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Your greatest achievement on the bike?

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  • October 20, 2013 at 11:48 am #20097
    sm

    Once it was staying up right with no stabilisers.
    Then it was riding no handed.
    Then it was pulling wheelies and endo’s.
    Then it was riding far.
    Then it was going fast.
    Then it was climbing mountains.
    Then it was a two year quest to climb my local hill in under two minutes.
    Today was that day. Swaines Lane broken!
    http://www.strava.com/activities/90181306

    You have no idea how happy I am!
    What about you, what’s your greatest achievement on the bike?

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Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 35 total)
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  • October 22, 2013 at 9:14 pm #760999
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    snappyandrew

    only been cycling since
    only been cycling since August 2012 so doing the RideLondon under 5 hours was mine.

    October 22, 2013 at 9:09 pm #760997
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    dunnoh

    My greatest achievement was
    My greatest achievement was due to commuting half hardheartedly a couple of years ago. My car blew up on the way back from the bike shop just over a year ago and I decided not to buy another one. 11 months later and I did the Manchester 100 in under 6 hours.

    Mad when a year ago I thought people averaging 15 mph was witchcraft

    October 22, 2013 at 5:31 pm #760995
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    arfa

    managed London to Paris in 2
    managed London to Paris in 2 days. Ok it was via Dieppe but 120 miles in one day hurt. The most satisfying part of it was that it was unsupported, self arranged and made a few pounds for a worthy local charity.

    Thinking about the 100 hour pyrennees raid next year….

    October 22, 2013 at 5:30 pm #760993
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    700c

    Having said that, a sub 4
    Having said that, a sub 4 hour 100 is impressive regardless of the conditions!

    Some of the achievements people have posted on here are truly impressive. Shows how far I have to go!

    October 22, 2013 at 5:10 pm #760991
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    700c

    Getting into the top 10% of
    Getting into the top 10% of finishing times on the last sportive I did. Was v happy with that, esp as I was on my own for most of the route..

    I think judging a ride on distance or speed in isolation is tricky, as conditions will vary, so for me comparing against my peers on any given event is the best measure of how well I’ve done.

    I do love the graphs though!

    October 22, 2013 at 4:57 pm #760989
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    ilovemytinbred

    100 solo miles in less than
    100 solo miles in less than 4hrs is prob my best result on a bike.

    There is a hilly (Garmin tells me 7500ft) Welsh route I enjoy that is about 120 miles , I was pretty chuffed to crack 20mph solo after a number of attempts.

    A very long 20 on a 10m tt was my best short distance I guess, but I know on a different day I would have gone faster so not really chuffed with it.

    October 22, 2013 at 1:20 pm #760987
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    giff77

    Paris London over three days
    Paris London over three days is one. Then there was the 120 mile with 6000 feet of climbing in a little over 7 hours.

    October 22, 2013 at 12:13 am #760985
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    glynr36

    LEJOG last year as part of
    LEJOG last year as part of the Delottie Ride Across Britain, and coming in 73rd out of a fair few hundred.

    October 21, 2013 at 9:15 pm #760983
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    Leviathan

    Short and fast are certainly
    Short and fast are certainly a different physical challenge, but on open roads sometimes they are entirely determined by how many lights you hit. Even if you stop your watch you still have to accelerate again.

    X is distance in km, Y is my special formula ‘audax’ score:
    audax=(distance^0.25)*(speed^1.6)

    Last year I was trying to extend my training. I would go out on a new longer route, just random wandering around Cheshire. When I got back I would have gone much further but gone slower (of course.) This left me scratching my head because I knew these were better rides. I had to find some way of making speed a less important factor the further I went, or in other words if I could sustain 30 kph for further and further it should produce a better score.
    So I worked out some kind of logarithmic taper. Don’t ask me why those exact numbers, but they just made the best rake on the graph. The curved lines are 35kph, 30 and 25. They flatten out as you go further, but sustaining speed is the aim. Lets me compare different distances equally.

    The highest score was at the Great Manchester Cycle 2013. The pink zig zag ending on the right is the London 100 with intermediate times. This is probably the greatest challenge as there was also 797m of climbing and much the fathest I have ever ridden. Most of my other riding has been on the flat, and the flat does favour higher scores. I need to work out some climbing factor, perhaps 1pt for 10 metres. Still wouldn’t quite make it the top ride, as it was such a great struggle, it wasn’t exactly effortless athleticism. Perhaps some 3d element to my graph (any excuse for more analysis/logging behaviors.) Any ideas for tweeks to the equations are welcome.

    FYI, Bradley Wiggins Olympic TT scores 1429 off the top of my graph, nearly double my best scores, so yeah, not giving me false sense of achievement.

    October 21, 2013 at 9:15 pm #760981
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    Leviathan

    Stupid double posts, I’ve
    Stupid double posts, I’ve nearly got as many post here as points on my spreadsheet.

    October 21, 2013 at 9:13 pm #760979
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    Leviathan

    Ah, but how do you compare
    Ah, but how do you compare different routes/distances? If at least approximately. Ultimately this is still a graph of speed it just tries to balance distance and time in a new way; or if you can go further and sustain your speed you have done better.

    I don’t have Strava, I am happy to beat myself, so far. 50miles at 35kph and/or 100m at 30kph are two duel targets.

    October 21, 2013 at 8:31 pm #760977
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    sm

    A very interesting idea to
    A very interesting idea to take speed out of the picture on the longer rides. Sometimes we can all get a little too fixated with speed.

    It’s hard sometimes as an amateur to put all of the numbers in context. There’s just too many variables. As you say traffic lights. But then there’s terrain and wind. Or wheelsucking – I did Ride London – wow what an average time!

    I guess this is where power meters come into play but that would take half of the fun out of our bad science and trying to guess how we are or are not improving.

    Confession: I too had many a spreadsheet charting many a thing until recently. Nowadays I just compare my performances of the same routes/segments on Strava.

    October 21, 2013 at 6:41 pm #760975
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    sm

    bikeboy76 wrote:Makes a sweet

    bikeboy76 wrote:
    Makes a sweet graph (patent pending; secret formula):

    What’s the Y axis there? And which of those times are you proudest of? Short and fast or long and solid?

    I used to like long and solid (insert poo joke here) but they don’t feel so much like work compared to the short and fast.

    October 20, 2013 at 10:56 pm #760973
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    Leviathan

    40.80km @ 35.46kph
    82.10km @
    40.80km @ 35.46kph
    82.10km @ 33.59kph
    160.93km @ 26.67kph best times so far, take your pick

    Makes a sweet graph (patent pending; secret formula):

    October 20, 2013 at 9:03 pm #760971
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    sm

    Those are some pretty
    Those are some pretty hardcore achievements. Respect one and all. I mean, eating an icecream on the A40! Love it.

    Seriously, big respect to some of those epic rides. I once rode to Spain in ten days from London. Brilliant but today’s hill climb meant so much more to me!

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