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

[bluenotebob]

After hours of number-crunching, I’ve established that my lifetime Eddington Number (metric) is 74. I’ll set a Lunacy Distance target for 2024 of 75km and hopefully, by the end of this year, I’ll have got that E number up to 76 or 77.

I also plan on doing a lot more ‘new’ rides this year. So many of my Lunacy rides over the last four or five years have been S or W of here – and a couple to the N – but none to the E. That’s partly because of the prevailing SW/W wind (I’ve no desire to do a return leg of 40km against the wind).. but it’s also simply uncertainty about the terrain. I’m determined to extend my range of bike routes and have now plotted three ‘new’ rides – E or NE of here – which fall into the 50/60km range (and will be posted as HMCAM rides). The plan is then to use the knowledge gained from these sorties and to extend them to 75/80km rides.

Anyway – that’s the plan – and yes, God is having a chuckle..

 

[lazybloke]

My 2024 target is 60km ; a small increase from 57km last year.
57km was bad enough, only just scraping over the line in the afternoon of New Years Eve! (date now corrected in the 2023 thread)

Time rather than distance is my challenge, plus boredom of Surrey roads that I've known for the last 50 years of my life.

Breaking that mould is my target in 2024, I've got a whole load of rides further afield pencilled in; from my first Audax next month in Sussex, to the Dunwich Dunamo, some Fridays rides, and maybe some overseas riding.

Fitting those things around work, house, garden, allotment, family and some building work will require much planning, negotiation, and always the flexibility to change my plans at short notice - particularly when the old one presses his alarm button in the small hours.

So 60km is a modest target; some of my rides will be significantly longer; just not 13 of them.

 

[bluenotebob]

In recent years, I’ve got a bit sloppy about remembering to write up ride notes before I forget where I’ve been. So FWIW, here are my notes from today’s ride (and yes, I forget to take a bidon – or to carry a map).

Notes for 29 JAN 2024: Start ZIPV. V3 to Pont des Deux Rivières, then NtB canal towpath to Montertelot to buy some water (forget my bidon). Back on the V3 at Chapelle Caro then down to la Tayée. Left the V3 and went E down the Claie valley, through la Barre. Then R over the river Claie and up into the centre of Pleucadeuc. Took the D112 W and picked up the V3 again at the site of Pleucadeuc's old railway station which has now been demolished. V3 back to the van in Mauron.

5 hours 38 mins to cover 91.43km – totally knackered this evening.

Stopped after 76km to scoff a jaffa cake and some cubes of vanilla fudge, just N of Loyat. Wind finally behind me pushing me home – and the Voie Verte blissfully quiet.

 

[bluenotebob]

It does my aging heart good (lots of good) to go somewhere new – even if it’s just a handful of ‘new’ kilometres in the middle of a 6+hour ride… most of which has been done dozens of times before. I’d been looking at the section of the Voie de l’Abbaye de Beauport (Santiago di Compostella pilgrimage trail) (abbreviated as VAB) between Malestroit and Rochefort-en-Terre – at least part of this section seemed to be doable on a road bike. I ended up doing some of this section today but S to N – so it’ll need to be done again in the right direction – but now I know where I’ll be going (in theory, at least).

Notes for 19 FEB 2024: Start: ZIPV. 45.5km south on the V3. Just before the descent to l’Arz – and about 100m before a bridge – scrambled up the bank on the RHS. Connected via an unpaved road to the road that runs east from Molac. Followed this for about 4km then half-left to la Maraudière. This is the VAB in reverse. VAB quits this road in la Maraudière (LHS if heading NNE – a sandy track). Carried on and joined the D774. Followed this into Pleucadeuc. Found the VAB heading S (l’Impasse des Trictotaines ?? – should have taken a photo..). Took the wrong road out of Pleucadeuc so doubled back and found the right road via a sandy track (with barriers). Dropped down to the Claie – a wonderful descent and so much more enjoyable than grinding up. Through le Haut Lieuzel and la Barre then re-connected with the V3 at la Tayée. Back up the V3 – 98km on the clock at the van, so carried on to the D2 and back, to take the ride over 100km.

6 hours 15 mins to cover 101.47km – I’ll sleep well tonight.

