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

[bluenotebob]

Not sure if I’m going to get out on my bike today – I’m suffering from facial neuralgia (possibly brought on by cycling into a very chilly north wind yesterday). I was up at 2am swallowing an enormous amount of paracetamol to kill the pain. If I don’t go out, it’ll be the first day I’ve missed in over two months – but if I do go out, it won’t significantly affect these stats for week 22.

Week 22: two HMCAM rides + 9 more local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 235.21km

Weeks 1 to 22: total distance cycled 5528km

Here’s an alternative to the photo I posted on Friday in the HMCAM chatzone … Katie-Mae on the rigole d’Hilvern, north of St Gonnery. It’s taken me 7 years to work out how to get to St Gonnery .. but I finally found a way (a 30-minute drive in the van then roughly 22km on the bike). Now I’m intent on exploring the land between St Gonnery and St Caradec – and following the rigole is a perfect means of doing that. As I wrote in the other thread, it’s delightful cycling .. wooded, almost pan-flat and it wriggles across the countryside. Essentially, it’s a ditch carrying water from the lake at Bosméleac to feed the Nantes-to-Brest canal between the Oust and Blavet valleys. It runs for 62km and was built between 1832 and 1836. I think the oak and plane trees that line it are of a similar vintage. Wish I was back up there today …

 

[ColinJ]

It is a bit windy here but otherwise it is quite a pleasant afternoon so I will be going out later to do a decent ride. I aim to ride 59+ km to get this week's 100 km in and also to qualify for the June 50-a-month challenge.

I’m suffering from facial neuralgia (possibly brought on by cycling into a very chilly north wind yesterday). I was up at 2am swallowing an enormous amount of paracetamol to kill the pain.

That sounds horrible - GWS!

 

[FrothNinja]

Not sure if I’m going to get out on my bike today – I’m suffering from facial neuralgia (possibly brought on by cycling into a very chilly north wind yesterday). I was up at 2am swallowing an enormous amount of paracetamol to kill the pain. If I don’t go out, it’ll be the first day I’ve missed in over two months – but if I do go out, it won’t significantly affect these stats for week 22.

Week 22: two HMCAM rides + 9 more local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 235.21km

Weeks 1 to 22: total distance cycled 5528km

Here’s an alternative to the photo I posted on Friday in the HMCAM chatzone … Katie-Mae on the rigole d’Hilvern, north of St Gonnery. It’s taken me 7 years to work out how to get to St Gonnery .. but I finally found a way (a 30-minute drive in the van then roughly 22km on the bike). Now I’m intent on exploring the land between St Gonnery and St Caradec – and following the rigole is a perfect means of doing that. As I wrote in the other thread, it’s delightful cycling .. wooded, almost pan-flat and it wriggles across the countryside. Essentially, it’s a ditch carrying water from the lake at Bosméleac to feed the Nantes-to-Brest canal between the Oust and Blavet valleys. It runs for 62km and was built between 1832 and 1836. I think the oak and plane trees that line it are of a similar vintage. Wish I was back up there today …

View attachment 732702

Hope the face ache sorts itself out quickly, sounds quite unpleasent.
The woodland ride looks lovely.
Glad I'm not the only one who names their wheels.

 

[FrothNinja]

W22R1- Hybrid 2 hours 19 mins - Burnley, Brierfield, Wheatley Lane, Noggarth, Roughlee, Newchurch, Roughlee, Blacko, Whitemoor, Barnoldswick, L&L, Salterforth, Foulridge, L&L, Burnley (total 36.9miles / 59.4 km plus 480 m / 1,575 ft ascent)
W22R2 - not my bike 52 mins - slow miles in and around Warwick.
W22R3 - Centurion 39 mins - local miles.
W22R4 - CX 1 hour 6 mins - extended (out to Salterforth) Clarion run.

 

[annedonnelly]

Two of my three longer rides this week were shopping trips more than 30 minutes away so I think I can claim five rides this week.

