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

[Sea of vapours]

Still three to go then. I suspect that that missing 10km will seem well worth it when you're doing the 13th 200km in November or whenever ... That said, an 0615 start is pretty much the middle of the night, so I entirely empathise with not wanting to add a bit of riding into a feisty wind at the end of that.

 

[Fiona R]

Still three to go then. I suspect that that missing 10km will seem well worth it when you're doing the 13th 200km in November or whenever ... That said, an 0615 start is pretty much the middle of the night, so I entirely empathise with not wanting to add a bit of riding into a feisty wind at the end of that.

4 to go for my real target... was proud I managed the early start, practicing for when that is necessary for ECEing

 

[Sea of vapours]

Ahhh..... yes, you're doing an RRTY aren't you, so in fact the Lunacy is done by definition if you complete that. I wasn't thinking!

 

[ColinJ]

I rode Lunacy Challenge ride number 10 yesterday. It was almost a rerun of my Cheshire forum ride from July, but we changed the start of the route slightly.

The main reason for riding out there again so soon was to give @skudupnorth the chance to do the ride as he had been forced to miss the July one, but it is also a nice route to tackle on my singlespeed bike - the (generally) gently rolling terrain becomes much more challenging when limited to a 72 inch gear, but not stupidly challenging.

We have a favourite cafe (at the Venetian Marina on the Shropshire Union canal) which is our usual mid-ride stop. It is a nice place but it does limit our choice of routes when starting from Walkden in Salford. (Walkden has been chosen because it accessible by a cheap direct train from Todmorden and Littleborough, but is close enough that 3/4 of each century ride will be done in Cheshire and only 1/4 in getting there and back.) I think we will do the July ride to the marina most years, but will probably make a regular feature of a second Cheshire ride with a stop elsewhere, to allow much more flexibility in picking routes.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

No 12 done today in the company of @13 rider. Was a bit blustery, especially heading west.

 

[bluenotebob]

I managed no.12 today too - three rides in all. A very enjoyable 22km before lunch, set out to do a much longer ride in the afternoon - realised after 15 minutes that I'd forgotten my lunettes so went home for them (another 8km). Started out again heading W rather than E and ended up doing a 68km loop that went past @lane 's favourite campsite in Helléan, then south of Ploërmel to pick up the Voie Verte and back north on that.

August was a month to forget on the bike. I only managed a miserable 765km - lost four days to bad weather, another four to a bike problem. I'm getting a new bike next week - a faster bike hopefully - so if September and October stay mild, I'm hopeful of putting some good distances in and relegating a few of my rides.

 

[ColinJ]

I'd forgotten my lunettes...

Is that French for 'sunglasses'?

 

[bluenotebob]

Is that French for 'sunglasses'?

Yes - sorry, I thought that term for cycling glasses had become widely known through TdF commentaries. Mine are actually plastic protective glasses - equally good when I'm chainsawing or strimming. They're really efficient at keeping insects and debris (from combine harvesters, for example) away from my eyes and the tops of my cheeks when I'm cycling.

 

[ColinJ]

Yes - sorry, I thought that term for cycling glasses had become widely known through TdF commentaries. Mine are actually plastic protective glasses - equally good when I'm chainsawing or strimming. They're really efficient at keeping insects and debris (from combine harvesters, for example) away from my eyes and the tops of my cheeks when I'm cycling.

I know a lot of French terms - 'bidon', 'musette', 'rouleur', 'peloton' (of course!) etc. but lunettes - that's one that I hadn't heard before!

 

[lane]

August was a month to forget on the bike. I only managed a miserable 765km - lost four days to bad weather, another four to a bike problem. I'm getting a new bike next week - a faster bike hopefully - so if September and October stay mild, I'm hopeful of putting some good distances in and relegating a few of my rides.[/QUOTE]

765 km would be my best month of the year!

 

[lane]

Well that is my challenge complete at the 80km I set myself. I went out expecting 100+km and came back with 84km and feeling a bit shattered. Think I have a bit of a cold which is probably the reason why. I was hoping to get to 100km in the challenge but with 4 rides still below that figure I am less confident now. It may be that I save the 100km as a challenge for next year.

