Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Rides and Touring => Topic started by: Pickled Onion on 31 December, 2016, 11:31:11 pm
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Now's a good time for the companion post to essexian's.
My current plans are to visit some new places:
Feb: Andalucía: Málaga, Granada, Córdoba & Sevilla
April: Grand tour of the Balkans: Sofia to the Adriatic and back in a big loop
Summer: Baltics: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia
Several others on the wishlist: Georgia, Iran, Atlas Mountains.
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I want to some Bike/tarp/trailer touring in Scotlandshire. All depends on finances.. The Mind is Willing but the Wallet is weak!
Stop buying crap and stop selling Oograh to get by. Live within my means.
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Ho ho ho. No real idea. Need to train up to full form again, which is weather-dependent. Also looking at (a big) several thousand euros' worth of lawyers' & accountants' bills for closing our company, not to mention taxes and social charges which are paid a year in arrears in France, so finances for doing anything fun are likely to be sparse. In any case, now that there's nobody else in the house I'm not keen on the idea of leaving my wife alone for a week while I'm off having fun.
WRT cycling my main plan is to get up to 200k level by mid-March and see if I'll be capable of anything greater. I've been avoiding mountains this last year and that's where I usually build my stamina, so once they're ice-free I'll be attacking our local pimples and hoping.
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Got some plans already including cycling to Market Drayton next weekend to see the MIGHTY Penkridge FC take on the towns "Tigers".... ;D
After that, I have signed up for the Wiggle No Excuses sportive in Feb, and at the end of April, the Conway Grand Fido (I know.... I know my climbing is so crap that I will make a dogs dinner out of it). A week later, I have the 75 mile Norfolk sportive. That is likely to be my longest ride for many, many a year! I am also keeping my eyes open for some local reliability rides and the Nova Raiders Route 66 sportive.
After that, I will do the Foundation Audax around Crewe: I tend to do this every year and then a slow build up to the Ride London....if I manage to get a charity place with my employer. If not, then a couple of longer rides. I really must knock off 100km and 200km rides this year as if I don't, then I am really not progressing.
Finally, I would like to do a long weekend tour. I am thinking about the Cambrian Coast in September.
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Not much riding to start with, mostly walking and physio through February so that future riding isn't too compromised.
Hopefully build up to 300km fitness by the end of March and then Fleche Velocio and LWL400 in April. BCM600 in May and Le Galibier 600 UAF in June. Change 1000 UAF and LEL in July.
The rest of the year is up in the air, though there are lots of possibilities. Diagonales, Fleches de France and a Super Randonnee have been on the want-to-do list for a fair while. A South African 1000 BRM looks tempting. I need to go proper touring at some point. It has been too many years since the last time.
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In my case, aiming for "more and further" isn't really a statement of anything much after the last few years. 52 rides would be more than any of the last three years.
Not the Audax board, but I'm not going to do LEL. I'd like to do a first 300 though.
Where to?
I really enjoyed the southern part of the Coast and Castles ride in 2015. Need to work out when, but I'm going to make the northern part my biggish ride this year.
The South Downs Way is unfinished business too.
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In a word (well, two words) "unknown quantity".
Until the end of October my targets were unequivocally "LEL and a crack at R10000", and I got off to a good start with 12 points by 5 November. However, an operation the following week has largely kept me off my bike since, though this should be my final non-cycling week before resuming. And on top of the medical hiatus, family and work commitments and circumstances now mean that I won't be able to take a week off solely for cycling in 2017 so LEL will have to wait until 2021.
My target now? To get back up to 200k fitness before the end of January, to do one 600k each month March to September, and to see whether I can squeeze enough other rides in in 8 months to get that elusive R10000. I'm also going to devise and ride a 500k DIY for no better reason than I fancy giving that distance a try.
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I'm well out of shape & overweight >:( Got to start doing regular exercise again with weekend day rides instead of just slobbing around.
