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A bit of motivation for 2017. Ride a metric century per month (100km or more in a single ride), then brag, upload photos, and post Strava links to your rides on this thread.
[url= https://www.strava.com/clubs/245177 ]Join the Strava group here[/url]
Ooh some motivation for the year. Mileage has dropped off a cliff since the new dog arrived.
I might do 100 miles per month but not all in one go, that sounds tiring... 😀
It's 100km not 100 miles!
Ooooh, I like this idea! We're not strava bods but it's a good way to get off our bums 😀
I'm joined. Something I intended to do anyway and hopefully this will add some motivation.
Who's gonna get the ball rolling then? Not sure if I have enough spare time in one go this week.
i lke this. gonna do it, but not a strava type.
I've penciled in a ride tomorrow am... If it's a group it'll be a cx ride (maybe not 100km) but if solo I'll do it on the road!
DrP
Think trying for 100km a month overall is a realistic goal for e no way I'll have the tune to fit in 100k in 1 go, and fitness be a problem!
Should be doable. Was planning on riding an audax a month anyway, but some months the only local ones are 100k anyway.
And I can't make either of the local January ones. Will have to get up to 100k by the end of the month under solo power
100k a month. any more than that and i would be reaching for a road bike just to keep the numbers on track.
i guess you wont want to see my pics from a 15mile a week loop.
Is this offroad?
Is this offroad?
Not in my case - I'll be doing it on road.
It would have to be on road to be a realistic target for us mere mortals, I can only think of a couple of proper off road rides I've ever done that broke 100km, no chance of one a month. I think one 50km+ off road ride per month would give me a realistic target.
There's no rule about what surface you ride on for a qualifying ride. On road/off road whatever.
It just has to be 100km in a single ride. And yes, you can stop for tea and cake 😀
I was going to post saying how 1x 100km road ride a month isn't much of a challenge but when I look back at the last year since becoming a father I've not managed that many.
Completely off-road would be a hard task unless you did laps of a trail centre. Even a mixture of road/off-road would take some time, a lot of the ITTs have quite significant proportions (30-40%) of road to link the BWs. Distance challenges make most sense on road IMO otherwise you are limiting things to the super fit and those with plenty of time or those who have the least commitments.
Mine were all gonna be on road, but I like the idea of planning an mtb one for the summer.
In. Will likely be on road but will try and mix in some bridleways for fun. (Thom)
Really should be 100km off road since its a MTB based community.. 100km on flat roads in lycra should be left to the skinny wheel forums....
Really should be 100km off road since its a MTB based community..
I think that ship sailed some time ago pal.
It is? Someone needs to tell all the roadies...its a MTB based community..
^^ someone should tell everyone!!!
I've joined and I have a daft question. Do I have to have a gps to register a ride or can I manually input it, as in: "Dear Strave, I promise I rode 100km yesterday"?
I've joined and I have a daft question. Do I have to have a gps to register a ride or can I manually input it, as in: "Dear Strave, I promise I rode 100km yesterday"?
You could but we wouldn't believe you.
Really should be 100km off road since its a MTB based community.
I ride bikes, some are road, some are off-road, but they are all bikes.
If you're on Strava you can sign up for the monthly Gran Fondo 100km challenge. It's supposed to be for slightly out of the ordinary road rides so I add bridleways, byways and just make it as varied as possible on 700x30mm tyres. Plus you get a virtual badge...
Yeah, go on then I'm in. Anything to help keep the miles up.
To answer the question "do I need a GPS?"
No. It's just a bit of fun. Just post your ride details here.
That's my first one of the year in the bag.
Does Zwift count?
I am IN! 🙂
After six months of having lost my mojo, it is time to get rolling again. You lot are improving my life, one challenging thread at a time.
Does Zwift count?
I'm going to go...
no.
😀
Heh - I guess it's back outside in the cold and wet and traffic then. Joined - but I'll need to figure out how to only count real miles 🙂
If you can do the equivalent of 100km on the turbo in a single sitting, I reckon you deserve a prize.
