# Ride your bike for at least 30 minutes at least three times a week, every week, for a year



## Ming the Merciless (4 Jan 2022)

Here is a challenge for everyone, even if you haven’t been on your bike much in recent years. The aim is to get out on your bike at least 3 times a week, for at least 30 mins at a time. The primary purpose is to aim to get back into a regular riding routine if it’s slipped of late.

What I don’t want to make this, is about distance , or average speeds, which will put many off. Post your rides, include photos if you have any, and include the time you were out for, and which ride (1,2,3 etc) of the week it was.


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## Ming the Merciless (4 Jan 2022)

*Week 1

Ride 1 - Mon 3rd Jan* - 2 hours 15 mins. No photos as left camera at home. Ride round local lanes whilst sun out. Quite a few people out and about on bikes. Lanes a bit muddy and flooded in places. Didn’t need gloves though it was close!


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## Sittingduck (4 Jan 2022)

Zwift rides count?


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## figbat (4 Jan 2022)

Let’s see how long this lasts!

*Week 1

Ride 1* - Mon 3rd Jan





Left before dusk, home in the dark. Lots of people walking dogs on shared use paths, but good canine control on the whole.


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## bluenotebob (4 Jan 2022)

Good idea - particularly between now and mid-February (my least favourite cycling period). 

*Week 1

Ride 1 - Tues 4 Jan* 20.62km/69 minutes - Kerminy, Evriguet, St Brieuc-de-Mauron, la Plaisance. First leg into the teeth of a bitterly cold NW wind then I sailed east with the wind behind me. My legs were fine but my nose ran like a tap..


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## Ming the Merciless (4 Jan 2022)

Sittingduck said:


> Zwift rides count?



The aim is to get out, not stay in. I’ll say no, but no reason you cannot have a similar 3 times a week indoors challenge.


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## Oldhippy (4 Jan 2022)

Out and about on 1st, 2nd and 3rd for four,two and one hour respectively.


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## Ming the Merciless (4 Jan 2022)

Great pics there and love the purple tape


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## Oldhippy (4 Jan 2022)

I do love the purple tape.


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## Sharky (4 Jan 2022)

Oldhippy said:


> Out and about on 1st, 2nd and 3rd for four,two and one hour respectively.
> View attachment 625024


It's a pity this isn't in the "Name that road" competition - at last a photo I recognise - great place Faversham


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## Gibbo9 (5 Jan 2022)

Why not?

Could be difficult once the monsoon weather hits but what the hell.

Week 1
https://www.strava.com/activities/6464423907 
https://www.strava.com/activities/6470030274 
https://www.strava.com/activities/6474346780 

I do hope we get a badge thingy if we complete this


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## bluenotebob (5 Jan 2022)

*Week 1

Ride 1 - Tues 4 Jan* 20.62km/69 minutes - Kerminy, Evriguet, St Brieuc-de-Mauron, la Plaisance. First leg into the teeth of a bitterly cold NW wind then I sailed east with the wind behind me. My legs were fine but my nose ran like a tap..

*Ride 2 - Wed 5 Jan* 25.14km/94 minutes - on one of my hybrids (Shaper 200) - loops around local lanes .. still very cold but enjoyable anyway.


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## Ming the Merciless (5 Jan 2022)

*Week 1 

Ride 2 - Wed 5th Jan PM* - A ride of 1 hour 28 mins through the lanes. With ice and frost this morning I waited till after lunch to get this ride in. It was the right choice. Bitterly cold, and on one side of a banked lane it was still icy. The rest of the lanes were temporarily defrosted. I suspect it will freeze again overnight. Despite the temps it was lovely in the sun and soon reached a comfortable temperature once I'd been riding for a while.


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## FrothNinja (5 Jan 2022)

Going to start my weeks on Saturdays. Hope I am doing this right. What happens when you are unable to get out due to inclemency or unavoidable lack of time?
Jan 1 - 

*10.55mi *Distance
*56:13 *Moving Time
*499ft *Elevation
Jan 4 -

*22.19mi *Distance
*2:10:55 *Moving Time
*3,094ft *Elevation
Jan 5 - 

*31.35mi *Distance
*3:05:10 *Moving Time
*3,738ft *Elevation


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## Seevio (6 Jan 2022)

As I read this for the first time on 5th January, I realise that I've failed already unless I get a really quiet workload on Friday and can get two 30 minute rides in.


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## kayakerles (6 Jan 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> What I don’t want to make this, is about distance , or average speeds, which will put many off. Post your rides, include photos if you have any, and include the time you were out for, and which ride (1,2,3 etc) of the week it was.


LOL, Ming, competitive riders are not CAPABLE of NOT spouting off stats. It's like asking birds not to sing.


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## figbat (6 Jan 2022)

figbat said:


> Let’s see how long this lasts!
> 
> *Week 1
> 
> ...


*Ride 2 - Wed 5th Jan*





Went out at 7pm, ended at the pub around 9. -3°C but dressed for it and stayed warm enough.


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## Ming the Merciless (6 Jan 2022)

Seevio said:


> As I read this for the first time on 5th January, I realise that I've failed already unless I get a really quiet workload on Friday and can get two 30 minute rides in.



Just try and start as soon as you can. Try and manage as many weeks as you can. If you don’t manage all the weeks, don’t worry. There are no prizes other than being healthier and fitter.


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## Ming the Merciless (6 Jan 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> Going to start my weeks on Saturdays. Hope I am doing this right. What happens when you are unable to get out due to inclemency or unavoidable lack of time?
> Jan 1 -
> 
> *10.55mi *Distance
> ...



Just try and manage it as many weeks as you can. The world won’t end if you don’t manage every week.


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## bluenotebob (6 Jan 2022)

*Week 1

Ride 1 - Tues 4 Jan* 20.62km/69 minutes - Kerminy, Evriguet, St Brieuc-de-Mauron, la Plaisance. First leg into the teeth of a bitterly cold NW wind then I sailed east with the wind behind me. My legs were fine but my nose ran like a tap..

*Ride 2 - Wed 5 Jan* 25.14km/94 minutes - on one of my hybrids (Shaper 200) - loops around local lanes .. still very cold but enjoyable anyway.

*Ride 3 - Thurs 6 Jan* 32.17km/1 hour 59 mins - only 6C .. but at least it was dry. Another very local ride on the Shaper 200 again


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## Ming the Merciless (7 Jan 2022)

Week 1

Ride 3 - Fri 7th Jan . A ride of 2.5 hours. My third ride this week. It was 2C and I did have concerns about ice. Picked a route where the lanes would mostly catch the sun. Encountered ice early on but glinting in sun and easily avoided. Cold in shadows and warm in sun when sheltered from the northerly wind.


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## figbat (7 Jan 2022)

figbat said:


> *Ride 2 - Wed 5th Jan*
> View attachment 625178
> 
> Went out at 7pm, ended at the pub around 9. -3°C but dressed for it and stayed warm enough.


*Week 1 done!

Ride 3 - Fri 7th Jan*




Sleet started the moment I left, it was colder and wetter than I anticipated so glad it wasn’t a long one.


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## Ming the Merciless (7 Jan 2022)

kayakerles said:


> LOL, Ming, competitive riders are not CAPABLE of NOT spouting off stats. It's like asking birds not to sing.



Yes I can already see stats and Strava links appearing.


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## kayakerles (8 Jan 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Week 1
> 
> Ride 3 - Fri 7th Jan . A ride of 2.5 hours. My third ride this week. It was 2C and I did have concerns about ice. Picked a route where the lanes would mostly catch the sun. Encountered ice early on but glinting in sun and easily avoided. Cold in shadows and warm in sun when sheltered from the northerly wind.
> 
> View attachment 625354


Great shadow-pic, Ming.


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## Ming the Merciless (8 Jan 2022)

kayakerles said:


> Great shadow-pic, Ming.



They are my favourite to take when the sun road and hedges are suitably aligned.


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## FrothNinja (8 Jan 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> They are my favourite to take when the sun road and hedges are suitably aligned.


You inspired me @Ming the Merciless . Realised my shadow had to be on the vid footage of last café visit so I was able to get a pic for the 52 cafe thread


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## figbat (10 Jan 2022)

*Week 2

Ride 1* - 10 Jan, 59'49", 13.7m. Mildly moist.


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## Ming the Merciless (11 Jan 2022)

*Week 2

Ride 1* - Mon 10th Jan - 1 hour 25 mins

A night ride to check the lights ahead of an audax. I didn’t believe it had warmed up, so dressed a little too warm. All good with a little light rain.


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## Gibbo9 (11 Jan 2022)

Week 2

Ride 1
Tue 11 Jan, 2h 9m, flipping freezing out and very grey. (Still hate those horrible wheels).


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## bluenotebob (11 Jan 2022)

*Week 1 completed

Week 2

Ride 1 - Tues 11 Jan* 62.32km/3 hrs 37 mins - Gaël, Trémorel, Illifaut. A damp and gloomy ride on my road bike. I cycled a bit of the V6 Voie Verte E of Trémorel .. here's a pic of the approach to the old railway station at Loscouët-sur-Meu


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## Gibbo9 (12 Jan 2022)

Week 2

Ride 2 - Wed 12 Jan, 44 mins, a quick dash round the river before work.


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## Vantage (12 Jan 2022)

If its within the rules (are there any?) I'll start my thrice weekly rideathon on 21 Jan. That day marks exactly 10 years from when I started cycling again on the Dawes Vantage. It was only 5 miles and it nearly killed me 
I'm so out of shape it's ridiculous.


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## FrothNinja (12 Jan 2022)

Week 2
I had a plan to double my average speed each time I went out for my half hour this week
1 - Circuitous route from Padiham to Burnley avg speed a controlled 3.4 mph
2 - Loop from Nelson taking in Barrowford and Fence avg speed should have been 7sh mph, was actually 9.2. I can just about average 15 mph on our hills over half an hour, can't see me managing in excess of 18, doh


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## bluenotebob (12 Jan 2022)

*Week 2

Ride 2 - Wed 12 Jan* 32.39km/2 hrs 2 mins - a slow and cold potter on some local roads - Plaisance, Kerminy, Guilliers and Catrafoy.


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## Ming the Merciless (12 Jan 2022)

*Week 2

Ride 2 - Wed 12th Jan *With rain yesterday and freezing overnight with morning fog, waited till lunch for ice to melt and fog burn off. A beautiful winters day with a lovely soft light. Barely a breathe of wind. This is what we ride for! Out for 1 hour 46 mins.


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## figbat (13 Jan 2022)

*Week 2

Ride 2 - Wed 12 Jan*

1hr 58min, weekly village MTB group rideout. Very muddy, -1°C, warm pub.


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## Ming the Merciless (13 Jan 2022)

Vantage said:


> If its within the rules (are there any?) I'll start my thrice weekly rideathon on 21 Jan. That day marks exactly 10 years from when I started cycling again on the Dawes Vantage. It was only 5 miles and it nearly killed me
> I'm so out of shape it's ridiculous.



Go for it. The idea is to encourage each other to get back into a regular cycling routine.


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## Ming the Merciless (13 Jan 2022)

No real rules other than the rides need to be outside. Plus the obligatory photo if you take any during your rides. My preference is people don’t post anything approximating their average speeds. I want posters to feel welcome to the club no matter how far they rode or how fast. Just that they got out at least 3 times for at least 30 mins each ride a week


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## bluenotebob (13 Jan 2022)

*Week 2

Ride 3 - Thurs 13 Jan* 54.44km/3 hrs 22 mins .. bright and sunny but a cold NE wind. A loop out through Ménéac and Quénogé, and then home via Chateau Trô. 

Here's my road bike in front of the lake at Chateau Trô.


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## FrothNinja (14 Jan 2022)

Ride 3 - Got my third in today - Nelson, Barrowford, Colne, Barrowford, Spen, Briefield. As predicted, nowhere near 18.4 mph, happy with what I managed and including 1000+ft of ascent. First 5 miles to Colne on flats with my usual shoes. Put cleats on new shoes and put clipless pedals on at Wicked Bikez then a devious return route up some stiff climbs to see how I would cope cleated for the first time ever. Week 2 done 👍




Harper's Community Garden, Wheatley Lane


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## Ming the Merciless (14 Jan 2022)

*Week 2

Ride 3 - Fri 14th Jan. *After noon ride to give a chance for the roads to warm and ice melt. Still some ice in lanes shaded by high north facing banks. But one side of lane was always okay to ride on. 2 hours 16 min outing.


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## Gibbo9 (15 Jan 2022)

Week 2 

Ride 3: 2 hours, 14 minutes. Nice steady roll round the river from mine to the girlfriends. Started off as a lovely evening but got very chilly as darkness fell.


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## figbat (15 Jan 2022)

Week 2

Ride 3 - Sat 15 Jan

3h15m. Horrible ride, claggy mud, fell off, lost my pump, bike was misbehaving… but I did get the water tower pictures I was after (see t’other thread).


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## Ming the Merciless (15 Jan 2022)

figbat said:


> Week 2
> 
> Ride 3 - Sat 15 Jan
> 
> 3h15m. Horrible ride, claggy mud, fell off, lost my pump, bike was misbehaving… but I did get the water tower pictures I was after (see t’other thread).



Well done. Went for walk today in the fog.


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## bluenotebob (17 Jan 2022)

*Weeks 1 & 2 completed

Week 3

Ride 1 - Mon 17 Jan* 28.75km/1 hr 46 mins - similar to last Wednesday's ride - Plaisance, Kerminy, Guilliers - but as they're digging up the streets in Guilliers, and there are diversions all over the place, I left quickly and didn't do the loop out to Catrafoy


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## figbat (17 Jan 2022)

*W3R1, 17/1, 59:05*.
After the dire ride on Saturday, this one was a joy - sunny, almost no mud, a very enjoyable quickie.


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## FrothNinja (17 Jan 2022)

Week 3
Ride 1 - Burnley, Shore, Todmorden, Rochdale Canal, Hollingworth Lake, east of Oldham, Ahston Under Lyne, Dukinfield.
Ride 2 - Roughlee, Blacko, Clarion House, Barley, Roughlee








Pics from W3R1


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## Gibbo9 (18 Jan 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> Week 3
> Ride 1 - Burnley, Shore, Todmorden, Rochdale Canal, Hollingworth Lake, east of Oldham, Ahston Under Lyne, Dukinfield.
> Ride 2 - Roughlee, Blacko, Clarion House, Barley, Roughlee
> View attachment 627103
> ...