Tours ? Coast & Castles covers an area I don't know. Possibly do a C2C and then follow that up to Edinburgh ?
Abroad , possibly over to France again. Roughly follow the Seine via Rouen to Monet's house & gardens at Giverny, then down to Chartres for a nose around the cathedral before looping back to the coast for a ferry home.
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Nothing as grand as some of you, but I just want to maintain my consistency (and weight) as I have for the past 2 years.
I would like to do another 200km, just to see if I can do it again. I would like to do some shorter rides in the summer that are a mix of on and off road, rather than just road after work, but this is dependent upon family commitments which a struggle between an aging parent and young family. The latter is only for a few more years as I am sure they will start doing their own things and I would rather not have any regrets with respect to them.
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Back to the Lakes for me.
Have not ridden off road for a few years, so it is time to do some mountain biking again. Fond memories of carrying my bike across many un-rideable passes.
It was hell at the time, but character building.
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Current plans:
- June / July - 5ish week trip from St Malo along the Loire, across to the Moselle and home
- Sept - possibly Essex to Liverpool the long way, ie via Oxford and Shropshire
- Deano's Don't Keep to the Road Audax....depending on my fitness
- Trips in the campervan
- ......so much to do, so little time / money
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So far i got 5-6 major events planned. I really hope to get in on some of them.
Mont Ventox Cingles
London to Paris with HotChillee
Tenerife - Mount Teide
Mille du Sud 1000km
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i am hoping to do the long itch tour in may ,the york rally in june milldenhall in august and any forum rides i can get to . i would like to cover more miles than i managed last year . :)
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Several others on the wishlist: Georgia, Iran, Atlas Mountains.
Having been to Georgia it was at the same time one of the places I would have loved to cycle in, and the single place I would not.
The scenery is just knockout. Unfortunately so are the drivers, the worst I have ever seen bar none. This was six+ years ago now, and I wouldn't mind riding the flat bits (although the roads were in truly shockingly bad condition) but the mountain roads are lethal, frequently even in a car. No day passed by when we didn't see at least one serious crash. Overtaking or plain driving on the "wrong" side (including hairpins) was commonplace. Road barriers non-existent, drops precipitous. Relatively few cyclists.
For my part I know I want to go ride SOMEWHERE in 2017, just not sure where or when.....
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Well 2016 saw me back on wheels, managed 750 miles in about nine months. So my mission for 2017 is to beat that in six months.
Which means I will have to ride more than 30 miles a week for the next 25 weeks, or there about ... Hmmm I'll better get on with it then.
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For my part I know I want to go ride SOMEWHERE in 2017, just not sure where or when.....
A plan is beginning to coalesce.
Airport := LondonCity
Decided := 0
FlightsMostDays := Essential
WHILE !decided
SEEK Airport.destination
For Airport.destination with FlightsMostDays
IF TemperatureInEndApril == Warm
Radius := Airport.Destination+700 Km
End.Destination := Radius WHERE EndDestination == HalfwayIntersting
Route.Interest := ClimbingButNotTooMuch
ENDIF
ENDWHILE
PRINT Variables
Airport.Destination = Madrid
End.Destination = Porto
route.Interest = Duoro Valley
decided = 0.75
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Plan for this year is around the UK again, but clockwise this time.
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For my part I know I want to go ride SOMEWHERE in 2017, just not sure where or when.....
A plan is beginning to coalesce.
PRINT Variables
Airport.Destination = Madrid
End.Destination = Porto
route.Interest = Duoro Valley
decided = 0.75
Sounds good! I'm not sure how your program works with booleans holding floating point values though. More seriously, how do you organise a trip like that with a start and end?
Having been to Georgia it was at the same time one of the places I would have loved to cycle in, and the single place I would not.
The scenery is just knockout. Unfortunately so are the drivers, the worst I have ever seen bar none.