I'm in will give it a go Thursday if this ice clears off
Thought I'd start the year with an Imperial century for good measure
[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/821150358 ]Strava linky[/url]
Nicely done.
111.1Km done today 😀 Last 30Km with a slow puncture 😡 Feel quite tired!
Good work.
I was all set to do it today or tomorrow but got the lurgy, so it'll have to be next weekend.
It as absolutely spot on for riding yesterday so my metric century became an imperial one.
DAmmit, I did 99.8km last week :-/
Still, good idea I'm in.
Did mine yesterday (on the road) in the Ottery Pocket region of the south east.
ie: I started in darkness, mist and drizzle. Shortly after it started proper raining. Briefly when i stopped for coffee the rain eased back again to drizzle and it even looked like it might try and brighten up. But then by the time I was riding again it turned shit.
Even better, as part of chub club i avoided scoffing a big cake in the coffee shop and minimised my energy bar intake, so had a minor bonk on the last 5-10km, which according to strava were completed at <15 km/h. Total ride was at about 22km/h with 900m climb, so rough calc the first 90-odd would have been at 24. And then I ate anything in the house that wasn't moving when i got back - which came as a surprise to the dog who was having a quiet nap.
Ha! I got to my intended cafe stop to find that they (and the nearest alternative) were shut for January 😥 The last 30Km weren't pretty - one Strava segment was done in 12:17 where it's usually under 8mins. It's a long time since I had such a slow avg speed on the road - in my defence it was very hilly, over 2000m of ascent, which is good for the Strava January climbing challenge.
If a100km ride on the road isn't boring enough, you want to try it on a trainer? The mind boggles!
I joined up, but only to motivate myself to get up to 100km per week, mainly offroad and zero commuting.
I did say....jimmy - Member
DAmmit, I did 99.8km last week :-/Still, good idea I'm in.
Did it this morning, decided to keep it flatter than I'd normally go...
https://www.strava.com/activities/831536611
Glad I did, knee started playing up 10km from end. Legs felt heavier than expected too, perhaps a lingering effect of recent illness.
https://www.strava.com/activities/838150616/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-US&v=1484921589
Actually managed it today. Can't see me doing one a month due to time constraints. Got one in though!
I decided gears were too easy so went for a singlespeed metric ton today. It was perfect riding weather once the frost had melted.
Just made it over the line today. Didn't even rain that much although there was a nice hailstorm.
Got mine in today and didnt even get to wet
doing the 500 mile a month thing, which i am on course for, but longest ride as been a 50 miler........so i have failed.... 😐
[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/847131258 ]https://www.strava.com/activities/847131258[/url]
Thought it was about time to start the Dirty 130 training and pretty much doubled this years mileage.
Got drenched 20mins from home. The National Cycle Route was surprisingly dry but I might leave the muddy bridleways until summer next time. Legs feel like they've done a road Imperial century!
I forgot about this thread. Did mine in mid wakes a couple of weeks ago. 130km of mountain bike based fun.
I'm aiming for 400 km/week at the moment, that means I need 102 km tomorrow. I'll be out at 06:30 and back for breakfast. It was 120 km two weeks ago - and it rained for the entire ride!
Last Sunday I did 110km but not sure if I can count it as it was split up by a 2 hour train ride in the middle.....
Clitheroe to Oxenholme with some big hills and light snow showers then Edinburgh to Penicuik.
Randomly bumped into a fellow STWer (postierich) on who was getting off the train I was getting on to at Oxenholme too.
Got this month's 100Km ride done today 😀 113Km up to Settle via some back lanes then over by Penyghent (almost getting to the snowline!) to Halton Gill and back down Wharfedale. 1600m of ascent as well.
