The 2024 Half Century (50km or 50 mile) Challenge Chatzone

[13 rider]

Another ride to the start ride , Heading out to the edge of the Peak District to do a circular route around Alton tower it was a bit hilly . The first 10 miles were basically uphill with a few steep bits . The climbing eased in the second half but in 33 miles clocked up 2700ft of upness . Lovely cafe stop at the end in Denstone where I was treated to a breakfast and coffee by @Supersuperleeds who accompanied me on the ride as we were both grabbing veloviewer squares

 

[13 rider]

January 1st!
50km. A familiar loop of Pewsey Vale. Happy New Year everyone!
1 point

Feb 3rd.
More fun than January because a friend came with me and we whizzed along talking non stop!
Total so far: 2 points!

March 9th
March’s 50km done! Lovely ride round the south Cotswolds…started and finished in Bibury.
Total so far: 3 points

March 30th
unexpected 50km with my husband and son to Hungerford.
Total so far: 4 points

April 5th
106km. Dieppe - Gisors. Lovely bike path. +3 points.
Total so far: 7 points

April 6th
90km from Gisors to the Eiffel Tower and then out to our Airbnb at Boulougne Billancourt. + 2 points.
Total so far: 9 points

April 10th
Exactly100km (phew) from Boulougne Billancourt to Amecourt. +3 points
Total so far: 12 points

April 11th
90 glorious km back to Dieppe. +2 points
Total so far: 14 points

May 6th
50km loop of Pewsey Vale. +1 point
Total so far: 15 points!

May 30th
101 miles from home to London with my son! +4 points
Total so far: 19 points

June 2nd.
The standard Pewsey Vale loop but diverted into Devizes for church. +1 point

July 26th
The usual Pewsey Vale loop, which I really enjoy! +1 point.
Points so far: 21 points

August 1st
Dinan to Josselin, Brittany. 59 miles. Met up with Bob! Fab day out. +2 points.
Points so far: 23 points

August 2nd
39 miles from Josselin to Redon. Incredible canalside bike paths. Utterly loved it.
+1 point.
Points so far; 24 points

August 3rd
50 miles (exactly) from Redon to Nantes! A mix of canal bike paths and quiet lanes with superb infrastructure into Nantes.
+ 2 points
Points so far: 26 points

August 4th
55 fantastic miles from Nantes to Noirmoutier! Crossed the Passage du Gois at low tide.
+2 miles
Points so far: 28 points

August 6th
61 unremarkable miles from Noirmoutier to La Roche sur Yon. + 2 points
Points so far: 30 points

August 7th
61 🤪 miles from La Roche sur Yon to La Rochelle. A glorious day! The Marais Poitevin was absolutely heaving with cyclists, SO many families touring with kids who were lugging their own panniers! Am very happy. +2 points
Points so far: 32 points

Are you just doing this to set off my cycling OCD ,61 miles again !!!!! 😤

 

[Cathryn]

Absolutely cracking day today even if we missed 100km by one mile again! Chuckled inwardly at the CycleChat frustration with me 🤣 Cycling through the Marais Poitevin, we must have seen 100 cycle tourers and at least ten families touring with children! Dad would be weighed down with luggage, mum with a toddler, other children were riding fully loaded tourers! When we started touring with our (then little) son, we felt like the outliers, the only people doing it! Now we feel totally unremarkable and it’s just glorious to see! Safely in La Rochelle for the night, the spiritual French home to all secondary school children of the 80s and 90s thanks to Tricolor! Off to ask someone the way to the station and to inform them I am 11, as only seems fitting!

 

[Cathryn]

56 miles from La Rochelle to Saintes. Gorgeous seaside paths and then quiet roads between walls of corn and immense fields of sunflowers! Crossed the trans border bridge at Rochefort (amazing) and then the supercool suspension bridge at Tonnay-Charente! An excellent day!

 

[Jon George]

I completed Stage 4 of my Saluting Magpies Tour of Suffolk yesterday on my Brompton. Raced back from taking a selfie at Suffolk's most western point (it's in a field near Newmarket) to the station to find all trains had been cancelled due to a huge fire at Great Blakenham. I got home 3 and 1/2 hours later than I would have, but it was a great day out.

And since @Donger likes rides with bridges, here's the packhorse bridge at Moulton for you.

 

[Cathryn]

Gorgeous ride today! Saintes to Cognac to a tiny village near Barbaziex! Warm but glorious!