When I signed up for the challenge at 80km it seemed rather daunting and I wasn't sure I would complete it by any means so I am satisfied that I have.

This has been a great challenge and without doubt been the reason that I have been able to complete some longer rides this year including my second ever 200km ride. The encouragement on the thread is great also so thanks everyone and good luck for those who still have the challenge to finish off this year.

 

[ColinJ]

Well that is my challenge complete at the 80km I set myself. I went out expecting 100+km and came back with 84km and feeling a bit shattered. Think I have a bit of a cold which is probably the reason why. I was hoping to get to 100km in the challenge but with 4 rides still below that figure I am less confident now. It may be that I save the 100km as a challenge for next year.

When I signed up for the challenge at 80km it seemed rather daunting and I wasn't sure I would complete it by any means so I am satisfied that I have.

Well done! Yes, it sounds like 100 km would be a good target for you next year.

I think I have pitched my target about right (161 km - the metric equivalent of an imperial century). I have done 10/13 so far and should do another qualifying ride on the 7th September. The last 2 will take some effort to squeeze in while there are still plenty of daylight hours and the weather is holding up.

I knew that I wasn't really fit enough to do what @Sea of vapours did, which was to set a fairly high target distance (in his case 150 km) but still ride extremely hilly routes. I am saving my hilliest routes for metric centuries and treating myself to less challenging ones at my 161 km target distance. The challenge rides still aren't completely flat - even the flattest ones have close to 1,000 m of climbing - but they are not as hilly as usual. My normal routes would have 3,000+ m of climbing if I extended them to my target distance.

When I am not riding a completely 'flattish' route, I often choose one which is hilly in the first half and then gets easier towards the end. That way I can get my hill 'fix' without getting exhausted and having to ride home at midnight!

Unless I get a lot fitter, I will be sticking to 161 km for my target distance next year.

I am pleased with the way that the challenge has been taken up and it hasn't interfered with the other established challenges. Let's try and get even more riders to tackle it in 2020.

 

[lane]

I don't think any of my rides for this challenge would count as particularly hilly! I was thinking that as the weather deteriorates and I move back to 50km rides for the monthly challenge that I would try to tackle more hilly routes as a bit of training on hills - that and my current programme of weight loss might improve my hill climbing. At the moment I do rather tend to avoid the hills.

 

[ColinJ]

I don't think any of my rides for this challenge would count as particularly hilly! I was thinking that as the weather deteriorates and I move back to 50km rides for the monthly challenge that I would try to tackle more hilly routes as a bit of training on hills - that and my current programme of weight loss might improve my hill climbing. At the moment I do rather tend to avoid the hills.

Yes, weight makes a BIG difference on the hills!

I am at least 25 kgs (4 stone) below my maximum weight and find hills MUCH easier now. I am, however, 10 kgs (about 1.5 stone) above the weight that I was a few years ago so I don't find hills quite as easy as I did then. I didn't really feel comfortable at that weight though and looked gaunt so I don't want to go quite that low again. I will lose 6-7 kgs (about 1 stone) and that will be a good compromise weight for me.

Modern bikes tend to have quite low gears available for hills, but if yours are not low enough then fixing that is a way of making hills more bearable. My best bike was way overgeared for me so I put a triple chainset on, plus a bigger cassette, giving me a 31% reduction in my lowest gear. That for me is often the difference between riding up a very steep hill and having to walk!

 

[Fiona R]

No 12 done today in the company of @13 rider. Was a bit blustery, especially heading west.

I managed no.12 today too - three rides in all. A very enjoyable 22km before lunch, set out to do a much longer ride in the afternoon - realised after 15 minutes that I'd forgotten my lunettes so went home for them (another 8km). Started out again heading W rather than E and ended up doing a 68km loop that went past @lane 's favourite campsite in Helléan, then south of Ploërmel to pick up the Voie Verte and back north on that.

August was a month to forget on the bike. I only managed a miserable 765km - lost four days to bad weather, another four to a bike problem. I'm getting a new bike next week - a faster bike hopefully - so if September and October stay mild, I'm hopeful of putting some good distances in and relegating a few of my rides.

Chapeaux to you both! All done and dusted in 2/3 of the year. As for "only" 765km in a month

Now for stretching?