I'd been aiming for another imperial century this afternoon (plan to do at least one a month), but ended up being a few km short after snapping my rear gear cable 85 km into the ride. I really should do some maintenance on my crappy commuter/winter bike. Winding the limiter screw right in allowed me to use the 5th cog of my 8-speed cassette, leaving me with 50:16 and 34:16 gears. Fortunately most of the steep climbs were already done, but there was still quite a lot of gurning my way up hills. I'm taking it as my century for the month though, given that I rode another 35 km this morning.
[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/861740077 ]Strava linky[/url]
February done today. 101km up and down mount Teide with 2900m of climbing too. It's crazy peddling up hill for that long. And also seeing signs for the next village - 15km and thinking 'I'll be doing well to get there in an hour!'
https://www.strava.com/activities/873328232
Ticked off March's century today. Forecast was for a bit of light rain and then heavier towards the end of the ride, but instead it decided to bucket down earlier. The Gabba did a great job of keeping my core dryish and warm, but I really need to get some winter gloves and shoes - my hands and feet were soaked and freezing. I could deal with the cold hands by shaking them and breathing on them, but I couldn't feel my feet for the remaining 4 hours of the ride!
[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/887376089 ]Strava linky[/url]
Family illness and MTBing got in the way a bit in Feb and March, but I finally got round to February's 100km yesterday...
https://www.strava.com/activities/925343398
Hope to get March one done this month too.
😀
March was a good month for long rides, I think I managed at least one 100Km ride a weekend with a hundred miler one weekend and a 200Km ride another. Also managed a 100 mile off-road ride (The Trans Cambrian ITT) last week.
No need to rub it in!
I am feeling rather worn down 🙄 My recovery ain't what it used to be.
For this month's first metric century, I got my Strav-art on and drew a [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/934827994 ]whale[/url].
Still managing 400 km/week. My training loop is 100.3 km and fairly flat. Raced around it on the Propel on Tuesday night, then gently spun on fixed road bike yesterday morning. I've ridden it at least once every week so far - three times last week!
It's great having a fixed route might sound a little boring but it's nice to have time markers to see how you are going. Need a little more altitude change now, so time to start plotting over the Chilterns.
Trebled up this month with my first 300K ride.
[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1006661521 ]Strava linky [/url]
Anybody still bothering with this?
I'm 10 for 10 so far with 7 offroad and 1 of the on road a 205km ride.
I've got a gravel sportive booked for next week so November's will be taken care of nice and early then just have to hope for a day with decent weather in December.
Yes, done at least one 100Km ride each month. Not sure how many off-road. Longest on-road has been 200Km, longest off-road 262Km (last "day" of the HT550). In fact there's been a few 200Km off-road.
October's was on a singlespeed which ain't easy around here. September's was the Cairngorm Loop which is logged at 280Km but there was a bivy in the middle of that, it was actually 170Km and 110Km.
The longest ride I managed in August was 80 km, but have done a proper (imperial) century every other month, including a double in July. All my long distance stuff has been on road though - these off road epics that people are doing are very impressive.
Still 10/10 so far.
Mostly done on a gravel bike though.
It's either two or three out of 10 here. Had the best of intentions, then spent most of the year riding long travel MTBs instead.
Not feeling too bad about it, been riding loads when health & work have allowed and enjoying it very much.
Can I aggregate?
Have done around and about 100km in a specific rude every month at some point, but did manage 600km in 4 days at the end of September light touring, totalling about 11,000m of climbing.
Includes Paris-Roubaix, Greg van Aevermaet, GF Eddy Merckx, Exmouth Exodus, TuscanyRoad17, and some club runs. All on road mostly though.
Well I completed this on boxing day so thought I'd do a write up. Apologies in advance for the post length. My aim was to try to do as many offroad as possible
Jan - Inspired by reading this thread on the last weekend of the month I plotted a route via local woods and cycle route 6. User error meant the route never got put on the Garmin so rather than waste time in the morning I made it up as I went along. I ended up getting slightly lost then very lost and by navigating on a tiny garmin screen, unlost. Totally different to my usual riding style of following someone who knows where they're going or trail centre arrows. Biblical downpour 20 minutes from home but loved every minute of it. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/847131258 ]106km CX bike[/url].
