The Metric Century (100KM) A Month Challenge ChatZone

[Dogtrousers]

Welcome aboard @Cranky Knee Girl

 

[cosmicbike]

It seems @Milkfloat has gotten us underway for March I hope to get mine in on Tuesday, even have a route in mind covering largely new territory, so fingers crossed for nice weather

 

[ColinJ]

I got my (first?) March ride in early - THIS ride with Littgull.

 

[Lilliburlero]

Got my March ride in today, but it was totally unexpected. It was horrible out there this morning with wind and rain from 8am to 10:30am, so I just sat and waited hoping for a break to bag a 50km`er for the 50 km challenge. I set off just after 11am and after encountering just a few patches of light drizzle at the 15km mark I decided to risk it and see how things went. The rain gods seemed to be on my side (unlike the wind gods) and all went well even if slow. This ride was 4hrs 6mins compared to my last one of 3hrs 41mins, but i`m not worried about time, i`m just chuffed to get the miles in

Bring on April

 

[Fiona R]

Phew...got round Gospel Pass Audax again on Saturday. more challenging weather for the second half inc Pass this year. Not quite sure how I got up the Pass into a very stiff headwind in one go, but I did. Less fit/well prepared than my first attempt last year so very happy.

 

[GuyBoden]

Beautiful day in Cheshire on this Mon 6th March, so I rode my 100k. A very slow ride to Brereton Heath Nature Reserve, I've never been before, but ridden near it many times. The ride included a short 10% climb over the River Dane again, which spoilt my otherwise very, very extremely flat ride. Mow Cop castle is only a few miles away, but I leave the riding of that for the young guns nowadays.

 

[cosmicbike]

Got mine in today, on a destination I wanted to get too for some time. Also turned into my longest ever ride at 70.8 miles

 

[Sea of vapours]

It was verging on spring-like today. Excellent stuff. A rather windy instance of spring-like but nonetheless sunny and not actively cold. From that ride I have learnt that perhaps the half way point of a metric century - especially one which started with a substantial hillock and ended with a continuous series of steep little climbs culminating in the aptly named 'Silly Lane' - is not the ideal point to do thirty minutes of aerobic capacity intervals. There is doubtless a viewpoint which would say that that discovery was pretty obvious and didn't require testing.

@ColinJ : that series of lanes down from the Cross of Greet to Wray is most definitely best approached from the top. It's rather hard work going the other way, but finishing up Silly Lane is pleasing, especially when combined with the signpost which points up it and says 'Bentham, easier way'. Given that the implicitly harder way is downhill and much shorter, I presume whoever designed that signpost was thinking of cars and the narrowness of the alternative route, not bikes.

 

[Ajax Bay]

OK, from this select community, I would like to seek advice or at least an opinion on distance versus height climb.
Down in sunny Devon (well yesterday was sunny; today we've had sea mist all day) I can get a hilly 100 or a 'flat (ie just less than 1000m) ride in. I don't go looking to avoid climbs, in fact quite often the reverse. But sometimes time presses. I shall do a 200 audax next next weekend and I like to look for alternate routes between the controls to that recommended. As a one-time regular orienteer I like considering alternatives and making route choices, and sometimes taking them. I acknowledge that there are other considerations eg: narrowness of road, road surface, nature of the downhill sections, navigation challenges, but let's leave those to one side.
How many metres of climb is it worth doing to save a 1km or how many km is it worth to save 100m climbing? 40? 50? 60? Imagine a pan flat 10km (not you, @Sea of vapours ). Say one would bowl along at 30kph = 20 minutes. Now throw in a 100m hill. 5km flat @ 30kph, 2.5km 4% climb @ 15kph and 2.5km down at 40kph. 24 minutes. So the 100m hill would 'cost' 2km on the flat.
What do you think?

 

[Sea of vapours]

I'm taking this as purely intended to save time and ignoring any effect on tiredness or 'capacity to carry on'. I'll come back to the latter later. I'm also ignoring the 'not you, @Sea of vapours bit, but no-one else has responded so ...

Your calculation is clearly correct for this theoretical 10km of road, but I think the angle of both the up and down portions is pertinent. At 4%, you're losing a lot of speed compared to flat on the uphill and not gaining an awful lot on the downhil. I'd contend that a steeper up and shallower down would be the most advantageous. For 10km with 100m, suppose the slope was 20% at 8kph, so that's 500m at 8kph, so 3.75 minutes. Then downhill at 40kph for 9.5km takes 14.25 minutes. Total 18 minutes, so you actually save time compared to the flat 10km - the 100m hill would 'cost' minus one and a third kilometres. None of that takes account of road conditions (whether you can go downhill at 40kph for example). Broadly, I think going up a short, steep thing and having a long downhill where you actually can go fast is going to incur a lower elapsed time. The opposite is very bad: going up gently, you'll lose lots of speed but for a long time so it's 'expensive' in time, though easy.

