The 2023 Half Century (50km or 50m) Challenge Chatzone

[13 rider]

@Noodle Legs I have been on Pirrelli race since May quite impressed , rear does have a few minor cuts but front perfect . They seem very fast rolling compared to last set up which was a giant gava front and Pirrelli cinturotto rear .
Hopefully things will settle down when you get properly settled in the new place

 

[Noodle Legs]

Thanks for the recommendation, I shall look into them. It could well be that TLR tyres are a softer compound overall but was very disappointed with the contis.

Been in 3 weeks and settled in but not enjoying it at all.

 

[13 rider]

Julys update and last weekend warning for some . We have 23 fully posted up for July ,leaving 5 riders with a June ride posted yet to post .So a nudge for @Saluki , @ColinJ , @Chap sur le velo , @Gibbo9 and @gavgav (hope the injury heals in time )
Still have a couple of riders yet to declare one way or the other for June in @Milkfloat and @Sbudge.
Well done everyone

 

[AndreaJ]

I’m training for a 70 mile sponsored ride in a couple of weeks so planned to do 60 miles today, then realised that this would probably not sneak past @13 rider so managed to add a couple more miles to the route 😊, just need a plan for the big hill in the middle of the sponsored ride now 😂

 

[13 rider]

Yes I would have noticed a 99km ride 😉 @AndreaJ ,You did more than enough I did 100.1 Kms yesterday fo the metric century challenge .
If you can do 62 miles 70 miles you will be fine just ride the hill as steady as you can so you have energy left and make the most of any descent to recover good luck

 

[ColinJ]

I'll still try and get a 50 done for July, but the weekend forum ride will count anyway. It will be about 70 km and I can't see me adding another 30 afterwards to qualify for one of my Lunacy Challenge metric centuries instead.

The weekend forum ride got postponed due to heavy rain but I rode the route with @GuyBoden on Monday instead. I'll be counting that ride even though I wasn't on my overgeared '6-er' that time. I'll let myself off using my CAAD5 with its triple chainset - the 66 km ride (we took a small shortcut to miss out one climb) had over 1,300 m of ascent (41 miles/4,300 ft), some of it very steep!

 

[Chap sur le velo]

Points now 33.

Sadlyanother minimal cycling month with only 3 rides of more than 10k. Golf and swimming are improving (you’ll all be delighted to know.)


25 07

Rode to Olympic park where I had the Road Circuit (about a mile long) practically to myself. In theory its training for a first Tri-Athlon at end of August. Once at the track I didn’t’ stop for 40kms or 1hr 20 mins which was a good performance for me. Havent always managed to average 30kms/hr for first hour! Enjoy the chanllenge and its lovely to ride on a good surface with no cars.

50.25kms total

https://www.strava.com/activities/9519347042


16 07
Headed out for an unstructured 50miler from east London into Essex. Nice day and relatively traffic free.

https://www.strava.com/activities/9461415204

 

[gavgav]

Julys update and last weekend warning for some . We have 23 fully posted up for July ,leaving 5 riders with a June ride posted yet to post .So a nudge for @Saluki , @ColinJ , @Chap sur le velo , @Gibbo9 and @gavgav (hope the injury heals in time )
Still have a couple of riders yet to declare one way or the other for June in @Milkfloat and @Sbudge.
Well done everyone

Thanks. I’m hoping to try and get one in this weekend, but it depends on the weather and if the ankle will last a 50k 🙏

 

[bruce1530]

Don't believe the BBC....

It said "50-60% chance of rain" this morning, winds gentle and from the west.
I planned a trip which basically headed south, so a gentle crosswind wouldn't be a big problem.

No rain at all. But the breeze was stiff, and from the south - so in my face all the way

Left home, and 25k on familiar roads - basically following NCN7 through Kilwinning/Irvine/Troon to Prestwick, with a couple of "short cuts" to avoid awkward loops in the cycle route.

Coffee and bacon roll in Prestwick, then on through Ayr. First time through a recently opened "cycle underpass" under a main road, then followed a cycle route for a few miles to Alloway. That had been my planned "turn home" point, but pushed on.

Unfamiliar roads now. So far, it has been dead flat, google maps said the next section was "moderately hilly". I'd describe it as "mainly lumpy". Maybole, Dailly, then Girvan, just in time to jump on a train which took me most of the way home!

84k in total, and 23 new Veloviewer tiles - my first in ages!

 

[UphillSlowly]

Don't believe the BBC....

It said "50-60% chance of rain" this morning, winds gentle and from the west.
I planned a trip which basically headed south, so a gentle crosswind wouldn't be a big problem.