Feb - Another last weekend of the month! After the success of using cycle route 6 another variation picking up 647 then home on 64. Got lost again adding an unnecessary 5km loop and the schoolboy error of tailwind out meant a headwind for the last 50km home. Knackered and speed down to 8mph mean't I was close to abandoning and a phone call to get picked up. Luckily I bumped into a mate I wheelsucked for the last 30km home. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/880974847 ]122km CX bike[/url].
Mar - Last weekend of the month again and short on time but weather decent so decided to smash this one out on my road training loop. Quick enough for a detour to the local for a quick pint and make up the mileage. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/913757537 ]100km road bike.[/url]
April - The Dirty Reiver. Only ever planned to do the 130 but got to the split feeling ok. 9hrs 56min. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/953586017 ]200km CX Bike.[/url]
May - Singletrack7. I'd never done an xc race of any type but after April I thought this was going to be easy...! It was however great fun. My only aim was to do the 100km so beer was consumed and many breaks were taken and 22 out of 76 was a nice surprise. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/986413917 ]110km mtb hardtail.[/url]
June - I occasionally ride to Sherwood Pines (my local trail centre) which there, a lap of the 9 mile red, then back is 35ish miles so I figured 4 laps would make up the required distance. It didn't but a minor detour to the local for a quick pint added just enough. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1053516124 ]100km mtb hardtail.[/url]
July - A month taken up by a mtb holiday in Les Arcs so another last possible weekend and out with the lads for the Sunday morning road ride. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1108910141 ]102km road bike. [/url]
Aug - More road riding. A variation of the 2014 TDF stage 1 but made into a loop starting and finishing in Harrogate and missing out the busy section of bypass around Skipton. Stupidly made more difficult by the incorrect fitting of a Campag crank. It started coming loose up the Buttertubs and 80 miles in at the bike shop in Reeth it turned out I'd added an extra bearing seal. I reckon the drag must've been at least 20 watts extra! [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1143738009 ]207km road bike.[/url] (my Garmin died just before finishing but a mates recorded the full ride)
Sept - 3 of us followed the Peak Pioneer sportive route from Bakewell. Running late mean't no breakfast, surviving on a couple of emergency gels for the first 70km then overeating at the cafe and heartburn for the remainder. A perfect example of how not to fuel a ride. Rain caused us to cut it (slightly) short. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1209034763 ]105km CX Bike.[/url]
Oct - I'd noticed from my Strava feed that a few mates were using a lap of Rutland water as an after work 22 mile training blast. So on yet another last weekend of the month 3 laps mean't a relatively easy and well surfaced way to tick the box. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1252278417 ]108km CX bike.[/url]
Nov - The first weekend of the month! Leicestershire 50/50 gravel sportive short route. Heavy rain the night before turned sections into a hike-a-bike mudbath. I rode with the guy who topped the results list and he shortcut it due to needing to catch a flight. Technically I won a sportive! My palmares is complete! 😉 [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1262533825 ]105km CX bike.[/url]
Dec - Early in the month plans for this ride were abandoned due to snow (do I get bonus points for doing [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1309640115 ]25 laps of the Watopia Volcano?[/url]) and subsequently rearranged for NYE but a quick look at the boxing day weather forecast and permission from the wife mean't I could get this done with time to spare. The queue at the Clumber park coffee van and a puncture (the only one in all 12 rides) being the only downsides of a pleasant ride. [url= https://www.strava.com/activities/1327952102 ]115km CX bike.[/url]
TL;DR version
Job done!
9 offroad - 7 CX bike, 2 mtb. 3 road rides
2 doubles (200km)
Got wet twice, 1 puncture. 6 solo, 3 paid events, 3 with mates.
Did I enjoy it, yes. Would I do it again, probably not!