Three 30-minute rides each week of the year Challenge 2024

[annedonnelly]

Four rides for me including one yesterday of about 28 miles. Not bad considering I lost a whole night's sleep counting votes on Thursday night/Friday morning.

When I set out early yesterday morning it was blissfully quiet. Even fewer people about for a Sunday morning. Even the dog walkers were missing. I can only assume that there'd been some late nights after some football match or other on Saturday evening.

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 28: one HMCAM ride + 12 more local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 221.48km

Weeks 1 to 28: total distance cycled 7355km

A difficult week with lots of non-cycling activities, indifferent (and sometimes thundery) weather and a deep-rooted tiredness. My worst week on the bike since Storm Nelson hit us at the end of March .. but I did manage to drag myself over 200km for the week.

On the subject of naming bikes and other things, I was hugely amused the other evening to hear that someone on TV had named their washing machine Barbara…

Earlier this week the Princess became the fourth of my bikes to pass 1000km in 2024. She got a couple of days rest and TLC at the LBS (and a new back tyre) as a reward. Here she is by the stone cross at la Suais.

 

[FrothNinja]

Another tedious week's cycling.
W28R1- Dawes 36 mins - local miles.
W28R2 - Dawes 53 mins - local miles.
W28R3 - Centurion 39 mins - local miles - according to Strava, my fastest ever 5 miles, 10 km, and 20 km.
Gate post I spotted on my travels.

 

[ColinJ]

Week 28: 4 qualifying rides, 108 km, 6 hrs.

• Ride 1 (Tue): 52 km. Last lumpy lanes ride of my Devon break. 3 hrs.
• Ride 2 (Thu): 12 km. (Back 'Oop North') ELLL including shops. ¾ hr.
• Ride 3 (Fri): 13 km. ELLL including shops. ¾ hr.
• Ride 4 (Sun): 31 km. Tod, Hebden Bridge turning circle, back towards Tod, Lumbutts climb, Hollins Rd, Walsden, Calderbrook, Caldermoor, then Summit, Walsden, Tod. 1½ hrs.

Ride #1 on Devon 1x11 bike. Others on 6-er ridden as singlespeed, except for Lumbutts climb on Sunday where I also used my 42/23 & 42/29 gears.

Success rate: 28 weeks out of 28.

99 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 2,636 km. Average progress now = 94.1%; last week = 93.6%. Total ride time approximately 159¼ hrs.

PS Special characters to copy and paste for ride durations - ¼ ½ ¾ !

 

[annedonnelly]

Well done guys!
I only managed two rides during the week. The weekend weather has been more like winter - wet, cold and windy - and I really couldn't see the point in going out.

Forecast is looking a bit better today...

 

[FrothNinja]

A far more rewarding week's cycling - which shows how poop things had been lately. Very please with my time today - partly down to starting just before noon & being determined to get to the Clarion before closing - I pushed harder than usual and got there by 3 so added a couple of extra miles.
W29R1- CX 3 hours 36 mins - Colne, Calf Edge, Lothersdale, Calf Edge, Carlton-ish, Tow Top, Lothersdale, Colne, Foulridge (no traffic jams), Whitemoor, Colne, Laneshaw Bridge, Colne (total 31.1 miles / 50.1 km plus 950 m / 3,116 ft ascent).
W29R2 - Centurion 33 mins - local miles.
W29R3 - Hybrid 2 hours 54 mins - Burnley, Haggate, Thursden valley, Trawden, Laneshaw Bridge, Lothersdale, Carlton-ish, Tow Top, bridle paths, Calf Edge, Proctor Height, Bleara Rd, Earby, Kelbrook, Foulridge, Blacko, Roughlee, Clarion House, Spen Brook, the Ridge, Higham, Fence, Burnley (total 39.5 miles / 63.5 km plus 1,356 m / 4,448 ft ascent).
On the bridle path

 

[ColinJ]

Week 29: 4 qualifying rides, 134 km, 6½ hrs.

• Ride 1 (Mon): 22 km. Tod, Hebden Bridge turning circle, then back to Harvelin Park, Mankinholes, Lumbutts, Walsden and on towards Littleborough, then u-turned and back to Tod. 1¼ hrs.
• Ride 2 (Wed): 25 km. Up A646 to traffic lights on Bacup Rd, then back to Tod and round the block. 1¼ hrs.
• Ride 3 (Fri): 53 km. Timing myself on a lumpy loop... Tod, Walsden, Calderbrook, Caldermoor, Littleborough, Blackstone Edge, Blue Ball***, Hubberton Green, High Stone Rd, Blackstone Edge, Littleborough, Walsden, Tod. 2½ hrs.
• Ride 4 (Sun): 34 km. (Another ride against the clock.) Tod, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Cragg Vale climb, Blackstone Edge, Littleborough, Walsden, Tod. 1½ hrs.

Ride #1 on CAAD5 using lots of gears. Others on 6-er: Ride #2 ridden as singlespeed, but rides #3 and #4 used all the gears.

Success rate: 29 weeks out of 29.

