The Imperial Century A Month Challenge Chatzone

[ianrauk]

Lovely pics Phil

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Lovely pics Phil

Thanks.

 

[Dogtrousers]

October done.
Due to Life Stuff I've been off the bike for the past couple of months, apart from last month's century, a couple of Brompton tootles and a handful of turbo sessions. So I feared I might be a bit unprepared.

We were visiting friends in Warwickshire so I put the bike on the back of the car and got dropped off at Hemel Hempstead and took a relatively flat wiggly route up to Warwicks. Mainly northwards so mainly tailwind, except when the route wiggled.

Didn't go too bad. I started too fast and began to suffer. Was struggling by half way. Then for the second half of the ride just took it easy and rode gently and slowly, keeping effort levels low. Pretty soon I felt better, but it took a while to get there.

I'll add it to the main thread later.

 

[13 rider]

October done not the ride I had planned. Was headed up to Ashbourne but suffered a broken chain at 11 miles while out of the saddle going up hill not sure how I didn't hit the deck. Managed to fix the chain fairly quickly but a couple of miles later I realised I couldn't get in to bottom gear ,which would definitely be needed in the peaks .So Ashbourne was ditched and now feeling a bit unmotivated I started to head home first plan was a metric half but once I got going again and warmed up I thought if I head here a metric tons on the cards.So making it as I go the miles keep racking up . The gears are just about behaving and the sun's out so just kept heading here there and everywhere to rack up 101 miles and job done

 

[Fiona R]

October done.
Due to Life Stuff I've been off the bike for the past couple of months, apart from last month's century, a couple of Brompton tootles and a handful of turbo sessions. So I feared I might be a bit unprepared.

We were visiting friends in Warwickshire so I put the bike on the back of the car and got dropped off at Hemel Hempstead and took a relatively flat wiggly route up to Warwicks. Mainly northwards so mainly tailwind, except when the route wiggled.

Didn't go too bad. I started too fast and began to suffer. Was struggling by half way. Then for the second half of the ride just took it easy and rode gently and slowly, keeping effort levels low. Pretty soon I felt better, but it took a while to get there.

I'll add it to the main thread later.

View attachment 664746

Going North yesterday was wise.

Did mine yesterday too, a loop of Mendip and Cotswolds from Bristol. I rarely ride in a no drop group as I hold everyone up but yesterday was full value. 4 refreshment stops! As a group that varied from 6 to 8 it should have been easy as riding in a peloton to negate the headwind on the return leg to Bristol from Cotswold Water Park. it was still quite a tough day out, it didn't rain much either. Lovely sociable day and pleased to have finished my second RRtY. It's been a bit touch and go at times.

 

[Fiona R]

October done not the ride I had planned. Was headed up to Ashbourne but suffered a broken chain at 11 miles while out of the saddle going up hill not sure how I didn't hit the deck. Managed to fix the chain fairly quickly but a couple of miles later I realised I couldn't get in to bottom gear ,which would definitely be needed in the peaks .So Ashbourne was ditched and now feeling a bit unmotivated I started to head home first plan was a metric half but once I got going again and warmed up I thought if I head here a metric tons on the cards.So making it as I go the miles keep racking up . The gears are just about behaving and the sun's out so just kept heading here there and everywhere to rack up 101 miles and job done

Too much power Well done for hanging in there

 

[13 rider]

Too much power Well done for hanging in there

I think the cause is more likely an excessively worn chain as waiting for new chain rings to change all the drive chain

 

[robjh]

November done, today. I didn't initially feel very motivated but was very glad that I made the effort as it was a gorgeous autumn day with a cloudless sky, but it started and ended with a real chill in the air, reminding me that we're on the path to winter now. The sunshine was glorious though, and for a couple of hours it was almost warm.
The route was more or less a reverse run of a loop I did for my February century this year, and worked out better this way (anti-clockwise) by putting the least interesting parts first and keeping up the scenic stretches right to my doorstep on the way home.
route here
I bypassed Cambridge centre by heading up through Grantchester, then rode west and southwest to Sandy then Ampthill, with some lovely woodlands in those parts. After a bacon butty in Ampthill I headed south and over the Chiltern ridge at Lilley (between Luton and Hitchin) and down one of my favourite roads, descending through a long broad valley to Whitwell, and the Spoke Cycles Café at Codicote, where I used their trackpump to top up the pressure after an earlier puncture. Leaving here at 2pm the temperature was already dropping again, and I headed home on increasingly familiar roads through Puckeridge and Clavering.

Not hard to see where the puncture was this time

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

November is done for me too. I got out yesterday and did go to Vyrnwy again. The colours weren't as vividly autumnal as they have been at this time in previous years but it was still fabulous to be there. Unfortunately I had issues with cramp again on the way back, which was a right pain in the......legs, so I wasn't overly quick. Just happy to get round.

The ride report is here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/your-ride-today.173254/post-6847547

A few snaps:

 

[Dogtrousers]

November done. Hemel Hempstead up to Marton near Coventry via a bit of getting lost in Bedford and lunch at the Dragonfly Café at Harrold-Odell country park. Got a close-ish look at the huge airship hangars at Cardington.

A grey day, with drizzly patches, finished in the dark. Proved to me that I'm not really in shape for riding centuries. Took me 10 and a half hours of slogging. A real mental test.

A spoke in my rear wheel broke, but fortunately I was about 800m from the end.

Newnham bridge over the Great Ouse in Bedford

One more to go for 2022 and five more to get to the magic 100 Eddington.

 

[13 rider]

November's done 107 imperial miles up to the edge of the peak District (Ashbourne) and back so a bit lumpy over 6000ft of upness.

 

[Trickedem]

Having put off the ride twice in the week, due to poor weather, Fri 18th Nov was my last chance to get a ride in this month, as I am on holiday this week. Turned out to be a great day for it. Reasonably warm, not too windy and the sun even came out. After the heavy rain over the last few weeks, there was a lot of flooding and I had to make a diversion to avoid the worst of it near the village of Yalding.
One more ride in December to finish 12 full years of this crazy challenge.
A favourite view of mine on the road between Crouch and West Peckham

A sunset with 30 miles to go. Riding for 2.5 hours in the dark is the downside of doing a century at this time of year.

 

[robjh]

A sunset with 30 miles to go. Riding for 2.5 hours in the dark is the downside of doing a century at this time of year.
View attachment 668704

Yes the short days are a pain for long rides in winter. I much prefer a properly early start in the pitch black rather than ending in the dark, but that's largely to do with the steep temperature drop at sunset - I find it far easier to cope with removing layers as it warms up in the morning, than adding them again at the end of the day, when I often seem to leave it too late and start getting chilled.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Yes the short days are a pain for long rides in winter. I much prefer a properly early start in the pitch black rather than ending in the dark, but that's largely to do with the steep temperature drop at sunset - I find it far easier to cope with removing layers as it warms up in the morning, than adding them again at the end of the day, when I often seem to leave it too late and start getting chilled.

Sadly, at my pace, it's dark at both ends.

 

[ianrauk]

I left it a bit late in the month to get Novembers ride done. The weather the previous weekends has been pretty vile, that, and family stuff getting in the way.
But I got it done today. A nice bimble through deepest, darkest Kentshire.
So, 105 miles for the day. Century #15 for the year, month #132 in a row. Century #320.

Roll on December, its next week.