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

[ColinJ]

Have you spotted this?
View attachment 793686

Nope!

 

[FrothNinja]

Winter forum ride? Blippin' icey in the shade, so maybe not

 

[ColinJ]

Winter forum ride? Blippin' icey in the shade, so maybe not

I have taken this year off from forum rides but aim to start organising them again with my flat Garforth metric century, probably second half of March next year, all being well.

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 48: 12 local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 233.04km (1567m of Ascent)

Every one of these rides was cold or wet - or both - apart from my second ride today.

Week 1(2025) to week 48: total distance cycled 10,572.2km

Photo below explained in the HMCAM chatzone:

 

[FrothNinja]

Think I enjoyed the second ride today more than the others, but it's not been a bad week for cycling weather.
W48R1 - 3 hours 49 mins - Burnley to Preston return. (total 49.5 miles / 79.7 km, plus 839 m / 2,750 ft ascent) not long enough for any of the challenges!
W48R2 - 1 hours 26 mins - Brierfield to Clitheroe return
W48R3 - 1 hour 18 mins - Clarion loop
W48R4 - 30 mins - local miles (about half in zone 3 )

 

[ColinJ]

I struggled to do my 3 qualifying rides last week.

I started off okay on the Monday but Tuesday was cold and wet so I stayed in. I was busy on Wednesday and Thursday, but was looking forward to a good sunny ride on the Friday.

Friday's ride didn't happen... I got a phone call that I had been dreading. The son of a good cycling pal rang to tell me that his mum had finally died after bravely battling cancer all year. That comes 2 weeks after one of my cousins died of cancer, and a few months after my brother-in-law did. At least the other 2 family members with cancer are now in remission, but it has been a bad year. I couldn't face going out.

I forced myself to go out and do short rides on Saturday and Sunday though to get my quota in. I was way short of my weekly target distance, but I have a bit of a buffer so hopefully I'll still make my annual target distance, though I will be a bit short on hours ridden.

Week 47: 3 qualifying rides... 56.5 km, in 3.65 h.

Total qualifying rides: 164. Distance to date: 5,328.0 km (vs 5,170 km; 47 x weekly target of 110 km). Time to date: 310.95 h (vs 329 h; 47 x weekly target of 7 h). 1 week with only 2 rides.

Ride 1 (Mon): 23.0 km. ELLL incl. HP, Ms, Ls, Wn, Tod + bonus hill. 1.50 h.

Ride 2 (Sat): 15.8 km. ELLL then to Ce, UT, Tod, Knowlwood Rd climb, Wn, Tod. 1.05 h.

Ride 3 (Sun): 17.7 km. ELLL, then Ph, UT, Tod, Wn, UT, Tod. 1.10 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]

W48R1 - 3 hours 49 mins - Burnley to Preston return. (total 49.5 miles / 79.7 km, plus 839 m / 2,750 ft ascent) not long enough for any of the challenges!

Did you not notice the missing 0.5 miles until after the ride?!!

 

[FrothNinja]

Did you not notice the missing 0.5 miles until after the ride?!!

Correct - but I had had quite enough of the Monday weather by then, and the light was appalling. Rest of the week's rides were lovely weather.

 

[bluenotebob]

@FrothNinja ... any idea what @ColinJ posted early this morning?

Week 47 or Week 48? He didn't post a week 47 report last week - so perhaps he didn't do any rides at all that week?

It doesn't really matter as he failed this year's challenge anyway (in week 29).

So it's just you and me with 100% success this year (again).

It would be really nice if there were more entrants in the challenge ...

 

[ColinJ]

And, fail #2...

I am coming down with a lurgy now. I did a 30 minute warm-up on my smart turbo trainer a couple of evenings ago then started climbing a virtual hill. I began to increase my effort but when I was still 20 watts short of my target power I suddenly felt sick, very wobbly, and in danger of fainting! The power was well within what I can normally handle so something was clearly wrong. I quickly dismounted and sparked out on my bed for about 20 minutes, bucketing sweat...

I still felt rough today. I had thought of doing a couple of very easy short sunny rides for the 3-a-week challenge but gave up on that when a short walk to the shops and back left me feeling wobbly again!

I was convinced that I was coming down with Covid again but the test that I took when I got home was negative. I don't know what brand of lurgy it is then, but I am not going to ride again until 2 or 3 days after I stop feeling like this.

Oh well... I will carry on when I feel better and try to complete the remaining 4 weeks. I am 72 km ahead on target distance so I hope to still (slightly) exceed my 5,720 km goal. I will be short on hours ridden.

For reference:

Week 48: 1 qualifying ride... 24.2 km, in 1.55 h.

Total qualifying rides: 165. Distance to date: 5,352.2 km (vs 5,280 km; 48 x weekly target of 110 km). Time to date: 312.50 h (vs 336 h; 48 x weekly target of 7 h). 46 qualifying weeks, 1 week with only 2 rides, 1 week with only 1 ride.

Ride 1 (Mon): 24.2 km. ELLL incl. Ls, Wn, St, Ck, Wn, Tod. 1.55 h.

Ride done 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]

I think that this is a very good challenge and I am surprised at the lack of interest in it. Despite that though, I won't be doing it next year. I find myself riding the same local loop over and over again just to make the numbers up.

The problem is where I live... I have 3 easy valley roads to ride, but they get lots of traffic, which I am not keen on. To get away from the valley I have to ride straight up very steep hills, which is not pleasant! If I lived somewhere with a better choice of flatter, quieter roads it would be easier to stay motivated.

I could go on the canal towpath but I am still waiting for the cobbled weir bridges to be built to make them safe to cross. It is also a bit of a pain having to squeeze past lots of walkers.

My plan for 2026 is to replace many of the more mundane shorter local outdoor rides with safer and more interesting smart turbo trainer rides which can be fine-tuned to my fitness goals. If I could get some of my lost (more youthful!) fitness back I would tackle challenging outdoor rides more often i.e. once or twice a week, rather once or twice a month!

I will still do my local loops when I feel like doing so - when the sun is shining, for example, rather than trudging round in drizzle because I have to to hit my target.

I would much rather do 2 interesting hilly 50-60 km rides in a week than 3 shorter boring ones.

I will probably end up averaging 4 or 5 rides a week over the year but maybe half of those would be virtual rides.

I will organise forum rides from (say) March to October to encourage me to stretch myself.

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 49: 7 rides over 30 mins, including one HMCAM ride; distance cycled 187.99km (1063m of Ascent)

Week 1(2025) to week 49: total distance cycled 10,760.19km

Fog ...

 

[FrothNinja]

W49R1 - 3 hours 39 mins - Brierfield to Preston return (total 50.4 miles / 81.1 km, plus 838m / 2,750ft) very little to enjoy
W49R2 - 40 mins - Shap to Orton
W49R3 - 35 mins - local miles
W49R4 - 39 mins - local miles in drizzle

Twixt Shap and Orton, just after you turn onto the nice riding road

 

[bluenotebob]

W48R1

or perhaps week 49?

 

[FrothNinja]

Can't believe I forgot the only enjoyable one of the weeks soggy rides