 

[Cathryn]

67 miles today from Lagarde sur le Ne to Bordeaux. We left at 6h15 to avoid the forecast heat and the mist was magical over the vines. 25 miles on an absolute gift of a bike path and then lunch at 10h30 having done 40 miles, which is very fast for us! Then we slowly death-marched our way in the sun to Bordeaux. It’s astonishingly hot here and forecast to be over 40 degrees tomorrow so we are glad to have a rest day in this lovely city!

 

[Cathryn]

77 miles from Bordeaux to Mimizan. Most of the miles were on dedicated bike paths. They aren’t the most exciting or thrilling in terms of views but they’re so smooth and fast and safe! Just joyful and relaxing! Phone has totally died…any idea how to raise an old iPhone from the grave???? All I have is this one from my husband’s phone!

 

[Cathryn]

67 miles from Mimizan to Anglet! I was excited to cycle les Landes but it was a little underwhelming. HUNDREDS of cyclists on the paths between the seaside towns. Had a bit of a tumble when my son slammed on his brakes for a reversing van. Bit of a death march today - my legs totally failed to turn up!

 

[Jon George]

Stage 5 of my Saluting Magpies Tour of the Borders of Suffolk had me nearly flattened by a reversing tractor. The motorist behind me said "I don't think he did it on purpose." Then added, grinning "You'll be thinking about that next time you're chopping up meat."
Here's a picture of the sky near Lakenheath - just before some fighter jets ripped into them with a howl from hell.

 

[Jon George]

Stage 6 of my Saluting Magpies Border Tour of Suffolk took me from Brandon to Diss. Exceptional day for riding, really loved being out and about on my Brompton.
The mill at Thelnetham (I'm from Suffolk and I don't how to pronounce it, either. )

 

[13 rider]

Nipped out for a 20 miler today and it turned into a 28.3 miler. The lane across the canal near my house has become a real rat run lately, as the next canal bridge along is closed for repair until the end of August. I've had some quite alarming encounters with motorists going far too fast down a narrow, winding lane with overgrown hedges, and I thought I'd avoid that today. So I set out (and returned) via a nicely surfaced stretch of canal path between Quedgeley and the Pilot Inn at Hardwicke. At the weekend it might be different, but today there were very few walkers and there was no match fishing going on, so I had the path pretty much to myself. When you get to Hardwicke (just before the Pilot Bridge) there is quite a nice housing estate built right up to the canal bank. This was once a proper ship canal. In this shot I was navigating my way around an old ship turning point. Hard to believe, but in my own living memory there used to be an oil depot opposite, and small ocean going oil tankers used to do three point turns here before heading back out to sea via Sharpness:
View attachment 741380
After that, I stuck to my usual route through Elmore and Saul. The detour along the canal added about a mile and a half in each direction. I was planning to visit a cafe at the bottom end of the green in Frampton on Severn, but when I got there it just wasn't worth the effort of inching through traffic caused by the presence of the carnival trucks. I'd forgotten that the Frampton Feast starts tonight, when the beautiful village green and cricket square takes on a horrible end-of-pier alter ego for the weekend:
View attachment 741381
Instead, I made may way back to the new Farmer's Yard cafe at Arlingham for a delicious raspberry chocolate brownie and a coffee before heading back home via Epney (where the river had been taken over by geese) and Elmore.
View attachment 741382
After Elmore, I again avoided the rat run and made my way back home via the canal path:
View attachment 741383
A lovely peaceful ride to keep the milo ticking over.

The first line should read went out for a 20 miler and it turned into 31.07 miles !!!!!!!😤😤 Not 28 miles !!😤 Rant over and breathe

 

[Donger]

The first line should read went out for a 20 miler and it turned into 31.07 miles !!!!!!!😤😤 Not 28 miles !!😤 Rant over and breathe

Spot on. I have already asked for it to be moved to "Your Ride Today". I'll be doing a challenge ride on Sunday.

 

[Cathryn]

64 miles from Anglet, France to Beasain, Spain! Not a single mile was flat, it took us literally all day! Basque Country is utterly beautiful, it’s so so good to be in the mountains!

 

[Spartak]

August ride completed this morning, rode out to Chipping Sodbury to meet club for photo shoot in our new jerseys. Then had a nice ride to meet a cycling friend for a ride to Oldbury on Severn to the Village shop for coffee & cake.