Sadly my second shopping trip was a bit of a disaster. There's a proper fruit and veg shop in Whitley Bay so I was looking forward to going there and also having a look in the sewing shop. It was a nice morning and as it was half term there weren't many people about. I got to Whitley and locked the bike up and then looked in my pannier for my shopping bag. No sign of it and no purse either! I'd left them at home while faffing about getting waterproofs. So all I could do was have a quick browse round the shops to see what I was missing and head home again.

 

[ColinJ]

It is a bit windy here but otherwise it is quite a pleasant afternoon so I will be going out later to do a decent ride. I aim to ride 59+ km to get this week's 100 km in and also to qualify for the June 50-a-month challenge.

I was caught out by how chilly that wind was... If I had realised before I set off I would have swapped my mitts for full-finger gloves!

Cold fingers put me off my original plan so I cut one hill from my route and did just enough to achieve today's goal.

Week 22: 4 qualifying rides, 101 km, 6 hrs.

• Ride 1 (Thu): 15 km. ELLL including Lumbutts climb. ¾ hr.
• Ride 2 (Fri): 13 km. ELLL including Lumbutts climb. ¾ hr.
• Ride 3 (Sat): 13 km. ELLL. ¾ hr.
• Ride 4 (Sun): 60 km. Tod, Mankinholes, Lumbutts, Walsden, Calderbrook, Caldermoor, Littleborough, Blackstone Edge, Blue Ball, Hubberton Green, Steep Ln, and back to Tod via Blackstone Edge on reverse of outward route. Local loop to make up distance. 3¾ hrs.

All rides done on 6-er using lower gears on steep stuff. I have replaced the 42 tooth chainring with a 39 so my standard gear now is 39/14.

Success rate: 22 weeks out of 22.

72 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 1,955 km. Average progress now = 88.9%; last week = 88.3%. Total ride time approximately 119 hrs.

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

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 23: one Lunacy Distance ride, two HMCAM rides + 10 more local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 355.40km (best week of the year so far)
Weeks 1 to 23: total distance cycled 5883km
Here’s the log pile that I mentioned a few weeks ago .. @ColinJ . About 4 tons of wood – almost all of it oak. It should be enough for a winter and a half, mixed with other wood. It’s nowhere near ready for burning yet and probably needs a couple more years outside. I guess I’ll start using it in the winter of 2026/27.

That’s the MASSI, posing against the logs. My second bike to have done 1000km this year (my road bike got there in March). There’s a little tussle going on between the Princess and Katie-Mae, who have done 835km and 841km respectively, to see who’ll get there next. My money’s on the Princess .. but as Katie-Mae did an 86km ride the other week, I think it could be neck-and-neck to the line…mid/late July looks about right. Not sure I’ve ever had four bikes pass 1000km before the end of July .. so it could be a chocolate cake moment…

... and off-roading near la Ruaudais this afternoon

 

[ColinJ]

I was caught out by the chilly wind (and drizzle) again today!

Week 23: 5 qualifying rides, 101 km, 5½ hrs.

• Ride 1 (Wed): 12 km. ELLL. ¾ hr.
• Ride 2 (Thu): 15 km. ELLL. ¾ hr.
• Ride 3 (Fri): 14 km. ELLL. ¾ hr.
• Ride 4 (Sat): 26 km. Tod, Mankinholes, Harvelin Park, Lumbutts, Walsden, Calderbrook, and back to Tod. 1½ hrs.
• Ride 5 (Sun): 34 km. Weather grotty so stayed in valley - loops on Burnley, Halifax, and Rochdale Rds. 1¾ hrs.

All rides done on 6-er using lower gears on steep stuff, otherwise sticking to 39/14 gear.

Success rate: 23 weeks out of 23.

77 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 2,056 km. Average progress now = 89.4%; last week = 88.9%. Total ride time approximately 124½ hrs.

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

 

[annedonnelly]

Three rides for me again. Nothing exciting, just popping out and making sure I do more than 30 minutes.

I do wish the weather would get better. We've had so many windy days and I really don't like riding in 30mph gusts. To be honest I don't much like doing anything outdoors in strong wind. Fingers crossed for better this week.

