New Metric Century Challenge

Other than Dasy I think I was the only other to complete one every month. (Might have got 7 in September but for an injury at the start of the month meaning I abandoned the sixth and rested thereafter).

For me it was a target to get at least one in each month and going for as many over the year is less of an incentive in the winter months. However, the fact that only two completed shows we should consider doing something different. It would not stop me carrying on a personal target of one a month should I so wish. My last scoring ride saw the others heading back for shopping etc. When we split up I was 16k short and 8k from home so it was a tour of the suburbs to get the distance in.

Prizes wise perhaps you get tattoo like in SSWC and I walk away with an expensive ti frame

[Congratulations Dasy,about one a week is really impressive)

Blackhound - I agree, I too will aim at a minimum one scoring ride a month, and maybe we should look at a separate category for those of us who want to do so.

There were a couple of occasions that I rode off from a group I was with as they wanted to go home, and I had plans for a metric. The vast majority were completed alone though, my favoured riding option normally.

Thanks by the way Blackhound, it's never too much of a bind to get out on my bike though. And well done to you too...

Yeah, I'm hoping the prize is not the hot iron brand that they did at SSWC one year!

My 2p, two categories is maybe the way to go.

One for those who want the challenge of doing at least one metric a month.

One for those who find the site and forum later into the year or don't want to feel pressured that they must do one a month.

I will be looking to complete at least one a month now that its starting again.

Can I play this year? It sounds like a good idea that 1 ride per month is entrance requirement, its not that much of a comitment and is a nice challenge.

J

well im up for the two catagorys, as thats prob. what put me off posting this past 'season' as my rides are all pretty regular irregular..

hey DaSy you can have a Royal Mail 'biddon' if you like, and holder as a prize!

I'm trying to get a new sleeve designed and inked at the mo', so this is very fortuitous...

I'm thinking something along the lines of Pedal Powered 2009 - maybe your distance total? Or do you fancy something a tad more graphical?

Maybe next year we could follow the lead of the SSWC and the winner gets branded… or maybe not

i've put up a new MC post with amended rules - anyone want to make any changes? post here, not there, if you do...

I must admit I was thinking of something a bit more along the lines of a half sleeve of Japanese Art, with obligatory Dragon, or possibly some Tribal Art, as I have an old tat that I would like to cover up (tribal, but not really as dramatic as I want now).

Sounds like it might be a tad tricky to incorporate a Metric Century Challenge 2009 Winner motif into that…

Yeah, maybe a new inner tube or something, may be a little more practical...

Got some Gore Ride-On cables easily to hand if you fancy them… they are supposed to be the best there is… Well according to Gore anyway

yeah we'll throw in our fizik spirit level as well. and a buff.

… and some stickers

...and some bike cleaner.

Nice!

The Ride-On cables would be great...

Spirit Level and Buff are all gravy - and the stickers!

Nice one guys, very generous and very gratefully accepted.

Time to start trying to amass some miles again!

Christ, it never ends!

I am going to have to try harder this year! It will, I expect, be the DaSy show once more but if I can get toward 1 metric a week I will be satisfied.

The rules look fine, hopefully more will take part this year.

Thought I may get DaSy quaking in his Sidi's as I had hoped to finish work in January and become a full time rider. This was changed to April and now I may stay a little longer as there may be an opportunity of redundancy which is financially appealing. Don't want to give up the money on the other hand don't want to stay indefinitely.

My original plan was 4,000k in June / July!

Oi! Blackhound! No!

That is thoroughly unfair, do you have a plan to make money from riding, or just jack in work and ride your bike until you can't open the front door for unpaid bills?

I am in a similar situation, kind of waiting for the axe to fall, and for the payout. I have a plan to get into the bike industry which is sort of almost there, and I think I will be forced into leading lots of rides so may help the mileage, or may hinder, I'm not sure yet.

4K km's, is that per month or over the June and July period. I currently get around 2500km (It's really 1300-1600km per month, but I've left it in as it would look odd otherwise!)per month, and ramps up a bit as the weather turns better in spring and summer.

Good luck with your plans Blackhound, I hope they work out as you intend. Full time cyclist sounds about as good as it gets to me...

hat in ring,

am doing a charity ride in Egpyt starting next week and will get in 3 "metrics" (poss 4) in 7 days, can I include these or is it UK based only?

si

oh -
http://sinaicycle.blogspot.com

they all count

DaSy - plan is to retire. Mortgage paid off, eligible for a pension and only me to fend for financially. Easily enough to live on but would need to find casual work to fund trips to USA or further.

My plan was to ride the 2,750 mile Great Divide Route possibly as part of the race or as a tour. Will not be away from work soon enough to train adequately. 2011 the plan is PBP so it may be 2012 before I get to do the GDR.

2,500k is serious amount of riding, I am well of that.

Canyonsi - best of luck for Egypt, enjoy it. Should put you into an early lead.

Cheers, guessing a bit like Hull last year though, so will enjoy the dizzy heights while I can!

Blackhound - that sounds like a good plan, nice that you are financially stable enough to be able to retire, that can be a rare thing in today's world.