I’ll be back to do more exploring of the area east of Molac and north-west of Rochefort-en-Terre – but I’ll start from Loyat. Will lose 25km but should recover some of that by following the VAB from la Maraudière right down to l’Arz.

In the centre of Pleucadeuc:

 

[bluenotebob]

Another murky and drizzly day in Brittany (“muzzly”?). A gentle 18km or so on the Urban Shaper on local lanes then back home to load the new bike into the van, fill a bidon and chuck some cubes of fudge and some fruit cake into my day bag. Off down the V3, hopefully for the first longish ride on my new KTM gravel bike. She’s intended to do lots of towpath and gravelled/gritted Voies Vertes – today didn’t go quite according to plan because of the flooded Oust (and towpath closure) but she felt great to ride and handled everything (apart from too much mud) very well. A further 68km added to the daily total - and I've just passed 2000km for the year.

Notes for 6 MAR 2024 (second ride): Start: ZIPV. South on the V3 to le Roc St André and onto the NtB towpath. After about 1.5km of towpath came across a big sign saying the towpath was flooded – and access was forbidden. Damn. Took a R up to la Ville aux Figlins then onto la Ville ès Bâtards. Did another 600m of the GR 347 before getting fed up with cowshit and mud. Back to Bâtards then L on the old turnpike/coaching road – into le Roc again, over the bridge and back onto the V3 and, ultimately, back to Mauron.

New bike posing against a back drop of the Lac au Duc, near Lézonnet

 

[ColinJ]

Oh, go on then... 2024 target, once again 100 km!

 

[Alex321]

Finally got my first qualifying ride of the year in. Actually the longest ride since October, so it definitely looks like I don't do Winter

Really enjoyable ride, mix of cloud and sun, but no rain. A bit windier than I expected, but not too bad, and temperatures ranging from 10-14C

 

[steverob]

Well last year was a complete flop as I managed precisely two out of the thirteen needed rides, but I'm back again and on the board for 2024. Brought my target down a touch to 60 miles and we'll see how that goes.

On a new bike, so hopefully that'll mean less mechanical problems and will cross my fingers for better health based luck this year as well.

 

[bluenotebob]

A minor comment … this year, I’ve been doing my Lunacy Distance rides with an eye on improving my Eddington Numbers (both Metric and Imperial).

I started 2024 needing a further five rides of over 75km to get my Eddington Metric number up to 75 (hence my target of 75km in this year’s challenge). I’ve now done those five rides – so I’m going to increase my target to 76km (and may well increase it again later this year).

I’m also going to increase my stretch target from 84km to 85.4km (ie an Eddington Imperial of 53 miles). Ideally, I’d like to do all of my next 8 or 9 rides in this year’s challenge over 85.4km and all I need now is some dry weather…

I’m unsure of the propriety of changing targets in-flight but, as I’m increasing them, I can’t see it as a problem.

I wish I’d understood Eddington Numbers a few years ago – it would have made me increase all my Lunacy Distance rides, if only by a few kilometres.

 

[Alex321]

After not getting my first qualifying ride until 30th March, I then get another just 6 days later

Wasn't at all sure how it was going to go as I left the house, as it seemed rather windy, but in fact I had little problem with the wind. Changed the route I was going to do just before leaving the house, as my wife asked me to call in Pontyclun for some Licqurice gums, and I hadn't intended going in that direction.

Shortly after leaving the sweet shop, my left crank fell off! I managed to get it back on and tightened up, but was expecting it to come loose again, so not expecting to get far, but it seems I had tightened it enough this time, as it was still completely solid over 30 miles later!

Looped round from there to get back on the route I originally intended, explored a bit of road I'd never tried before from St Mary Hill.
Stopped for photos at the St Mary Hill church

Then a few hundred yards later at a gate in front of a wind turbine

Turned left shortly afterwards, down towards the M4 junction at Pencoed, with the road I was on turning left before getting thaht far, and running alongside the river Ewenny

At the end of that road, I was back on roads I knew, going through the Waterton Industrial estate, turning left on the A48 for half a mile before turning right for Corntown next o more renewable energy - solar panel field

On to Ewenny from there, by which time I'm thinking things are going Ok, maybe I'll stretch this out to a Lunacy ride, so through Castle-Upon_Alun, then Wick. Afer Llandow headed for Sigginstone, then across through Llantrythid and up to Warren Mill Farm. Still needing an extra mile or two, so turned right in Welsh St Donats to add a little distance to Prisk, then across the main road and down through Trerhyngell, which was enough to arrive home about half a mile over my target.

