Gusty winds and 'sticky' trails made for slow going and even downhills hard work. I decided to give up on trying to complete the full 50km.
Distance: 54 miles (87 km)
Climbing: 4948 feet
Surface: On- and off-road (20 miles on, 14 miles off, 20 miles on)
Time: 7 hours
Weather: Windy and wet under-tyre
Bike: Inbred Singlespeed (32:16, with 2.1″ tyres)
I only realised how close I was to getting 100km on the ride once I mapped the route. If I'd known, I'd have found another13km, as I'd half-intended to try to do a metric century every month this year. Maybe I need a GPS, or a cheap bike computer? Oh well, 200 miles for this month is within reach, if I can find an extra 10.5 miles I the next week, so doing at least 200 miles every month can be my new half-assed target for the year.
11 comments:
Big ride that Mike, how come you took the A68 there's loads nicer way's to go and probably slightly more direct. I'd have gone up to Ingleton, Wackerfield, Esperley, then Morley and over that way, then you can join at the top of the downhill course. Less traffic and much more scenic, there's some nice offroad diversions and some of the back lanes are all windy and fun too.....
Chapeau none the less though.
Cheers Raoul. The A68 was bloody awful; I'm going to figure out a better route for next time.
Yeah I was wondering why you'd done that.....;0)
Mike,
Still a bloody good ride.
Don't fret over the miles, they're harder earned when the weather rough, making them worth more.
SB :)
They just feel like more but they're not ;0)
They're not worth any more, because that would make the spreadsheet too complex :)
If I wanted to make sure of getting at least one 100km ride in every month, I could buy a road bike and knock out an easy, flat 100km on the first weekend of every month, but where's the fun in that?
I know that the full 50km loop, plus the ride from/to home is doable now. I just need an earlier start and better conditions.
It is only Feruary afterall so the weather is a bit too good. Not that I'm complaining as it's lovely out.
Hell, yes they're worth more! :)
Example -> 3 hours working hard at 80% max (any bike, any distance). It's a three hour workout. Therefore, in my tiny mind at least, tough miles in bad weather on an mtb are worth more than easy miles on a road bike in the sun. :)
This ride was much harder than the big ride I did in January. I was on the same bike and did fewer miles, but the weather was worse, some was off-road and there was a lot more climbing.
It's just hard to put all of that into a spreadsheet and then put a number on the website :)
Mike,
I see what you're saying, and probably, later in the year when you're gifted with a few 'floaters' (no, nothing to do with bowel movements :)), it'll all average out.
Happy miles :)
SB
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