Very nice looking bike that. I am looking into converting my turbo trainer bike (kuota kobalt) into something maybe similar. Not really sure where to start but fortunately I have a very helpful LBS giving me advice.


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## Ming the Merciless (18 Jan 2022)

*Week 3

Ride 1 - Tue 18th Jan*

I set off under blue skies and sun to run into a thick wall of fog. Bit of ice and frost in places but easy to spot and avoid. I was out for 1.5 hours.


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## FrothNinja (19 Jan 2022)

Week 3 Ride 3 - fairly similar to 2. Roughlee to Barley to Blacko to Roughlee taking in a number of bridle paths I haven't ridden before...which meant I set a PR while riding quite slowly and enjoying the view


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## figbat (19 Jan 2022)

*W3R2 - 19/1 - 1:49*
Hovering around 0°C, slippy wet chalk on the Ridgeway but clear skies offered great star gazing.


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## CXRAndy (20 Jan 2022)

Sittingduck said:


> Zwift rides count?


Title says 

*Ride your bike for at least 30 minutes at least three times a week*

No mention of indoor or outdoor. Ive been riding my bike as per challenge


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## FrothNinja (20 Jan 2022)

Sunny weather - if somewhat crisp, so I have added a 4th at about an hour long & 1,300+ feet of ascent
Brierfield - Haggate - Cockden Bridge - Nelson - Barrowford - Wheatley Lane
Pic is the River Don at Cockden Br


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## bluenotebob (20 Jan 2022)

*Week 3 - Ride 2 - Thurs 20 Jan* 2 hrs 31m/41.31km A loop out to Ménéac, past la Riaye, and then home via Brignac and Evriguet. That takes me to just over 500km for the year - the earliest I've achieved it (previous best was 25 Jan, in 2020) - pleasing but fairly meaningless .. who knows what February will be like...

The _chapelle_ at la Riaye


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## Ming the Merciless (20 Jan 2022)

*Week 3 

Ride 2 - Jan 20th*. Short outing once the ice had cleared. Stuck to known roads in terms of drainage and ice likelyhood. Cold wind today and grey. No photos today.


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## Gibbo9 (21 Jan 2022)

Week 3

Ride 1 - Jan 20, as predicted the rain has arrived in Taipei preventing any riding. Fortunately I have had to head south for work and am staying in Taichung where it is always sunny. Managed to get out for 55 mins yesterday, riding through the city is awful due to all the traffic lights but it had to be done. Decided to stay for the weekend just to further avoid the rain in Taipei and get the other 2 rides done.


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## figbat (21 Jan 2022)

Gibbo9 said:


> …and am staying in Taichung where it is always sunny.


It wasn’t in April 2007!


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## FrothNinja (21 Jan 2022)

Gibbo9 said:


> Decided to stay for the weekend just to further avoid the rain in Taipei and get the other 2 rides done.


True dedication to the craft👍


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## Ming the Merciless (21 Jan 2022)

figbat said:


> It wasn’t in April 2007!



I think rain once every 15 years is pretty good going


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## figbat (21 Jan 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> I think rain once every 15 years is pretty good going


Every single time I have visited Taichung it has rained. EVERY TIME!


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## Ming the Merciless (21 Jan 2022)

figbat said:


> Every single time I have visited Taichung it has rained. EVERY TIME!



You are the rain God from Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy.


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## bluenotebob (21 Jan 2022)

*Week 3 - Ride 3 - Fri 21 Jan* 2 hrs 9m/34.58km ... a similar ride to yesterday - same conditions: dry but very cold with a NE wind .. so why not do the same ride? .. out to Ménéac again but home directly from Brignac - feeling cold and hungry, I let the wind carry me home. Just scoffed a large sandwich and I've lit a big fire - and I'm slowly regaining contact with my feet and hands


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## Ming the Merciless (21 Jan 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> *Week 3 - Ride 3 - Fri 21 Jan* 2 hrs 9m/34.58km ... a similar ride to yesterday - same conditions: dry but very cold with a NE wind .. so why not do the same ride? .. out to Ménéac again but home directly from Brignac - feeling cold and hungry, I let the wind carry me home. Just scoffed a large sandwich and I've lit a big fire - and I'm slowly regaining contact with my feet and hands



Bitterly cold here today as well. Mostly down to the wind.


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## figbat (21 Jan 2022)

*W3R3 - 21/1/22 - 1:02*
Another daytime quickie, slotted between meetings. Cloudy, cold but not Baltic.


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## Ming the Merciless (22 Jan 2022)

*Week 3

Ride 3 Sat 22 Jan*

A 200km audax across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hampshire. Pretty cold at western end but ice free. A good if long and tiring day.


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## Gibbo9 (23 Jan 2022)

Sadly back to Taipei on Friday due to work. I honestly thought I would be failing this challenge at week 3 but...

Week 3 

Ride 2 Sat 22 Jan, a 41 minute effort down by the river, very wet out so very slow indeed.

Ride 3 Sun 23 Jan, still very wet out so I ventured into the basement and brought the mountain bike out of retirement. A solid 31 min 02 sec effort around town. It's in the rules 

Hopefully this rain will go and I can get back to normal next week.


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## FrothNinja (23 Jan 2022)

Week 4 Ride 1 - Goat Lane, Stainforth, Langcliffe, Settle, Rathmell, Wigglesworth, Forest Becks





A rather odd assemblage of stones SW of Settle





Rathmell Church





Forest Becks bridge


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## FrothNinja (23 Jan 2022)

Gibbo9 said:


> Very nice looking bike that


Thank you - its a work in progress


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## bluenotebob (24 Jan 2022)

*Weeks 1 to 3 completed

Week 4 

Ride 1 - Mon 24 Jan* - 2 hrs 1 min/33.06km - sunny for a change but still cold (particularly under the trees). A loop out through Brignac, la Corbinais and Evriguet 

Looking back down the road from Brignac to Evriguet


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## Ming the Merciless (24 Jan 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> Week 4 Ride 1 - Goat Lane, Stainforth, Langcliffe, Settle, Rathmell, Wigglesworth, Forest Becks
> View attachment 627967
> 
> A rather odd assemblage of stones SW of Settle
> ...



Stayed at the YHA in Stainforth in the 80s


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## figbat (24 Jan 2022)

*W4R1 - 24 Jan - 1:07*
Quickie after work - 0°C all the way round but didn’t feel it; had a great ride over mixed road and gravel type terrain, posted an encouraging PR up a bête noir climb.


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## FrothNinja (24 Jan 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Stayed at the YHA in Stainforth in the 80s


Been a poncey private house for a few years now, well, it is no longer YHA in any case.


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## Ming the Merciless (24 Jan 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> Been a poncey private house for a few years now, well, it is no longer YHA in any case.



Shame made a nice weekend loop from Malham.


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## Gibbo9 (25 Jan 2022)

Week 4 

Ride 1 - A trundle through town then onto the riverside. Had to cut it short due to a short notice meeting, 55 mins.


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## yello (25 Jan 2022)

I'm going to join in the spirit of this thread by doing the 30 minutes, 3 times a week on my home trainer. I shan't post because, well, the photos won't be very interesting!

Fact is, I need to do some form of rehabilitation and it's an impossibility to keep my heart rate down cycling the roads around here. But rest assured that I shall be thinking of picturesque vistas as I pedal steadily to no destination!


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## Ming the Merciless (25 Jan 2022)

*Week 4

Ride 1 - Tue 25th Jan*. A couple of days recovery after long ride Saturday. Out for just under 1.5 hours. Temps 2-3C with no ice, slight mist. Clothing just right for temps and duration. Any longer I’d probably wanted a stop for a hot drink.


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## Ming the Merciless (25 Jan 2022)

yello said:


> I'm going to join in the spirit of this thread by doing the 30 minutes, 3 times a week on my home trainer. I shan't post because, well, the photos won't be very interesting!
> 
> Fact is, I need to do some form of rehabilitation and it's an impossibility to keep my heart rate down cycling the roads around here. But rest assured that I shall be thinking of picturesque vistas as I pedal steadily to no destination!



Good luck.


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## FrothNinja (25 Jan 2022)

Week 4 Ride 2 - Gentle ride this arvo, freezing cold in the Ribble valley around Sawley and up in the hills behind Grindleton. Bailed on dirt I was aiming for as it had turned into deep mud. Managed to lose one of the studs off my boots - after less than a 100 miles of use - gits.
Came across this left over, from a clubbie I presume.


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## Gibbo9 (26 Jan 2022)

Week 4

Ride 2 - I hr 56 mins. Finally the weather has improved enough to get out for a proper ride. A beautiful sunny day, although the cloud did threaten rain toward the end of the ride. A really enjoyable couple of hours.

Riverside cycle path was incredibly quiet today.





View back into the city


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## figbat (27 Jan 2022)

*W4R2 - 26 Jan - 1:56*
Night MTB ride, risked going onto the Ridgeway which is usually off-limits this time of year due to mud but was delightfully dry and running fast last night.


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## Ming the Merciless (27 Jan 2022)

*Week 4

Ride 2 - Thu 27 Jan *. Fitted new headset bearings pre load rings to my recumbent. Bolts had seized on old ones. Then of course a ride. A little under 2.5 hours and mix of showers and sun. Warmer than of late and didn’t need to wear my mitts or gloves.


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## bluenotebob (27 Jan 2022)

*Week 4 

Ride 2 - Thurs 27 Jan* 3hrs 16mins/55.35km - a bit warmer here too. Full route info in the 2002 HMCAM thread .. but basically two loops (one around Guilliers, the other around Brignac) and trying to ride N/S as much as possible to avoid the W wind


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## FrothNinja (27 Jan 2022)

Week 4 Ride 3 - Out and about around Wiswell, Whalley, and Clerk Hill. Couple of lungbuster climbs - 1st was only 0.2 mile but over 11% average, 2cnd was a mile at 6%. Great views though.


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## bluenotebob (28 Jan 2022)

*Week 4

Ride 3 - Fri 28 Jan* 1hr 24mins/20.34km - a damp and dreary day here today - but not cold: it's around 10C. Because the roads are wet and muddy, I intended to go out on the older of my two hybrids - the Urban Shaper with 32mm tyres but it was only after I'd cycled nearly 3km, I realised I'd come out on the Shaper 200 with 28mm tyres .. oh, the delights of getting old. I'm glad you've changed your avatar, Ming - I was getting a bit tired of seeing my face every time you posted - my beard was so long in December that, one afternoon when the school bus arrived at our village, a young child leant out of the bus door and shouted "Hey, Father Christmas - where's my present?". 

I could have done with the slightly fatter tyres for a bit more traction today but it was just about OK, if even slower than normal. Maybe my older hybrid will get a ride tomorrow ..


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## Spinney (28 Jan 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Here is a challenge for everyone, even if you haven’t been on your bike much in recent years. The aim is to get out on your bike at least 3 times a week, for at least 30 mins at a time. The primary purpose is to aim to get back into a regular riding routine if it’s slipped of late.
> 
> What I don’t want to make this, is about distance , or average speeds, which will put many off. Post your rides, include photos if you have any, and include the time you were out for, and which ride (1,2,3 etc) of the week it was.


Too late for me - I've only just come across this!
But as well as going for the Half-century a month challenge (which resulted in only that 1 bike ride in the month a couple of times last year), I've also decided to try to get in 20 miles a week (not necessarily all on the same ride). We'll see how that goes....


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## Ming the Merciless (28 Jan 2022)

*Week 4

Ride 3 - Fri 28 Jan* Can feel a bit warmth in the sun now. The seasons are turning. Out for almost 3 hours this morning, meandering in the lanes.


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## figbat (28 Jan 2022)

*W4R3 - 28 Jan - 1:22*

And that’s the week closed out with a pleasant ride over largely dry, off-road tracks. This time of year I usually stay off the Ridgeway as it’s usually boggy and rutty but it’s nice and dry at the moment and running beautifully. The other benefit is that getting to the Ridgeway is the only real climbing around these parts, so winter rides are generally quite flat, but tonight I fitted in one of the bigger climbs to the top, which is nice.


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## Ming the Merciless (28 Jan 2022)

Spinney said:


> Too late for me - I've only just come across this!
> But as well as going for the Half-century a month challenge (which resulted in only that 1 bike ride in the month a couple of times last year), I've also decided to try to get in 20 miles a week (not necessarily all on the same ride). We'll see how that goes....



Don’t worry about missing first 4 weeks. Get stuck in.


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## Cyclo2022 (28 Jan 2022)

I am also too late for this thread as I only joined today. I bike ride 4 times a week on a journey that takes around 3 hours. Distance is around 30 mile which includes break time and calories burned are around 1500. I will monitor this interesting thread 👍🏻


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## slow scot (29 Jan 2022)

Cyclo2022 said:


> I am also too late for this thread as I only joined today. I bike ride 4 times a week on a journey that takes around 3 hours. Distance is around 30 mile which includes break time and calories burned are around 1500. I will monitor this interesting thread 👍🏻


You should also check out the “50 Kilometre Monthly Challenge” thread which sounds right up your street.
I should warn you however that @13 rider who organises it is an evil man who will be on your case if you miss a month.
You have probably already done a qualifying ride for this month.


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## FrothNinja (30 Jan 2022)

W5R1 - Nick Of Pendle - Whalley - Sabden
High winds pushing me and the bike about. Average speed dropped to under 5mph on the off road section. Rocks were slippery and the back wheel kept spinning up in the mud on the slight climbs - probably should have had wider tyres with knobbles on. Stayed upright and clipped in so all good.


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## FrothNinja (30 Jan 2022)

W5R2 - Spen ridge, Noggarth, Roughlee, Clarion House (fresh pot brewed tea and a sesame snap), Spen Brook, Fence, Nelson
Wind warning current as yesterday but it seemed somewhat unnecessary, but it was cold and cloudy/foggy.


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## Gibbo9 (31 Jan 2022)

W4 R3 (belated post) Appalling weather yesterday but couldn't face a forfeit so dragged the mountain bike down to the riverside. 38 minutes of drenching followed.


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## Ming the Merciless (31 Jan 2022)

Gibbo9 said:


> W4 R3 (belated post) Appalling weather yesterday but couldn't face a forfeit so dragged the mountain bike down to the riverside. 38 minutes of drenching followed.



