Didnt make 50!

[david k]

Just completed my longest ride yet, it said 51 mile on my computer but endomondo says 46 miles!

Im happy anyway, i couldnt push myself any more and wouldnt have done the other 4 miles had i known. I enjoyed most of the ride on the trans pennine trail, but coming back from southport through ormskirk with busy traffic and howling wind was noisy and painful. I think ill take the trail back next time.

I was very hungry half way round and drunk more than i thought i would, i know what i need to take now for next time, it took over 4 hours!

Still, over all i enjoyed it, i keep checking it out on endo!

My next challenge is southport and back with maybe a small detour to make it 50 mile round trip, probably next spring, still a jump from 19 mile to 46 mile i think is a good effort

 

[coffeejo]

Well done, no matter what the final mileage was.

 

[apollo179]

46 miles is a good effort. Is the trans pennine trail a pukka tarmac surface. Why wait till spring - off peak you avoid all the pita pedestrians. As Eric Cantona might have said the man (or woman) who only cycles in nice weather in the UK has a very shiny bike.

 

[Rob500]

Brilliant effort David. Well done.

 

[chillyuk]

You come over as having a big smile on your face whatever the tribulations. Well done and now start planning your next expedition.

 

[funnymummy]

WTG David

 

[david k]

thank you

the trans pennine trail has some smooth tarmac sections which i have rode before. I have never gone far on it until today, imagine my surprise when it turned into a mud track!!! I thought i had gone wrong and doubles back for a mile or so to find that i had infact took the right route. 2 miles in mud and it come to a full stop!!! it took me several minutes to get my bearings, all confused i took this side track that led to a road in Aintree/ish. I found it was next to a canal and it looked a nice ride so decided to take that, i asked a bloke fishing who told me the trail isnt continuous and you have to leave it for a couple of miles and get back on, the penny dropped. As it turned out the canal continued for several miles, led to a road which picked up the trail again. The signs are small and i was looking for the trail on the right, i saw a trail but no signs, i didnt want to take any trail so carried on against the winds, i slogged it out for 2 miles and thought i must have gone wrong, i asked a bloke who took great pleasure in telling me i had missed it, so i turned round and 2 miles later the trail i had seen had in fact been the correct one.

So that was probably about 1/4 of the ride and id used up most of my water!, the rest of the track was pretty smooth, nice and queit the odd cyclist and walker, all very pleasent, got to southport and had a nice break. I head back off home using the main roads, that was fine for a few miles but then became a drag. Its so boring and noisy having cars wizz past you every few seconds, it was windy and rained a few times, the last 10 miles were not much fun. Next time ill take the trail back and go down the east lancs i think

my legs ache now!!!

 

[billy1561]

David, take a look on the trans pennine website you can buy the maps for the route from there and they are excellent for bikes. Where abouts are you located? I'm in warrington and fancy trying the southport back route through the loop line. Nearly all off road traffic free.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Well done!

Today is not a great day to go for new PB's so I reckon a 'Moral 50' is allowed due to the wind! Even around Oxfordshire today it was hard going.

As you've now realised, the key to going further is regular food and drink and plenty of it:

'Eat before your hungry, drink before you're thirsty - little and often is the rule'!

Congrats.

 

[david k]

David, take a look on the trans pennine website you can buy the maps for the route from there and they are excellent for bikes. Where abouts are you located? I'm in warrington and fancy trying the southport back route through the loop line. Nearly all off road traffic free.

im in st helens but started near gateacre in liverpool, so did a loop from gateacre, southport to st helens

yeh most of it is off road and traffic free, so much more enjoyable, i wont make the same mistakes next time round. i was averaging around 13.5mph on sections but other parts are more like 6/7mph in the mud, but thats not for long, my overall average was around 11mph i think, sure i can improve it next time

doesnt the trail go to warrington? i know it goes to widnes, i thought of taking it back there and going through sutton, clock face back to st helens, not sure if that better option than the east lancs


i have a map but forgot to take it!!doh, ill have a look at it in a min and see where i went wrong, even so the route i found was quite good, i just need to remember not to miss the turns!!

yeh for the moral 50! i suppose it gives me something to aim for next time

 

[billy1561]

Yes David, continue under Runcorn bridge and the trail through widnes to warrington is beautiful. It continues to Hornsea on the east coast. 215 Miles from Southport and on my 'to do' list for next summer over 3 or 4 days

 

[Cyclist33]

Well done David, just found this thread. I would agree, battling the swirling head and cross winds up here today made half the trip much more taxing than it otherwise might have been. I reckon you could claim the 50 if your computer says so, what with the detours, mud and general weaving about!

Stu

 

[david k]

by the third pint this will be 60 miles!

 

[Tomba]

David, if you can, upload the route to Endomondos website and have a close look at the route. You may have done the 50.

If for some reason you cant pick up a satellite at one or more points on the journey it kind of tracks a straight line from the last know contact with a satellite and can shorten/lengthen the journey you took.

Went out on a short ride from mine last week to practice a 12% hill. My computer showed it as 4.08 miles and Endomondo showed it as 5.16. I thought that was too far out on either the computer or GPS Phone so measured it on Google Earth and it was 4.04 miles.
http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/ummIEY98ND0

The only reason I can think of is it cant be picking up satellites constantly and its calculating distances.

And well done on the ride. 50 is my next milestone

 

[Norm]

Off road miles count for 150% of road miles, IMO. So, CONGRATS on making your 50.

Joking aside, I'd trust a computer (if properly set up) over Endomondo or any other GPS-based tracker. Whilst GPS is usually pretty accurate, a hiccup (from trees, hills, weather systems etc) could easily throw them off the sniff by a few hundred metres and, over 4 hours, there will be plenty of hiccups..

For instance, I was following David Walliams' swim down the Thames yesterday, according to the GPS tracker, he cut out several hundred metres of the loop north of Cookham by swimming through the Odney Club.