It's more an aspiration than a definite plan at the moment. The trip would probably involve flying into Tblisi, ride south through Armenia, then use the north part of Iran to gain entry to Azerbaijan, then back to Georgia. Thanks for your comments, and I realise it may well be challenging. However, things can appear very different from inside a vehicle to what they are like on a bike. I was very strongly warned against cycling in Romania by everyone I spoke to from the country, and it turned out to be one of the best places I've ever cycled. Similar for many other places I've cycled.
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For my part I know I want to go ride SOMEWHERE in 2017, just not sure where or when.....
A plan is beginning to coalesce.
Airport := LondonCity
Decided := 0
FlightsMostDays := Essential
WHILE !decided
SEEK Airport.destination
For Airport.destination with FlightsMostDays
IF TemperatureInEndApril == Warm
Radius := Airport.Destination+700 Km
End.Destination := Radius WHERE EndDestination == HalfwayIntersting
Route.Interest := ClimbingButNotTooMuch
ENDIF
ENDWHILE
PRINT Variables
Airport.Destination = Madrid
End.Destination = Porto
route.Interest = Duoro Valley
decided = 0.75
This needs to figure in there somewhere:
End.SomewhereICanGetHomeFrom := End.Destination.Airport != NULL && End.Destination.Airport.FlightsMostdays
Looks good all the same.
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I'd like to make a YACF ride or two - possibly even Long Itch. Also finally do a 200. And I'd like to do a mini-tour Calais-Bruges-Antwerp-Hook of Holland, but that will very much depend on OH's schedule. And indeed on having a working bike built up...
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Now's a good time for the companion post to essexian's.
My current plans are to visit some new places:
Feb: Andalucía: Málaga, Granada, Córdoba & Sevilla
April: Grand tour of the Balkans: Sofia to the Adriatic and back in a big loop
Summer: Baltics: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia
Several others on the wishlist: Georgia, Iran, Atlas Mountains.
I did a similar route this year: Sofia towards the Adriatic as far as Skopje and then turning north through Mostar to Austria (riding backwards along the TCR route and bumping into hippy and Frank along the way). Message me if you want any info.
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For my part I know I want to go ride SOMEWHERE in 2017, just not sure where or when.....
A plan is beginning to coalesce.
PRINT Variables
Airport.Destination = Madrid
End.Destination = Porto
route.Interest = Duoro Valley
decided = 0.75
Sounds good! I'm not sure how your program works with booleans holding floating point values though. More seriously, how do you organise a trip like that with a start and end?
Cycling to the airport provides the flexibility to come back to somewhere else, I map using Google and RideWithGPS, looking for towns roughly 100 - 120Km apart for overnight stops, keeping an eye on the elevation along the way. Spain is excellent for hotels letting you take bikes into your room, it will be a credit card tour with about 10kg in the panniers.
Having been to Georgia it was at the same time one of the places I would have loved to cycle in, and the single place I would not.
The scenery is just knockout. Unfortunately so are the drivers, the worst I have ever seen bar none.
It's more an aspiration than a definite plan at the moment. The trip would probably involve flying into Tblisi, ride south through Armenia, then use the north part of Iran to gain entry to Azerbaijan, then back to Georgia. Thanks for your comments, and I realise it may well be challenging. However, things can appear very different from inside a vehicle to what they are like on a bike. I was very strongly warned against cycling in Romania by everyone I spoke to from the country, and it turned out to be one of the best places I've ever cycled. Similar for many other places I've cycled.
Now that's sounding a lot better. Deffo wouldn't be as adamant about riding on the flatter bits. To provide some reference, the Caucuses run along the north of the country, and that's the scenery to die for and where you just might on a bike, Tusheti etc is astonishing. There's another range of mountains that runs north south leaving the eastern plain as a desert. While the drivers are bad, I'd only seriously worry in the mountain areas where the road conditions and drivers create a perfect storm.