 

[FrothNinja]

W23R1- Centurion 39 mins - local miles.
W23R2 - CX 34 mins - Rampside, Roa, Foulney causeway, Rampside, Roosebeck, Rampside.
W23R3 - Centurion 31 mins - local miles.
Blippin windy on each ride but at least one of them was fully dry.

 

[FrothNinja]

Daddies Day tomorrow so unlikely to have anything as indulgent as a ride, so this is probably it for the week.
W24R1- Centurion 39 mins - local miles.
W24R2 - 2 hours 34 mins - Thursden, Widdop gravel etc.
W24R3 - Centurion 39 mins - local miles.
W24R4 - Dawes 38 mins - local miles.
W24R5 - Dawes 32 mins - local miles.
Decided to try using George, my Dawes Galaxy, for my local rides. It's faster and a lot more enjoyable gearing wise (love the Biorace gears) but it is far to big for me and I end up overextending. Sorting the Centurion's gearing any road, so it's on a work stand.
Road over the dam wall and Widdop is properly blocked with 6 foot high fencing gates - I took an alternative...

 

[bluenotebob]

Week 24: two HMCAM rides + 10 more local rides over 30 mins; distance cycled 284.54km

Weeks 1 to 24: total distance cycled 6167km

On Wednesday afternoon (before the weather deteriorated) – La Rossa by the Lac au Duc, north of Ploërmel

 

[ColinJ]

Week 24: 6 qualifying rides, 119 km, 7¼ hrs.

• Ride 1 (Mon): 15 km. ELLL incl. Lumbutts climb. 1 hr.
• Ride 2 (Wed): 17 km. ELLL incl. Lumbutts but extra on Burnley Rd. 1 hr.
• Ride 3 (Thu): 28 km. ELLL incl. Harvelin Park, Mankinholes, Lumbutts and extended further to Calderbrook. 1¾ hr.
• Ride 4 (Fri): 24 km. From Tod on A646 to Ram Inn, back to Portsmouth, then Carr Rd, Sourhall, Bacup Rd, Tod. 1½ hrs.
• Ride 5 (Sat): 9 km. Weather grotty so just LLL taking in Aldi. ½ hr.
• Ride 6 (Sun): 26 km. Cross Stone Rd to Great Rock, Eastwood Rd to Kebs Rd, Long Causeway, Mereclough, Southward Bottom, back to Tod on A646. 1½ hrs.

Wed and Sun on Caad5 using wide range of gears, but all other rides done on 6-er using lower gears only on steep stuff, otherwise sticking to 39/14 gear.

Success rate: 24 weeks out of 24.

83 qualifying rides so far this year. Weekly target 100 km; total to date: 2,175 km. Average progress now = 90.6%; last week = 89.4%. Total ride time approximately 131¾ hrs.

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

 

[annedonnelly]

Four rides for me this week if I count a trip to Sainsbury's as two. I'm not a fan of shopping but the nice thing about Sainsbury's is when I leave, after getting across a couple of roundabouts, I head into a housing estate for a long, long downhill stretch. Then onto a cycle path and more downhill. With a bit of weight in the panniers and hopefully a tailwind it's a nice ride home.

I had planned another longer ride this morning but couldn't get motivated when I saw how windy it was.

 

[ColinJ]

Hmm... I had a health check a few months ago and was contacted by the doctor to say that a few results of the blood test didn't look quite right. I am booked in for a repeat test on Monday.

Worrying? Well, maybe not! I searched online for information on the tests and found research stating that strenuous exercise upto 7 days before a test can impact the results...

I wish somebody had told me that before that original blood test, which was first thing on a Monday morning. The weekend just before I had cycled a total of 116 km in 7 hours with 1,600+ m of ascent!!

I am not prepared to avoid riding this week but I am trying to keep the intensity down by using lower gears on the climbs and riding even more slowly than usual. I will get my riding done before the weekend though. I have already ridden 45 km this week in 2 rides. I want to get my weekly 100 km in by doing another 55 km over 2 or 3 rides.

I will have at least 2 days rest before this repeat test, and will make sure that I am well hydrated.

I will be surprised if there is a genuine problem, but it does make sense to double check.