Noodle Legs
Winging it
- Location
- Coalville, Leicestershire
Yeah I’m out for this year, quite frankly I haven’t been motivated to ride with everything going on in the background of my life, but good luck to everyone still in and see you next year 😎
The 2023 Half Century (50km or 50m) Challenge Chatzone
- Thread starter 13 rider
- Start date
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Yeah I’m out for this year, quite frankly I haven’t been motivated to ride with everything going on in the background of my life, but good luck to everyone still in and see you next year 😎
Domus
Guru
- Location
- Sunny Radcliffe
Invited by The Chorlton Wanderers to join them on a trip to Liverpool, overnight in a Premier Inn and returning the next day.
What a day, wet and windy does not describe the weather, it was foul, the wind off the Mersey was something else. I don't know who was dafter us or the scores of people huddled in shelters on the river bank drowning worms. (I think it was them)
Slept like a log and woke up to more rain but less than Sunday's deluge. Said my goodbyes in Chorlton just before 4pm and rode home to Sunny Radcliffe in rain and nose to tail traffic through the city centre and Prestwich. The bike is ABSOLUTELY FILTHY as was I.
Still 4 points on the total. Only six more to reach the ton.
What a day, wet and windy does not describe the weather, it was foul, the wind off the Mersey was something else. I don't know who was dafter us or the scores of people huddled in shelters on the river bank drowning worms. (I think it was them)
Slept like a log and woke up to more rain but less than Sunday's deluge. Said my goodbyes in Chorlton just before 4pm and rode home to Sunny Radcliffe in rain and nose to tail traffic through the city centre and Prestwich. The bike is ABSOLUTELY FILTHY as was I.
Still 4 points on the total. Only six more to reach the ton.
My first proper "post-surgery" ride today. It's been 8 weeks since the op, I've had a few short trips since then, and managed a 50k last month in 4 stages, with the help of an e-bike. But today was the first "proper ride". And I had a new cafe to visit!
Left home, followed the main road through the town and joined national cycle route 73 to Kilwinning, where it joins route 7. Through Kilwinning (using the direct route, not the signed cycle route) and back onto the cycle route towards Dalry.
Took a right shortly afterwards, and followed various farm roads and back roads until I ended up near Beith. Just outside the town I turned into the old Geilsland School.
I remember Geilsland from when I was younger - more by reputation than personal experience. It was the local "List D School (or "Bad Boys' School"!) run by the Church of Scotland. It's now owned by the Beith Community trust, and there's a very nice cafe.
https://geilsland.com/
https://www.mochajaks.co.uk/
Then through Beith, towards Glengarnock where I picked up the NCN7 back to Kilwinning. That's an awful section of the national cycle route - the majority of the stretch from Glasgow to Ayr is on traffic-free paths, but that bit from glengarnock-dalry-kilwinning is on farm roads, which can be a rat run at times, and there are 2 or 3 hills which for non-experienced cyclists are definitely "get off and push". There's a local group trying to get a flat traffic free alternative set up - the sooner the better!
Back home, 53k. Slow, but that's to be expected!
Left home, followed the main road through the town and joined national cycle route 73 to Kilwinning, where it joins route 7. Through Kilwinning (using the direct route, not the signed cycle route) and back onto the cycle route towards Dalry.
Took a right shortly afterwards, and followed various farm roads and back roads until I ended up near Beith. Just outside the town I turned into the old Geilsland School.
I remember Geilsland from when I was younger - more by reputation than personal experience. It was the local "List D School (or "Bad Boys' School"!) run by the Church of Scotland. It's now owned by the Beith Community trust, and there's a very nice cafe.
https://geilsland.com/
https://www.mochajaks.co.uk/
Then through Beith, towards Glengarnock where I picked up the NCN7 back to Kilwinning. That's an awful section of the national cycle route - the majority of the stretch from Glasgow to Ayr is on traffic-free paths, but that bit from glengarnock-dalry-kilwinning is on farm roads, which can be a rat run at times, and there are 2 or 3 hills which for non-experienced cyclists are definitely "get off and push". There's a local group trying to get a flat traffic free alternative set up - the sooner the better!
