The Annual Lunacy (aka "I Don't Do Winter") Challenge Chatzone

[Fiona R]

I've lost the plot, I really wanted to do Avon Cycleway 130km audax on Saturday so I did, very very very hot. Surprised how well I coped with heat, drunk about 8 full bottles electrolyte plus control drinks, and p20 factor 50 sun-cream. With to and fro just an imperial 100, 170km.

Except my Sunday Social group had an "epic" ride planned as a five Sunday month. 200+km from home, if I hadn't have done my RRtY on the 1st it would have been the last chance today. I'm always banging on about going out for longer than 50km rides so I felt obligated and I've never been to Lyme Regis. I did it anyway, getting up was the hardest part, 5.30am alarm. North Somerset to Lyme Regis and back. Some drove part way to Levels do 100 miles, but for all 9 riders we all did our longest ride ever, mine was 238km as 15km to and fro to the start of the 218km version. Glad I went, physically fine but found coping with a long ride in a large group quite difficult. I was not ride leader, but most had not done more than 100km before. I didn't get home until nearly 9, Garmin failed 10km from home as my battery pack had gone to Glastonbury with youngest so I lost about a km an hour on phone. Only 2 of us did the given route out of Lyme which had an off road 15% gravel section, just under 21kmh was not too bad. Cobb Hill out of Lyme straight after cheesy chips was tough, I was fine but then a car and trailer came round the top and cars started reversing down and I had to stop. very upset about that!Feed Station Cafe in Merriott is very good, and very cycling friendly

 

[Sea of vapours]

Massive chapeau and congratulations, watching your Strava feed is knackering. I think you may have a few more in you yet

Thank you ! Your Strava feed is hardly restful either you know And a little over 400km for the weekend doesn't make easy 'reading' either. Congratulations on not shelving the Sunday ride.

 

[bluenotebob]

However, what I was wondering was what would everyone's score would be if for some reason the year finished tomorrow...

FWIW .. 60.62km is my 13th longest ride this year.

 

[Fiona R]

Thank you ! Your Strava feed is hardly restful either you know And a little over 400km for the weekend doesn't make easy 'reading' either. Congratulations on not shelving the Sunday ride.

Slightly cross with myself for not realising I was so close to 150 miles, but 12km for 250 km was too much given I cycle in km and thought it was a 225km day! I blame quite a lot of it on you, my lumpiness is sadly lacking. Although Cobb Hill is a bit of a swear inducing lump in traffic.

 

[Fiona R]

So we are officially half way through the year - barring someone logging a late ride sometime this evening - and it looks like most people (@Sea of vapours excepted of course!) seem to be somewhere around the 5-8 rides mark. However, what I was wondering was what would everyone's score would be if for some reason the year finished tomorrow...

Looking back through all my stats for the year, my 13th longest distance day (as of today) is 38.97 miles, which I'm pleasantly surprised by and my 12th is 50.09 miles, so just one more target ride would break the imperial half century barrier as well.

How's everyone else doing?

My 12th and 13th are both 107km I think

 

[Aravis]

Yesterday I did the ride to Moons Moat in Redditch which I'd planned a while back. Sadly I wasn't able to make it coincide with a day of significance in the lunar cycle, but there's always the Moonraker pond (the Crammer) in Devizes for another time.

The local conservation group seem to have done a good job. The water level is very healthy at the moment - if I'd been thinking I'd've taken a picture to show that better. You can just see a bit of water behind my back wheel - honest.

That was 205.4 km (127.6 miles) and so my seventh qualifying ride. But I still need the "extra" ride at some point - a minimal Audax RRtY won't be enough!

 

[lane]

Nice start to July with a 116km ride with my son, out to Neturescape at Langer. They grow and sell wildflower and grass seeds but also have a small café for cake and coffee; a nice and completely uncommercial sort of place nothing like your typical garden centre. It was raining a bit when we left home but forecast to stop within the hour, which it did but a couple or more hours later than forecast after some reasonably heavy spells of rain. The rain wasn't a problem and once it brightened up it was a very pleasant afternoon / early evening. I hadn't taken my waterproof (foolishly given it was raining when we started) only my new showerproof, which kept me dry so was pleased with that. Felt good for the ride and seem to be gaining some fitness - well what counts as fitness for me anyway.

 

[bluenotebob]

I’ve been so disheartened at my lack of progress recently in this Challenge that I’ve come close a couple of times to ‘throwing in the towel’. I’m making such good progress elsewhere – I’ve passed 4650km for the year, which is more than I cycled in the entirety of 2017 (4258km) or 2018 (4569km) … but I’ve simply stopped doing long rides.

I’ve often achieved daily totals in excess of 60 or 70km – made up of two or three rides – but I’ve felt that they weren’t in the spirit of this Challenge, so I haven’t posted those over 70km (my selected target distance) here.

I have noticed though that some posters have included rides which include a spell sitting on a train, or a couple of hours sitting on a beach somewhere (a wonderful image) … so yesterday I went out late morning to stretch my legs and did an 18.42km circuit, came home for 30 minutes for something to eat, then I went straight back out and did a 52.97km loop. As this gives a total of 71.39km – with a break in the middle that just happened to be here at home – it strikes me as no different to a longer ride that others have undertaken with an incorporated extended food break.

After a lot of thought I have recorded in this Challenge yesterday’s two rides as though they were one. It is my hope though that I will finally get my finger out and post more longer ‘real rides’ .. and get to a position where I can ‘relegate’ yesterday’s ride.

