Cornholme, Cgr = Cliviger, Ck = Calderbrook, Cn = Colden, CP = Crown Point, Cr = Caldermoor, CSR=Cross Stone Rd, CV = Cragg Vale
• ELLL = Extended Lumpy Local Loop
• GR = Great Rock
• HB = Hebden Bridge, HC = Holme Chapel, HG = Hubberton Green, Hl = Heptonstall, HP = Harvellin Park
• JB = Jack Bridge
• LC = Long Causeway, Lh = Littleborough, LLL = Lumpy Local Loop, Ls = Lumbutts
• MR = Manchester, Ms = Mankinholes
• OT = Overtown
• Ph = Portsmouth
• Re = Rochdale, Royd = Mytholmroyd
• SB = Sowerby Bridge, SBm = Southward Bottom, Sd = Sharneyford, Sl = Sourhall, St = Summit
• Tod = Todmorden
• UT = u-turn
• WM = Walk Mill, Wn = Walsden

 

[ColinJ]

My CAADX is finally back in action after a replacement fork was fitted following a safety recall notice. It is an ideal winter bike with really effective mudguards. It also has disk brakes so there is no damage to wheel rims from braking on wet, gritted winter roads.

Just in time! Overnight frosts are forecast here this week and I discovered today that our roads were gritted yesterday. The gritters were out again today while I was riding.

 

[FrothNinja]

Possibly my busiest week of the year on the bike? Latter half much more enjoyable though neither of the long rides was enjoyable riding. Weather quite good for the last three.

W46R1 - 3 hours 53 mins - Burnley to Preston return. (total 52.6 miles / 84.7 km, plus 847 m / 2,779 ft ascent)
W46R2 - 39 mins - local miles
W46R3 - 47 mins - very soggy local miles around Belle Vue and Meole Brace. Resorted to the car to visit my Godmother later in the day.
W46R4 - 1 hour 11 mins - local miles around Kingsland and Shrewsbury, lovely crisp morning
W46R5 - 5 hours 44 mins - Shrewsbury, Wroxeter, Buildwas, Stableford, Claverley, Bridgenorth, Much Wenlock, Cressage, Shrewsbury (total 54.4 miles / 87.6 km, plus 869m / 2,850ft) Claverley was lovely but the ride there and back was tedious A road terror with occasional minor roads to have a breather on - back after dark.
W46R6 - 54 mins - local miles around Belle Vue and Meole Brace

R5 turnaround point - will have to go back as an hour is not enough time to do the place justice. Second pic is the reason I wanted to visit.

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 47: 5 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 99.75km (745m of Ascent)

Week 1(2025) to week 47: total distance cycled 10,339.16km

@FrothNinja – I’ve been looking at the end of the year:

Week 52 runs from Monday 22nd December to Sunday 28th.

Monday 29th December to Wednesday 31st – I shall probably treat that as 2025/Week 53 and try and get 3 rides done.

That leaves 2026/Week 1 as a 4-day week: Thursday 1st Jan through to Sunday 4th. As far as I’m concerned that’s Week 1 for next year’s challenge.

Any thoughts?

 

[FrothNinja]

Week 47: 5 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 99.75km (745m of Ascent)

Week 1(2025) to week 47: total distance cycled 10,339.16km

@FrothNinja – I’ve been looking at the end of the year:

Week 52 runs from Monday 22nd December to Sunday 28th.

Monday 29th December to Wednesday 31st – I shall probably treat that as 2025/Week 53 and try and get 3 rides done.

That leaves 2026/Week 1 as a 4-day week: Thursday 1st Jan through to Sunday 4th. As far as I’m concerned that’s Week 1 for next year’s challenge.

Any thoughts?

I intend to do the same, but if it is not possible I will not count it as a fail as long as I do the 3 30 over the course of the seven days

 

[FrothNinja]

W47R1 - 6 hours 12 mins - Burnley, Cliviger, Todmorden, Summit, Hollingworth Lake (almost flattened by a dickhead who than waited up the road and yelled abuse and told me I should ride as fast as the traffic), Shaw, Ashton under Lyne, Shaw, Hollingworth Lake, Walsden, Todmorden, Cliviger, Brierfield (total 62.7 miles / 100.9 km, plus 999m / 3,278ft)
W47R2 - 47 mins - local miles
W47R3 - 35 mins - very soggy local miles

 

[ColinJ]

@FrothNinja - you are way more observant than me when out on a bike!

I remember you pointing out things that I had not noticed on bridleways that I had ridden many times.

I must have ridden past that sign many times but have no memory of doing so! I am going to hit Streetview now and try to track it down...

Ah, there it is...

Ha ha, not only have I cycled past it hundreds of times, I commuted past it thousands of times in a colleague's car when I worked in Burnley. I actually rode past it twice this afternoon! (To be fair to myself, I wouldn't look at a wall on the other side of the road when cycling towards Burnley. When going towards Todmorden there I am normally cycling fast on the slight downhill in traffic.)

OMG - I have never noticed this either...

Blimey, I knew that there was one church in Cornholme but I had never noticed a second one just past it, nor what looks like an school building converted into flats on the other side of the road. I clearly spend 99% of my cycling time either distracted or staring straight ahead.

 

[FrothNinja]

@FrothNinja - you are way more observant than me when out on a bike!

I remember you pointing out things that I had not noticed on bridleways that I had ridden many times.

I must have ridden past that sign many times but have no memory of doing so! I am going to hit Streetview now and try to track it down...

Ah, there it is...

View attachment 793647

Ha ha, not only have I cycled past it hundreds of times, I commuted past it thousands of times in a colleague's car when I worked in Burnley. I actually rode past it twice this afternoon! (To be fair to myself, I wouldn't look at a wall on the other side of the road when cycling towards Burnley. When going towards Todmorden there I am normally cycling fast on the slight downhill in traffic.)

OMG - I have never noticed this either...

View attachment 793648

Blimey, I knew that there was one church in Cornholme but I had never noticed a second one just past it, nor what looks like an school building converted into flats on the other side of the road. I clearly spend 99% of my cycling time either distracted or staring straight ahead.

Have you spotted this?