Good man


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## figbat (31 Jan 2022)

*W5R1 - 31 Jan - 1:06*

January closes out with a ride that was as much a run-in of my new drivetrain as it was for the exercise. The home-brew gravel bike got a new cassette, chainring and chain plus a replacement derailleur from my stockpile. It now sports a 10-42T 10-speed (from 11-36T) with a 36T ring (from 34T). I also went from a partial to fully-clad cable-run using self-lubricated outer. The shifts went from vague and resistant to rifle-bolt light and precise; such a joy after the previous, degraded experience.


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## Ming the Merciless (31 Jan 2022)

*Week 5

Ride 1 - Mon 31st.* Blue skies and sun, cold in wind, warm ish when sheltered. Out for 1.5 hours at lunch, didn’t see any other cyclists out other than 3 teenagers on mtn bikes.


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## FrothNinja (31 Jan 2022)

W5R3 - Old Langho, Hacking, Salesbury, Cunliffe, Old Langho


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## bluenotebob (1 Feb 2022)

*Weeks 1 to 4 completed

Week 5

Ride 1 – Mon 31 Jan* – 1 hr 7 mins/15.08km – a very strong and cold NW wind. Stayed close to home and did some short loops

Went out again later in the afternoon for a couple more short rides. I ended January on 844km – easily my best ever Jan – I doubt if I’ll achieve that again

*Ride 2 – Tues 1 Feb* – 1 hr 19 mins/19.09km – wind still quite strong but more of a westerly today. It’s really pleasant out of the wind and it feels more like the start of April than the first day of February.

A bit of nervousness in the village this week as it looked as though my neighbour’s 7-year old had Covid but it turned out to be a ‘false positive’ (he tested negative at the hospital yesterday) .. he’s back at school today so we’re all breathing again ..


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## Ming the Merciless (2 Feb 2022)

*Week 5 

Ride 2 Wed 2nd Feb*

A morning ride up a hill and along a lane I haven’t been along since it flooded in late Nov. Still quite muddy but lane is improving. It’s a nice one when it doesn’t have all the mud. Quite mild and almost took jacket off. No need for gloves today.


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## bluenotebob (2 Feb 2022)

*Week 5

Ride 3 – Wed 2 Feb* – 2 hrs 59 mins/54.18km – a clockwise ‘Loyat loop’, including 14km on Brittany’s V3 Voie Verte. It looked like they’d been along recently with the giant leaf-blower machine – the surface of the Voie Verte was much cleaner than the last time I rode on it (Oct or Nov last year – when it was ankle-deep in conkers, twigs and rotten leaves).

Photo of the deserted Voie Verte near la Roche


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## Ming the Merciless (4 Feb 2022)

*Week 5

Ride 3 - Fri 4th Feb*

With overnight heavy rain and snow this morning, wasn’t sure if I’d get out today. It blew through and blue skies emerged. I nipped out before the weather changes its mind again. Floods in places. Out for 1 hour 45 mins.


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## figbat (5 Feb 2022)

Playing catch-up

*W5R2 - 3 Feb - 1:47*
Usual Wednesday night MTB ride with the local crowd. The normally muddy trails were dry and even dusty in places. Great ride (and I grabbed the only KOM I have back).

*W5R3 - 5 Feb - 1:32*
Quickie whilst the family were out. Lovely day for it, although a stiff wind. First time on the newly upgraded drivetrain on my FrankenTrek gravel bike, with a mech hanger extension to force the RD and cassette to play nicely, which they did perfectly.


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## Gibbo9 (7 Feb 2022)

W5 Update:

R1-2 Feb-1 hour 8 minutes. I was hoping to stay out to grab a 50 but the rain came back so I bailed out homeward.
R2-5 Feb- A very chilly 2 hours, toes were very cold when I got home. Still overcast and threatening rain.
R3-6 Feb- Gentle jolly round town and onto the riverside, 48 minutes.


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## Gibbo9 (7 Feb 2022)

W6R1
Same route as yesterday only the other way around and a little extra added at the end. Nice weather this morning, still cold though. 55 mins.


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## Spinney (7 Feb 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Don’t worry about missing first 4 weeks. Get stuck in.


Tempting, but a 30 minute bike ride seems considerably more faff (getting changed etc) than a 30 minute run, and is less exercise (the way I ride, anyway). I'd rather get fewer rides but for a bit longer. 
I've managed my 20 miles a week so far, though!


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## figbat (7 Feb 2022)

*W6R1 - 7 Feb - 1:07*

A lap of the nearby power station to kick the week off.


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## Ming the Merciless (7 Feb 2022)

Spinney said:


> Tempting, but a 30 minute bike ride seems considerably more faff (getting changed etc) than a 30 minute run, and is less exercise (the way I ride, anyway). I'd rather get fewer rides but for a bit longer.
> I've managed my 20 miles a week so far, though!



30 mins is minimum as you will have read most of us are doing quite a bit more


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## Ming the Merciless (7 Feb 2022)

*Week 6

Ride 1 - Mon 7th Feb*

Outing on one of my regular lunch time loops, around 1 hour 15 mins today.


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## Ming the Merciless (9 Feb 2022)

*Week 6 - Ride 2 - Tue 8th Feb*

A ride out into Essex to meet friends for pub lunch. Ride a little over 4 hours with pub almost exactly half way. Sun out before pub and could feel the warmth. Clouded over by time set off back into a stiff headwind.


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## bluenotebob (9 Feb 2022)

*Week 6

Ride 1 – Mon 7 Feb* – 1 hr 18 mins/18.41km – I’d planned a 50+km ride for Monday but I slept badly and decided that I’d do some short rides instead. I ended up doing four rides on three bikes – with a total of 44km for the day .. so I almost succeeded

*Ride 2 – Wed 9 Feb* – 3 hrs 57 mins/64.36km – I’m usually busy around 1230/1245 on Wednesdays but I got a message first thing saying the arrangement was cancelled for today – so I was out on the road bike just after 11am with camera and some dates in the day bag. No particular itinerary planned – but I headed up to Gaël against the wind. After 15km of that, I turned S and followed the V3 (Link) back to Mauron then down the V3 Voie Verte to Loyat – then home via Kerbois, Guilliers and Kerminy.

Here's the V3 Voie Verte just as it leaves Mauron .. usually rammed with cyclists, joggers, skateboarders and dog-walkers .. but not at 1415 today (everyone was probably sleeping after lunch..)


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## FrothNinja (9 Feb 2022)

Only just done R1W6 - a few miles up and down the coast near Roosebeck in Furness. Headwind cut speed by over 3 mph, or is that the tailwind speeding it up by over 3mp??


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## figbat (10 Feb 2022)

*W6R2 - 9 Feb - 1:38*

Wednesday night group ride was down to two of us last night. Nonetheless a ride was had - very wet under wheel.


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## Ming the Merciless (10 Feb 2022)

*Week 6 Ride 3 -10th Feb*

About 1 hour 20 mins round local lanes. Colder than recent days.


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## FrothNinja (10 Feb 2022)

R2W6 - Site seeing bimble around Whitehaven this morn. No great distance, just a slow crawl enjoying the sun's warmth out of the wind and realising that Whitehaven is actually quite an interesting town.


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## Gibbo9 (11 Feb 2022)

W6R2 - The rain has stopped at last. Hopefully for a decent period, looks stunning out today and weekend is forecasted good so hopefully some good miles out.

Out yesterday afternoon, took two hours out of the work day as the ground had dried sufficiently. Still wet in places so had to give the bike a much needed clean after. Overcast and cool but little winds to bother me for a change. Riverside bikeway was utterly deserted, lovely.


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## figbat (12 Feb 2022)

*W6R3 - 12 Feb - 2:37*
A longer ride than usual for me with two aims in mind:

Get over 50km in for that half century thread
Get a picture of MBIFO a folly for that picture thread
Both objectives achieved.


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## bluenotebob (12 Feb 2022)

*Week 6

Ride 3 – Sat 12 Feb* – 1 hr 14 mins/17.46km – second ride of the day: the first was a very short ride because frost was still lying at 1145. Sunny and dry this afternoon but a very cold wind from the south.

Looks like tomorrow will be an enforced ‘rest day’ – 40mph winds and heavy rain are forecast. Call me a wimp if you want but I’m not riding in that ..


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## FrothNinja (12 Feb 2022)

If I count today as last week (& I haven't been) then this is W6R3, if not its W7R1 & I didn't hit the target last week. Been over for the previous weeks though. Whatever it is, it was not taxing at all (max heartrate only 151 bpm) though quite nippy - overcast, 5°C, feels like 0°C (Klimat). Centred on the temporarily closed Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford.
EDIT - decided to designate it W6R3 
Weir & fish ladder on Pendle Water





Said Heritage Centre





Pretty much the highest point of my excursion - min elevation 38.8m, max 169.0 - easy peasy. Max heartrate only 151 bpm


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## grldtnr (12 Feb 2022)

Gibbo9 said:


> Week 2
> 
> Ride 1
> Tue 11 Jan, 2h 9m, flipping freezing out and very grey. (Still hate those horrible wheels).
> ...


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## Ming the Merciless (13 Feb 2022)

figbat said:


> *W6R3 - 12 Feb - 2:37*
> A longer ride than usual for me with two aims in mind:
> 
> Get over 50km in for that half century thread
> ...



Lucky you found an abandoned bike as well


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## figbat (13 Feb 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Lucky you found an abandoned bike as well


Sadly there was nowhere to lean the bike in frame, so I abandoned it for the picture.


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## bluenotebob (14 Feb 2022)

*Weeks 1 to 6 completed

Week 7

Ride 1 – Mon 14 Feb* – 1 hr 21 mins/17.31km – a day of heavy showers and a blustery NW wind. Actually two rides today – 40 minutes, then I fled home ahead of a big shower, started the bread, then out again for another 41 minutes while the bread was proving. Only 17km today – but it’s 17km more than I thought I’d do having looked at the weather forecast.

I spent most of the time riding on the granny ring, and with one eye on the road and the other on the sky.


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## Ming the Merciless (14 Feb 2022)

*Week 7 Ride 1 - Mon 14th Feb*

Sunshine and light winds. A morning ride of 1 hour 20 mins on a regular loop. No photos taken today


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## figbat (14 Feb 2022)

*W7R1 - 14 Feb - 1:29*
Routine ride to get the miles in. Ended it by riding a love heart on Strava, which fell flat as it was within my security zone so the wife couldn’t see it. Meh.


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## Gibbo9 (15 Feb 2022)

W6R3 - belated post but I did complete last weeks rides on Friday 11 with a lovely couple of hours out in the sunshine. Nice weather hasn't lasted though.


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## bluenotebob (15 Feb 2022)

*Week 7

Ride 2 – Tues 15 Feb* – 1 hr 34 mins/20.55km – another really windy ride which I finished just before the rain arrived. It’s going to be a very windy week so I’m pleased to have got another ride in today.


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## FrothNinja (15 Feb 2022)

*W7R1* - Slow dribble around the Towneley area near Burnley


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## FrothNinja (15 Feb 2022)

*W7R2* - a flob under 12 km on the L&L and through local parks, industrial and recreational.


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## Ming the Merciless (16 Feb 2022)

*Week 7 Ride 2 - Wed 16th Feb*

A two hour loop in local lanes. The winds have picked up, but sun was out, felt relatively warm, and rather enjoyable.


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## bluenotebob (16 Feb 2022)

*Week 7

Ride 3 – Wed 16 Feb* – 1 hr 33 mins/21.23km – very windy but mostly dry – apart from some occasional horizontal drizzle. 15 degrees today so warmer outside my house than in.

I envy you those hedgerows, @Ming the Merciless – unless they act as a wind-tunnel? Heading up a slope and into the wind on an exposed stretch of road this afternoon, my speed fell to a mere 8kph. But … better to be out in it and struggling, than stuck indoors. I’ll enjoy my dinner (and this evening’s fire) more anyway.


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## Ming the Merciless (16 Feb 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> *Week 7
> 
> Ride 3 – Wed 16 Feb* – 1 hr 33 mins/21.23km – very windy but mostly dry – apart from some occasional horizontal drizzle. 15 degrees today so warmer outside my house than in.
> 
> I envy you those hedgerows, @Ming the Merciless – unless they act as a wind-tunnel? Heading up a slope and into the wind on an exposed stretch of road this afternoon, my speed fell to a mere 8kph. But … better to be out in it and struggling, than stuck indoors. I’ll enjoy my dinner (and this evening’s fire) more anyway.



The hedgerows and banks and rolling terrain is working as a wind break. Some strong winds at top of hills, but soon enough the lanes meanders some more and it’s a side wind or blocked by another bank and / or hedge.


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## FrothNinja (17 Feb 2022)

*W7R3* - did a few kloms on some local gravel etc, now coated in mud. One of the tracks has the gate across it, chains and locks still attached, flat on (and partially in) the ground. Whoever had committed the crime has left the way open to loads of 4WDs using it as a playground. The next km or so was all churned mud until the woods - very hard to maintain grip running without knobblies. Wish I had stayed out longer as it isn't raining too hard - spose I should now decrust myself and the kit...


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## Ming the Merciless (17 Feb 2022)

*Week 7 ride 3 - Thu 17 Feb*

A four hour round trip , to meet a friend for a pint and some food. A ride fitted in between storms as weekend looks a write off.


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## figbat (17 Feb 2022)

*W7R2 - 17 Feb - 1:25*
Another routine ride, twixt Dudley and Eunice.


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## figbat (19 Feb 2022)

*W7R3 - 19 Feb - 1:34*
Blustery ride for the sake of it rather than for pleasure. I’m quietly pleased though to have made it to W7R3 on a continuous run - this is the longest streak of my riding history.


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## Ming the Merciless (19 Feb 2022)

figbat said:


> *W7R3 - 19 Feb - 1:34*
> Blustery ride for the sake of it rather than for pleasure. I’m quietly pleased though to have made it to W7R3 on a continuous run - this is the longest streak of my riding history.



Excellent work. Sometimes it’s just a little thing needed to encourage you to get that extra ride in.