Here is a selection of photos (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipME94xfx6l1yQb6AMNMpWzQWWD9huVdHFGzloNs6a4TPqWKjsM2kexd5eKtkK-Htw?key=bVdvN2QwRGhEM1NSMEtIWC1kSVpmU1pfb25ONnlR), starting off with Tblisi, then David Gareji (eastern plain by Azerbaijan, monastery/cave paintings), then off to the mountains, then to Batumi on the Black Sea.
There are many, many more photos if you are interested.
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In what ways was the Georgian driving bad? What particular manoeuvres did they like to pull? In Bosnia, for instance, I remember the main habit was to overtake and then not pull back into your own lane, despite an oncoming Bunbury.
I see there were some big dogs in one of your photos. What were they like? Were they worse in the mountains? How did they vary between the countries?
Also, were you with Mrs Ham and how did she find it as a female traveller?
Cheers!
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Well I've started 2017 off the bike with impact bursitis in the right hip thanks to black ice after Christmas, but that shouldn't be a barrier to things once I get back on the bike in a few weeks time. I don't have major plans but a couple of cute ones.
Hoping my client in Basel will want me out there in June so I can fit this in....
https://goo.gl/maps/Ay2LNXqHaCK2
Firstly to prove that you can find hills in Switzerland without going to the Alps, secondly to prove that the Europeans have roads with Lake District and South Hams gradients, and thirdly because its a magnificent place to go cycling.
The other plan is to do an Audax permanent that visits all the Whichurches in the UK (there's 11 of them) and it takes me to all my favourite cycling places - firstly through Wessex SR territory, and then across Dartmoor and back, before going into Cambrian Series territory, revisiting part of the Mersey Roads course, and then returning for more local Audax territory. 1300km with stays in travelodges.
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In what ways was the Georgian driving bad? What particular manoeuvres did they like to pull? In Bosnia, for instance, I remember the main habit was to overtake and then not pull back into your own lane, despite an oncoming Bunbury.
I see there were some big dogs in one of your photos. What were they like? Were they worse in the mountains? How did they vary between the countries?
Also, were you with Mrs Ham and how did she find it as a female traveller?
Cheers!
In what ways. Ahhh. Let me count the ways.
On the straight, driving on the wrong side overtaking is common (a la Bunbury targeting). You might think, that would result in accidents. It does. Most roads are two lane, on busy inter-town roads bikes generally womble on the sides. In towns, with the tarmac roads cars drive much too fast. Some roads in Tblisi are virtually impossible to cross on foot.
The road condition is very relevant, while we were there it was quite evident that there had been close to zero investment in infrastructure since the Soviets pulled out. Habitually drivers avoid the holes irrespective of what else might be about. You may find it difficult to comprehend just how bad the roads are, the main road from Kutaisi (the 2nd largest city) to Ushguli (their mountain "holiday" centre) even local drivers can only do about 5mph. They were repairing that "two lane" road while we were there, without closing, without signals. The improved road will almost certainly be more dangerous. Given how little we were on Georgian roads (driven not driving), the number of crashes we saw was phenomenal, it is that more than anything else that makes me say how dangerous it is, much more so than China, India, Thailand. And I'm not counting the minibus load of people that fell off the side of a mountain and were killed, as alcohol was likely involved.
Dogs. There's another story. The Georgian sheepdog has a reputation as the fiercest out, they protect their flocks against wolves. Let me fill in the background to the photo of the dog you saw.
A couple of days earlier we had headed out with our guide towards Tusheti. He dropped us off on the way and pointed us up a ridge (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipME94xfx6l1yQb6AMNMpWzQWWD9huVdHFGzloNs6a4TPqWKjsM2kexd5eKtkK-Htw/photo/AF1QipNTAWE6jmIfUQgzQZ3kZG-BdKxb0Ft0k7i63DIy?key=bVdvN2QwRGhEM1NSMEtIWC1kSVpmU1pfb25ONnlR) (think the mountain scene in Perfume - absolute heaven) saying he'd see us at the end, only piece of advice to us:if you see a flock of sheep, walk the other way. Well. we did see a flock. Only, it was on the ridge coming towards us. We are at around 2,800m at this stage, I generally respect mountains. We ended up going down off piste, and it was rather hairy. There are no photos of the descent, bu there is one once we got to the bottom. That load of snow? It's a snow bridge over a ravine, and it was around 25o. Anyhow, coming back a couple of days later we passed a flock of sheep, nearby. That was probably the same flock. Those dogs in the picture? They had just attacked the fucking car, one tried to kill the spare tyre. So yeah, another reason not to ride that part on a bike but one that took a while to explain ;)
Generally OK for Mrs Ham, it is a christian country, women generally well respected, which likely helps.
