The Imperial Century A Month Challenge Chatzone

[Ming the Merciless]

I did May's ride on Saturday 13th, which was incidentally my birthday. I was on the 'Jelly Fish Legs' 400 k audax from Stevenage to the Cotswolds and back, and finished the full 260-odd miles the next day at lunchtime, but reached my 100 mile mark at around 7pm on the 13th, near Chipping Camden.
It was overall great fun, but as my first 400k it did get to be tough going in the latter parts. I'm not that fast, and realised that I need to organise my early food stops better - ie stop for less time but eat more appropriately - so that I have time for a proper nap at some time in the night. As it was I got just two episodes of dozing for 5 minutes each (at service stations, not while on the bike ), and felt shattered once I finally stopped.
And also I met @Ming the Merciless in the flesh.

start and 100-mile mark shown here
View attachment 689969
The little loop in Warwickshire is due to a Garmin freeze in the night - I hadn't noticed that it had stopped refreshing and missed a turning, only becoming suspicious a few km later when I noticed that it was displaying the same thing every time I lit it up. Luckily it sorted itself out later.

The 160km mark is Guiting Power, which is the bottom of the bit furtherest west, to left of Stow on the Wold text. Your mark is 105 miles 😁 With eating I find something savoury about every 40-50km works well. If you leave it too long between normal food, or don’t drink enough the appetite as well as speed can drop off. Another trick is coke in one water bottle heading into the night. On a 600km audax you build up more time for a sleep, and 3-4 decent hours is enough to restore full working order. Well done on finishing.

 

[13 rider]

June's done halfway through another year ,106 imperial miles Leicster to Kenilworth and back

 

[robjh]

I got June's done on another overnight 400k audax from Friday 2nd to Saturday 3rd June. This time it was the 'Bare Bones' from Maple Cross west of London, going out through the Cotswolds to Tewkesbury and the Forest of Dean, then back over the Severn Bridge and across Cotswolds (again) and Chilterns to get back. I reached the 100 miles mark about 2.30 in the morning near Newent.
It was altogether a fantastic ride where we were spoilt by the weather, warm sunny days and a wonderful clear moonlit night, with a dusk that lingered late in the west ahead of us, and a dawn that came early. It was also, in my limited experience of audaxes, a very sociable one where people joined in little groups and there was a lot of interaction at the controls. I rode with three other guys for about 12 hours, which no doubt increased my average speed as well as giving good company.
It was a hilly route though, especially on the second half where the Cotswold, Wiltshire Downs and Chiltern hills just kept on coming, and somewhere after 150 miles the climbing strength just ebbed from my legs and I began to fall behind on ascents. After the Membury Services control at 3pm I told the others to go on without me, and I continued more slowly behind. I got to the last control, Henley, just within the allowed time, but by now doubted my chances of finishing by the cut-off, and was also concerned about limited later trains on this strike day, so decided with some regret to drop out of the last leg of the audax and caught a train from the nearest station back to London. I still finished with a 90 minute ride at the other end and got home at midnight.
Despite the slight disappointment at the end, it was a quite brilliant night+day out. My distance for the ride was 397km/246 miles, obviously a bit less than the full audax.

Map

 

[ianrauk]

June's qualifying ride done and dusted today. A nice ride through the Kent lanes to Ashford and back.
Perfect cycling conditions, a little bit of covering cloud blocking the intense sun. Had a lovely tailwind for the return half of the ride and 10 minutes from home a bit of refreshing rain.

Imperial century month 151 in a row. Century 328 over all.

 

[ianrauk]

July's qualifying ride done yesterday.
The Way To The Sea Audax from Greenwich in London. Out to the Sea at the Isle of Grain and the Isle of Sheppy.
127 miles of brilliant riding in brilliant weather.
Imperial century month #152 In a row
Century #329

@Trickedem 's legendary delicious home made flapjacks and bread pudding.

 

[robjh]

July's ride done, on the Dunwich Dynamo overnight from Saturday 1st to Sunday 2nd July, including connecting rides at the start and end of the main event.

I left home at 2pm on the Saturday, and with a couple of stops arrived at London Fields in Hackney about 6.30, after 48 miles. I met and chatted with people there, largely from the Fridays (ex 'Friday Night Ride to the Coast') crowd, as well as a brief intro to the London Brompton crew, as there is quite a bit of crossover between the two groups.
I started out with a small group of Fridays people (several of whom are on this forum - you know who you are), but found I was in a mood for more speed, and so after the first refreshment stop at Fyfield we split and I zoomed on ahead, hoping to make it to the beach for sunrise. This part was my first experience of doing the Dynamo 'alone', but with so many people on the ride, passing and regrouping, you are rarely actually alone and several times I jumped on a passing fast group for a few miles for the tow and the extra speed. I was with one gang from London Velo for about 20 miles after Finchingfield, and my strava is a string of personal records for that stretch.
The night was clear, not too cold, with a strong tailwind, and it was a really classic Dynamo experience. I did make it to the beach 3 minutes before sunrise, so was pleased with that. It was altogether just a wonderful night and fantastic ride.
I didn't stay long, and after a coffee was back onthe road by 5.15 heading for Ipswich, but the headwind in that direction slowed me down, and I missed the first Cambridge train that I'd been aiming for. No worries, I caught the next one at 8.20 and was home before 11 am.