Back home, 53k. Slow, but that's to be expected!
Hopefully the rehab is all going well @bruce1530 ,
I'm getting there, slowly. 8 weeks since the op. The surgery scars are completely healed, and I was hoping not to have any physical issues when I got back on the bike. However, the "undercarriage" is still a touch tender when on the saddle! I guess that's to be expected - for the keyhole surgery, they "go in from the front", but the prostate is closer to the perineum...
Still getting a lot of tiredness.
I'd chosen the route carefully to give me several "bail-out" points (train) - fortunately didn't need them.
It was a slow ride - I've just looked thru my Strava history and I've done similar distance rides around those same roads, usually averaging around 2.40, but today was 3.15. But that's just lack of practice and road fitness - it'll come back eventually.
Monthly update time and 1 weeks warning to those without a ride posted .We have 18 riders fully posted for November leaving 8 riders with rides up to October posted yet to post a November one so here's the nudge list @Spinney ,@ColinJ ,@kapelmuur ,@slow scot ,@bluenotebob ,@Chap sur le velo ,@C R and @Ridgeback Roller
Well done everyone 1 more to go
Well done everyone 1 more to go
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Friday is looking like it might be a nice day to get my '50' in. Chilly though... Let's hope that my new arm warmers arrive by then, and that they fit!
Chap sur le velo
Über Member
- Location
- @acknee
Rats: missed avoiding the nudge by 37 minutes
Respect to the organised and efficient 13 Rider.
Respect to the organised and efficient 13 Rider.
I'm aiming to get a qualifying ride on Sunday. Very little riding this month due to various reasons.
Saluki
World class procrastinator
- Location
- ...Norwich over the water.
I managed to squeak a ride in yesterday. I had hoped to do it last Friday (17th) but with one thing and another and feeling a bit ‘off’ it didn’t happened. That ‘off’ feeling saw me in bed for Saturday and sunday, unable even to walk the dogs. I managed to totter to the back door and let them in the garden as that was all the energy that I could muster. Some sort of cold bug maybe? Massive tonisils, felt like death and the best I could managed was a change of venue from bed to sofa with my duvet.
Yesterday, for my 50 miler, I rode my bike to Holkham Hall, which I was impressed with. Bloke home from his bobbing about on a carrier, less fit than he went away. We stopped for 15 mins, in a farm gateway at the side of the road, when my GP rang me all concerned as I had made an appointment and was uncontactable - changed phone number and forgotten to tell them. I explained how I was feeling, the strain at work - I know it’s just some stupid customer service job where I have stayed due to inertia but being yelled at and generally verbally abused for 8 hours a day is wearing. Doc says I would be better in another job - he is not wrong - and has signed me off sick so I can find one. He has had ‘dealings’ with the company that I work for when he was training as a GP and worked in another part of the country, and they were not good.
I did say that I was outside and had decided to self-treat with a bike ride and was planning to ride to Holkham and back, doing some ‘medical grade’ cake eating en-route. He knows that I do a lot of exercise to keep anxiety at bay.
The ride was great. I mostly followed bloke. We stopped briefly at Blakeney to watch the gulls, stopped at Wells too and he contemplated some chips - the queue at the chippy was seriously long for an overcast Wednesday in the middle of November. We missed our turning for the trail, went back to it and rode along gently to the Holkham estate. Pausing at the Holkham end for a cuppa each and we shared a cake. They used to be excellent but it was some pre packed slice of chocolate fudge cake. Disappointing cake is an anathema.
We rode home through the estate and saw a building, through the trees - semi disrobed of their leaves - that we had not ever noticed before - and went to explore. It was all set up for a meal for 9 people. All crockery and cutlery in place, even bottles of beer. We peered in through windows and there was a decent kitchen and a cloakroom area too.