I have been in the IT industry for 25 years, and having managed to eke out some sort of career path, I am now in the middle of a slightly late mid-life crisis, and hoping to run screaming from the IT industry, into the waiting arms of my friends bike shop to become a lowly paid bike shop mechanic.

I too have paid up the mortgage, and have a very successful wife, luckily, so I should be able to cope with the financial change.

I have a few plans for rides this coming year, and thought I should make the longest ride with my day ride to Paris, but if you plan PBP, that too is in trouble.

I think my crown is going to change heads this year some how!

Canyonsi, the ride in Egypt sounds great, and 4 metrics in a week at this time of year should give you a good lead for quite some time.

Cheers DaSy, will ensure to Post a pic or two!

si

DaSy Day ride to Paris sounds interesting! For some reason assumed you were younger, I have 33 years in a final salary pension so should be OK. Will see what happens.

Blackhound - The day ride to Paris needs a long summer day, so won't be doing that until June/July. The plan is to leave Reading at about 03:00 and ride down to Portsmouth (about 60ish miles), get the Express ferry to Caen which leaves at 07:00 and arrives in Caen at about 11:00.
It's then 140 miles into Paris, so should get there around 20:00.
200 miles with a break at 60 miles, all pretty do-able. It does depend on who accompanies me, we have some remarkably un-disciplined riders scheduled, so hoping to train them in the art of through and off by then. Should be about 5 of us doing it.
The Cingles de Ventoux is also on the cards, and a Geneva to Venice via the Stelvio, Mortirolo etc. All depends on what I get passes for from the other half. I'm hoping she will provide support for the Ventoux stint.

You wouldn't think I was younger if you saw me! I feel every one of my tender 44 years!

That trip to Paris does sound doable put like that - and a week to get back?

Your other plans sound interesting, a few of us are trying to get ourselves organised but no definite plan as yet.

You'll feel a lot older than 44 the day after your ride to Paris

Okay, so it begins, the first metric of the new challenge year for me.

My trusty run up to Windsor Castle, round to Datchet and back via the Castle and return the way I came.

Thought I might get an early lead, should have known better! Large circuit round the South of the city, 7 of us out but I had to do a short loop to get the required distance in. Try to get another in before Christmas unlike last year.

Blackhound - I just realised that the mileage I claimed to do a month was way off the mark, in fact I seem to have doubled it!

I do 800 to 1000 miles a month depending on time of year, so that's more like 1300 to 1600km a month.

I'm not sure what I was thinking!

Do I get an extra point for my metric today? In the course of 'work' (checking locations for bikeability training) I was asked to haul 30kg of cargo between severn beach and our office in yate...in this wind and rain, surely I deserve some bonus action?!

Back from the Sinai just over a week ago now full of cold and "Cairo Belly". We only managed 2 "metrics" but the day of the 2nd started with alarm call at 1.30am and an ascent of Mt Sinai, back on bikes at 9.00am after chilling legs in the coldest pool in the known universe!, after 102km we had a (very) fast 13km downhill straight into the nights lodge and a beach bar! The day was renamed as quadlathon day, Climb Mt Sinai, Cycle 115km, Sea Swiming, and "one too many Stella"

a great challenge with a great group raising upwards of £50.000 for Heart Charity (BHF, CRY, Tiny Tickers)

a blow by blow account will be on the blog shortly.

si

December starting to look dificult to score a point currently.

First weekend I was ill with a virus and the second had agreed to meet up for a mtb ride.

Yesterday I had a hangover after the works do and it snowed overnight. Decided 100km return to Bakewell on the A6 might be dodgy so went out on mtb for a couple of nice hours on local hills. Away for Christmas and an audax on 2nd January. 28/29th December remain my last hope. I have scored each month since October 2008 and would like to keep up the achievement.

tricky one today, despite icy roads, dropping temperature, nearly last day of Dec. and a puncture, but got it done.

My first ride in the outside world for about 6 weeks!

A straight out and back, up the A4 through Hungerford and back. I couldn't believe how hard I was finding it on the way out, and by 20 miles I was not feeling very happy. I turned round at 31 miles, and realised that I had been riding into a reasonable headwind for an hour and three quarters!

My return journey was a lot better, and ended up getting the 63 miles done in about 3 hours 25 mins.

Still, I have leathered it on the turbo over the last few weeks, two hours of tempo last night alone, so I hope to get a bit of speed back over the next few weeks.

averaging 19mph or thereabouts for a 'swine flu survivor' whose not been out aint bad..good going.

gotta try and get my Jan metric in tomorrow i suspect.

Cheers Fringe - I have been training fairly well indoors for the last 3 or 4 weeks, averaging about 9 - 10 hours a week on the turbo, lots of that has been intervals and tempo work, so I have no real excuse!

The swine flu was actually fairly mild form of flu to be honest, if I had to have flu, that was about the best one to have...

I really need to make sure I improve on my last years fitness, as I have some fairly tough challenges planned for the year, but I'm pretty motivated at the mo' so I think it should be good.

Good luck with the weather tomorrow, hopefully it'll be a nice day for it...

Hi Guys, ive not posted on here before but been lurking for a while. Decided this is the year to attempt some big things so have taken up your 100k challenge to start things off (tho 2 months too late).

