The Imperial Century A Month Challenge Chatzone

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ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Tis white here, snowing and freezing, all we need now is an earthquake :whistle:.


LOL, saw that news earlier today...
 

Rohloff_Brompton_Rider

Formerly just_fixed
It still hasn't settled down here. There are a few patches on the hill behind my house but even the ungritted backstreets are clear.

That's the first time I have heard of the All City Nature Boy. Nice frame/forks, but I have never liked cantilever brakes.
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I tend do do something in between if its going to be mucky again the next day, just a mechanical clean. That said when its been a salty/gritty ride the bike is cleaned straight away.
 

sittingbull

Veteran
Location
South Liverpool
I can - my chain recently went manky after one ride on heavily gritted roads when I didn't bother to clean it upon returning home.
That's where you're going wrong!

Your bike is too clean, your washing off all the naturally built up layers of greasy gunk and grime which protect against road salt :whistle:
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
With Steve Abraham knocking out 190+ milers every day what ever the weather for his challenge. To cancel a pootling ride to the seaside and back for a big fry up was always going to be a no-no. The weather forecast was snow, sleet, rain and minus temperatures, it would have been easy to cancel the ride. Lot's of questions were asked on book of face. But being ever the optimist it was 'let's just get out there and see'.

So at 7.30am I met Mista Preston and iLB just local for a 15 mile warm up ride to Borough Green in Kent to meet Trickedem and rb58 . It was cold, the cloud cover was heavy and dark and it was bloody windy. The wind on our backs helped us to Borough Green pretty quickly and once the gang had met up, in the words of the mighty dellzeqq it was "OK, We're on our way". Saying goodbye to iLB's at Hollingbourne as he had to get home for a prior engagement, it was decided to take the non-Hollingborne route. It didn't take long to get to Whitstable. Some main road and good, clear country lanes and the wind on our backs made for rapid progress, reaching the Waterfront at 11.30am on the dot.

You can't really see it in the pic, but there were some mighty big waves crashing ashore.
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A couple of 'famous' Waterfront Big brekkies and beans on toast and cake for a couple of others demolished, it was time to head back. Into a raging headwind. It really was tough work and tough going, but you just have to put your head down and keep turning those pedals. Even down some of the descents it was a case of having to keep peddling. But the predicted snow, sleet and rain stayed away. It was still very cold though.

We left Trickdem at Rochester as he was near enough home, but not until he took this pic. rb58, myself and Mista Preston (cheers for the pic TD)
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It was still a good 25 miles of cycling into a raging headwind. But we all got there. The rolling hills of the Medway Towns and once across the Medway, the Southern Estuary towns made for slow progress. On a non windy day these are usually dispatched without even touching the sides. Under the Queen Elizabeth II bridge at Dartford and it was a shot hop home for the rest if us.

So... 117 hard going miles and for 4 of us, February's ride completed for the 2015 Century a month challenge.
My legs really are feeling it and are enjoying the rest...... but Steve Abraham is still out there cycling for his challenge.

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