AAA RTY

[oldbatonabike]

May is the 12th month for my AAARTY  Today I rode a splendid scenic route.  It was very similar to my January route but today the conditions made for a much easier pleasant ride.  Subject to the AAA mans approval it should earn me the 2 points I need to complete my first AAARTY.
Here is my blog post for the ride:

http://oldbatonabike.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/a-lovely-100k-ride-through-the-splendid-dorset-countryside/

[S2L]

The new Arrivee prompted me to revive this ole thread... seemingly not many are interested in this award, which makes it all the more valuable... 

Considering even 50 km rides can be logged if they have enough elevation, surely it is a more civilised way to keep the Audax bug live in the winter months than the masochistic RRTY

[grimpeur du sudocrem]

Not had a chance to open Arriveé yet, but I'm certainly interested in this award! Not built for headwinds and rouleuring as I'm resolutely skinny no matter how much food I demolish at each control, but I love the steep stuff.

9 months into my first AAARtY attempt - so far I'm on for GdSRtY as well:

Oct 18:  Mid-Sussex Hillier (100k calendar)
Nov 18:  The Reliable (100k perm)
Dec 18: The Reliable (100k perm) - was going to do AAA Milne instead but a friend wanted to ride Reliable, and then bailed the night before 
Jan 19: Hills and Mills (100k calendar)
Feb 19: AAA Milne (100k perm) and Mad Jack's John Seviour Memorial (120k calendar) - Mad Jack's in 20C sunshine!
Mar 19: Kent Invicta Grimpeur (100k calendar) - in a maelstrom of gales, fallen trees and carpets of debris
Apr 19: Sussexy Beast (160k perm) and Hell of the Sussex Coastal Hills (100k calendar)
May 19: Around Weald Expedition (200k perm) and Down to Downs (100k calendar)
Jun 19: Meridian Hills (200k perm)

Got Tour of the Hills in the diary for August, so hopefully that and perms for July and September. Found a huge crack in the seat tube of my frame while cleaning the bike after Meridian Hills, so currently out of action waiting for a warranty replacement before I can get out there again. Just glad I didn't notice the crack halfway round!

How are other people's efforts going?

[Nick Firth]

I completed this award in 2013 & it wasn't easy to do, they were short rides of 100 or 50k but the weather is the problem in Dec, Jan & Feb, they don't grit the lanes in the hilly areas, climbing is OK but downhills can be pretty hairy, I remember going over Widdop in freezing fog & hitting a cattle grid which I didn't see till the last second, nearly came off, I had to do the ride that day because of work, it's a big challenge & not easy.

[grimpeur du sudocrem]

Yes, I've been lucky with relatively benign conditions for my winter rides, didn't have ice on any of them although the lanes are pretty sketchy even without. Fortunately I can be relatively flexible with riding days and can avoid the really bad forecasts.

The previous winter would have been a different matter although I did manage to gingerly tiptoe round Hills and Mills and Mad Jack's inside the time limit in 2018.

On the home stretch now but still plenty of ways it can go wrong!

[Nick Firth]

I'm no expert on winter AAA rides but I would advise taking an head torch with you, I once punctured in the dark in the middle of the Derbyshire hills, it was pitch black & had trouble fumbling around in the dark trying to mend the tyre, you need both hands to change a tube.

[grimpeur du sudocrem]

Finished my first AAARtY today (subject to validation). And GdSRtY for good measure.

Oct 18:  Mid-Sussex Hillier (100k calendar)
Nov 18:  The Reliable (100k perm)
Dec 18: The Reliable (100k perm)
Jan 19: Hills and Mills (100k calendar)
Feb 19: AAA Milne (100k perm) and Mad Jack's John Seviour Memorial (120k calendar)
Mar 19: Kent Invicta Grimpeur (100k calendar)
Apr 19: Sussexy Beast (160k perm) and Hell of the Sussex Coastal Hills (100k calendar)
May 19: Around Weald Expedition (200k perm) and Down to Downs (100k calendar)
Jun 19: Meridian Hills (200k perm)
Jul 19: The Reliable (100k perm)
Aug 19: AAA Milne (100k perm) and Tour of the Hills (100k calendar)
Sep 19: The Reliable (100k perm)

Thanks to everyone who organises and helps at the calendar events and admins the perms. It's been a lot of fun!