First big ride of the year should always be one to remember so I dragged a mate out and we took the MTB's on a loop of the local bridleways and disused railways. Despite being fantastic weather (for January) there was still a lot of ice on the tracks which forced us, willing or not, into the muddy verge for most of the first 40k. Thankfully the ice relented and we settled into a nice casual pace for the rest of the ride, quite a change from the manic pace of our usual MTB rides. With dark coming too soon this time of year the last 15k was done with the aid of lights and we were soon home after a re-fuel of several more choclate bars. Total ride, 114km - 70% bridleways, 20% tarmac cyclepath, 10% road. 10hrs door-to-door, 7hrs riding time.

Next 100k is going to be on the road bike!! and i think my mate might invest in some less draggy tyres :0)

Cheers,
Rich.

Was lovely to get out at the weekend, a nice training ride.
Feels good to be back out around the lakes and hills of north somerset

100k off road is a fearsome ride rich, nice one

that was the hardest metric c. ive done so far. had to get it done today as no other available days left in Jan,and other normal work/family/school run related stuff. anyhow picked a 15mile-ish loop about 12 miles away and battered myself round it 3 and a half times and managed my best time so far - 3hr.46, at an average of spot on 17mph. (on a single speed too, mind.)

"still gives you somefing to do dunit" as someonce once said to me.

that doesn't sound like much fun fringe

i haven't managed one for either december or january. plenty of shorter rides but nowt long. hoping to do the chippenham flapjack in feb though...

yeah by mile 47 i did think i should have stayed home and done some hoovering, but most of it was okay. chippenham flapjack sounds interesting, my march metric will be the LVIS Audax (28th march).

http://www.lvis.org.uk/news.htm

and there ya go, theres a post about it from yesterday..they get about them LVIS lot.

I've entered the flapjack as well to get some more easy pre season miles in. going to ride from Westbury to the start and then back again at the finish to bring it up to 100 miles

STATO - that sounds like a tough day in the saddle, a cold, icy off-road metric is pretty epic.

Fringe - well done on getting it done!

Everyone seems to be making their life tough here, I do mine on road with a bike brimming with gears...

I have a metric planned in Feb for a circuit, maybe two, round the Isle of Arran...I think I may have to hollow out a bear to cycle in for warmth though, I'm a soft suvvener you know!

maybe next years MCC rules should include at least one off-road jaunt, or maybe a double point score..

or fixed, or a tricycle, or a, or a, or a..etc etc.

alright maybe not eh.

(good luck with the Arran metric btw DaSy, i once spent a week in Orkney and by day 2 i'd been up and down the same three roads twice)

cheers guys, it wasnt too hard really, think i was hyped up on adrenalin. Will be doing a proper offroad one in August as im entered for the Kielder100 (www.sip-events.co.uk/kielder-home.html), thats 100 MILES offroad! ouch!

Keep up the chat, its good for motivation when im sat in the office looking out at the wind and rain

Stato - The Kielder race is 4th September - unless you are after an early start;-)

Thinking of doing it myself if I an the UK at the time which is probable.

Got my January counter in last Saturday after an aborted audax on the 2nd (heavy snow in peak district).

ah yes, so it is. Damn these tricky calendars!

Hmm. I'm going to be on holiday in Melbourne on the 17th October, which is when their "Round the Bay in a Day" ride happens. The bay in question is Port Philip Bay, which is quite large. There are various options, such as clockwise or anti-clockwise, both 210 km. But to beat DaSy's 225.3 km I'd need to choose the 250 km option, which traces an extra peninsular. (Of course if DaSy does his day ride to Paris, that 320 km.)

Looks good fun. They get 15,000 cyclists attempting the various distances. You get a ticket for a ferry ride across the mouth of the bay.

I'm going to need to take my own machine down there if I enter. I don't fancy doing 200 km on a hired bike!

What a lovely day for a ride at last!

85 miles taking in Devils Elbow, Pen y Fan, Rhigos and the Bwlch, and enjoyed every mile.

The bacon roll at the top of Rhigos never fails to hit the spot. I'm pleased to see that 10 hours a week for the last couple of months on the turbo has actually translated into some vague semblance of performance on the road.

Blackhound, I rode past The Afan Lodge, and was fully prepared to shout "Blackhoud?" at every MTBer I passed, but that was the sum total of none so we may have been close but no cigar...

Afan Lodge - it was a nice weekend on the trails, been a bit tired last few days. I was stuffing bacon rolls and carrot cake at Glyncorreg as you pootled past probably.

Was thinking it would be nice on the road bike to up there - thinking of getting the train to Port Talbot and doing a spin over the summer. ALong with all the other plans....

Give me a shout on here if you do decide to, I ride around there a lot, and have lots of nice routes.

Port Talbot is just down the road from where I stay, so could easily meet you from there. It would be good to catch up and go for a ride in the summer.

The bacon rolls at the top of Rhigos take some beating...

Cheers Dasy, may take you up on it if I get my life sorted. (Mrs B's father was from Duffryn Rhonnda so I may be able to persuade her to visit her relatives...)

WOuld be a steady ride for yourself though!

Blackhound - I think I've said this before, but it does bear repeating; I think I sound a lot better on paper than I am on the road!

