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

[bluenotebob]

I'm thinking I might display both actual and target.

Yes, I agree. There's still five weeks or so left of the year - next week looks cold but dry (and not very windy) here, so I have a chance to improve on my 'actual'. For that reason (plus my nervousness about editing my signature and then crashing the website), I've held back on getting 'chillied up' for this year.

On a general note, can anyone tell me how many of us are fully paid-up Loonies? 7 or 8? 10? 12? 15? I really haven't a clue ..

Whatever the number is, it's far too low. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best challenge on the forum .. no need to ride a minimum distance every month and you have the freedom to push yourself as far as you can. Excellent idea and very under-subscribed.

Good luck to anyone who still hasn't finished this year .. or who, like me, is still trying to improve their 'actual' figure.

 

[steverob]

On a general note, can anyone tell me how many of us are fully paid-up Loonies? 7 or 8? 10? 12? 15? I really haven't a clue ..

Whatever the number is, it's far too low. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best challenge on the forum .. no need to ride a minimum distance every month and you have the freedom to push yourself as far as you can. Excellent idea and very under-subscribed.

There were 13 people who posted at least one ride in the main thread (appropriate, wouldn't you say) this year and of those, 9 have already completed the challenge. @ColinJ and @StuartG are just one ride away from being the 10th or 11th, but it seems that myself and @Pumpkin the robot are unfortunately the only fallers at the first fence.

 

[Sea of vapours]

That's a like for your having taken the trouble to count them up - I've been meaning to do that for a while now. The thirteen original takers is a distinctly pleasing coincidence, but it would be nice to see more next year. As @bluenotebob says, this is an excellent challenge, not least for being different in nature to the others available. Thanks again to @ColinJ for having the idea of a challenge not based around monthly rides in the first place :-)

 

[ColinJ]

I have got over my recent cold but am now really up against it! I have 50 km and 100 km rides to do in the next 3 days. I have done very little riding for a month so a soggy '50' tomorrow and a bitter '100' on Friday (Saturday as the last fallback option) will feel like hard work. I then have to recover for a couple of days and ASAP in December get my 13th lunacy ride done.

TBH, I am not looking forward to any of these rides. My S.A.D. has kicked in and I would rather stay indoors in the warm, but I know that I will feel better if I just make the effort, so I will do my best to get the rides done.

I'm hoping for a better start in 2020. The 2 or 3 lunacy rides that I had to postpone early this year due to other colds meant that I have been playing 'catchup' all year.

Maybe I should start taking my cycling a bit more seriously! Some of you are churning out longer and/or harder rides than me throughout the year...

If I got fitter/faster then doing the extra riding would not feel so hard. Trouble is, I'd have to do the extra riding in order to get fitter and faster in the first place - ha ha!

 

[Fiona R]

I have got over my recent cold but am now really up against it! I have 50 km and 100 km rides to do in the next 3 days. I have done very little riding for a month so a soggy '50' tomorrow and a bitter '100' on Friday (Saturday as the last fallback option) will feel like hard work. I then have to recover for a couple of days and ASAP in December get my 13th lunacy ride done.

TBH, I am not looking forward to any of these rides. My S.A.D. has kicked in and I would rather stay indoors in the warm, but I know that I will feel better if I just make the effort, so I will do my best to get the rides done.

I'm hoping for a better start in 2020. The 2 or 3 lunacy rides that I had to postpone early this year due to other colds meant that I have been playing 'catchup' all year.

Maybe I should start taking my cycling a bit more seriously! Some of you are churning out longer and/or harder rides than me throughout the year...

If I got fitter/faster then doing the extra riding would not feel so hard. Trouble is, I'd have to do the extra riding in order to get fitter and faster in the first place - ha ha!

Saturday was hideous, my body does not get fit easisly and loses it ten times quicker than obtaining it. I've vowed it's so awful that I'll not let that happen again, was only 3 weeks since a decent hillyish ride, and wasn't exactly lethargic on holiday just swimming and walking don't translate to lunacy.

It's been a brilliant challenge (not over until the fat lady sings), and tbh I failed at a separate 100km already and it's very unlikely I'll do both 50 and 100 before Sat, imperial is nearly done by way of lunacy, but I've liked the pep talks, observations, exchanges of info, knowledge and enthusiasm and banter from everyone in this challenge. Mainly I love seeing the glee of everyone surprising themselves, nobody has failed. Signing on the line and giving it a go is a big tick.