ETA - the dogs are only in the mountains in the North, where there are few/zero people and quite a few sheep and wolves.
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Bit old now, but Donald had a good time in Georgia (mostly):
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=tS&page_id=266825&v=AU
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Some (many) great photos there, Ham.
Also, some great horror stories........ ;)
I've not been to Georgia, but I did work for a few months in Azerbaijan.
Anecdote alert...
The only place where I've been in a cab which was speeding, and was zapped by an (armed) cop with a speed gun, failed to stop, and floored it when the cops gave chase.
They had no chance of catching us, but it was kind of indicative of driver's attitudes to the authorities.....
I confess to not really enjoying being part of that game - I was going out to get some dinner - not to be shot at.
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As long as I don't top myself from being found perfectly healthy at my upcoming esa assessment (it's gonna happen isn't it?), then I plan on actually getting the damn bike out more than once every few months. I got to ride yesterday and was my first outing on the bike since last feckin August.
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Bit old now, but Donald had a good time in Georgia (mostly):
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=tS&page_id=266825&v=AU
Indeed, FTR, from what I can see he cut across the bottom of the North-South spine of mountain, visiting the north by mashrutka. Interesting that his assessment of driving in that part of the world is the same as mine.
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Oh, and if you have an insatiable desire to look at people's holiday snaps, or just plain bored or nosey, there are several hundred more here (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNITEiLTJHsEKpMn-IdORG1mLN4NJ_ocxu6kRQecw3U9waT7jj-A4kUjSLj-ruinA?key=OHBkYXc5ZUMtYjgzZDYwalExNVlSaG5HWW1yU2N3) and here (https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPnYTxSqnr6C3MTh0BhXgAlVmpFN5Ztv6YVJD6w2VbcfA6DHFlUefQRg4LjGph8ag?key=ZEhteXNVLUFjRkg1S2o1Rkk0dW83THNENGZ5TEJn)
Loads of stories behind the pics, obv, but extra points for spotting the pig and pigmobile. Even without the detailed backstory, they may provide a flavour of how special it is as a country. If anyone is considering travel to Georgia, for all my reservations about the driving, I would wholeheartedly recommend.
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As I shan’t be going away to sea at all this year I’m hoping to get a few trips in.
Our family holiday for this year (as already discussed on this board) will be the International Tandem rally in Germany followed by a two week meander home along the Rhine and by way of the Amsterdam/Newcastle crossing. We’ll also do the National Tandem Rally which falls over the spring half term.
I’ve got two Scotland tours planned for early spring; the first in March will be 5 days solo exploring Skye and Uist. Starting with a train ride to Mallaig and finishing in Oban.
The second will be a bit different; a few of us from work are doing 5 days B&B based touring from Fort William to Oban by way of Kilchoan, Mull, Lochaline & Corran. So far there are six of us doing the ride including me and four have never done any touring or long distance riding before. Hopefully I’ll convert a few occasional leisure cyclists into long distance, bus shelter snoozing loons. The beauty of this endeavor is that provided it is well planned and risk-assessed I can get it classed as “An adventurous training exped” which means it can be fully funded and done “at work” and not on leave
The second half of the year is a bit more uncertain as I’m leaving Scotland for a desk job down south. The opportunity for a little something in France by way of the Portsmouth ferry might be on the cards for the autumn.
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Hopefully better than 2016!