It would be great to meet up; with your wife's family being from Duffryn Rhondda, and my in-laws from just down the road in Skewen, we should both be alright for excuses!

Today's ride was good, it being cold and me getting sleeted on didn't spoil my first 100 miler of the year. I even managed a negative split despite a fairly tough headwind for the last 20 miles. It was a straight out and back that got me as far as Calne before I turned round.

I was most tired by the new power bar type thing I was trying out, a Multi-Power Active bar. It worked well, and importantly didn't make me cough, but due to the cold it was a serious undertaking to chew it. I think I have identified a weak spot in my training!

Dasy - OK, lets try and sort something out when it gets warmer. Could do with some climbing training before a trip to The Alps in June.

Blackhound - that would be good, I've got lots of climbing training ahead of me too. I've actually signed up now for the Club des Cingles du Mont Ventoux in June, so no going back now! Give me a shout anytime a week or so prior and I can get down there, as the missus is always keen to see her parents.

Todays ride was 70 something miles of headwind, or at least that's how it felt! I stepped up the pace a bit today, plus threw in a lot more climbing. I'm feeling very impatient to get back to last summers level (and hopefully beyond), but I'm trying to actually be structured and progressive, so patience and consistency is the name of the game I suppose.

OK Dasy - also planning a day trip to Ventoux during our week in the Alps!

Today was a lot of clibing in lovelt conditions in the snowy White Peak. Got dropped by the group on the climbs - I really need to improve...

A quick mid-week metric saw me riding 63 miles into sleet, rain and wind, but for some reason I enjoyed every minute...

My usual flat-ish 63 mile out and back, doing a loop round Windsor Castle, was done in reasonable time. The bike needs a good clean up though, ready for a spin in the Valleys of S. Wales this weekend.

Well, I think todays ride should qualify as an epic. I rode a similar loop in the Valleys to the one I did a few weeks ago, with one major exception...the weather!

I rode 85 miles and 4 mountain passes, and each one was into a headwind of at least 30mph, with sleet that was genuinly hurting my face to the point that I had to pull my neck-warmer up over my cheeks just to soften the blow a bit.

At one point over the Beacons, I was riding into such a wind that despite going down a -7% slope, I had to drop to the 39x22 to keep above 10mph! This wind and hail stayed against me over the Rhigos and the Bwlch. The climb over the Bwlch was insane, and I was leaning at about 25' to stay upright. The descent was much like the last, and had me in the 39 tooth again just to keep going forward.

So 85 miles and 2500m of ascent, all into a hurricane and horizontal sleet...good training for the Club des Cingles I think.

I was still smiling when I got home, but only just!

hey DaSy, sounds like fun! (well when your back home and dry at any rate) any chance you can tell us what route you are doing please, just the basics like A road this and then B road that if you dont do a 'map my bike ride thing'.
just asking as i may have a few family free days over easter and may well try to get over to wales for a ride.

cheers.

Hi Fringe, here's a cut down one of the ride I did yesterday. I have removed the stuff that takes you to and from my house, so is about 75 miles now. I started this one from the roundabout just off J43 of the M4. If you take the junction then at the roundabout take the (3rd?) exit onto the A465 toward Neath. After a mile or so take the exit (signed Neath again I think) onto the A474 bearing left toward Neath Abbey. There is a short flyover that takes you straight to another roundabout with a big Tesco superstore as the first exit left. This is where the route starts, so you could take a chance and park in there, or take the second exit and park in any of the roads off left or right.

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=104952

Cheers, Si.

Oh, and Fringe, could you download a copy of that route as a GPX or something, so that I can clear out my BRT routes folder as it is a bit on the overflowing side.

Let me know when you have a copy and I'll remove it...

nice day for it today, the boyfriend dragged me out and I did my first metric! YAY! bit late to join the party though.

I think I should get extra points for todays training...I got up extra early to get my 120km ride in, now Im off for a 20km run. Surely that is worth 1.5 points at least! bloody ironman training, the bain of my life now!

OFF SUBJECT

www.parrabuddy.blogspot.com offers link to op to win a trek madone as you help a cancer victim meet their bills!
check it out and follow as we fight for safer roads and "Disabled sport"

cheers for that, remove as and when you like. ta.

27/2/10 97.5 pts nil points

Bit colder than forecast today but not bad for time of year. Got up on A515 above Hartington and one of the group punctured. Took a while to sort as he could not find the cause so then we headed down to the cafe at 36 miles and about 25 from home. Leaving the cafe the tyre was flat again so another delay while we had another look for the cause and again no result so replaced tube.

We got going only for me to puncture about 8 miles from home on top of a hill in the cold. Checked tyre and replaced tube and by the time wheel was in place it had gone down again! I sent the others off while I put fitted second spare which is where the fun began! Valve was short and pump would not connect. Checked both flat tubes and noted the two holes were in different parts of tube so decided to fix. Only I had no glue, could not believe it. Fiddled again with short valved tube and eventually got it through enough to attach pump - eventually got home feeling tired, hungry and sorry for myself. Could not be bothered to do a loop to get the metric century in. Better luck in two weeks time....

bad luck blackhound

i'm down for a 200k at the end of the month but i've not done anything longer than 80k for the last two months... let's see how that works out

What a nightmare Blackhound!