I haven't put actual up as I'm not done with 2019 yet! My horrible brake probs on Sat were a worn out front block on my hydraulics, turned out it was back not front replaced at the service recently, so a relief it was a straightforward fix. Bike cleaned and now the brake is replaced and gears checked/adjusted by LBS (who kindly squeezed me in whilst I waited and just charged the £20 for the block) I'm good to go. My legs are working a bit better again too.

One more for RRtY. @Aravis i presume you're doing the Tewkesbury one in a week? I'm on Airmail same weekend, it will be nice not to be DIYing.

Anyone else contemplating #Festive500?

 

[Aravis]

One more for RRtY. @Aravis i presume you're doing the Tewkesbury one in a week? I'm on Airmail same weekend, it will be nice not to be DIYing.

Sadly not; this year I've been a serial DiYer, just one ECE on a 100km to prevent a clean sweep!

There are lots of solid events starting in Tewkesbury, but a 10-mile ride to and from the start is enough to make me think, especially in December. My wife is remarkably understanding of my cycling whims, but it's not generally possible to book the car for a day long enough in advance to enter an event.

The Audax next year that tempts me most is the Heart of England 300, starting in Cirencester on April 18th. One of my objectives on today's ride was to check out a possible alternative to the suggested route to the first control in Alcester, eliminating the precipitous descents and vertical climbs but adding 3½ miles. After today, "Who are you trying to kid?" was my initial reaction, but in pleasanter weather and after some thoughtful training, it may be a goer.

I'm quite certain I won't do RRtY again; 125 miles in the middle of winter is rapidly becoming too much, but I'll find a way just this once! I expect to stick with the Imperial Century a Month challenge, but in the absence of RRtY, Lunacy is looking like the perfect outlet for the slightly longer rides.

 

[Dogtrousers]

The Audax next year that tempts me most is the Heart of England 300, starting in Cirencester on April 18th.

I'm considering Amesbury Amble 300 on the same day. Near to home. Nice and flat.

I did look into the Heart of England, and I'd have been tempted if the route was a bit different as it comes down past Coventry as I'd have been able to divert to a friend's place for a cuppa and a biscuit, but sadly no.

 

[ColinJ]

Today's planned bitter '100' didn't happen - I did a bitter '50' instead. I didn't get to sleep until 05:15 so the idea of getting up early to spend 5 or 6 hours freezing my nuts off didn't really appeal!

Only trouble is, I now have to tackle the 100 kms tomorrow in (near-)freezing fog instead of sunshine...

I'm hoping that I will be okay in the morning. I've only just got over a cold and the chilly air and traffic fumes really irritated my chest today.

I didn't want to risk encountering ice so today's ride was (and tomorrow's planned one is intended to be) a trudge up and down the local valley A-roads.

 

[Sea of vapours]

You're doing a great job of making this cycling thing sound appealing .... Good call this morning though - lots of ice about at quite low levels. Good luck tomorrow and with your final Lunacy ride.

 

[ColinJ]

You're doing a great job of making this cycling thing sound appealing .... Good call this morning though - lots of ice about at quite low levels. Good luck tomorrow and with your final Lunacy ride.

Thanks. I'm fairly sure that I will get the lunacy ride done somehow but feel concerned about the November 100 km ride now. I'll set off and repeat today's 50 km loop and hopefully then feel up to doing it for the 3rd time in 2 days!

I'll have to dig out my overshoes - my toes were numb by the time I got back today.

 

[Bazzer]

Thanks. I'm fairly sure that I will get the lunacy ride done somehow but feel concerned about the November 100 km ride now. I'll set off and repeat today's 50 km loop and hopefully then feel up to doing it for the 3rd time in 2 days!

I'll have to dig out my overshoes - my toes were numb by the time I got back today.

Colin, if you have not been well, why not make life easier for yourself for the 13th lunacy ride? A train to Manchester, then you have a choice of geography. Build the steady climb to Rochdale into your route home and then you can relax on the valley bottom from Littleborough.

 

[ColinJ]

I got up in time to do my metric century today, but I was feeling rough from yesterday's 50 km ride in cold damp air. My nose was running, my chest felt tight, my eyes were bloodshot and I had a headache. I was having second thoughts about riding but still wanted to stay in the MCaM challenge. Then I took some rubbish out to the wheelie bin and as soon as the cold air hit my lungs I had a coughing fit! It's obvious that I am still fighting off the tail-end of my recent cold.