No rain at all. But the breeze was stiff, and from the south - so in my face all the way

Left home, and 25k on familiar roads - basically following NCN7 through Kilwinning/Irvine/Troon to Prestwick, with a couple of "short cuts" to avoid awkward loops in the cycle route.

Coffee and bacon roll in Prestwick, then on through Ayr. First time through a recently opened "cycle underpass" under a main road, then followed a cycle route for a few miles to Alloway. That had been my planned "turn home" point, but pushed on.

Unfamiliar roads now. So far, it has been dead flat, google maps said the next section was "moderately hilly". I'd describe it as "mainly lumpy". Maybole, Dailly, then Girvan, just in time to jump on a train which took me most of the way home!

84k in total.

View attachment 700580

View attachment 700583

BBC often seem to have very pessimistic weather forecasts

 

[Noodle Legs]

Don't believe the BBC....

Enough said. 🤣

 

[Donger]

My second 50 miler of the year yesterday. More significantly my 100th all time 50 miler. Couldn't leave my tally on 99, so took my chance while riding the Tarka Trail yesterday. What an absolutely beautiful ride to bring up the ton. Memorable.

Don't think I'll ever hit the 100 metric centuries now, as I'm stuck on 91 of those and can't face doing another 9. This year I'll be carrying on with the half century challenge, but apart from that I'm concentrating on the quality of rides rather than their distance.

Saving up a camper van fund turned out to be pointless earlier this year as I couldn't find a van big enough for me to fit in but small enough to go where we want to go, so we decided to use our savings as a holiday fund instead. That has meant I've been lucky enough to get away several times this year and do some lovely rides in Carmarthenshire, North Yorkshire, Cambs/Lincs/Norfolk and Northumberland. We've just been staying with my S.i.L down in Devon, so I was able to add the Tarka trail at last. Loving not knowing what is around the next bend and just going out exploring by bike. Always on the look out for something a bit different.

 

[Noodle Legs]

Sloped out this morning for a spin around the Trent Valley area of Rugeley and Lichfield. Over a quiet pint last night I noticed a ready made route on Komoot that really caught my eye, so I saved it, then made a couple of tiny tweaks to it to make it a 50 miler. It’s quite a lumpy affair this part of Staffordshire so the decision to take it steady proved to be a wise one. Being much heavier, unfit and on my gravel-cum-winter bike setup, it wasn’t a hard decision either!

Some new lovely little back lanes that way on to explore- very lumpy but very scenic- so I shall be looking to head out that way a bit more often!

After Rugeley I skirted round the edge of Cannock Chase and therein was the only climb of note. From here it was very lumpy towards Lichfield but very idyllic scenery on the way at the same time! Once there, I stopped by the picturesque cathedral and cracked on back towards home. The roads were now familiar and the terrain pretty much flatlined from here on out, the route not too dissimilar to what I did on Monday to get home.

50.03 in 3:22.

 

[bluenotebob]

July summary

Six qualifying rides completed in July – 8 points added

Total points: 48 … better than I’ve achieved before at end July.

1109km cycled in July… fifth consecutive month that I’ve topped 1100km.

7412km for the year to date … around 1360km ahead of target.

Sundry personal challenges:

All five bikes to do a minimum of 100km per month – achieved Jan/July.

All five bikes to do a minimum of 1000km per year – four of the five are now over the 1000km threshold – and the other one (the RAID) is on 926km so should get there in August.

I’ve also managed to keep up my record of cycling every day this year (212 days cycled/212 days).

A word about the weather in July. It’s been fabulous here – cool, quite wet and sometimes very windy – but so much better than the hell we had inflicted on us in July and August 2022. We can go outside when we want (rather than being trapped indoors from 10am to 8pm), we can breathe and we’re all sleeping well.

Brittany is “full” – people escaping the heat further south have been coming up here to enjoy our weather (a reversal of the normal trend when northerners head south).

It amazes me that some on this thread have whinged about the weather. As 40C summers are expected to become the ‘norm’ in the UK (per the Met Office), it may well be in years to come that we’ll all look back on July 2023 with wistful fondness… apart from those who actually like 40C (and live in air-conditioned houses – and who probably have air-conditioned bikes too..).

 

[13 rider]

August 31st

Norton, Nunney Wood, Norton, Pirton, Croome, Pershore, Walcot Ln Ford, Drakes Broughton, Peopleton, Broughton Hackett, Churchill, White Ladies Ashton, Egdon, Stoulton, Littleworth and then Home.

54.6km

I think the date is incorrect 🤔