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Metric Century chat

Want to chat about the Metric Century Challenge? Do it here! And not in the MCC scoring thread. Good luck for 2011-2012!

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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141 comments

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Racer Z | 11 years ago
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 16 Do cycling in the early morning recently,the summer comes,hot in the afternoon~~

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37monkey | 11 years ago
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Will the metric century be moving to strava?

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Raleigh | 11 years ago
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No, but lets say everyone who does one on there gets Kudos from everyone else.

Just click that button.

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Parlee-king | 11 years ago
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I was talking to a clubman who is legendary mile muncher about the MCC last week.

knowing he records his rides religiously in a log book, baring in mind this would be his standard ride pattern and not influenced by just doing a few extra to get a MCC in (something I've started doing ..the shame of it)

I asked him how many MCCs he had completed since last Halloween...and also how many months since you DIDN'T do a MCC.

56 so far this period..... and he looked back as far as Jan 2004 and in only in one (winter) month had he not done a MCC. That particular month his longest ride was just 95km

Lucky for the leaders of the challenges he doesn't have that internet stuff to join in the fun....but he does have 850,000 km in his legs

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Raleigh | 11 years ago
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Wasn't it Vaughters who said that you need to do at least 20,000 miles a year for 10 years before you can come close to thinking about doing the tour?

An average of 55 miles a day.

 20

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Alan Tullett | 11 years ago
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Lovely ride in Suffolk yesterday. Ham sandwiches in a field with a wonderful view, although the blackberry bushes all down the road were still unripe, so no free dessert!

Suffolk cider in a friendly pub in Dalham in a little hollow with almost idyllic surroundings of brook and thatched cottages in bright sunshine, then down to Clare and a little tour around their country park, back through Steeple Bumpstead and Helions Bumpstead (Essex) (pretty place) and a final stop in a pub in Linton to refill the water bottle, have a cold lager and a bit of fruit cake before getting back to Cambridge. Big meal of steak, chips, lots of veg, cheese and biscuits, chocolate (well, I'd earned it). My daughter said she'd never seen me eat so much so quickly.

Only passed one other rider in gear and had a chat with a lady on a bike in my first stop in Saxon Street when I had my OS map out on a hedge to decide which way to go. Used the Bryton I won on here to map the ride as I went along. Will ride more in that direction in future and explore a few more villages and pubs out there.

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oldgit | 11 years ago
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Just completed 1000km in five days this week with a very round about trip to Paris and back.

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Blackhound | 11 years ago
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Got 4 rides in last week. I was doing some back up to a group doing LEJOG so got to ride during the day from Golant(not 100km), Street, Dumfries, Fort Augustus and Betty Hill. The Dumfries ride included a bit of today's ToB route.

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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No one posted in 6 weeks, well I am getting exited to tackle my first Metric very soon, if the challenge gets laid down next week. I've got a shiny new username and everything.

I see 18 people have completed the challenge already with 4 days left to finish. There are some high scorers who fell out over the summer but I can only see three guys left who could score and complete this month: stofish, squiggle and windy54. Tomorrow Sunday Oct 28th has to be the last best chance.

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Raleigh | 11 years ago
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I only started in July, but I've done at least one a month since.

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Stofish | 11 years ago
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I've made it!
Thanks to road.cc for the challenge, it really helped as a motivation to get out and ride the whole year round.

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Raleigh | 11 years ago
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Raring to go to do the challenge proper next year btw

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Leviathan replied to Stofish | 11 years ago
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Sweet, well done stofish. That’s 19 finishers and still two more possibles.

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Strathlubnaig | 11 years ago
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Yip, having the monthly challenge always pushed me out the door, especially in the dark cold winter months, cheers.
Was out today, -2 C at the start, but that's the first one for November done, can relax a bit now ha ha.

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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So is there going to be a new challenge thread? Or is this not an annual event?

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Strathlubnaig replied to Leviathan | 11 years ago
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bikeboy76 wrote:

So is there going to be a new challenge thread? Or is this not an annual event?

Yes, good question, got a couple November rides waiting to be logged.

