The 2021 Half Century (50km or 50m) a month challenge Chatzone

[LeetleGreyCells]

A day off work and a sunny jolly out to Burton on Trent to pick up some straggly veloviewer tiles in the area. Had to ride up the A38 for a few miles to get one of the tiles which, although a proper cycle path at the side, there are no barriers between you and the road so it’s no less dodgy!
Called in at Mercia Marina for a coffee and with all tiles got headed home though not without cutting through the grounds of Calke Abbey. Cracking ride out.

53.6 in 3:10

I didn't realise the café at the marina was open. Love walking round looking at the dutch 'narrow' boats - they're huge! And Calke Abbey has always been a favourite - have they finished the new cycling paths? Last time I went they hadn't even got it signposted.

 

[Noodle Legs]

I didn't realise the café at the marina was open. Love walking round looking at the dutch 'narrow' boats - they're huge! And Calke Abbey has always been a favourite - have they finished the new cycling paths? Last time I went they hadn't even got it signposted.

I don’t think it was open- I went to the shop! It was an impromptu stop to be honest. I never saw any paths going through Calke- just stuck to the roads. That’s not to say they’re not there though, will have to have another wander out there......

 

[Jon George]

An extra point for the month on a ride I only planned just before I went!

 

[Gibbo9]

Had to get out because work was doing my head in. Felt better after that's for sure.

 

[Gibbo9]

Finished a day early at site so headed home and got in early enough to take the bike out. Bike shop first for some fine tuning, although they did nothing. Really not feeling it this evening and almost turned for home at the 12k mark as it was very windy. Decided to push on and grind out the distance, it was a grind too. Gentle ride tomorrow morning before hitting the hills at the weekend.

 

[13 rider]

Monthly update time ,We have 27 riders fully posted up ,3 riders I know have done rides but yet to update the challenge thread in @AndreaJ ,@tallliman and @slow scot ( you still got your mention ). So with one weekend to go a nudge for @Rob and Alison ,@stoatsngroats ,@Pizza Man and @Chap sur le velo . Well done everyone clocks go forward this weekend so it's summertime get the shorts out

 

[Rob and Alison]

Finally managed to get a 50k in this afternoon, will get it posted shortly. Phew.

 

[Noodle Legs]

3 more points today as I ventured out with a friend who needed the two Midlands climbs of Beacon Hill and Polly Botts Lane chalking off his list. We followed the route of a local 80km sportive which, when factoring in getting to and from the start/end point, took the distance to well over 100km. As my mate is a beast of a climber this inevitably spurred me on to push a little harder than I anticipated up the two big climbs but I did end up with two PRs as a result!
Trying to find a cafe open for takeaways was as challenging as the climbs themselves as the ones I had in mind at strategic points on the route were closed! Eventually we did manage to find one that was open and we were able to have a little break as well as a cuppa and a cake.

Then from here after one more immediate biggish climb around the nearby quarry it was just a case of riding back the way we came albeit with a minor diversion to avoid dual carriageway and bypass roads.

72 miles (116km) in 4:43 with 4,700ft (1440m) of up. Nice to do that route again.

 

[C R]

A bit blowy today. Forecast was 12 to 15 mph, but Garmin says 20. Rode out into the wind, pretty much head on to Tewkesbury, and it was hard work, but from Tewkesbury had mostly a tail wind, which allowed me to get a couple of quite fast for me segments, and a reasonable 15.4 mph average. Legs are finally getting back to where they should be. Full report maybe later in t'other place.

 

[Chap sur le velo]

I've noticed that one or two posters claim credit for doing both 50 km AND 50 mile, monthly challenge(I assume they are doing them as separate rides) in their footnotes.

Is this a 'real' acknowledged thing or just a personal whim?

FWIW I have been doing both so far this year.

 

[13 rider]

I've noticed that one or two posters claim credit for doing both 50 km AND 50 mile, monthly challenge(I assume they are doing them as separate rides) in their footnotes.

Is this a 'real' acknowledged thing or just a personal whim?

FWIW I have been doing both so far this year.

The basic challenge is to ride either a 50km or 50mile once a month or a combination of both , some people choose the option of attempting both distances per month as an extra challenge but this is personal and earns no extra rewards other than personal satisfaction.

 

[Chap sur le velo]

I thought so, thanks for clarifying.

Quite like this thought, means I have to do 2 different Qualifying rides each month.

As before many thanks for organizing. I found March dreary and only enlivened by the 6 Nations and the need to get out and RIDE!

 

[Gibbo9]

A lazy Sunday afternoon ride. Whilst I do complain, a lot, about the amount of people on the riverside when its a weekend and the sun is shining, I do actually enjoy the rides immensely. I put this down to having to go so slow so as to avoid folk but it just makes it so much more enjoyable not flogging myself.

Lovely day for it and joined by the other half for the last 10km or so.

 

[Gibbo9]

Lucky to get out today, on site from yesterday but wasn't needed today so came back to Taipei and managed to get out just before dark. A bit windy today but still a nice ride.

Think that could be it for March as I could be offshore for the next couple of days.

 

[Jon George]

I snaffled another point today as a prelude for a target I've given myself.
A few years ago I did a sportive of 100 miles (and a training one two weeks previously) and also a smattering of 50 milers around the same time. Since then, I've only been out for long rides that take me over the qualifying distance for this challenge. So I've decided that for this year I'm going to embrace the idea behind this challenge and extend my weekly long ride by roughly 10% each time until I reach 50 miles. I've worked out a loop that I can add to, so ... wish me luck and watch this space!