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## FrothNinja (19 Feb 2022)

*W8R1* - recovering from a rather excitable bout of food poisoning so I didn't want to go too far from the comforts of home. Decided to link up an off road green way to *W7R3. *I have to confess I hadn't demudded my kit from last time - just as well because the snow has made things muckier. The off road stretch was just over a mile long but it took over 20 minutes and my back aches like billyo. Every time I put my foot down I slid. Excellent balance practice, didn't fall. Bit more of a work out than I realised. At under 3 mph average I wasn't expecting to get out of warm up on heart rate - but look what it came in as
Zone 5 > 164 bpm • Maximum - 0:00 0%
Zone 4 146 - 163 bpm • Threshold - 0:23 1%
Zone 3 127 - 145 bpm • Aerobic - 13:31 38%
Zone 2 109 - 126 bpm • Easy - 20:48 59%
Zone 1 91 - 108 bpm • Warm Up - 0:08 0%
Who'd have thunk it?
Makes you wonder about the sludge you've been traversing





Probably the deepest bit - no sign of other bikes by this stage, though the tracks reappeared later. My 33s were not really up to the job - or maybe it was just me.


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## Ming the Merciless (19 Feb 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> *W8R1* - recovering from a rather excitable bout of food poisoning so I didn't want to go too far from the comforts of home. Decided to link up an off road green way to *W7R3. *I have to confess I hadn't demudded my kit from last time - just as well because the snow has made things muckier. The off road stretch was just over a mile long but it took over 20 minutes and my back aches like billyo. Every time I put my foot down I slid. Excellent balance practice, didn't fall. Bit more of a work out than I realised. At under 3 mph average I wasn't expecting to get out of warm up on heart rate - but look what it came in as
> Zone 5 > 164 bpm • Maximum - 0:00 0%
> Zone 4 146 - 163 bpm • Threshold - 0:23 1%
> Zone 3 127 - 145 bpm • Aerobic - 13:31 38%
> ...



Bit confused week 8 doesn’t start till Monday


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## FrothNinja (19 Feb 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Bit confused week 8 doesn’t start till Monday


The year started on a Saturday & I rode on the first so I am mostly counting Sat to Fri


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## Gibbo9 (20 Feb 2022)

W7R1
Tuesday 15 - Another wet and windy one, 36 glum minutes

W7R2
Wed 16 - A little better out today, dry for the most part

W7R3
Sun 20 - Typical of me to leave it until the last day to get the final ride in. Although the weather has been appalling this week and today is the worst of all. A very soggy and very cold 32 mins was all I could muster.


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## figbat (21 Feb 2022)

*W8R1 - 21 Feb - 1:11*
The streak continues with a ride taking in a couple of miles of the Ridgeway, the highest, most exposed trail in the area, heading directly into an unfailingly robust headwind, all gradually but increasingly uphill. 🥵

Still, the homeward leg was nicer.


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## FrothNinja (21 Feb 2022)

*W8R2* - Night excursion on local roads after dindins. Actually warmer than Saturday's effort. No wind and the sky was starry and faded Bible black.


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## bluenotebob (22 Feb 2022)

*Week 8

Ride 1 – Tues 22 Feb* – 1 hr 4 mins/15.18km – very windy again but not quite as bad as the last 4 days. Hope to be back on my road bike tomorrow and go for a longer ride


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## Ming the Merciless (22 Feb 2022)

*Week 8 ride 1 - Tue 22 Feb*

Afternoon outing after rain had passed. Still windy out, but not as much a peak. 1 hour 21 mins of pedalling action.


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## bluenotebob (25 Feb 2022)

*Ride 2 – Fri 25 Feb* – 3 hrs 15 mins/53.62km – second of three rides today – more info in the 2022 HMCAM Challenge thread and some photos in the ‘Your Ride Today’ thread

Here’s a not very good handlebar pic from today – my minimalist handlebars – no TV, microwave or ashtray in sight


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## Ming the Merciless (25 Feb 2022)

*Week 8 ride 2 - Thu 24th*

An audax permanent which I didn’t finish due to one too many mechanicals. Rain, hail, sleet, sun, headwinds you name it I had that weather. Managed 212km before the ride ending mechanical.

One of my other bikes will be deployed to get ride 3 in over the weekend.


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## FrothNinja (26 Feb 2022)

*W8R3* - First decent ride of February this arvo, included over 4,300 ft / 1,300 metres of ascent and a visit to a friend near Whalley. Went over the Nick of Pendle four times en route.

Pendle from Noggarth





View west from Spen Brook


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## bluenotebob (26 Feb 2022)

*Week 8

Ride 3 – Sat 26 Feb* – 2 hrs 13 mins/34.32km – another blustery ride but blue sky and no clouds at all. I saw a few butterflies too


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## FrothNinja (26 Feb 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> I saw a few butterflies too


That is remarkably early, even for your bit of the world. Though I suppose they could have woken from dormancy if the weather has been unseasonably warm


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## figbat (26 Feb 2022)

*W8R2 - 26 Feb - 1:01*
And that’s me out . Planned a long one today but a recurring knee pain cut it short and has put an end to my streak; I’ll have to rest a while while I recover and seek advice.


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## bluenotebob (26 Feb 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> That is remarkably early, even for your bit of the world. Though I suppose they could have woken from dormancy if the weather has been unseasonably warm



It puzzles me too. We've had overnight frosts recently which I thought might have checked them. 

But we have a strong southerly wind today so I wondered if they've been blown up from SW France/Spain .. they can cover remarkable distances - so I guess that's a possible explanation. If they've got this far so quickly - and the wind continues from the S - then I'd expect them to also appear in Devon/Dorset in the next day or two.


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## FrothNinja (26 Feb 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> It puzzles me too. We've had overnight frosts recently which I thought might have checked them.
> 
> But we have a strong southerly wind today so I wondered if they've been blown up from SW France/Spain .. they can cover remarkable distances - so I guess that's a possible explanation. If they've got this far so quickly - and the wind continues from the S - then I'd expect them to also appear in Devon/Dorset in the next day or two.


What species where they? The migration theory is a good one, especially they were a species like Painted Lady


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## bluenotebob (26 Feb 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> What species where they?



I don't know, I'm afraid - I've just googled Painted Ladies and I don't think it was them. The ones I saw today had a bit more black and red in their colours. 

I had a second ride later in the afternoon - and I saw a few more. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. If I remember, I'll take a camera out tomorrow and see what I can spot.


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## annedonnelly (26 Feb 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> That is remarkably early, even for your bit of the world. Though I suppose they could have woken from dormancy if the weather has been unseasonably warm


You can get them recorded in January if a warm sunny day brings them out of hibernation. Species like red admiral overwinter as adults.


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## FrothNinja (26 Feb 2022)

W9R1 - got carried away by a tailwind on the Leeds to Liverpool towpath. In all the ten outward miles it never once occurred to me that there may be a price to pay for an average speed, with very little effort, of 2 mph more than normal. The main thing slowing me was not wanting to increase the dislike for speeding cyclists on a shared path and slaloming unleashed laprats. Paid the price on the return - the headwind got a bit tedious but I got more of a workout than I expected.


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## Ming the Merciless (27 Feb 2022)

*Week 8 Ride 3 - Sun 27th Feb *

Couple of hours in sun


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## bluenotebob (28 Feb 2022)

No butterflies yesterday or today, and as it’s going to rain for the next 3 days, I doubt there’ll be any later this week – unless they’re carrying umbrellas

*Week 9

Ride 1 – Fri 28 Feb* – 4 hrs 6 mins/65.21km – getting some km’s in for this week before the rain arrives this evening. Ride details in the 2022 HMCAM Challenge thread and some more photos in the ‘Your Ride Today’ thread

On the Pont des Deux Rivières over the Nantes-to-Brest canal – the purple shale towpath on the left is EuroVelo #1 – heading (ultimately) towards the Spanish border


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## FrothNinja (28 Feb 2022)

W9R2 - Do two different rides on the same day count?
Nelson - Blacko - Roughlee - Spen Brook - Fence - Burnley - Nelson


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## Gibbo9 (1 Mar 2022)

Belated week 8 update (still in)
R1 Fri 25 Feb, the sun has eventually returned, 2 hours and 9 minutes of unbridled joy.
R2 Sat 26 Feb, an absolutely lovely day but still chilly. 4 hours 22 minutes of a strava recommended route, lovely ride.
R3 Sun 27 Feb, A bit of a leg loosener following the previous days escapades 59 minutes


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## bluenotebob (2 Mar 2022)

*Week 9

Ride 2 – Wed 2 March* – 2 hrs 7 mins/33.58km – dry, apart from a little bit of drizzle. I sat outside after the ride – listening to the birds, having a smoke and drinking what was left in the bidon – I think that’s the first time I’ve done it this year – it’s been too cold up until now.


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## Gibbo9 (3 Mar 2022)

Week 9
R1 - Tue 1 March - Getting my 50 in early for the other challenge. Seems the weather has turned the corner and the days are very much getting warmer. 2 hrs 14 mins of blissful chilled riding down by the river.

R2 - Wed 2 March - very busy day with work lined up so could only get out for an hour or so. Been playing about with my heart rate lately and managed to complete this in Z1, 51 mins.

R3 - Thu 3 March - Z2 ride this morning. It was quite chilly when I set off so I had an under shirt on, regretted that after 30 mins as the sun came out. Quite windy out this morning too but still a very enjoyable ride. 2 hrs 3 mins

One of the reasons I try to avoid the main roads in the mornings. Literally thousand of scooters here, whilst they generally are respectful and give you plenty of room the fumes can be quite overcoming.


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## FrothNinja (4 Mar 2022)

W9R3 - Fairly urban ride on bike tracks, canal towpath, industrial estates etc. Occasional good views and plenty of MBIFO photo ops.


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## Ming the Merciless (4 Mar 2022)

I’m not likely to manage it this week, due to having been away, a rear derailleur that broke last week, and a few other reasons. I’ll see what I can manage over the weekend.

I will be back on the 3 a week next week all being well.


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## bluenotebob (4 Mar 2022)

*Week 9

Ride 3 – Fri 4 March* – 1 hr 52 mins/30.48km – bright and sunny but a cold and snarly N wind.


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## FrothNinja (6 Mar 2022)

W10R1 - A visit to a local-ish bike shop in Colne to get a non sealing tubeless sorted. Think I set a record (for me) average speed for the CX bike on my return. Light was going & I had only my clothing to make me visible. Quite fun apart from almost being run off the towpath by 2 unregistered midget bike ridden by primary school kids, and narrowly avoiding driver pulling out without checking their mirrors. Like I say - buzzing when I got home, very odd.


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## FrothNinja (6 Mar 2022)

W10R2 - Nelson, Whalley, Wiswell, Pendleton, Clitheroe, Worston, Downham, Twiston, Stang Top, Roughlee, Blacko, Clarion House, Spen Brook, Noggarth, Fence, Nelson (total *52 km* plus 3,260 ft of ascent)

View from the Clarion this arvo - the curlews were calling as they flew around entertainingly.


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## Ming the Merciless (9 Mar 2022)

*Week 9 Ride 1 - Wed 9th March*

Didn’t manage to ride last week, visiting mother and picked up sore throat. First tentative ride today, no cough triggered. Awaiting inner chain ring before recumbent will be back in use. So on road bike today. Out for 1 hour 20 mins.


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## FrothNinja (10 Mar 2022)

W10R3 - Nelson - Fence etc - Nelson. Stopped at the church in Fence for the first time ever


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## Ming the Merciless (11 Mar 2022)

*Week 9 Ride 2 - Thu 11th March *

Trip to pub about an hour of riding. Very mild and sat outside in sun.


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## Ming the Merciless (12 Mar 2022)

*Week 9 Ride 3 - Sat 12th March*

Strong gusting winds but otherwise mild. Just base layer and windproof gilet on top half. Just under 1.5 hours through the lanes. A few puddles and small flooded sections but only caught the edge of one rain shower. Warm in sun when sheltered.


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## FrothNinja (13 Mar 2022)

W11R1 - Nelson - Fence - Newchurch (below) - Barley - Four Ways - Blacko - Roughlee - Clarion House - Spen Brook - Newchurch again - Higham - Fence - Noggarth - Wheatley Lane - Nelson. Nearly 50km and just shy of 1000 metres of ascent


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## Gibbo9 (16 Mar 2022)

W10 R1
Mon 14/03 - In Taichung all week for work so I am having to rely on Strava for route suggestions. Not a bad one this, quite enjoyable round roads I'd not used before. 1hr 58m of lovely riding.

Really was a beautiful evening


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## Gibbo9 (16 Mar 2022)

W10 R2
Tue 15/03 - Early morning dash before a very busy day at work. 52 mins.


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## FrothNinja (17 Mar 2022)

W11R2 (yesterday) - In and around Old Langho, admittedly quite a bit of time was spent chatting and very few miles were achieved  but it did get me out of the house for well over an hour


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## Ming the Merciless (17 Mar 2022)

*Week 10 Ride 1 - Thu 17th March*

Rode to Ireland for a pint of Guinness. Lovely sunshine with stiff breeze. Signs of spring.


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## Ming the Merciless (18 Mar 2022)

*Week 10 Ride 2 - Fri 18th March*

Test rides of recumbent after post winter overhaul.


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## FrothNinja (18 Mar 2022)

W11R3 - went to my local bike shop (12 mile round trip) for some bits for the Scottish trip. Bit of wind but quite warm on the sheltered sunny stretches


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## Gibbo9 (21 Mar 2022)

W10R3
Wed 1603, Another Strava route this one, very enjoyable but for the flies. 2hrs 8 mins


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## Ming the Merciless (21 Mar 2022)

*W10R3 - Sun 20th March*

Route check of my audax. Just over 11 hours riding. Lovely sunshine but cold westerly and cooler than Sat.


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## Gibbo9 (23 Mar 2022)

Looks like I am going to struggle this week, very heavy rain here currently and no sign of it quitting.


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## Ming the Merciless (23 Mar 2022)

*Week 11 Ride 1 - Wed 23 March*

Out for couple of hours in local lanes, bare arms and shins made an appearance!


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## Ming the Merciless (23 Mar 2022)

Gibbo9 said:


> Looks like I am going to struggle this week, very heavy rain here currently and no sign of it quitting.



Manage what you can, and get back in groove next week.


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## fossyant (23 Mar 2022)

Without counting, and letting Strava tell me, mine is going well - 25 plus hours each month in the last 3 months - riding 3-5 days a week. Mojo is up from autumn, plus commute 2 days a week.