No plans to go away, for cycling purposes, but hope to resurrect not just the Wednesday Night Pubbe Runs properly but also to have a crack at running a night ride every month from April through to October/November. This is due to a job change which means I will be definitely be home a lot more often.
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Hopefully better than 2016!
No plans to go away, for cycling purposes, but hope to resurrect not just the Wednesday Night Pubbe Runs properly but also to have a crack at running a night ride every month from April through to October/November. This is due to a job change which means I will be definitely be home a lot more often.
Stick to Wednesday and we might drag ourselves out ,work permitting. :thumbsup:
Was past the Dalton Pheasant this afternoon and thought of our last ride there.
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I'm planning something I've never done before.
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I'm planning something I've never done before.
Tease!
Or is that "I'm planning, something I've never done before." :P
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Awesome :)
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Never one to rush into things I think I've settled on some goals for 2017:
- In 2016 I rode further than I have in a year in my post getting a driving license life, I intend to beat that total (3400km).
- In 2016 I rode a bike every week but four, I'm going for the full set this year.
- In 2016 I rode further in a day than I had before (210km), I intend to beat that.
- In 2016 I almost exclusively rode my MTB until I got a gravelly adventure thing which I then almost exclusively rode. My road bike barely moved. In 2017 I intend to be more varied and record at least 500km on each.
Not outrageous goals. I wonder how they'll look in hindsight.
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I'm planning something I've never done before.
Tease!
Or is that "I'm planning, something I've never done before." :P
There's an element of truth in that as well.
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More riding for fun, not just the relentless slog of the commute (24km of Cotswold hills).
Tandem adventures and help my wife get back on the saddle.
The small isles in Scotland on the tandem.
I might buy a mountain bike, though I might buy a house first.
D.
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Very little of anything as I am permanently skint, and my rent is likely to soar again and pay be cut again in April.
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... how do you organise a trip like that with a start and end?
Cycling to the airport provides the flexibility to come back to somewhere else, I map using Google and RideWithGPS, looking for towns roughly 100 - 120Km apart for overnight stops, keeping an eye on the elevation along the way. Spain is excellent for hotels letting you take bikes into your room, it will be a credit card tour with about 10kg in the panniers.
What I meant was how do you get your bike back from a different airport from the one you flew out to? Send a bag ahead? Buy a bike box at the end?
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Now's a good time for the companion post to essexian's.
My current plans are to visit some new places:
Feb: Andalucía: Málaga, Granada, Córdoba & Sevilla
April: Grand tour of the Balkans: Sofia to the Adriatic and back in a big loop
Summer: Baltics: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia
Several others on the wishlist: Georgia, Iran, Atlas Mountains.
Ok, so things got in the way and I missed plan 1. But I'm booked to go to the Balkans over Easter. Route is rough as I've given extra time for Eventualities, so will make it up on the ground, but the main route goes: Sofia, Serbia, Herzegovina, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bulgaria. Any hints and tips welcome.
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... how do you organise a trip like that with a start and end?
Cycling to the airport provides the flexibility to come back to somewhere else, I map using Google and RideWithGPS, looking for towns roughly 100 - 120Km apart for overnight stops, keeping an eye on the elevation along the way. Spain is excellent for hotels letting you take bikes into your room, it will be a credit card tour with about 10kg in the panniers.
What I meant was how do you get your bike back from a different airport from the one you flew out to? Send a bag ahead? Buy a bike box at the end?
Ah.
That's easy.
I know where I'll be on the last night (booked hotel) and I use one of these bags (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ctc-cycling-uk-plastic-bike-bag/) so I pop it into a nenvelope along with the pedal wrench and some tape, addressed to me at the hotel.
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I'm planning something I've never done before.
Tease!
Or is that "I'm planning, something I've never done before." :P
There's an element of truth in that as well.
I have never before attended a Semaine Federale.
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Never one to rush into things I think I've settled on some goals for 2017:
- In 2016 I rode further than I have in a year in my post getting a driving license life, I intend to beat that total (3400km).