I thought about it for some time and finally opted to do the sensible thing! I could have struggled through 100 kms in today's cold, dreary, damp conditions but I am fairly sure that I would just have ended up ill again. I am more interested in completing my first Lunacy Challenge than this year's MCaM so I decided to sacrifice the MCaM and give myself a few more days off the bike to recover. Hopefully, I will get a mild day towards the end of the week so I can go out just before dawn and get my final Lunacy ride done by sunset.

Colin, if you have not been well, why not make life easier for yourself for the 13th lunacy ride? A train to Manchester, then you have a choice of geography. Build the steady climb to Rochdale into your route home and then you can relax on the valley bottom from Littleborough.

The general idea is good, but I wouldn't execute it from busy Manchester city centre! Several times this year I have caught the train to Walsden and ridden into Cheshire from there. That is a nice flat route. The other options that I like are to head out beyond Leeds to the Vale of York, or to go out to the Fylde/Wyre flatlands. The trouble with the Walsden option is that I would be travelling on busy commuter trains unless I did it on a weekend.

 

[Fiona R]

I completed the new Airmail 200km audax yesterday. I had to get up hideously early to ride to the start for 7 so I left at 5.45 but didn't get in a mess in Bristol and arrived with time for a coffee and a banana. Starting just north of Bristol it was a fast run out to Chadlington in Oxfordshire, via Tetbury and Cirencester (having coffee there by 9.30), that had a lovely Village stores/cafe. Very little wind in the morning and dry. It was dry, mostly! I actually was riding in a bunch for once. Best time ever to be halfway and away for the second half by 12.15. The wind got up and I rode on my own for a bit before being caught and rode on to the final control at Cotswold Water Park in a group again. 75% done by 2.30! it was a really sociable ride but fast for me, but so much easier riding in a group with a headwind. A cup of tea and not a very nice sausage roll and 6 of us rode on together, we should be done by 5.30. As ever best laid plans.... I couldn't cope with flashing tail lights after dark, got a bit spaced out so hung back, ate something and carried on solo. The route then came back through east Bristol/Downend. I had to cross over the very busy A46 and it took me forever to get a totally clear gap with a lot of agro from traffic behind berating me for not going, oncoming not dipped lights on the downhill now followed by the sea of lights from shoppers rushing home just blurred and with a touch of drizzle on my glasses I couldn't cope. Big dual carriageways and roundabouts forced me onto a crumby bike path, crossings at the roundabouts took forever to change, I walked some, eventually back onto a quieter dead end with bike path over bridge and a final pull up a steep hill before finding the arrivée. It took 10 minutes to gather myself and go inside to get my brevet card authorised and have a pint of cider. I had so nearly just sat down at the roadside and contemplated phoning home with 10km to go. No way could I cycle home in the traffic after that, so called home for a lift, but thankfully made it in one piece to the arrivée. Overall it was an excellent day if I can wipe the last 1-2 hours out of my head.

Somehow I have managed to complete an Audax UK RRtY but the night riding issues mean it will probably be a one off. Very very pleased I have managed it though. That's probably my last lunacy entry. I totally hope to fit in a good bash at Festive 500 this year, but in daylight rides so I doubt any more 200s.

The year has taught me so much and I have an idea in my head which way to go now next year. Mostly an amazing experience and I've surprised myself that I can actually achieve something.

 

[Aravis]

Epic stuff again @Cranky Knee Girl and congratulations on a hard-earned RRtY. Don't the Audax guidelines imply that flashing rear lights are inappropriate for group riding? But there seems to be an assumption from most road users that cyclists should use flashing lights (I always have one flashing, one fixed) so you can't really win.

What can this possibly mean I wonder?

The year has taught me so much and I have an idea in my head which way to go now next year. Mostly an amazing experience and I've surprised myself that I can actually achieve something.

I'd still like to go for SR (Super Randonneur), which for those who don't follow Audax, is a set of validated rides of 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km with a single Audax year. Longer rides can be substituted; because the average speed required is lower for rides of 700km and over, I'm thinking that a DiY 700 might be easier than a 600 as it can be spread over three days. Just thought I'd put that out there.

 

[lane]

Well done an epic achievement.