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## FrothNinja (25 Mar 2022)

W12R1 - Nelson, Clarion House, Barley, Downham, Sawley, Rathmell, Lawkland, Austwick, Clapham, Ingleton, Kirkby Lonsdale, Old Town, Killington Lake, Beck Foot, Tebay, Orton, Shap, Clifton, Mayburgh Henge, Penrith (total *132 km* plus 6,440 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (25 Mar 2022)

W12R2 - Penrith, Calthwaite, Burthwaite, Carlisle, Gretna, Ecclefechan, Lockerbie, Lochmaben, Crochmade Road, Tynwald, Kirkton, Auldgirth (total *101 km* plus 2,775 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (25 Mar 2022)

W12R3 - Kirkby Lonsdale, Ingleton, Clapham, Austwick, Lawkland, Rathmell, Sawley, Chatburn, Barley, Clarion House, Nelson (total *68 km* plus 3,487 ft of ascent)


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## Ming the Merciless (25 Mar 2022)

*W11R2 - Fri 25 Mar*

A two hour outing, and my first in shorts this year. Glorious out there.


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## Ming the Merciless (26 Mar 2022)

*W11R3 - Sat 26 Mar*

A four hour outing, in shorts, with wife. Glorious out there.


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## FrothNinja (28 Mar 2022)

W13R1 - a variation on my usual Sunday run to the Clarion House


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## Ming the Merciless (28 Mar 2022)

W12R1 - Ride to pub for lunch. About 40 mins in the sun before weather deteriorates rest of week.


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## FrothNinja (28 Mar 2022)

W13R2 - Local bike shop then a bit of a bimble around - Nelson - Colne - Barrowford - Fence - Burnley - L&L canal - Nelson


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## Gibbo9 (29 Mar 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Manage what you can, and get back in groove next week.


 Well I did manage 2 rides last week, trying to dodge the rain proved absolutely fruitless and I got utterly drenched on the second one.

W11R1 - Fri 25 50 mins of mostly dry conditions
W11R2 - Sat 26 32 mins, first 15 were absolutely fine then it decided to rain, epic biblical rain. Was an uncomfortable 15 mins or so back home.

Hopefully a lot more positive this week as I have had to travel south for work. Week has started with rain but currently dry and conditions improving so fingers crossed.


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## FrothNinja (1 Apr 2022)

W13R3 - Running around locally doing chores - not exciting but better than using the car + I think it may actually have been quicker in places
Discovered a new short cut too - though probably dry weather only if ascending


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## Ming the Merciless (1 Apr 2022)

*W12R2 - Tue 29th March *- Various shopping errands , about an hour..


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## Ming the Merciless (2 Apr 2022)

*W12R3 - Sat 2nd April *- A couple of hours in the lanes, in between ice melting and fresh snow falling.


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## FrothNinja (3 Apr 2022)

W14R1 - Chores around Burnley / Padiham on my far too big for me Dawes


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## FrothNinja (3 Apr 2022)

W14R2 - Variation on my usual Sunday arvo run to the Clarion House. Still did well over a 1000 ft of ascent.


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## Gibbo9 (6 Apr 2022)

Only managed 2 rides last week, again scuppered by appalling weather.

W12R1-1hr 3mins
W12R2-1hr 2mins


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## Gibbo9 (6 Apr 2022)

At last some good weather and a couple of days off work for public holiday so plenty of cycling to be had.

W13R1-2hr 11mins a typical saunter round the riverside. Was a very nice afternoon but lots of people out due to the public holiday.


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## Gibbo9 (6 Apr 2022)

W13R2- 4hrs Day off so went out to redo a previous route that I had really enjoyed, started off chilly and was regretting not wearing an undershirt by 0900 I was glad I hadn't.


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## Gibbo9 (6 Apr 2022)

W13R3 - 1hr 5mins very gentle round the river and town, heavy legs this morning.


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## FrothNinja (8 Apr 2022)

W14R3 - Managed a quick spin in the wilds of Cumbria between flurries of rain, sleet, and snow. More van weather than bike weather.


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## FrothNinja (10 Apr 2022)

W15R1- Nelson, Foulridge, Gisburn Old Road, Rimington, Chatburn, Worston, Barley, Roughlee, Heys Lane, Barley, Newchurch, Clarion House, Roughlee, Blacko, Colne, Barrowford, Nelson (total *55 km* plus 3,375 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (14 Apr 2022)

W15R2- Nelson, Burnley, Wheatley Lane etc
Trying out clips on the hybrid, taking it easy to play the injured knee back in. Even sticking to the easiest hills round here means 500ft of ascent in half an hour if you don't want to be stuck on the L&L


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## FrothNinja (16 Apr 2022)

W15R3- Nelson, Barrowford, Roughlee, Spen Brook, Fence, Nelson - just under a 1000 ft of ascent


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## FrothNinja (16 Apr 2022)

W16R1- Nelson, Height Top, Higham, Burnley, Nelson. Quite a bit of non - riding involved. Saw quite a few teams of racing sheep.




Did not ride to cross this bit


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## FrothNinja (17 Apr 2022)

W16R2- Nelson, Barrowford, Roughlee, Clarion, Heys Lane, Barley, Black Moss Reservoirs, Stang Top, Roughlee, Noggarth, Fence, Nelson
Tried out the clip in flats on some Shimano MTB clipless pedals.


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## FrothNinja (22 Apr 2022)

W16R3 - Nelson, Barrowford, Fence, Burnley, Nelson (over 12 miles and over 1000 ft ascent!)
Don't know about elsewhere but it were bloody windy round here


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## FrothNinja (23 Apr 2022)

W17R1 - Nelson, Wheatley Lane, Newchurch, Roughlee, Blacko, Four Lanes, Twiston, Downham, Worston, Clitheroe, Barrow, Wiswell, Whalley, Sabden, Fence, Nelson (total *50 km* plus 3,182 ft of ascent)
Out for 2 hours 45 mins and the wind was brutal - Klimat is wrong - prolonged gusts of over 30 mph. Feel more beaten up then when I did over 80 miles fully laden a few weeks ago.

Pendle from my brief repose at Four Lanes


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## FrothNinja (24 Apr 2022)

W17R2 - Nelson, Wheatley Lane, Spen Brook, Clarion House, Noggarth, Higham, Fence, Nelson (1,162 ft of ascent)
Wind was still making riding a slog, and my legs were surprisingly knackered from yesterday. Pleasantly warm in the sun when I was out of the wind - a harbinger of things to come.


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## FrothNinja (28 Apr 2022)

W17R3 - quick ride in and around the locale, mostly on cycle paths and very little road


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## Ming the Merciless (28 Apr 2022)

W16R3 - Ride with bluebells


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## FrothNinja (2 May 2022)

W18R1 - A shortish spin on the lanes and hills north of Fence, Burnley, and Quaker Bridge.


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## Ming the Merciless (4 May 2022)

W17R1

More bluebells


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## FrothNinja (5 May 2022)

W18R2 - Another shortish local spin, this time mostly on the Leeds & Liverpool. May have been longer if the rain hadn't been getting steadily heavy on the outward leg. Dry by the time I got home, which is according to you know who's law. Still managed 375ft of ascent in spite of mostly spinning along towpath - flat is a rare commodity round these here parts.


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## Ming the Merciless (5 May 2022)

W17R2 - A few greenways yesterday


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## FrothNinja (5 May 2022)

W18R3 - quite a reasonable evening so headed out onto some local off-road & gravel fun, plus a pic of the bike on a bridge I've not snapped before.
Didn't think I was going to manage 3 this week but I've squeaked it in.


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## FrothNinja (8 May 2022)

W19R1 - L&L, Nelson, Barrowford, Blacko, Roughlee, Clarion, Spen Brook, Higham, Fence, Brierfield


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## FrothNinja (10 May 2022)

W19R2 - Local spin in the hills to the west


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## FrothNinja (10 May 2022)

W19R3 - NE along the L&L and local cycle tracks


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## Ming the Merciless (10 May 2022)

W18R1 - Bluebells again


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## Ming the Merciless (10 May 2022)

W18R2 - An easy ride to pub for a pint in the garden.


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## FrothNinja (12 May 2022)

W19R4 - Nelson, Colne, Castercliffe, Thursden, Haggate, Worsthorne, Cliviger, Townley, Burnley, Higham, Fence, Nelson
(total ascent - 2,475 ft)


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## FrothNinja (14 May 2022)

W20R1 - Almost a hour canal and hill bashing around Burnley, Nelson, and Fence. I managed to bear it which more than can be said for some. This fella was totally stuffed.


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## FrothNinja (15 May 2022)

W20R2 - Nelson, Wheatley Lane, Noggarth Roughlee, Blacko, Roughlee, Clarion, Spen Brook, Fence, Nelson

Cute hoverfly at the Clarion - a _Syrphus_ species male


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## FrothNinja (18 May 2022)

W20R3 - Bit of exercise on the Dawes this arvo, basically spinning the pedals in the industrial estate my lock ups in because I had to stop in on my way home from work anyway. Views are far from interesting but it is dead flat and I am quite amused by the faces of people seeing me use the area to get some exercise, plus it is a lot safer than dicing with the rush hour traffic (which I hate even in a car). I'm not exactly setting the world alight with my performance (avg moving speed 14.6 mph, max 23.8 mph) - but the bike is of 1980s vintage and I still have a wobble gut. It does mean that on rides under an hour the avg speed figures for the Dawes and the CX are similar. If I did the same route on the electric, I suspect the average would be higher by about 1 mph.


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## FrothNinja (20 May 2022)

W20R4 - Decent weather yesterday arvo.
Brierfield, Wheatley Lane, Barrowford, Colne, Foulridge, Colne, Barrowford, Nelson

Mirror clear blue sky, Nelson distant and blurred


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## FrothNinja (20 May 2022)

W20R5 - Not do decent weather this morning. A bash into headwinds along the canal to my lockup and swap over for the motorbike. Headwinds no longer an issue.


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## FrothNinja (23 May 2022)

W21R1 - Pretty much the reverse of W20R5, but with added very thick agro dog walker.


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## Ming the Merciless (23 May 2022)

W19R3 - trip to pub for Sunday lunch.


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## FrothNinja (25 May 2022)

W21R2 - Test ride to make sure I had stopped by shoes rubbing on the crank. Squeezed in about 400ft ascent, averaged 150w overall and no squeaking. So that was a success so far, however....
….the K Edge camera mount I bought the other week spat the bolt securing the camera housing to the mount. I was ascending at about 9 mph so I stopped and retrieved the bolt but at that stage, couldn't figure where the bl))dy thing came from. I found out descending at speed. I was able to catch the camera before it tried to go a bouncing too.
Managed a couple of PRs on the gravel afterward - more aero maybe 😉


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## FrothNinja (27 May 2022)

W21R3 - Glad I got that in. Thought I was going to fail and I have a clean record so far. Had two cracks at a mixed gravel and tarmac local climb and bagged Local Legend on it (showing how few people use it), and 6th best time. I also got 7th best but that isn't showing in the top 10. Is it only one entry per ride?
Blowing a houlie so overall speed a bit poo, further compromised by a call from the oldest sprog. Took in a few miles on the L&L too.


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## FrothNinja (31 May 2022)

W22R1 - In and around Marlborough and environs


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## FrothNinja (31 May 2022)

W22R2 - Rabley Wood, some Oggies, Chiseldon and Marlborough Railway Path etc


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## Ming the Merciless (31 May 2022)

W21R2 - Only really posting if I have photos, but still going.

A ride to Ireland , got absolutely soaked on way home in biblical amounts of rain and hail. Saw nice field with poppies before storms caught me up.


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## FrothNinja (31 May 2022)

W22R3 - fast gravel in Savernake, actually managed over a 1000 ft ascent and found the column the fella in the bike shop couldn't find on Google. Total fluke but I found it.


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## FrothNinja (4 Jun 2022)

W23R1 - 90 mins, just shy of 1,500 ft ascent, mostly local high roads


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## FrothNinja (8 Jun 2022)

W23R2 - Out for a quickie on the local gravel - seems I brought a lung infection back from Wiltshire, I've got acid green dew drops, which clash with bikes colour scheme


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## FrothNinja (10 Jun 2022)

W23R3 - L&L, plus a bit of climbing, out to Salterforth and back. Thought I was taking it easy but I set 6 PRs in spite of the refreshing wind. I suspect I may just be getting fitter.


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## Ming the Merciless (11 Jun 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> W22R3 - L&L, plus a bit of climbing, out to Salterforth and back. Thought I was taking it easy but I set 6 PRs in spite of the refreshing wind. I suspect I may just be getting fitter.
> View attachment 648504



Your heart rate will tell you if you were taking it easy.


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## FrothNinja (11 Jun 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Your heart rate will tell you if you were taking it easy.



This is what Strava said (avg 72w);

AvgMaxSpeed10.8mi/h26.1mi/hHeart Rate146bpm172bpmCadence61136


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## FrothNinja (11 Jun 2022)

W24R1 - snuck in a half hour when it wasn't raining or I wasn't waiting for a parcel. Parcel arrived and contained some camera bits, including the chest mount that I took out to test. Pushed harder (avg 97w) than yesterday though the heart rate doesn't suggest it - managed to creep into the top 10 on one of the sections
�


AvgMaxSpeed11.1mi/h31.1mi/hHeart Rate150bpm171bpmCadence65147


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## Ming the Merciless (12 Jun 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> This is what Strava said (avg 72w);
> 
> AvgMaxSpeed10.8mi/h26.1mi/hHeart Rate146bpm172bpmCadence61136



Your max HR is?


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## FrothNinja (12 Jun 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Your max HR is?