Hopefully that will be all your p-words for the year though.

Mabaged to get my Feb 100k in on Saturday. Newcastle to Kielder by the Rievers Route (sustrans signed cycle route). Was stopping overnight so required panniers filled with camping gear and food, not the easiest way to get in 66miles. Weather was on our side... by that i mean the rain, sleet and snow was blowing into our side, not in the face, which made it bareable as long as you could keep your fingers and toes moving. One of these days im going to arrange a easy 100k (is that even possible).

Rich.

Don't know what was going on today, but that was bloody hard work. I think I started out a bit hard, and for some reason unknown to me, I left eating for way too long. All this resulted in the last 25 miles of the ride feeling very depleted.

I pushed on and made reasonable time, but was absolutely bushed by the time I got home. The headwind was not helping, but I really need to not let myself get so complacent in future.

That said, it has been the start of some good form for me in the past, when I have a really tough ride like this...here's hoping!

Jeez after Sunday's hard ride inc Jubilee it hurt doing a metric at pace on the Monday. But as Peter S said its done and in the bag should there be any probs with the big monthly ride this month.

March done, and what a killer. Rode out to meet the club for the usual Sat morning run and the pace was a little too fast for comfort, add in the wind and hilly route and i had almost nothing left for the return ride home. Glad i did tho as it ticked over 100k just as i hit the final (downhill) stretch. Phew.

Back to the valleys for a very windy 85 miles over Heol Senni, Pen y Fan Rhigos and the Bwlch, not as bad as the last time I rode this, but windy enough on top of the Bwlch to make going forward a tough propostion!

214km ride, 2170m of climbing, in total the longest ride Ive done. Great weather for it considering what the forecast was.

Lovely ride today up to Monyash, Derbyshire. First time I have showed my arms this year! About 12 out including 4 ladies which was good to see, usually had 1 or 2 over the last year. This included 2 of the Rapha-Condor ladies team who were looking sprightly - must stand a chance in the upcoming races.

DaSy, i see you reign of the metric c. has been pretty much 'cancellara'd' by one 'peter s 1944'... 4220km and counting.

who is the mysterious peter s?

Fringe, I'm pretending I can't see him and his insane amount of rides. 66 years old so I reckon this is a retirement present to himself, luckily, I'm inn no way jealous of having enough time to put that many miles in.

The bitterness comes from having just crawled off the turbo after a 2x20 session at just over 300W that crucified me! I've been pushing quite hard this last couple of weeks, trying to make up for some lost training time, and only 8 weeks left, which includes some tapering time, to get ready!

DaSy, 8 weeks left till what?, retirement!!

I'm booked up and doing the Club des Cingles du Mont-Ventoux ride.

I've done all three road climbs of Ventoux, but not all on the same day, so I aim to rectify that in about 8 weeks time.

good luck, sounds like immense fun to be had on two wheels (of the masochistic sort of course). closest i can get to that round here is up and over the mendips 5 or 6 times.. but still not quite the same

A lovely day for a 100 miles, with a stop at Zappi's in Oxford for a Brie and Bacon Paninni after 50ish miles.

I felt great, held a good pace despite this ridiculously persistent cough, and enjoyed the great weather.

The joy of hours of solitude, and no time restriction on when I needed to be back made it a very mentally relaxing ride.

I never seem to make this easy on myself. April done while returning from camping, on a fully loaded touring bike in hilly country, mostly into a strong headwind. Managed to plan it well enough that i crossed 100k as i rolled down my street. Ouch.

Saturday was a lovely day for a ride in the Brecon Beacons. All in, it was 85 miles going out via Swansea and over the Black Mountain via Brynamman. This was followed by a long fast descent that had he drafting a Transit van which couldn't lose me for about 4 miles.

The ride up to Llangadog and then onto Llandovery was undulating and windy, but the beautiful landscape takes your mind off the toil.

It's then a long uphill drag to Trecastle and onto Sennybridge via the A40, this is at about 3% for about 15km, it's hard work, as it doesn't feel like a climb but is always requiring effort.

A short sharp climb of up to 17% takes you out of Sennybridge along to Heol Senni and the joy of The Devils Elbow climb. This is so quiet and the stunning scenery makes the tough 2km climb more pleasant.

The drop down the secluded valley to Ystradfellte is stunning, then just the long quiet drag back up to Neath and on home for a bath and a welcome roast dinner...a perfect way to spend a Saturday!

Was out with Peter S yesterday as we clocked up another metric as we went over the Trough of Bowland for the third time in a week followed by the joy that is Marl Hill.

This challenge is really working for me - I've found myself extending rides so I can notch up another one, and I'm sure every extra mile I can get under my belt now will make my LEJOG easier in June.

Yesterday was a perfect example - I'd finished a lovely ride from Brighton to Horsham and back but found myself a few kms short of the magic ton, so I followed the A23 from the seafront to Mill Road, a mile-long climb at the edge of town, and hit that with as much gusto as I could (not very much as I'd done a 108-miler on Saturday) before heading home. There's no way I would have done that if I'd not signed up to this challenge.