This doesn't take account of how tiring each is though. 500m of 20% upward slope and then a long downhill is going to do a lot more 'damage' to your legs (mine anyway) than the flat version. It would work really well near the end of the 200km but could be a bad idea early on. I'd certainly opt for the 'really steep up, long down' in the last third, to shave time off, but I suspect donig it early on would result in slower overall time due to fatigue produced by the steep climb.

Basically, there are an awful lot of variables, including your fitness for various sorts of slope. Personally, I think I'd find rolling along at 30kph on the flat endlessly more tiring than a saw tooth road with steep ascents and shallow descents, but I suspect that's atypical?

 

[cosmicbike]

OK, from this select community, I would like to seek advice or at least an opinion on distance versus height climb.
Down in sunny Devon (well yesterday was sunny; today we've had sea mist all day) I can get a hilly 100 or a 'flat (ie just less than 1000m) ride in. I don't go looking to avoid climbs, in fact quite often the reverse. But sometimes time presses. I shall do a 200 audax next next weekend and I like to look for alternate routes between the controls to that recommended. As a one-time regular orienteer I like considering alternatives and making route choices, and sometimes taking them. I acknowledge that there are other considerations eg: narrowness of road, road surface, nature of the downhill sections, navigation challenges, but let's leave those to one side.
How many metres of climb is it worth doing to save a 1km or how many km is it worth to save 100m climbing? 40? 50? 60? Imagine a pan flat 10km (not you, @Sea of vapours ). Say one would bowl along at 30kph = 20 minutes. Now throw in a 100m hill. 5km flat @ 30kph, 2.5km 4% climb @ 15kph and 2.5km down at 40kph. 24 minutes. So the 100m hill would 'cost' 2km on the flat.
What do you think?

Yes

To be honest, I struggle to get anywhere near 1000m climbing on my 100km rides. My March one, for example, was only 723 metres in 70 miles, a rate of climbing which I consider normal around here on account of there not being many hills. I normally reckon on 10m/mile on an average challenge ride.

 

[Ajax Bay]

. . .purely intended to save time
I think the angle of both the up and down portions is pertinent. . . . I'd contend that a steeper up and shallower down would be the most advantageous. . . . Broadly, I think going up a short, steep thing and having a long downhill where you actually can go fast is going to incur a lower elapsed time. The opposite is very bad: going up gently, you'll lose lots of speed but for a long time so it's 'expensive' in time, though easy.

Thank you for commenting (and I only said not you because you don't do 'flat', so far as I can see).
I agree the scarp slope then dip slope option is the most advantageous. How often has one thought: I've gained all this height (potential energy) and now it's going to be frittered away on hot brakes because the down hill can't be taken at full tilt, or it can but energy is disproportionately and uselessly lost to drag at the high speeds? Of course there are many variables, and you point out the individual's capability (mind and body) for steep hills or 'endless' flat, but you offered no answer, perhaps because the road surface, downhill 'straightness' and hill profile (steep/gentle) are greater determinants.
For example on this section from Askrigg to Lower Eskeleth, is it better to go through Reeth? Assume one can get up the double chevron hills!
I guess @cosmicbike looks for routes which offer as much climbing as the terrain will offer.

 

[Lilliburlero]

Blood heck... two in two days for me

I booked Friday off to get one in, but before going out I noticed a msg on strava inviting me out for a group ride with some Mercia CC lads and I didnt want to miss it. It looked like being a 80/85km ride near the end so i peeled off from the pack and said my goodbyes at the 75km mark to add the extra on for another metric ton. I wasnt sure how the legs would cope with today`s ride with club riders after doing yesterdays ride, but they performed well averaging 17.2 mph.

These CC monthly challenges are the best thing since sliced bread

 

[Ajax Bay]

These CC monthly challenges are the best thing since sliced bread

Well done on two successive 'slices'. I'd just observe we have no idea of where you rode on any of your rides, as all you've posted are Strava links (drawing your attention to @cosmicbike 's original post).

 

[Lilliburlero]

Well done on two successive 'slices'. I'd just observe we have no idea of where you rode on any of your rides, as all you've posted are Strava links (drawing your attention to @cosmicbike 's original post).

Sorry about that. I`m a bit of a noob

Will amend today`s post on the challenge thread.

Edit - all sorted