- In 2016 I rode a bike every week but four, I'm going for the full set this year.
- In 2016 I rode further in a day than I had before (210km), I intend to beat that.
- In 2016 I almost exclusively rode my MTB until I got a gravelly adventure thing which I then almost exclusively rode. My road bike barely moved. In 2017 I intend to be more varied and record at least 500km on each.
Not outrageous goals. I wonder how they'll look in hindsight.
1st quarter down: 1&2 are on target. Plans regarding 3 went pear shaped at the end of Jan but there's time yet for new plans. 4 - road bike still hasn't moved.
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I'm going to ride a lot more. Last year was virtually just commuting, which keeps everything ticking over but isn't very interesting. All the bikes are in working order (!) except the MTB which needs its brakes bleeding - no-one told me that hydraulic discs were so much regular hassle*, or I'd have bought something with V-brakes (don't start me on cable discs...I've worked on a couple of bikes with them and they're hateful too).
I am very tempted to restart the Friday night Oxford-London rides, which I gave up on because we could no longer sit in the warm at Tesco's in High Wycombe; on the other hand, I know some members rode another one and used the M40 services successfully, although it does involve a bit of a tweak to ten miles or so of the route.
*how a supposedly sealed system can need fresh fluid at least once a year to prevent fluid expansion and dragging brakes is beyond me, when a car's unsealed system only needs fresh fluid every two years ???
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2017's been a rubbish year for non-commuter/utility riding for me so far, and with various extended family health crises and other things it's unlikely to be brilliant for the foreseeable, but if any Friday night Oxford-London rides do happen I'd be interested...
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Never one to rush into things I think I've settled on some goals for 2017:
- In 2016 I rode further than I have in a year in my post getting a driving license life, I intend to beat that total (3400km).
- In 2016 I rode a bike every week but four, I'm going for the full set this year.
- In 2016 I rode further in a day than I had before (210km), I intend to beat that.
- In 2016 I almost exclusively rode my MTB until I got a gravelly adventure thing which I then almost exclusively rode. My road bike barely moved. In 2017 I intend to be more varied and record at least 500km on each.
Not outrageous goals. I wonder how they'll look in hindsight.
1st quarter down: 1&2 are on target. Plans regarding 3 went pear shaped at the end of Jan but there's time yet for new plans. 4 - road bike still hasn't moved.
Cheating slightly by reporting as at the 2nd of July rather than the quarter end goal 3 is done. Goals 1, 2 & 4 all on target.
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To get back up to 200k fitness before the end of January, to do one 600k each month March to September, and to see whether I can squeeze enough other rides in in 8 months to get that elusive R10000. I'm also going to devise and ride a 500k DIY for no better reason than I fancy giving that distance a try.
At the time I wrote that I was still off the bike after an operation in November (2016). In the end it kept me completely off the bike until late-Jan, and it took until end-Feb to get enough fitness back to ride 200s. I've only ridden one 600 in 2017 so missed that target, but the R10000 is on track which, given my v. late start to the Audaxing year, will do for me. Oh, and I devised that 500 :thumbsup:
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In my case, aiming for "more and further" isn't really a statement of anything much after the last few years. 52 rides would be more than any of the last three years.
Not the Audax board, but I'm not going to do LEL. I'd like to do a first 300 though.
Where to?
I really enjoyed the southern part of the Coast and Castles ride in 2015. Need to work out when, but I'm going to make the northern part my biggish ride this year.
The South Downs Way is unfinished business too.
An update on my intentions...
52 rides ridden, the majority rides to / from the station. Still working on further.
I succeeded in not doing LEL. Haven't done any audaxes yet - been mostly riding off road for fun.
Coast and castles will have to wait.
South Downs Way is in the diary (weekend of 8th September), places to sleep on the way and a train ticket to Winchester booked. I've even done enough riding that the prospect of 80km off road isn't too daunting. I've been meaning to do the whole thing for years, and had hoped to meet Pancho doing this last year - which prompted me to think it was time to get on and do it.