Like Martin I have often extended rides to achieve a metric century. Last weekend did the tour of the peak sportive. Was going ok to Glossop where we stopped at a cafè. Struggled up snake pass & headwind all the way home. Glad to finish...

Back to my home ground in the Chilterns for a nice hilly, midweek 70 miles. The sun was shining, the roads were quiet and the world was a good place (plus, not being at work just made it that much better!).

My last one was the Mayhem sportive recce - see the home page for more details of that! who's coming?

Not coming Dave, I will be flying back from the Alps that day. Will have to make do with a quick blast up Alpe d' Huez in the morning instead.

Next week I should be earning 3 points on Saturday with a bit of luck. Alfreton to Skegness and back.... A lot further than I have ridden before!

hard life...

you got a 300k on the boil then? i was thinking of doing one this year. like you, it'll be a big leap...

Yes, a 300k audax. Its a few years since I did a 200 but this should be reasonably flat so hoping it is just a case of turning pedals. What can possible go wrong?

what indeed.

did the forest of dean spring classic today. turns out there's quite a lot of climbing in the forest of dean, if you look in right places...

Saturdays 100k was intended to see how my FTP work was coming on, and was my usual flat-ish route out and back round Windsor Castle.

Pleased to see that it was completed in under 3 hours total ride time, including traffic lights etc, of which there are quite a few on the route (I don't much believe in setting my computer to auto-pause, as that is an easy way to keep grabbing rests and pretend to have a good ride in my eyes).

So training may be starting to come together...I bloody hope so anyway, as I now have around 4 weeks of training time left before I have to taper ready for Ventoux.

Torture in the Chilterns again. This is a ride I haven't done for a while, and clocks up 100 miles and over 2000 metres of ascent.

It takes you into the Hambledon valley, then climbs every road out of either side of the valley, and weaves a convoluted course to take you back up any that you came down previously. There are some pretty tough little climbs, with the steepest hitting 27%, and most of them going over 16%.

I have been making a concious effort to start eating earlier in the ride, starting within the first 30 mins, and having a bite of something every 20 minutes, and am finishing these kind of rides so much stronger and fresher.

300k this weekend. It was the Alfreton to Skegness audax and we started at 0600 in light rain although we did have a heavy shower mid morning. the first 160k was into a headwind and was really tough up by the coast. The group I was in suffered 7 punctures of which I had the first - all causing delay.

Wind behind on the return leg and I suffered a couple of bad patches, also a clumsy fall on street furniture 2km from the end due to tiredness. Finished just after midnight.

A great experience - would be nice to do one again in milder conditions.

blackhound - was that your first 300km, not done one myself but aim to start that kind of thing next year (more time etc etc).

good effort, what with the headwind and all.

top work BH! been lining one of those up myself, hopefully i'll be able to fit it in...

Yes, it was my first. Have done 3 200's but not for a couple of years.

Just a matter of perserverance really - eating and drinking etc. It was a fairly flat course but the wind was tough.

I heard that the first finisher took 1.5 hours longer than usual.....

Wow - well done Blackhound, that's very impressive. Not sure I could do that.

I had to stop 16km short of a double on Saturday - just ran out of time. Grrr.

Nice work Blackhound, that is a lot of pedalling in a day!

Todays mid-week ride was a windy 85 miles across the Downs and into Oxford for a pit-stop at Zappi's for a chat, bacon and brie pannini and a Team Casquette, cafe's don't get better than Zappi's.

a very wet and windy imperial 100miles, or 162km on the 'Blackratcycle' sportive..but a great route..all the steep hills up and over the mendips, lovely..seem to spend quite a bit of time overtaking people on the hills only to be overtaken by them on the flats..got a respectable time of 6hrs 13.

Havnt commented here for a while..

April century - 100+km ride in Krabi, Thailand from our hotel in Ao Nang with a local guide on mountain bikes down tracks, trails, through rivers etc, along beaches. Was easily the nicest (and toughest) metric century Ive done due to the 37degree heat and crazy levels of humidity.

May century - 101km mtb ride through the peak district on saturday. I dont own a mountain bike but the nice guys at Paliap loaned me a Hei Hei Supreme full susser xc bike to see me through, it did more than that, it was fantastic and I want one. Thanks for that. The rides were gorgeous, busy in places due to the weather but very testing in the heat. Loved it.

hey Jon forget the MTB, get a cross bike for the winter and blast round Ashton court/Leigh Woods and scare the MTB'rs..

(thats my plan, if i can raise enough cash on ebay for a crosser that is)

Its amazing what peoplen will buy on ebay, Im finding out now! Raising money for a deposit on a house.

I am hoping that I can buy an ex demo mtb or kona crosser from paligap.....

Wednesdays ride was a bit different...

95 miles and around 4700m of ascent that saw me climb Mont Ventoux from all three sides in a day.

All went well, and recorded some pretty reasonable times; Bedoin climb in 1hr 30, Maulacene in 1hr 40 and finally Sault in 1hr 30.

Also got to record my first ever 100km/h descent on both Maulacene and Bedoin. My wife even managed a picture of me in front of the car with the car speedo showing 58mph.