The ride home was nice, enjoyable and pretty. Watching the changed leaf colours as I went was soothing to the soul. Then - at Kelling - a close pass threw a bunch of shrapnel under my wheels and my front tyre went down over the following 200 yards. Right by the Kelling shop. That was handy as it sells biscuits and coffee. I went in and bought stuff while bloke swapped innertubes out. My spare tubes don’t have massively long valves. My bike needs 60mm long valves. Cue long hunt for the tiniest hole in a tube ever - he ended up in the gents with a bowl of water and hand soap to find it - and a quick fix.
From there it was the fastest route home as it was dark and any warmth had long since fled from the day. I did actually go around the block as I felt that 49.26 miles was rude.
Yesterday, for my 50 miler, I rode my bike to Holkham Hall, which I was impressed with. Bloke home from his bobbing about on a carrier, less fit than he went away. We stopped for 15 mins, in a farm gateway at the side of the road, when my GP rang me all concerned as I had made an appointment and was uncontactable - changed phone number and forgotten to tell them. I explained how I was feeling, the strain at work - I know it’s just some stupid customer service job where I have stayed due to inertia but being yelled at and generally verbally abused for 8 hours a day is wearing. Doc says I would be better in another job - he is not wrong - and has signed me off sick so I can find one. He has had ‘dealings’ with the company that I work for when he was training as a GP and worked in another part of the country, and they were not good.
I did say that I was outside and had decided to self-treat with a bike ride and was planning to ride to Holkham and back, doing some ‘medical grade’ cake eating en-route. He knows that I do a lot of exercise to keep anxiety at bay.
The ride was great. I mostly followed bloke. We stopped briefly at Blakeney to watch the gulls, stopped at Wells too and he contemplated some chips - the queue at the chippy was seriously long for an overcast Wednesday in the middle of November. We missed our turning for the trail, went back to it and rode along gently to the Holkham estate. Pausing at the Holkham end for a cuppa each and we shared a cake. They used to be excellent but it was some pre packed slice of chocolate fudge cake. Disappointing cake is an anathema.
We rode home through the estate and saw a building, through the trees - semi disrobed of their leaves - that we had not ever noticed before - and went to explore. It was all set up for a meal for 9 people. All crockery and cutlery in place, even bottles of beer. We peered in through windows and there was a decent kitchen and a cloakroom area too.
The ride home was nice, enjoyable and pretty. Watching the changed leaf colours as I went was soothing to the soul. Then - at Kelling - a close pass threw a bunch of shrapnel under my wheels and my front tyre went down over the following 200 yards. Right by the Kelling shop. That was handy as it sells biscuits and coffee. I went in and bought stuff while bloke swapped innertubes out. My spare tubes don’t have massively long valves. My bike needs 60mm long valves. Cue long hunt for the tiniest hole in a tube ever - he ended up in the gents with a bowl of water and hand soap to find it - and a quick fix.
From there it was the fastest route home as it was dark and any warmth had long since fled from the day. I did actually go around the block as I felt that 49.26 miles was rude.
Ridgeback Roller
Über Member
- Location
- Sussex
Thanks for the nudge, to date a very quiet cycling month for me due to lots of DIY being undertaken but I have Sunday pencilled in for the challenge with next Wednesday as the back up.
Spartak
Powered by M&M's
- Location
- Bristolian
You forgot me... 😂
Hopefully riding the Rollright Rumble Audax on Saturday so that'll do... 👍
Looks like the paper tick list has had another bug in the system I had you ticked off good job your honest and keeping track yourself
Spoke to Tec support and they put it down to user error ,what do they know I mean how hard is it the tick the correct box 😂
Spartak
Powered by M&M's
- Location
- Bristolian
Keep up the good work... 👍
FrothNinja
Veteran
Did you manage the ride?
Was down closeish to you today, weather gets better each time!
