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

[FrothNinja]

Short ride grew longer in the cold sunshine

 

[ColinJ]

Short ride grew longer in the cold sunshine
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It has been years since I have been up there (if it is indeed there!) - Cant Clough reservoir from the Pennine Bridleway? (If not, where IS it?)

 

[FrothNinja]

It has been years since I have been up there (if it is indeed there!) - Cant Clough reservoir from the Pennine Bridleway? (If not, where IS it?)

Pretty much bang on but from the Extwistle leg rather than the Gorple Rd

 

[ColinJ]

Pretty much bang on but from the Extwistle leg rather than the Gorple Rd

I'll check it out some time soon. Which direction to you prefer it in? It looks a tough climb from the Thursden end!

 

[FrothNinja]

I prefer it from the Thursden end because after the loose zigzag climb there are some fast descents which you can get air on

 

[ColinJ]

I prefer it from the Thursden end because after the loose zigzag climb there are some fast descents which you can get air on

Note to self: Apply brakes on descent to avoid getting big air!!!

 

[lazybloke]

Apart from some rides in the ice a few months ago, I've barely touched the bikes this year, but I was up at 5 this morning for an early breakfast then headed old.
The cold air made my lungs burn, so I was pleased to average over 15mph for the first hour o I opted for a pretty flat route into London. Quite pleased to average over 15 mph for the first hour, which took me as far as RIchmond Park; but then I kept stopping to take photos which slowed me down a fair bit. As did the seemingly infinite number of traffic lights.

Once over Barnes Bridge, things started getting "decorative". Coronation bunging, flags everywhere. Went to see the tulips outside Buck Palace, and the Commonweatlth flags down the Mall and more in Parliament Square. Cycled or wheeled my bike rouund various touristy bits of London - Big Ben, St Pauls, The wobbly bridge, Westminster Bridge, saw Southark Cathedral & Westminster Abbey, The Tower of L, the Golden Hind(e), and the L Eye. Also explored some tiny but pretty lanes full of cobbles and weird smells.

Did a quick google to see if Tower Bridge was lifting, alas, not for a few days; but cycled over it.

This last photo was taken just before my bike fell over. Had a heart-stopping moment when I thought it would end up in the Thames.

I was getting increasingly painful sit bones and eventually headed for Waterloo, where I had to sit very carefully on the train home; will have to re-acclimatise my backside. Shame it was cloudy. the sun finally started to burn through during my train journey.
Then the final couple of miles home on a bridlepath which wasn't in the greated condition for a road bike.

66.32 km done.

 

[Alex321]

Got out for more or less my most common 35 mile ride today. For some reason, met far more cars on the narrow lanes than usual, although they were all courteous.

Actually upped my eddington number by 1 (only to 32) with this ride.

 

[FrothNinja]

Found a really nice lane within 15 miles of home that I hadn't ridden before - bugger of a climb up to it but the view was spiffing.
Also visited Clitheroe Castle Museum which has a special exhibition on the history of the local railways. This pic of the 1910 Hesketh Bank Station Master made me laugh aloud.

 

[Dogtrousers]

@FrothNinja can I ask some advice about joining this challenge part way through the year. Only just discovered CycleChat. If I join this challenge now, can I only use rides from today onwards towards the 2023 challenge or can I retrospectively use rides from earlier in the year?

Thanks

Actually for the Lunacy (aka I don't do Winter) challenge it's @ColinJ you should be asking. For the Climbing Lunacy (aka I don't do Complicated) it's @FrothNinja Confused yet?

For what it's worth I see no harm in joining and adding retrospective rides. But no one's asking me

 

[bluenotebob]

For what it's worth I see no harm in joining and adding retrospective rides. But no one's asking me

No-one's asking me either .. but the rules are ambiguous.. on one hand, you can join the challenge at any point in the year "if there are sufficient days left to complete" - which implies no retrospective posting ... or you can wait (until October?), select your best rides to set a challenge target and then retrospectively post all your rides.

Question for @ColinJ definitely.

 

[Sea of vapours]

can I retrospectively use rides from earlier in the year

I'm 99% confident that Colin will opt for allowing use of rides earlier in the year in this circumstance. The rules were developed collectively and there was never an intention of excluding anyone on that basis. They key criterion was always for it to be actually challenging, so picking a distance which you've already done thirteen times would be somewhat pointless, but so long as whatever number of rides remain is still challenging then I'm entirely sure that's fine. This is, after all, merely a vehicle to help people push themselves a bit and there literally aren't any prizes Well, signature moon I suppose :-)

 

[UphillSlowly]

Thanks @Sea of vapours @bluenotebob @Dogtrousers
I'm quite easy. May join in next year. It's really lumpy round my way and despite my moniker going uphill is my favourite thing about cycling. Though tend to do slightly shorter routes with lots of elevation per mile/km

 

[Sea of vapours]

I'm quite easy. May join in next year. It's really lumpy round my way and despite my moniker going uphill is my favourite thing about cycling. Though tend to do slightly shorter routes with lots of elevation per mile/km

Some people, or at least me, but I do think others also do it, put an elevation gain target on their rides, whether explicitly or tacitly. Going back to the origins of the challenge, the idea was to have a ride which you pretty much couldn't do in winter due to hours of daylight, ice, snow, whatever, the idea being to provide an alternative to, for example, the imperial century a month challenge for people who really are *not* going to be doing that in winter. So, pick a shorter distance and an elevation gain and do it this year. In 2020, many people didn't even start until about July !

 

[ColinJ]

I am easy... Well, that's enough about my personal life!

As far as the challenge goes, sign up when you like with whatever distance you like.

No point in picking something so easy that you actually achieved it months ago. Also no point in picking something so hard that there is very little chance of you doing it.