Total distance 192 miles, of which 48=ride to the start, 112=Dynamo route, and 32=ride to Ipswich.

 

[ianrauk]

@robjh Chapeau dear chap

 

[13 rider]

Somehow I'm still in Julys done . In mid June I developed a kidney stone while on holiday which took me off the bike for 2 weeks and also knocked my mojo . Then when I finally got back to health the weather especially the wind has been horrid .I came up for a plan use the wind to push me to Lincoln and train back just waited for a decent day and today was my chance . Got the bike prepped last night settled down watched the news and realised there's a train strike !! . Replan did the first part of the route then turned for home . 110 miles Leicester to Grantham , Newark and return

 

[robjh]

Got August's ride in overnight from August 4th to 5th, just ahead of the big storm coming in from the Atlantic. Distance 132.6 miles.

The background to choosing this route was that I had originally been planning a weekend camping and cycling near Gloucester, the highlight being the Elan Sprint audax on Saturday 5th from Tewkesbury into Mid-Wales, but the grim weather made me reconsider. I was then left with a one-way rail ticket to Gloucester on Friday 4th, so I had the bright last-minute idea to use it for a cross-country ride home instead, hopefully beating the first rain. As I only arrived at Gloucester at 2.30pm this would inevitably end up going into the night, but I was happy with that too as I had been mulling a lone night ride for a while.

After a quick look round and something to eat I got away from Gloucester at 3:30. I climbed onto the Cotswolds via Birdlip Hill which was long and quite savage, even with my new low 34:34 gear, but was then the start of a lovely rolling 25-mile stretch across the top of the Cotswolds to Stow-on-the-Wold, which I reached after the last café had closed, but I sat and snacked by the war memorial in the centre in the afternoon sunshine (about the only time when the clouds lifted).
Continuing east I was soon down from the high lands, and stayed on faster roads to Buckingham - the traffic volumes were easing by now. It was now 10pm and dark, and after a quick service station coffee I carried on to Milton Keynes, blindly following now my gps as I had no hope of navigating otherwise through MK's labyrinthine network of cycle paths. It was a weird experience - I must have spent 10 miles and maybe an hour crossing the 'city', rarely touching a road or seeing any landmarks, although the quality of the paths was often very good indeed.

After the M1 I reached Ampthill and was on familiar ground, and took to fast roads again, which post-midnight were almost traffic-free. Another coffee in the Baldock Services by the A1M at 2am, and I reached home at a quarter to four. I then sat up for an hour drinking tea and playing on strava before going to bed.

It was a very good ride - I wouldn't want to dash through the night like that too often, but this time was fun, and the dark and quiet make dull, familiar roads seem mysterious and different, which was a good reason to do it in this direction.

Train from London - 3 bikes in the space for 2

Forgot to select 'paved only' on gps planner

Rollright Stones

Milton Keynes at midnight

 

[ianrauk]

August's ride done and dusted today. I called the route the Rye and Wye ride.
Out of the door at 6.30am to very muggy weather for a run to the seaside south to Rye and Camber. From there east cross country to the very lovely Kent village of Wye, then back northwards to home.
Typcal British summers day. Hot sunshine, Dark clouds, rain (twice) and some pesky headwinds to contend with.
So scores on the doors.
150.01 miles for the day
Imperial Century Month #153 in a row
Imperial Century #330
A managed to bag a new Eddington number of 117
9 more 118 rides to get that number

Cudham Hill not far from home

Sissinghurst Tour De France 2007 memorial Bike

Ooh err!

Now that's a gate right? Eastwell Manor 1848

West Malling

 

[13 rider]

Still in , August done and what might be my last chance of a long ride this month due to house move . 103 miles Leicester to Kettering again in search of velo viewer tiles . The area of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire boarder is incredibly rolling no big climbs yet 5000ft of upness . Hope all the decorating will be completed in good time to allow a September ride

 

[ianrauk]

What an absolute glorious day for cycling. Out of the door nice and early to get September's Imperial Century Ride done and dusted.
Fantastic, warm and sunny weather made for fabulous riding. Sometimes cycling really doesn't get better.
Scores on the doors.
101 miles for the day.
Imperial century ride #331
Imperial century month #154
I've called this the Oasts & Spitfires ride. Seeing lots of the former and 2 of the latter today. Unfortunately no pictures of those lovely aeroplanes.

 

[robjh]

I got my ride for September done today too. It started out as a club ride (with the Cambridge cycling group named after a now-defunct café), going eastwards to the village of Risby in Suffolk for a café stop then back. By this time I was on 75 miles, it was still only lunchtime and a warm afternoon was in store, so I extended my route home to make it up to 100+ miles. I did this by riding a few miles up the guided busway cycle route towards St Ives, then turning south for home once I was sure I'd get enough miles in, and finished on 104.

 

[13 rider]

It seems the weekend for imperial centuries as I've done mine today , 102 miles Leicester to Nottingham then across the lumpy terrain to Derby and back to Leicester again all done hunting velo viewer squares

 

[robjh]

It seems the weekend for imperial centuries as I've done mine today , 102 miles Leicester to Nottingham then across the lumpy terrain to Derby and back to Leicester again all done hunting velo viewer squares

A good East Midlands trio there, me duck.