I am now an official member of the Club des Cingles du Mont Ventoux...happy days.

hey DaSy good going. do you get a certificate?

its now on my 'to do list', although i might just shy away from the 100km downhill bit as im a bit sketchy on the descents..

You get your name on the roll of honour on the website, and I think you may get a medal, if my very poor French translation skills are correct!

I have to send off my stamped up brevet card to Mr Pic in France, then I get my medal (I think), and hopefully the card back, although I have photograped it just in case.

It is a good day in the saddle, thoroughly recommended.

The weather is always the major unknown in it all, I had to endure insane wind that was actually blowing people off their bikes at the top. There was at one point, two guys blown off onto the ground by the summit, and hanging onto their bikes like brollies, as they waved out in front of them. I also saw one guy lying ontop of his bike to stop him and it blowing away!

It made each trip to the summit a fairly daunting experience, but I somehow got away with it...three times!

Last three metrics have been an unexpected pleasure.

Friday was from Bourg St Maurice to the Col D'Iseran and back plus a bit.

Saturday was from B-S-M up via the Cormet de Roselend and down to Beaufort, then back up via the Col de Pre and back over the Roselend.

Sunday was B-S-M over the Col de Petit St Bernard and down into Italy to Pre St Didier for lunch, then back over the Petit St Bernard and back to Bourg.

Back home tomorrow, but for now I'm enjoying the view out over the Alps!

Peter S is back off his holidays.

DaSy - sounds like you've been living the dream

Yeah, I kind of have.

A few weeks ago I was in Provence to complete the Club de Cingles, and then after being back for only a week, I was made redundant from my job, and so as a way of consoling me, my missus pretty much insisted that I go on a trip with my mates to the Alps that I had rejected earlier in the year in favour of Ventoux!

The Alps trip was a joy, we stopped to watch the TdF on the way down (stage 5), which was great (although my mate caught a Euskatel bidon and I got nothing!).

We had three great days of riding in the high mountains, and some superb descents, plus lots of good coffee of course.

Now to find a job I suppose....

Good luck with the job hunt DaSy. My metric century challenge total is largely attributable to a bit of an employment slump of my own...

Today's ton was one of the most enjoyable yet. I joined the Brighton Mitre social ride, which split in two - fast & slow (although we were assured the fast wouldn't be all that fast and the slow wouldn't be all that slow). I chose the quicker group, still feeling slightly cocky after my LEJOG.

We set off at a brisk pace and it seemed to keep getting brisker - to the point where 'brisk' no longer seemed to quite do it justice. It was more 'quick' really.

Now I'm back on the beer there was none of the clarity of mind and body that I've been enjoying for the past few months. I was mildly hungover and a bit tired following a late, boozy night on Thursday followed by an ill-advised bout of late afternoon lager drinking at my kids' school summer picnic yesterday.

So the hills were hurting and the sweat was toxic, but I clung on and the grimace on my face slowly turned into a smile as the miles slipped by. The group thinned out near the end - particularly when the decision was taken to 'do Bostal' - Bostal Road near Steyning is a notorious local hill over the Downs that sensible people don't generally go anywhere near on bicycles, particularly when they've just cycled 50 miles.

Bostal was a sweaty grunt and I didn't particularly enjoy it, but the ride from Sompting back along the coast road to Brighton was an absolute blast. We were trucking along at 27-28mph in single file with the breeze behind us and big grins plastered across our faces (well, I had one on mine anyway - I suspect the serious Mitre riders probably just looked deadpan and effortless).

I was on the edge of my capabilities several times during the ride but could never quite bring myself to give up. By the time I got home I was knackered and aching a bit, but happier than I've been since I got to the top of Helmsdale a couple of weeks back. Ah, the recuperative powers of cycling

Peter S led his Annual CRC Sportif yesterday rather than making it a hilly route as in previous years, he decided just to include 5 big climbs.

For those that that know the Lancashire area we rode, the steep side of Jeffrey hill before tackling Nick O' Pendle from Sabden side then on to Waddington Fell and Boundary finishing off with that local legend that is Jubilee with a fast descent to give the legs a final stretch over Quernmore Valley. Peter also managed to include Three Steps and the 1 in 4 Brocks Bank as extras to spice things up on the way out to Jeffrey. His local knowledge is encyclopedic and he will no doubt be along later to register his latest metric.

i had a nice pootle out to wales on friday to go to a stag do in ystradgynlais (don't ask). lanes to the old severn bridge, then over to usk and abergavenny for tea and cakes at a friend's house. round the back of the brecons on the lanes then over to sennybridge and up over the crai pass. managed to stay up fairly late afterwards, too

Some metrics to add for me...

121km circular route from tarbes up the tourmalet (la mongie side) and back via lourdes

118km circular route from pau up the col du soulor and the col d'aubisque (in awful rain and cloud...couldnt see 30m in front of me which was interesting on the decent) and back to pau

Ive been back 24 hours and I miss it, I need to go back!

i managed a 130km loop up to St Brivals-Tintern-Trelech and back to brizzle..fun but no Tormalet i'm afraid.