I know that what I have finally decided to do is within the rules of this Challenge – it’s just something that I feel slightly uncomfortable about.

My focus this year is to get to at least 7000km – which I think is a reasonable objective for a 66-year old smoker who doesn’t own a fast bike. And if I can also post 13 rides over 70km throughout the course of this year, then that will be a bonus.

 

[steverob]

To be fair, the "rules" (they're more like guidelines anyway) of this challenge were set up to be very different to most of the other challenges on here anyway, which is why they allow you to enter a distance that is your total cycling for the day, not just for one ride. So I would have no problem in anyone (including myself) entering a distance that was split between two or more rides, as long as it was done within one 24 hour period.

So far, I have only used this rule on a few of my distances where I've had a short ride between my house/hotel to and from the start/finish line of a sportive, which only added maybe 2-3 miles to an already long distance, but later on in the year I do have a ride planned which will be split into three almost equal parts by train journeys and am quite relaxed about that.

 

[bluenotebob]

@steverob ... yes, I know. My problem is a conceptual (or philosophical) one - once I've come home (even if I'm going out again almost immediately), it's "end of ride". So yesterday's two rides are exactly that - two rides, not one.

I entered this Challenge because I wanted to stretch myself. 70, 80, 90 kilometre rides don't worry me - I have total confidence in my bike and my legs - the challenge is the 4 or 5 hours involved, and the maintenance of mental discipline (I have a low-boredom threshold). The daunting aspect of 'long' rides is one of staying focused and not saying to myself "fxxx it, I'm bored" and then changing my route and heading home earlier than planned. 70km (my chosen distance) isn't arduous physically - but it takes a real mental toll on me. Striving for mental fortitude is my challenge - and that's why I feel partly as though I've cheated myself by coming home in the middle, and recording two rides as though they were one yesterday.

I look forward to reading about your three-part ride later in the year - Network Rail must have improved a lot in the years since I left the UK for you to have sufficient confidence that you'll complete your ride in less than 24 hours ...

 

[lane]

Can you find somewhere to visit half way - a cafe or some other attraction - where you can spend some time. This might make it easier mentally for you if you have something to aim for rather than just knowing you have to complete the entire 70km ride. Also, as much as I would like to encourage you and see you succeed, I have abandoned one challenge this year because I simply wasn't enjoying it - which after all is mainly why we do these rides.

On a selfish note I hope you continue I am always interested in your rides having spent some holidays at the campsite at Hellean which I see you often pass through. A lovely area for cycling.

 

[bluenotebob]

@lane - thanks for this. I do stop sometimes - the riverside at Montertelot is one of my favourite places to stop (impossible at this time of year as it's heaving with tourists, but really pleasant and quiet in the spring and autumn). A neighbour had also suggested to me that having a break at a café would be a good idea - I'm put off the idea because it means carrying the bike lock, which I'd prefer not to do.

I know that campsite in Helléan well - and I've fantasised occasionally about jumping into their swimming pool. You're quite right - it is a lovely area for cycling, and I take a lot of pleasure from exploring it and finding new places and new routes to cycle. I enjoy following the routes of old railway lines too - and Le Petit Pélot (the line from Ploërmel to la Trinité Porhoët) passed through Helléan. Did you encounter traces of the old line when you were there?

Yes - enjoyment is what these rides are all about, and if it isn't fun, then it's time to do something else instead.

 

[ColinJ]

It's interesting how different people are, @bluenotebob...

I persuaded a colleague to start doing evening rides with me one summer, many years ago. Over a few weeks he built up to doing 2 hour of hilly cycling so I asked if he fancied doing some all-day rides with me. I was quite shocked when his reply was a very blunt 'NO!'. He said that he was already getting bored after 2 hours and "doing 6+ hours would do my head in"!

I don't get bored, even after 12+ hours, I just eventually get tired. I have a very high threshold of boredom. I can spend months doing something, as long as it is something that I like doing.

Mind you, I wouldn't want to spend hours cycling round and round a very short loop. I managed 5 laps of the local park but then had to leave it and take to the roads again.

 

[bluenotebob]

Yes, @ColinJ .. [COLOR=#000000]I would be over the moon if someone invited me on a 6-hour ride. It's the solitariness and lack of social contact over 4/5/6 hours that fuels my mental fatigue. I have the same problem driving now - I'm fine for 45 minutes, maybe an hour - but then I have trouble maintaining concentration if I'm on my own. It'll come to you in time too, I suspect - you are two or three years younger than me, I think.

I've thought more about [/COLOR][USER=64337]@lane 's suggestion, and cutting a 4 hour ride in half - two hours, a break to read a book perhaps, then another two hours will help me get away from the mental niggles that kick in after 5 minutes … "only 3 hours 55 minutes to go, keep concentrating!".

Anyway, I've gone back through my database of 2019 rides and I will now retrospectively add a couple of days where I exceeded 70km in total.[/USER]

 

[lane]

It's a funny thing cycling somtimes. I am an accountant so must have a fairly high boredom threshold and hardly ever get bored cycling even if it's a 10 hour ride. I get tired and uncomfortable but not bored. Sometimes if I set out on a long ride it is daunting at the start though. But the thing is I would hardly ever cycle non-stop for 70km that would be a really long time for me. Normally stop after 30 to 50km - even for ten minutes is fine. But then mentally I just think about the next 30km or 50km not the whole ride. Sometimes I zone out and think about other things and don't notice the miles pass. Other times on longer rides or tours at the end of a long day I am counting down the KMs in 5km blocks and 5km which would seem nothing normally can seem to take ages.