I have no idea


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## FrothNinja (12 Jun 2022)

W24R2 - Out into the hills north an east of Barrowford, popped into the Clarion briefly but there were a few too many bodies per square inch so kept high and headed out toward the Ribble Valley then back again


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## Ming the Merciless (13 Jun 2022)




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## FrothNinja (16 Jun 2022)

W24R3 - Local gravel loop, glad I went in my shorts


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## FrothNinja (17 Jun 2022)

W24R4 - Nelson, the Ridge, Nick of Pendle, Pendleton, Wiswell, Moor Lane, Wiswell Moor, Nick of Pendle, Pendleton, Wiswell, Whalley, the Ridge, Spen Brook, Fence, Burnley, L&L, Nelson (total 32.1 miles plus 3,648 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (18 Jun 2022)

W25R1 - Local Gravel Loop - had to negotiate some earth moving equipment en route, the operators had totally blocked the track but they waved me round rather than snarling


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## FrothNinja (20 Jun 2022)

Decided to commute by bicycle - and punctured for the first time in over 20 years - just a couple of miles from home too!
Took the front wheel off, got the tyre levers spares tube and pump out, eventually broke the bead around one side, got two levers in....and phoned for a pick up.
W25R2* - *Nelson, the Ridge, Whalley, A59, Preston (work), A59, Whalley, the Ridge, Noggarth, Higham by bridleway, Fence (total 50.4 miles plus 3,375 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (23 Jun 2022)

W25R3 - Rode to where I was working today, only about half the distance as Monday but 1,545ft of ascent. I decided to take a scenic gravelly/off road route home. The bike hit its 2000th mile while we were out
Nelson, L&L, Burnley, Rowley Lake, Pike Hill, Worsthorne, Roggerham, Haggate, Briercliffe Woods, Rowley Lake, Pike Hill, Townley, Burnley, L&L, Nelson


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## FrothNinja (24 Jun 2022)

W25R4 - Nelson, Leeds & Liverpool, Gargrave, Leeds & Liverpool, Nelson (total 32.8 miles plus 745 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (26 Jun 2022)

W26R1 - Nelson, Blacko, Roughlee, Clarion, Fence, Nelson
Almost put the leg and arm warmers on!! Supposed to be Summer innit?


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## Ming the Merciless (26 Jun 2022)

CTC long ride in great weather. Had crepe at cafe.


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## FrothNinja (30 Jun 2022)

W26R2 - long local loop + the bike got very wet yesterday, lucky I use the soggy lube on the chain


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## FrothNinja (1 Jul 2022)

W26R3 - Nelson, Fence, Newchurch, Roughlee, Noggarth, Wheatley Lane, Fence, Nelson - 1,125 ft of ascent in just under 3/4s of an hour


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## FrothNinja (2 Jul 2022)

W27R1 - Colne, Foulridge Tunnel, Nelson, L&L, Burnley, track I never tried before, L&L Nelson


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## FrothNinja (3 Jul 2022)

W27R2 - Local loop taking in some canal, industrial estate, and bike paths. Managed a half hour free of rain but it was quite cool for the time of the year


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## FrothNinja (5 Jul 2022)

W27R3 - Sabden, Whalley, A59, Preston (work), A59, Whalley, Sabden (total 31.6 miles plus 1,675 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (7 Jul 2022)

W27R4 - Local gravel loop, only just 30 mins, seems to be getting easier in spite of the wind


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## Ming the Merciless (7 Jul 2022)




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## FrothNinja (8 Jul 2022)

W27R5 - Nelson to Gannow return


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## FrothNinja (10 Jul 2022)

W28R1 - Nelson, Foulridge, Blacko, Gisburn (via old road), Rimington, Downham, Barley, Roughlee, Clarion, Fence, Burnley, Worsthorne, Gorple Track, Widdop, Thursden, Haggate, Nelson (total 41.2 miles plus 4,533 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (12 Jul 2022)

W28R2 - Riding to cadence on the L&L. Not the most interesting of rides...


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## FrothNinja (13 Jul 2022)

W28R3 - An slightly extended version of yesterdays route but at my 'natural' cadence for comparison


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## FrothNinja (14 Jul 2022)

W28R4 - Another L&L lunch run aimed at upping the average cadence


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## FrothNinja (16 Jul 2022)

W29 R1 - Cowling, Keighley, Riddlesden, Leeds & Liverpool (Silsden, Farnhill, Skipton, Gargrave), Bank Newton, Ingthorpe Lane, East Marton, Leeds & Liverpool (Barnoldswick, Salterforth) Foulridge, Standing Stone Lane, Blacko, Roughlee, Fence, Burnley (total 50.6 miles plus 1,893 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (17 Jul 2022)

W29 R2 - local Clarion loop before it got too warm. Felt the long drag up the hill through Blacko more than I expected.


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## FrothNinja (20 Jul 2022)

W29R3 - local ride yesterday morning, Burnley to Barrowford and back for a work meeting


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## FrothNinja (20 Jul 2022)

W29 R4 - local ride along the L&L to Barrowford and back


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## Ming the Merciless (20 Jul 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> W26R1 - Colne, Foulridge Tunnel, Nelson, L&L, Burnley, track I never tried before, L&L Nelson
> View attachment 651209



Not sure you should cycle along a railway


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## Ming the Merciless (20 Jul 2022)

Still going, photos today


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## FrothNinja (20 Jul 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Not sure you should cycle along a railway



Cadence goes through the roof when I hear my train a comin'

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX5phFmbrU8


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## FrothNinja (22 Jul 2022)

W29 R5 - local damp ride L&L, Victoria Pk, Industrial Est, etc, mostly shared use tracks


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## FrothNinja (24 Jul 2022)

W30 R1 - Nelson, Ridge, Sabden, Nick Of Pendle, Clitheroe, Barrow, Wiswell, Portfield, Heyhouses, Stainscomb, Sabden Fold, Newchurch, Clarion House, Roughlee, Blacko, Foulridge, Barrowford, Wheatley Lane, Spen Brook, Fence, Burnley (total 33.9 miles plus 3,499 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (26 Jul 2022)

W30 R2 - L&L, Swinden, Barrowford, Victoria Pk, Industrial Est, etc, mostly shared use tracks


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## FrothNinja (27 Jul 2022)

W30 R3 - L&L, Barrowford Locks (partially drained), Barrowford Park, Victoria Pk, Industrial Est, etc, mostly shared use tracks


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## FrothNinja (29 Jul 2022)

W30 R4 - Fence, Padiham, L&L (Hapton, Clayton-le-Moors), Church, L&L (Clayton-le-Moors, Hapton), Sycamore Farm, Padiham, Black Hill, the Ridge, Noggarth, Fence, Nelson (total 32.9 miles plus 1,596 ft of ascent)


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## Ming the Merciless (30 Jul 2022)




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## FrothNinja (31 Jul 2022)

W31 R1 - my regular Sunday run to the Clarion via a circuitous route


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## FrothNinja (1 Aug 2022)

W31 R2 - local hill climb and evening spin in drizzle that grew up to be rain


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## FrothNinja (3 Aug 2022)

W31 R3 - towpath spin, chase by two s@""ing bulldogs - which can do 18 mph and bounce when they run into your front tyre - the owner heard some juicy refrains


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## FrothNinja (5 Aug 2022)

W31 R4 - local slightly extended gravel loop for the first time in ages - felt like a holiday! and it was dry and warm with a strong cooling breeze!


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## FrothNinja (7 Aug 2022)

W32 R1 - Burnley, into the hills, out to Colne, Foulridge, then back home again
W32 R2 - Hills to Clarion then bridle way to Higham & headed home
1,000sh ft ascent both days


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## FrothNinja (13 Aug 2022)

W32 R3 - Local towpath and cycleways


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## FrothNinja (13 Aug 2022)

W33 R1 - In and around the roads and lanes of Belle Vue, Shrewsbury, Frankwell etc - 10+ mile walk up to Lyth Hill and back in the arvo


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## FrothNinja (15 Aug 2022)

W33 R2 - Meole Brace to Leaton return to visit rellies
W33 R3 - lurking around the roads and lanes of Hook a Gate, Nobold, etc and bothering local riders by asking if people post in the forum


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## FrothNinja (18 Aug 2022)

W33 R4 - L&L quickie


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## FrothNinja (19 Aug 2022)

W33 R5 - Local gravel but on George Dawes rather than the usual CX


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## FrothNinja (22 Aug 2022)

W34R1 - Brackenridge, Coalburn, Red Moss, Abington, Crawford, Elvanfoot, Leadhills, Lettershaw hill, Crawfordjohn, Red Moss, Happonden, Coalburn, Brackenridge (total *56.1 miles* plus 3,875 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (27 Aug 2022)

W34R2 - Nelson, Fence, the Ridge, Whalley, Read, The Ridge, Fence, Burnley
W34R3 - Rode around Burnley & Brierfield doing various chores etc


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## FrothNinja (29 Aug 2022)

W35R1 - Burnley, Fence, Spen Brook, Clarion, Roughlee, Noggarth, Barrowford, Fence, Burnley
W35R2 - Burnley, Haggate, Catlow, Trawden, Pennine Bridleway, Wycoller, Laneshaw Bridge, Cock Hill, Kelbrook, Foulridge, Slipper Hill, Blacko, Blacko Bar, Roughlee, Spen Brook, Sabden, Portfield, the Ridge, Higham (& it's scarecrow festival), Fence, Burnley (total 39.3 miles plus 4,292 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (2 Sep 2022)

W35R3 - local doing chores etc
W35R4 - local night ride


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## FrothNinja (5 Sep 2022)

W36R1 - local night ride on George Dawes, still ended up soaked in sweat
W36R2 - a long loop to the Clarion


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## FrothNinja (7 Sep 2022)

W36R3 - Local gravel loop
W36R4 - L&L towpath


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## FrothNinja (11 Sep 2022)

W36R5 - Local gravel loop
W36R6 - local for work
W37R1 - to LBS then a spin through the hills
W37R2 - Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Laneshaw Bridge, Cock Hill, Kelbrook, Earby, Salterforth, Barnoldswick, White Moor, Blacko, Roughlee, Clarion, Spen Brook, the Ridge, Dean, Sabden, Whalley, the Ridge, Fence, Burnley (total 38.9 miles plus 3,477 ft of ascent)


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## FrothNinja (18 Sep 2022)

W37R3 - Early morning ride along a mist wreathed L&L
W37R4- Local evening ride on the Dawes & getting quite chilly setting off
W37R5 - Local evening ride on the Centurion 5 speed, quite chilly setting off but sweating cobs on my return - need to try and get 1st engaging again
W38R1 - Burnley, Colne, Foulridge, Blacko, Roughlee, Newchurch, Sabden Fold, Higham, Fence, Burnley, Nelson, Fence, Burnley
W38R2 - Extended Clarion run


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## FrothNinja (24 Sep 2022)

W38R3 - local on the Centurion, all gears now working
W38R4 - Commute to Preston from Pendle, punctured with a fine view of an inversion as I wrestled with the tyre. Broke a tyre lever and puncture was on the side wall. Stopped and bought extra tubes en route.


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## FrothNinja (27 Sep 2022)

W39R1 - Burnley, Higham, Ridge, Dean, Sabden, Stainscomb, Sabden Fold, Jinny Lane, Clarion, high rocky road to Barley, Newchurch, Sabden Fold, Stainscomb, Sabden, Dean, Ridge, Higham, Guide Lane, Spen Brook, Jinny Lane, Roughlee, Noggarth, Fence, Burnley *(total 26.2 miles plus 1030 m of ascent)*
W39R2 - Commute from Preston to Pendle, punctured 3 times but the goob did its job
W39R3 - Through the pissing rain & howling gale to my LBS and back. Very glad I took dry full winter gloves for the ride back. Sometimes I wish the shop was 5 miles closer


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## FrothNinja (7 Oct 2022)

W40R1 - Burnley, Brierfield, Wheatley Lane, Fence, and then reversed
W40R2 - By my standards, a quick local run with high averages for me of

Speed15.1mi/h21.4mi/hHeart Rate146bpm178bpmCadence91143
W40R3 - So much rain this week I thought I wouldn't get a third in. Just back from a turn around my local gravel loop, with a deviation to admire the river in spate.


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## FrothNinja (14 Oct 2022)

W41R1 - Burnley, Foulridge, Blacko, Roughlee, Clarion, Spen Brook, Sabden Fold, the Ridge, Black Hill, the Ridge, Fence, Brierfield, Burnley
W41R2 - Burnley, the Ridge, Sabden, Whalley, Old Langho, A59, Preston
W41R3 - Briercliffe, Brierfield, L&L, Colne (LBS), L&L, Nelson, Burnley


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## FrothNinja (22 Oct 2022)

W42R1 - circular route from Ashton Under Lyne using chunks of the Oldham to Ashton cycleway
W42R2 - local ride doing various chores
W42R3 - local after dark ride - at least it was dry-ish
W43R1 - Burnley, Nelson, Barrowford, Colne, Foulridge, Barnoldswick, L&L, Brierfield, Wheatley Lane, Fence, Burnley


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## FrothNinja (30 Oct 2022)

W43R2 - local after dark ride
W43R3 - local after dark ride


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## FrothNinja (4 Nov 2022)

Another week where fitting in the outdoor rides felt like a chore.
W44R1 - Out to Townley - ride curtailed due to a mechanical
W44R2 & W44R3 - LBS rides to have my repair double checked and finished properly


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## FrothNinja (11 Nov 2022)

W45R1 - Extended loop to the Clarion
W45R2 - Burnley, Brierfield, Fence, Burnley
W45R3 - local gravel bashing
W45R4 - local run between showerings of gifts from the sky


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## FrothNinja (21 Nov 2022)

W45R5 - Burnley, Townley, Worsthorne, Roggerham, Monk Hall, Haggate, Burnley
W46R1 - Burnley, Fence, Sabden Fold, Newchurch, Barley, Newchurch, Clarion, Newchurch, Barley, Roughlee, Stang Top, Four Lane Ends, Ing Head Moor, Four Lane Ends, Roughlee, Stang Top, Roughlee, Spen Brook, Wheatley Lane, Barrowford, Nelson, Brierfield, Burnley
W46R2 - local run
W46R3 - local gravel bashing
W46R4 - short run round Meole Brace and Bellvue


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## FrothNinja (26 Nov 2022)

W47R1 - In and around Shrewsbury (Meole Brace, Bell Vue, Frankwell etc)
W47R2 - Shrewsbury, Atcham, Wroxeter and back
W47R3 - local Burnley miles
W47R4 - Roughlee, Barrowford, Noggarth, Barrowford, Roughlee


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## bluenotebob (27 Nov 2022)

Not sure when I last posted in this challenge – probably early March. I’ve ridden every day since the end of February – apart from 11 March, 18 July and 21 October – so I was still in the challenge at the beginning of this week (21st November – week 47).

I really couldn’t be bothered posting here every week – but I would have posted something if I’d failed to do the minimum number of weekly rides.