A much more enjoyable ride than I was expecting as I set out - or than I was expecting after the crank fell off.

 

[steverob]

Saturday's ride was one that crossed off a lot of different goals. First and foremost it was my final long ride before RideLondon in two weeks' time (next weekend I'll probably only do 50 miles or so); it was also the first time going over 65 miles on my new bike; first time with over 75 miles in a day since October 2022; my longest single ride since June 2019; added a whole bunch of VeloViewer tiles to the east of my map; and crossed off a route that I'd originally had planned for who knows how long, but certainly at least two years.

Started off with a few local hills to spice up the ride including a new one (parallel climb to one I've done before), but this was mainly because most of the rest of the route was merely undulating, with one long but gentle drag towards the end. Only really started riding on roads completely new to me once I reached St. Albans, which I crossed the outskirts of, left it to meander through some nearby villages, stopped to change a tube due to a puncture (glass), before coming back into St. Albans again where I stopped for a bite to eat at about halfway.

This was my first drink top-up - knowing it was going to be quite warm that day, I'd taken my two largest water bottles (900ml and 700ml), filling one with water and the other with squash, but I then had a 500ml bottle of Coke with lunch here so I could save the ones I'd brought for later. Continued on my ride using the Alban Way cycle path (reasonably busy) to get me to Hatfield first and then onwards alongside the A1(M) to the outskirts of Welwyn, which was my turnaround point.

The next few miles were on a rather dusty single track lane which had lots of "Flood" signs up and even was supposed to have a Ford at the bottom of the hill, but unfortunately it was bone dry - that would have been quite fun to go through on a hot day I think!

Some busier roads took me to Wheathampsted and Harpenden (although I took the back roads through the towns themselves to avoid traffic) and I eventually ended up rejoining familiar territory at Redbourn where I took another breather under shade of a tree on their Common. There I saw a cricket match taking place where one of the boundary ropes was just slightly on the other side of a road - there were signs up telling traffic to divert but I certainly wouldn’t want to be a fielder taking a diving catch on it!

The final long climb of the day was just as the heat of the day reached its zenith and that drained the last of my drinks, so I stopped at the next village shop I saw to get another 500ml of water and seeing the amount of other people gathered around the freezers, took the inspiration to grab an ice-cream at the same time - I was only 12 miles from home at this point but frankly I felt like I deserved a cold treat.

Final leg of the journey was uneventful although I was starting to feel saddle sores developing - the old bum still hasn’t got back into accepting these longer riding days yet; that’ll take a while I fear.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Edit: I've just realised this is in the wrong thread. It should be in https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/a...bing-lunacy-challenge-chatzone.286760/page-12

Oh well, no big dea.

Today I took the train to Dorking for a bit of Surrey Hillls foolery. A proper loop - starting and finishing at the same place and wiggling around to include as many climbs as possible, including Barhatch Lane, which is a beast.

 

[lazybloke]

Today I took the train to Dorking for a bit of Surrey Hillls foolery. A proper loop - starting and finishing at the same place and wiggling around to include as many climbs as possible, including Barhatch Lane, which is a beast.
View attachment 731327

Great stuff. Not an enormous hill, but that ramp towards the end is hard work!
https://veloviewer.com/segment/16291325

 

[Dogtrousers]

Great stuff. Not an enormous hill, but that ramp towards the end is hard work!
https://veloviewer.com/segment/16291325

The thing is although the final ramp is tough, my Garmin was saying 14%, it's not too bad, then it gradually eases off and you're congratulating yourself on surviving and looking forward to a bit of freewheeling when bam! It kicks up again, even steeper just for a short bit. And it's not very short if you're just inching along. It's horrible

 

[lazybloke]

The thing is although the final ramp is tough, my Garmin was saying 14%, it's not too bad, then it gradually eases off and you're congratulating yourself on surviving and looking forward to a bit of freewheeling when bam! It kicks up again, even steeper just for a short bit. And it's not very short if you're just inching along. It's horrible

It was on my last (also first) audax. Down, thankfully!