New Metric Century 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...

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!

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Will have to make do with a quick blast up Alpe d' Huez in the morning instead

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?

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What can possibly 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...

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.

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.

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.....

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..

Peter S is back off his holidays.

DaSy - sounds like you've been living the dream

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