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dave atkinson | 11 years ago
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yup, i'll set it up tomorrow

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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Gulp, I have to do it now then. Furthest I've gone so far is 88.7km.

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Captain Beaky | 11 years ago
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A 63 miler on 30th October and a 60 miler on 4th November. So near and yet so far. Curses.

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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I am on the board with one point. As I am *not*employed the 13C temperature got me out the door on a Wednesday in my shorts. I've tried a few training runs since the clocks went back in the colder weather but the extra layer just made me feel slow and stiff.
I did 97.3km in 3h28:16 at 28kph. Then had to go around the village to top up to the ton a bit slower. Even so it took over 4 hours with a stop for a mars bar and stretching and some toe wiggling.

So I am wondering what speed some of you can manage the ton at? Just a bit worried it might take 5 hours in freezing January.

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martyntr | 11 years ago
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I did a flat route today from aberystwyth to aberdovey and back. 100.3km, 3hr 15min, 19mph average.

Off into the hills on sunday so that should slow me down  3

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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Mmmpphh, is that the noise you make when you go into a pot hole and your goolies hit the cross bar?  31
No, but seriously, you are now my next target.  19

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Stofish | 11 years ago
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A bad start for my metric century year, an impromptu change of route after being chased by a pack of farm dogs.  17

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Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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Trundled around in the dark before work. Feet numb with cold by the end of it but just sneaked in before the end of the month. Like Captain Beaky, I foolishly rode 60.8 miles earlier in the month without thinking that a few minutes more in the saddle would have qualified me for November. It's all downhill from here.

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Bedfordshire Clanger replied to dave atkinson | 11 years ago
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Dave Atkinson wrote:

yup, i'll set it up tomorrow

Typical IT!

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Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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5 inches of snow over the Chilterns this morning but I stayed upright. My slowest MC ever I should think.

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Blackhound | 11 years ago
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Decided to ride over the night of the Solstice. Set off at 4pm riding to Telford services which is about 100km away. After a longish break I headed towards home looping further south. It started to rain and I had not taken a rain jacket! I ended up getting home at 6am, had an hour in bed and got into some dry clothes and went I did a few chores getting home at 8.30 am. I only counted the mileage to 6am though. Feel I sort of quit on original, mad, idea.

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Leviathan | 11 years ago
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Failure! Did 52.1km today in a last ditch attempt to get my second metric in. It is going to bucket down again tomorrow (31st) so that is right out, got to be rested for party night you know.
I just have to grumble, it has just been wet wet wet. Every time I've gone out on my bike it has started to rain this month. Rain is cold and slows you down, going slow takes extra time, and longer in the saddle means pain, sore feet, sore back, sore legs, sore cooch! Freezing feet.
The irony is there was a lovely day last week, warm, dry and sunny on Sunday 23rd but I had to travel to the relatives and missed it. Sat on the train I knew my best chance was sliding past.

So today I set of on some damp roads but the wind was really in my face. I was fighting the wind and my winter tights, every revolution seemed to take 30% extra effort. After 17km slight uphill I was down to 22kph and at least 10 minutes behind usual. I managed to struggle that back up to 25kph by 90mins but then it started to rain again.
With the prospect of taking half an hour to get home or doing 5 more loops of the by-pass in the rain and the dark to complete the metric I just didn't have the heart.

I may just be unused to winter riding but it is really hard having to fight the road condition, weather and extra layers of clothing. Speed goes so slow that I just can't manage that amount of time it takes to do the distance. I notice nobody says on the challenge page how long it takes them; the info might be helpful.

Moan over, only 10 months before I can try again.

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Bedfordshire Clanger | 11 years ago
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Don't be disheartened. Everyone is slower in the winter thanks to all of the things that you mention. The good news is that any work you put in now will pay you back in the summer when you'll be leaner, stronger and that little bit more inured to bad conditions. You'll appreciate the good days more and be more likely to overcome any reticence to head out if the weather doesn't look too good. We all have to fight the weather and darkness at this time of year. Stick with it.

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Colin Peyresourde | 11 years ago
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Can anyone remind me when the metric century starts and finishes? Can I start it this Jan, or am I too late?

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