I’ll post every week now until the end of the year.

*Week 47 – ride 1* (Wed) – 67 mins – local ride on the MASSI mountain bike

*Week 47 – ride 2* (Fri) – 3 hrs 43 mins – 2 x local rides on the Shaper 200 then on the RAID mountain bike, then Mauron-Lézonnet-Mauron on the Urban Shaper (more info + photos in the ‘Your Ride Today’ thread)

*Week 47 – ride 3* (Sat) – 2 hrs 6 mins – loop out to Corbinais and Ville Jallu on the Sensium 300 road bike


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## bluenotebob (30 Nov 2022)

*Week 48 – ride 1* (Mon) – 40 mins – out to St Brieuc-de-Mauron (SBdM) via Pontmenard to see which roads were closed because of the scheduled ’10 day’ road closure/deviations in the centre of SBdM… answer “none” because they hadn’t started the work... On the Shaper 200 hybrid

*Week 48 – ride 2* (Tues) – 54 mins – loop through SBdM, Briend, le Faux and la Suais on the Urban Shaper hybrid

*Week 48 – ride 3* (Wed) – 1 hr 2 mins – loop through SBdM, le Faux, Raserais and Esquiniac on the Shaper 200 hybrid

I’ve done other rides this week – and I shall do more over the next four days, despite the cold weather – but that’ll do for week 48.

I noticed that I did very few rides at the start of December 2021 – according to my notes, it was “very cold, windy and showery” – and Storm Barra passed through. I don’t remember any of it… I suspect that having passed my annual target towards the end of November, I was having a rest. As I passed this year’s annual target back in September – and have continued to push on – then that won’t apply this year.

Four weeks to go … good luck @FrothNinja !


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## FrothNinja (30 Nov 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> *Week 48 – ride 1* (Mon) – 40 mins – out to St Brieuc-de-Mauron (SBdM) via Pontmenard to see which roads were closed because of the scheduled ’10 day’ road closure/deviations in the centre of SBdM… answer “none” because they hadn’t started the work... On the Shaper 200 hybrid
> 
> *Week 48 – ride 2* (Tues) – 54 mins – loop through SBdM, Briend, le Faux and la Suais on the Urban Shaper hybrid
> 
> ...



Cheers @bluenotebob - I have just realised that I have mucked up my week count somewhere!


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## FrothNinja (30 Nov 2022)

I buggered up the week count back in March (turned last ride of W10 into 9) & I fear some may have copied me, very sorry - been going back and correcting myself


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## bluenotebob (30 Nov 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> buggered up the week count back in March (turned last ride of W10 into 9) & I fear some may have copied me, very sorry - been going back and correcting myself



I was never very sure what 'week' you were on because you started on a Saturday (if memory serves) which, I think, was 1st January. Anyway, you're back on track now. 

Just a few cold, windy (and probably wet) rides to do now and we'll both be over the line. 

Assuming we both finish, do you think we should award ourselves a little icon ? .. something along the lines of 3x30xWk.. ?


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## FrothNinja (30 Nov 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> I was never very sure what 'week' you were on because you started on a Saturday (if memory serves) which, I think, was 1st January. Anyway, you're back on track now.
> 
> Just a few cold, windy (and probably wet) rides to do now and we'll both be over the line.
> 
> Assuming we both finish, do you think we should award ourselves a little icon ? .. something along the lines of 3x30xWk.. ?



I think a little icon would be a fitting reward - and maybe a little treat on the last day of the year. I think I have ridden at the very least, a mile on an ancient friction trainer on the days I haven't been able to get out and do my 30 mins. Getting tricky now as at least one ride a week has to be after dark. I think we have done great and hope we are not the only ones to make it this far.


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## FrothNinja (2 Dec 2022)

W48R1 - Inverted Alien on local roads & towpath
W48R2 - Burnley, Wheatley Lane, Barrowford, Colne, Alkincoats, Foulridge, Whitemoor, Gisburn Old Road (low sided at 28 kph), Rimington, Four Lane Ends, Barley, Newchurch, Clarion (lights on but door locked 😢), Spen Brook, Fence, Burnley (total 31.7 miles */ 51.0 km* plus 3,820 ft of ascent)
W48R3 - wonky cross on local roads
W48R4 - local L&L run

The results of R2's prang are scabbing up nicely and no sign of bruises though I can feel them


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## bluenotebob (7 Dec 2022)

What a cold week – and getting colder !

*Week 49 – ride 1* (Mon) – 62 mins – a loop through SBdM, le Faux, Raserais and Esquiniac on the Shaper 200 hybrid*. *Unplanned but I noticed afterwards that this was exactly the same ride as Week 48/ride 2 – same time and only 50 metres longer. A slight surprise to see how consistent I am (albeit consistently slow…).

*Week 49 – ride 2* (Tues) – 60 mins – a very local ride on the MASSI mountain bike – stayed close to the village only venturing as far as Pontmenard. The MASSI passed 2700km on this ride – not bad considering I only got the bike in April this year. A third of my annual distance this year has been on my two MTBs – a complete contrast to earlier years. I guess that reflects a change in my riding habits and is also a reflection (particularly the heat of July and August) of this year’s weather.

*Week 49 – ride 3* (Wed) – 64 mins – local lanes and some offroad tracks, trying to avoid the worst of the NE wind, on the RAID mountain bike

@FrothNinja .. do you think you’ll continue with this Challenge next year?

I’ll be 70-years old next week and I’m wondering whether to retire from all the three challenges that I’ve done this year, ie this one, HMCAM and the Lunacy challenge. I’ve no intention of slowing down though – I’ve already set my targets for 2023: monthly and annual, and all five bikes have monthly and annual minimum and stretch targets too. It’s just a case of whether my 2023 targets fit into – or conflict with – these three challenges. I’ve just had my best year ever on the bike(s) but I’m now struggling to work out how I’m going to finish this year’s HMCAM challenge. I don’t need extra stress in my life and I may well pull out of that challenge in 2023.

I can continue with this ‘3 x 30m per week’ if you’re up for it. But I think we should re-define the posting rules….and it would be better if there were more entrants. Perhaps a little ‘publicity campaign’ would be a good idea – starting in mid-December?

What are your thoughts for next year?


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## FrothNinja (7 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> What a cold week – and getting colder !
> 
> *Week 49 – ride 1* (Mon) – 62 mins – a loop through SBdM, le Faux, Raserais and Esquiniac on the Shaper 200 hybrid*. *Unplanned but I noticed afterwards that this was exactly the same ride as Week 48/ride 2 – same time and only 50 metres longer. A slight surprise to see how consistent I am (albeit consistently slow…).
> 
> ...



I only do this, the half century monthly, the lunacy and the simplified climbing lunacy. I intend to do them all again next year.
For the last couple of months I have been doing a minimum of 2km a day on a bike though this includes riding the bike I used at Uni decades ago on my dumb trainer. If I can get a cheap smart trainer I would prefer to use that as riding the friction trainer is unbelievably boring.
I like the idea of involving more people in the 3 30 53 challenge, not so keen on more rules but interested to hear what you have in mind. I wonder if more people would stick it out if there were 'official' cyclechat points on offer. I know we don't seem to need that but others may.
It's been a sh!tty year for me in many parts of my life & logic dictates the pressure of meeting this challenges requirements would add to the stress but it hasn't. Forcing myself to ride up to 3 times a week in adverse conditions has been enormously therapeutic, even if I have often been swearing out on the bikes.
Many happy salutations and congratulations for your forthcoming 3 score years and ten. All power to your knees & long may your lungs reek etc
ps My ride today was quite festive - the canal has frozen & I saw a kingfisher - a truly Halcyon ride


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## bluenotebob (7 Dec 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> I intend to them all again next year.



OK - that's good ! 

I didn't mean "more rules" for next year - I hoped that we could simplify them .. in particular, the reporting. Earlier this year, this thread looked like a sad and much less interesting version of the 'Your Ride Today' thread a lot of the time. I'll think more about it and post something soon.

I was also wondering whether it should be 60 mins x 3 times a week (rather than 30 mins) - any views on that? 

Not sure about "extra points" .. you get points anyway if you've ridden more than 50km on one of the rides.

Well done on seeing a kingfisher today - once seen, never forgotten - I've only seen two in my life: the first in the Yorkshire Dales back in the 1970s and the other a few years ago in the Claie Valley south of here. A flash of bejewelled blue - and you know what it is. 

Thanks for the congrats for my birthday - not there yet but the chocolate cake is on order...


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## FrothNinja (7 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> OK - that's good !
> 
> I didn't mean "more rules" for next year - I hoped that we could simplify them .. in particular, the reporting. Earlier this year, this thread looked like a sad and much less interesting version of the 'Your Ride Today' thread a lot of the time. I'll think more about it and post something soon.
> 
> ...



I'd prefer to keep it 30 minutes, easier to fit in with work during the week - I can nip out locally during lunch.
Regards points - mayhap a something for completing would be appropriate.
I think I know what you mean about the reporting. I may have contributed to that, partly because I was still quite new to the forum, partly because I felt a need to keep the thread going.


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## bluenotebob (9 Dec 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> I'd prefer to keep it 30 minutes, easier to fit in with work during the week - I can nip out locally during lunch.
> Regards points - mayhap a something for completing would be appropriate.
> I think I know what you mean about the reporting. I may have contributed to that, partly because I was still quite new to the forum, partly because I felt a need to keep the thread going.



Yes, fine .. we'll stick to the 30 mins - and it would also allow some commutes to qualify. 

I'm sorry but I don't know what you have in mind regarding points. Maybe you should discuss this with someone more experienced on CC than me? 

You did very well keeping the thread alive this year. I stopped reporting every week, thinking I'd catch up with a huge 'block booking' - but the longer I left it, the bigger the job - and I never got round to it. 

I think reporting in 2023 could be once a week, or once every two or three weeks - I certainly don't think reporting after every ride is necessary. 

I hope it's warmer in the Burnley area than it is here ... I've been here on and off for 30 years and I don't remember a December like this. I've been out every day on one of my bikes but it's been a real struggle.


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## FrothNinja (9 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> Yes, fine .. we'll stick to the 30 mins - and it would also allow some commutes to qualify.
> 
> I'm sorry but I don't know what you have in mind regarding points. Maybe you should discuss this with someone more experienced on CC than me?
> 
> ...


Not really sure what I mean by the points either - was thinking that there should be some sort of acknowledgement for finishing the challenge.
Will only be recording once a week in 2023.
As to temperature - been frozen here since Sunday, after an unseasonably warm few weeks - spring flowers had been blooming!!


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## FrothNinja (9 Dec 2022)

The combined joys of the lurgy and a deep freeze mean I have been using the recently resuscitated Fatty the Folda to do gentle local rides along the canal.
W49R1 - Local roads on the Folda and the Centurion (8 gears in total!)
W49R2 - Burnley miles on the Centurion
W49R3 - Cold but not hard frozen - flowers still out that hadn't remembered they should have stopped in October 






W49R4 - Icey fun along the L&L on the Folda
W49R5 - More icey fun along the L&L on the Folda, shortest ride of the week & only just 30 mins - but I saw the towpath being mowed!!
W49R6 - Further icey fun along the L&L on the Folda, longest ride of the week - aided by remembering to take some water with me.
The more relaxed riding stance & speed/effort has been surprisingly fun - think I will keep this route/bike combo in mind for future icey days.


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## bluenotebob (9 Dec 2022)

That's a great photo of the frozen canal @FrothNinja !


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## steverob (13 Dec 2022)

With that picture we might need to change your name to FrostNinja!


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## bluenotebob (14 Dec 2022)

*Week 50 – ride 1* (Mon) – 64 mins – stayed close to the village on the MASSI mountain bike trying to minimise my exposure to a brutally cold E wind. Managed another 45 mins on the RAID mountain bike a bit later in the afternoon … celebrated selling a lawnmower between the two rides so the thought of a bit of extra cash for Xmas helped to counter that damn cold wind.

*Week 50 – ride 2* (Tues) – 59 mins – similar to Monday’s ride but on the Urban Shaper hybrid bike. Still that bone-chilling E wind, so I didn’t venture very far at all. After my ride, I shot off in the van to a local market to collect supplies (and a wonderful pre-ordered chocolate cake), back in time to start some bread then out again for 25 mins on the RAID before the cold and dark forced me home.

*Week 50 – ride 3* (Wed) – 43 mins – +2C and raining .. made myself stay out when all I wanted to do was curl up by the stove and read a book. On the MASSI again and (again) stayed very close to home.

It’s forecast to snow here tomorrow (Thursday). If it does and if I get any good photos, I’ll post the best one in the ‘Snow & Ice’ thread.


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## FrothNinja (16 Dec 2022)

W50R1 - Local slide on the Fatty
W50R2 - Burnley miles on the Centurion
W50R3 - Burnley miles on the Centurion
W50R4 - Hybrid on ice through Burnley, Nelson, Barrowford, Fence, Burnley. Felt sketchier on ice than the Folda.
W50R5 - Burnley miles on the Centurion - rather surprising avg of 14.5mph
W50R6 - Rode Fatty along the L&L on long stretches of shot ice through Burnley, Brierfield, Nelson, to Wicked Bikez for new tyres and tubes then back again in the dark with the ice sparkling like tiny fairy lights in the bike lights. The compacted ice and black ice are real ring clenchers on descents - dismounted a couple of times after the front wheel tried to ignore me.


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## bluenotebob (20 Dec 2022)

Good to see that you've sorted out your signature @FrothNinja ... if you're still looking for the Lunacy icon, the URL is (with the standard prefix)

/attachments/437253/

I'd thought that this 3x30minsxWk challenge should be re-launched in 2023 in a new thread - but maybe that's not necessary .. we can just continue posting here. What do you think? 

Can we standardise 'weeks' in 2023? So that normally a week runs from Monday to Sunday - apart from Week 1 which starts 1st Jan and runs to 8th Jan. ... Week 2 would be 9th Jan to 16th Jan etc. OK with you? 

I'm still thinking about the icon for this challenge .. I thought it should be a circle (representing a clock face) with a line running vertically from the centre to the bottom (to represent the minute hand of the clock at 6, ie 30 mins) - and in blue, to distinguish it more easily from other challenge icons. But - so far, I haven't been able to find a circle shape in Paint... any thoughts or suggestions or alternative ideas?