That trellech climb isn't easy though fringe, i recall being handed my arse on that one

Id like to add my thanks to the hoards of norwegian and dutch fans who cheered me (and countless others) all the way up the last 6km past la mongie and left me almost deaf when I passed two guys in team sky kit! Hello to the chippenham wheelers duo that set up there viewing spot 2 corners from the top as well.

Dave - have you got GPX of that route to Ystradgynlais? I plan to ride there (well Neath via there) from Reading, and that sounds like a good route.
Si.

more or less. i didn't follow it to the letter, particularly the bit where i was cycling behind two shapely ladies and i went about five miles up the wrong road out of chepstow

the bit round the back of the brecons is jolly lovely though, chepstow to abergavenny is pan flat apart from the first climb and then you follow the brecon canal to pencelli before hitting the lanes

from there you can go over that climb just north of ystradgynlais or the one out the back of the town, they both go to the neath road.

That's great Dave, thanks.

I have never cycled over the Severn Bridge, so was always a bit iffy about the route over that. I would join your route from the A420 out of Chippenham, and probably peal off onto the old Sarn Helen road up over the Devils Elbow and down the old Glyn Neath road to Neath and onto Skewen.

I have been talking about riding down for ages, so might try and get that done pretty soon.

the lanes up to the bridge are nice and quiet, and you can either follow the signposted route to the bridge (which takes you onto the western path via a slightly convoluted route) or ride towards the services (round the roundabout at the M48 junction) and skip onto the eastern path just before you get to them, that's the moped route. after that there's a decent cycle path as far as the big chepstow roundabout, watch out for glass on the underpasses though

A tough ride today, that on paper should have been pretty easy.

I rode from Reading down the A4 to Bath to catch up with some friends in Cadence Cycles on Chelsea Rd.

The problem was that it was a straight 70 plus miles in a straight line, but today it was into a pretty stiff and incessant headwind, three and a half hours of hard work. Then a few more miles on the way back to catch up with a mate who drove me back home.

Cadence Cycles is a really nice shop by the way, the way a bike shop should look, very cool but still approachable, if you haven't been then it's well worth a visit.

i had a rather pleasant ride myself, great weather, gentle pootle down the strawberry line and then an all or nothing slog up cheddar gorge, back down the old bristol road, back up (to the mendips) fro wooky hole by the ebbor gorge road and then a skirt down to Ubley round Nempnett Thrubwell, and back home. job done for sept, except the circum navigation of the Avon Cycleway on the 26th with the CTC (plus many cake stops).

and next time i'm in Bath i'll check out Cadence cycles... seeing as i've not been there, BTW DaSy if yer ever in Bristol 'Strada' is the bike shop to go to..

Managed my September ride already, 104m (thats miles!) of the Kielder 100 mountian bike event. Lovely day and some great riding (apart from the Kielder sections of singletrack). Took me a dissapointing 12+hrs tho, was having back pain issues so had to keep stopping to stretch, it did mean however that my legs were pretty fresh for the whole thing.

Rich

Way to go STATO, 100 miles of off-road is good going no matter what the times is!

I managed a reasonable 80+ miles today, the first ride that I have felt anything like myself for a couple of months.

Congratulations Stato, agree with DaSy that that is a tough assignment. K100 was on my list for 2011 but this week I have been invited to a wedding on that weekend next year. What is worse is that he is a mtb'er!

Got two in this month. Last weekend my chain broke an hour from home. I did not have my chain tool with me, though I did have a spare link. My compananion pushed me to Carsington bike hire to fix - I deducted the mileage from my daily total.

Today went to watch ToB on Hollinsclough.

Got in my 100km for October in today - a midweek one for a chance in glorious sunshine.

For the last six months I have been working my redundancy notice and today was my first day 'free'. Tomorrow I go on holiday for 3 weeks so will not get another chance in October - so I have managed a metric century for two years in a row - along with DaSy.

(Redundancy was a good thing for me, I was about to resign anyway and they beat me to it by a month - I get a nice fat cheque after 34 years service man and boy.)

So now got my pension to spend - enough to keep me on and off road. First big project is the Tour Divide is 2011!

Got my October metric in today with Peter S, stayed dry although it was a slog into the wind at times. Work is going to limit me for the rest of the month but I am sure he will crack off a few more.

Jealous!

Got my October 100k in, a horrid, cold, windy ride i didnt bring enough food for and enjoyed not a bit. Took all the strength out my legs and meant i was crawling round the CX race on Sunday. Suppose thats the price you pay for leaving it so late into the month.

Since this is the end of the official chalenge i should be pleased but i only started in Jan so i still have 2 more months to complete to achieve my goal of 1 a month, at least they will count towards the next Road.cc metric century challenge tho.

Sorry, Dasy...will let you have the longest ride, but my 90 points and 10 counting rides in the month of October seem to outweigh your totals somewhat. Not bad for a pensioner enjoying life after a quadruple heart by-pass some 9 years ago!

Nice to see you post Peter s 1944, I see your totals rising meteorically regularly, so nice to find out a bit about you.

Your ride stats are indeed very impressive, mine conversely have fallen off, what with a new job with longer hours, and a real struggle to get into a new routine.

Great work at returning to such good physical health after your quad by-pass, just wish you hadn't trashed me quite so categorically!