103 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 2,770 km. Average progress now = 95.5%; last week = 94.1%. Total ride time approximately 165¾ hrs.

PS Special characters to copy and paste for ride durations - ¼ ½ ¾ !


*** For non-locals who might be interested, I spotted this video made by a local YouTuber today on those lanes round Blue Ball that I ride a lot...

 

[annedonnelly]

A much better week for me. I actually managed three qualifying rides in a single day (Tuesday). And in the process had poor customer service in two different cafes so they'll be on my black list from now on

Three more rides during the week so six in total. Hopefully the good weather - and my motivation - continues.

 

[FrothNinja]

W30R1- Centurion 30 mins - local miles.
W30R2 - Centurion 37 mins - local miles.
W30R3 - Centurion 33 mins - local miles.
W30R4 - Hybrid 1 hour 12 mins - Clarion loop.
Looking toward Great Hameldon from the Ridge

 

[annedonnelly]

Just the three rides for me this week. A busy week with other things and I didn't fancy the torrential showers yesterday.

Word is that the new flyover at the new station will open during next week so that'll be something to check out.

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 29: 18 rides in total over 30 mins – effectively one Lunacy Distance ride, two HMCAM multi-bike rides + 8 more local rides; distance cycled 317.58km

Week 30: 22 rides in total over 30 mins – effectively two Lunacy Distance rides, one HMCAM multi-bike ride + 10 more local rides; distance cycled 361.09km

Weeks 1 to 30: total distance cycled 8034km

That's a total of 40 rides over 30 mins in the last couple of weeks - I've been flat out like a lizard drinking (a phrase that @FrothNinja may be familiar with).

Lots of wheat and rape harvesting going on here at the moment. Here are some hay bales ... or are bales just the rectangular ones? My mother used to call these round ones 'Dougals', after the character in The Magic Roundabout.

 

[FrothNinja]

Week 29: 18 rides in total over 30 mins – effectively one Lunacy Distance ride, two HMCAM multi-bike rides + 8 more local rides; distance cycled 317.58km

Week 30: 22 rides in total over 30 mins – effectively two Lunacy Distance rides, one HMCAM multi-bike ride + 10 more local rides; distance cycled 361.09km

Weeks 1 to 30: total distance cycled 8034km

That's a total of 40 rides over 30 mins in the last couple of weeks - I've been flat out like a lizard drinking (a phrase that @FrothNinja may be familiar with).

Lots of wheat and rape harvesting going on here at the moment. Here are some hay bales ... or are bales just the rectangular ones? My mother used to call these round ones 'Dougals', after the character in The Magic Roundabout.

View attachment 739075

Thirsty weather for lizards this week, been going like a scalded snake

 

[FrothNinja]

'Dougals', after the character in The Magic Roundabout.

We didn't have a tv when I was a kid, but I loved Magic Roundabout because I was given a Magic Roundabout picture book when I was a toddler. My mother used it to help teach me to read before I went to school.

 

[ColinJ]

Week 30: 4 qualifying rides, 121 km, 6¼ hrs.

• Ride 1 (Wed): 19 km. ELLL incl. Lumbutts climb. 1 hr.
• Ride 2 (Thu): 34 km. Up A646 to traffic lights on Manchester Rd in Burnley, Crown Point, Bacup Rd, then back to Tod on A646 and round the block. 1½ hrs.
• Ride 3 (Fri): 27 km. Tod, Cross Stone Rd, Great Rock, Blackshaw Head, Windfarm, u-turn, same roads back to Tod, then extra local loop. 1½ hrs.
• Ride 4 (Sun): 41 km. Tod, towards Hebden Bridge then u-turn, Harvelin Park, Mankinholes, Lumbutts, Walsden, Calderbrook, Caldermoor, Summit, Walsden, Bacup Rd, Sourhall, Portsmouth, Tod plus local loop top-up. 2¼ hrs.

Rides #1 and #2 on 6-er using lower gears on steep stuff. #3 and #4 on CAAD5 using lots of gears.

Success rate: 30 weeks out of 30.

107 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 2,891 km. Average progress now = 96.4%; last week = 95.5%. Total ride time approximately 172 hrs.

PS Special characters to copy and paste for ride durations - ¼ ½ ¾ !

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 31: 13 rides in total over 30 mins – one HMCAM ride, one HMCAM multi-bike ride + 9 more local rides; distance cycled 218.85km

Weeks 1 to 31: total distance cycled 8252km

Considering everything that’s being going here this week, I’m amazed that I’ve done any cycling at all… but I did. Nearly finished the kitchen re-furb – hopefully have that completed by Tues/Wed next week – and over 200km cycled (a lot of that was done in the cool of the evenings).

Temperatures earlier in the week – particularly Wed when it was 36C in the afternoon – would have had @ColinJ locking himself in the fridge and refusing to come out before the weather got cooler.

Cycling highlight of the week (and probably cycling highlight of the year) was Thursday afternoon’s ride – which I wrote about in the HMCAM Chatzone.

La Rossa by the Lac au Duc at Lézonnet late this afternoon