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## bluenotebob (21 Dec 2022)

*Week 51 – ride 1* (Mon) – 43 mins – the rain finally relented (it had rained continuously for close to 30 hours) and I got out for a short and very windy ride on the MASSI mountain bike. Stayed close to home and tried to avoid being buffeted too much by the gusty wind

*Week 51 – ride 2* (Tues) – 51 mins – SBdM, Geffray, Faux and Suais – on the Urban Shaper hybrid. I didn’t get out until 4.30pm and the mist (after another heavy bout of rain) was already starting to form. By the end of the ride, I was cycling through large spectral wraiths which were spreading across the fields and roads – luckily, there was very little traffic about. A few local floods but nothing serious.

*Week 51 – ride 3* (Wed) – 74 mins – Esquiniac, Evriguet, Kerminy and SBdM. A wet and windy ride on the Shaper 200 hybrid.

I’ll do more rides this week but, as far as this challenge is concerned, that’s Week 51 done and dusted.


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## bluenotebob (21 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> I'd thought that this 3x30minsxWk challenge should be re-launched in 2023 in a new thread - but maybe that's not necessary .. we can just continue posting here. What do you think?
> 
> Can we standardise 'weeks' in 2023? So that normally a week runs from Monday to Sunday - apart from Week 1 which starts 1st Jan and runs to 8th Jan. ... Week 2 would be 9th Jan to 16th Jan etc. OK with you?
> 
> I'm still thinking about the icon for this challenge .. I thought it should be a circle (representing a clock face) with a line running vertically from the centre to the bottom (to represent the minute hand of the clock at 6, ie 30 mins) - and in blue, to distinguish it more easily from other challenge icons. But - so far, I haven't been able to find a circle shape in Paint... any thoughts or suggestions or alternative ideas?



@FrothNinja ... you haven't responded to any of this - shall I just go ahead anyway ?


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## bluenotebob (22 Dec 2022)

New challenge thread for 2023 created here ...

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/three-30-minute-rides-each-week-of-the-year-challenge-2023.289400/


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## FrothNinja (22 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> New challenge thread for 2023 created here ...
> 
> https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/three-30-minute-rides-each-week-of-the-year-challenge-2023.289400/



Sorry, bit frantic at the mo, just done my ride for the day but still have an hour or so of work to do and was busy til near midnight last night.
New thread seems sensible.
An 8 day week to start seems ok, but starting the week on Sundays would be equally logical.
If you haven't already cracked it by then, I'll have a go at a clock symbol on paint later in the week.


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## FrothNinja (22 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> New challenge thread for 2023 created here ...
> 
> https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/three-30-minute-rides-each-week-of-the-year-challenge-2023.289400/



Only reservation is being prescriptive about stating length of time on the bike - it's a stat I don't make a note of and it usually doesn't equate to time in motion. Also slightly concerned it may promote a degree of competition, but mostly its just me not wanting to try & figure it out


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## bluenotebob (22 Dec 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> If you haven't already cracked it by then, I'll have a go at a clock symbol on paint later in the week.



Yes, please - see what you can do. It won't matter if we haven't sorted it out by year-end.


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## bluenotebob (22 Dec 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> Only reservation is being prescriptive about stating length of time on the bike - it's a stat I don't make a note of and it usually doesn't equate to time in motion. Also slightly concerned it may promote a degree of competition, but mostly its just me not wanting to try & figure it out



You should include 'length of time' when posting a ride as that's the key criterion for a qualifying ride - everybody else reported that stat earlier in the year when there were a few of us in the challenge.

Doesn't your Garmin (or whatever you use to calculate distance, height gained etc) give you the information? 

If not, then a general guess at the length of time on your bike would suffice. 

I don't think it would lead to any competitiveness within the challenge. Earlier this year, there were all sorts of time variations - and I thought that just made it more interesting.


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## FrothNinja (23 Dec 2022)

W51R1 - Burnley, Fence, Roughlee, Clarion, Spen Brooks, Wheatley Lane, Brierfield, Burnley (bike change) Brierfield, Nelson, Barrowford, Colne, Barrowford, Nelson, Brierfield, Burnley (bike change) Brierfield, Nelson, Barrowford, Brierfield, Wheatley Lane, Fence, Burnley (total 32.1 miles */ 51.7 km* plus 2,181 ft of ascent) Half Century finished
W51R2 - Burnley miles on the Centurion
W51R3 - Burnley miles on the Centurion
W51R4 - Burnley miles on the Centurion
Went out today as well but for well under half an hour, and achieved my highest ever average recorded speed on a bike ride.
20.1 mph - Avg Moving Speed & 25.6 mph - Max Speed
The weirdest part is that it was on the Centurion 5 speed. Hit a sweet spot and the roads were post Apocalypse quite. 

One more week to go - I suspect @bluenotebob will cross the finish line first


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## bluenotebob (24 Dec 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> One more week to go - I suspect @bluenotebob will cross the finish line first



I might @FrothNinja but it’s not a race. I try and do these 3 weekly rides Monday through Wednesday whenever possible – but we’ve got some odd weather coming next week so I may be a bit behind with that schedule.

I’d hoped to do something a bit different for one or two of my Week 52 rides, including a tour of the Lac au Duc on one of my mountain bikes – but the lake has flooded its banks in a few places .. so I’ll have to leave that until Jan or Feb.

Congrats on the record average speed! I’ve definitely slowed down over the last couple of years .. my fastest ride this year was only 19kph – way slower then you.

Will you set yourself a higher distance Lunacy challenge for 2023? You sailed past your 50km target for this year with months to spare.

Will you sign-up to the ‘2023 Consistency’ challenge next year? It looks interesting and you can double-book your rides from other challenges.

Good luck with Week 52 – and have a great Christmas!


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## FrothNinja (25 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> *1 - *Congrats on the record average speed! I’ve definitely slowed down over the last couple of years .. my fastest ride this year was only 19kph – way slower then you.
> 
> *2 - *Will you set yourself a higher distance Lunacy challenge for 2023? You sailed past your 50km target for this year with months to spare.
> 
> ...



Can't figure out the multi-quote thing so;
1 - My usual average on that route is multi - lap and about 16 mph. On the longer rides I only average about 11 mph - which appears to be much slower than most group rides so I avoid them.
2 - 35 miles maybe. The problem is that while I a did more than double the required amount, not that many were much over it. Maybe I should give myself a stretch target too. Same with the climbing challenge.
3 - Tempted but the rules seem a little daunting. We'll see....
4 - Happy Christmas & a Merry Hogmanay to thee and thine, hope you have a satisfying finish to the year.


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## bluenotebob (27 Dec 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> Can't figure out the multi-quote thing so;
> 1 - My usual average on that route is multi - lap and about 16 mph. On the longer rides I only average about 11 mph - which appears to be much slower than most group rides so I avoid them.
> 2 - 35 miles maybe. The problem is that while I a did more than double the required amount, not that many were much over it. Maybe I should give myself a stretch target too. Same with the climbing challenge.
> 3 - Tempted but the rules seem a little daunting. We'll see....
> 4 - Happy Christmas & a Merry Hogmanay to thee and thine, hope you have a satisfying finish to the year.



One of the things I liked about the new ‘Consistency’ challenge is that you get a point for 40km (25 mile) rides. I do 40-45km rides quite often but can’t quite get them up to the 50km mark to qualify for the HMCAM challenge.

Yes – the rules for the ‘Consistency’ challenge are a bit confusing but I’m sure it’ll become clearer when some people have actually posted a few rides. And if you miss a month because of illness or injury, you can re-allocate a ride from another month (which, of course, you can’t do in the HMCAM challenge).

Setting yourself a higher distance target in the Lunacy challenge means it becomes more of a challenge .. but don’t make the mistake I made in 2020 and 2021 of setting a target too high. 2020 was impossible anyway because of COVID Lockdown rules here – but I should have met my target in 2021. It was too much (84km with a stretch target of 90km) – I just ran out of steam in November that year and my failure still rankles…

The other thing is time – even though I don’t work any more, finding the time to do 5 or 6 hour-rides can sometimes be difficult.

I hope you enjoyed your Christmas. I spent Xmas Day with my French neighbours eating an enormous lunch that went on for hours .. I usually only have some fruit for lunch so it was a shock to the system that I’m only slowly recovering from...


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## Ming the Merciless (27 Dec 2022)

I haven’t managed this every week. Holidays and I had Covid in November. I’d estimate I’ve managed this about 47 weeks this year.


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## bluenotebob (27 Dec 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> I haven’t managed this every week. Holidays and I had Covid in November. I’d estimate I’ve managed this about 47 weeks this year.



Sorry to hear about the Covid. I hope you've fully recovered now


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## Ming the Merciless (27 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> Sorry to hear about the Covid. I hope you've fully recovered now



It was mild and accounted for three weeks off bike. No lasting effects from what I can see.


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## bluenotebob (28 Dec 2022)

*Week 52 – ride 1* (Mon) – 52 mins – colder than recently but sunny (for a change) with a stiff W wind. SBdM, Plaisance and Pontmenard – on the Urban Shaper hybrid.

*Week 52 – ride 2* (Tues) – 1hr 48mins – SBdM, Kerminy, Evriguet and Guilliers, a loop around Guilliers then followed the same route in reverse on the way home. Only the second outing in December for the road bike (and perhaps the last, looking at the weather to come for the rest of this week).

*Week 52 – ride 3* (Wed) – 38 mins – out on the MASSI mountain bike in gusty winds and horizontal rain … doing my Gene Kelly impression. Didn’t stray far from the village and tried to stay in the lee of some tall pines to get some shelter from the wind.

That’s 2022 done as far as this challenge is concerned. I’ve managed to ride 347/362 days so far (with a minimum of 7km per day). I doubt I’ve had done that in the winter months if it hadn’t been for this challenge – thanks to @Ming the Merciless for setting it up.

Good luck @FrothNinja getting the rest of your Week 52 rides done before the storm hits Fri/Sat.


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## FrothNinja (28 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> *Week 52 – ride 1* (Mon) – 52 mins – colder than recently but sunny (for a change) with a stiff W wind. SBdM, Plaisance and Pontmenard – on the Urban Shaper hybrid.
> 
> *Week 52 – ride 2* (Tues) – 1hr 48mins – SBdM, Kerminy, Evriguet and Guilliers, a loop around Guilliers then followed the same route in reverse on the way home. Only the second outing in December for the road bike (and perhaps the last, looking at the weather to come for the rest of this week).
> 
> ...



I've done my 3, waiting to see if I can make it 4 tomorrow - dryish start to the day forecast - or possibly go out on a high 5.
Just got back in from fulfilling my personal minimum daily ride. Living room feels far too hot now! Felt a tad cool before I left...


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## FrothNinja (30 Dec 2022)

One day left but forecast for the morrow is not promising so:
W52R1 (177 mins) - Burnley, Brierfield, Wheatley Lane, Spen Brook, Newchurch, Barley, 4 Lane Ends, Twiston, Downham, Chatburn, Clitheroe, Nick Of Pendle, Sabden, (dropped my bidon and gave its bottom a crack of its own), Portfield (kind householder let me refill my bottle which I then installed upside down), the Ridge, Read, Higher Trapp, the Ridge, Wheatley Lane, Cuckstool Lane, Brierfield, Burnley (total 31.2 miles */ 50.2 km* plus 3,481 ft/ 1,061m of ascent)
W52R2 (30 mins) - Burnley miles on the Centurion
W52R3 (56 mins) - Burnley, Brierfield, Wheatley Lane, Fence, Wood End, Burnley on the hybrid
W52R4 (56 mins) - Heyroyd and back on Fatty the Folda - about half of it along the wave lashed L&L, gads it was windy

Look - practicing putting the moving time on!


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## bluenotebob (30 Dec 2022)

Congratulations @FrothNinja ! ... and yes, I spotted that you'd added the ride time...

You've had a cracking 2022 with all four of your challenges completed. 

I hope to get out on Sunday and make a start on next year's 3x30minsxweek. 

I'll put a reminder in this thread that 2023 rides should be posted in the new thread - and I'll ask the mods to close this one (next week sometime). OK with you? 

50mph winds here all day - and one tree down in the village (not one of mine, thankfully). 

Enjoy your New Year's Eve !


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## FrothNinja (30 Dec 2022)

Is this of use for this/next year? Needs shrinking etc


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## bluenotebob (30 Dec 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> Is this of use for this/next year? Needs shrinking etc



Yes - looks great ! 

I reckon the characters will all but disappear when shrunk - but that's OK

Here it is as a 34 x 22 image (1023 bytes) - and even that might still be too big..


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## FrothNinja (30 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> Yes - looks great !
> 
> I reckon the characters will all but disappear when shrunk - but that's OK
> 
> ...



Can still read it - reckon if it shrinks again the hands at 3 o'clock will still be readable


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## bluenotebob (30 Dec 2022)

This is 27 x 18 (889 bytes) and it will probably fit OK into the signature line






If you're happy with that, shall I try and load it into CC media?


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## FrothNinja (30 Dec 2022)

bluenotebob said:


> This is 27 x 18 (889 bytes) and it will probably fit OK into the signature line
> 
> View attachment 672753
> 
> ...



Yup, happy with that


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## bluenotebob (30 Dec 2022)

FrothNinja said:


> Yup, happy with that



OK - it's uploaded into media

.. usual prefix .. /attachments/3xchallenge-jpg.672763/

Hope you can access it OK .. if not, let me know

This is what it looks like in my signature ..


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## FrothNinja (31 Dec 2022)

W52R5 (not sure but I was out for a few hours) - Local gravel & chores with many distractions, not least listening to Blossom Toes


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## FrothNinja (31 Dec 2022)

Last ride was on my CX bike - felt like a rocket ship compared to the other 3 I have ridden this week. First time I have ridden it since the end of November. Piddled down most of the time I was riding but there was naff all wind - which was nice. Averaged 14.3 mph / 23 kph on the gravel which I am quite pleased with, especially as I wasn't really attacking it due to rain induced vision issues. I beat my PR by 1 sec. That said the slowest in the top 10 is 15.9 mph.
Nice to finish on the up


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## bluenotebob (1 Jan 2023)

Please don't post any 2023 rides in this thread

They should be posted here ...

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/three-30-minute-rides-each-week-of-the-year-challenge-2023.289400/


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