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Never one to rush into things I think I've settled on some goals for 2017:
- In 2016 I rode further than I have in a year in my post getting a driving license life, I intend to beat that total (3400km).
- In 2016 I rode a bike every week but four, I'm going for the full set this year.
- In 2016 I rode further in a day than I had before (210km), I intend to beat that.
- In 2016 I almost exclusively rode my MTB until I got a gravelly adventure thing which I then almost exclusively rode. My road bike barely moved. In 2017 I intend to be more varied and record at least 500km on each.
Not outrageous goals. I wonder how they'll look in hindsight.
1st quarter down: 1&2 are on target. Plans regarding 3 went pear shaped at the end of Jan but there's time yet for new plans. 4 - road bike still hasn't moved.
Cheating slightly by reporting as at the 2nd of July rather than the quarter end goal 3 is done. Goals 1, 2 & 4 all on target.
3rd quarter down: Goal 4 was achieved but then there was an n+1 in the middle of August. It's looking much better to achieve 500km on that that I expected. Goal 1 is looking dicey.
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:thumbsup: Well done! How close/far are you from goal 1? Plenty of time left...
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Thanks Pickled,
I need another 700 km. The daily commute is worth about 130 per month but a) I'm out of condition so would struggle mightily to bung in a couple of 200s to see me over the line and b) might get packed off to Italy for work through Nov & Dec. I'll be miffed if that knackers goal 2 after so many weeks.
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1) Failed - 3220km
2) Stupidly failed. I did get sent to Italy for 2 weeks and took a bike with me to keep things going. Then on my return home life was mad busy and I completely forgot to throw a leg over, 2 minutes round the block would have done. Annoyed with myself >:(
I did manage to maintain 4) despite the August n+1. Quite pleased with that.
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Not much riding to start with, mostly walking and physio through February so that future riding isn't too compromised.
Hopefully build up to 300km fitness by the end of March and then Fleche Velocio and LWL400 in April. BCM600 in May and Le Galibier 600 UAF in June. Change 1000 UAF and LEL in July.
The rest of the year is up in the air, though there are lots of possibilities. Diagonales, Fleches de France and a Super Randonnee have been on the want-to-do list for a fair while. A South African 1000 BRM looks tempting. I need to go proper touring at some point. It has been too many years since the last time.
Rehab took longer than hoped but I got round an easy 200 in April. Lack of fitness and then work commitments took out FV, LWL and BCM. I finally got fit enough for a 300 in June and the fitness upswing was just fast enough for me to finish the UAF600, UAF1000 and LEL.
The other possibilities went by the wayside but there were some bonus brevets - a 200 in India and 200 & 300 in Oz thanks to work.
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Retrospective time.
My current plans are to visit some new places:
Feb: Andalucía: Málaga, Granada, Córdoba & Sevilla
April: Grand tour of the Balkans: Sofia to the Adriatic and back in a big loop
Summer: Baltics: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia
Well-laid plans and all that... Missed Spain due to an inability to get arse in gear. Massively failed in the Balkans trip: started well then crashed badly, ended up in a Serbian hospital for four nights with a skull fracture. Oops.
The rest of the year went a little better. Flew to Riga then cycled up the Baltic coast on the Estonian part of the Iron Curtain Trail, then a circuit back to Latvia. In the autumn there was a trip to Ohrid, Macedonia, through Eastern Albania and Northern Greece.
So, if I can include a day out on an MTB with shallot #3 in Colombia, I've cycled in eight new countries this year, and had a fantastic time notwithstanding the Serbian slip-up.
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I managed long itchington in may but did not get to York . I did a small section of the Thames meander ride as I overslept and did one wing hall camping week and one weekend there .I think I have done less miles overall this year and have found it hard to motivate myself over the last few months . I feel like I should have done more . :)
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Current plans:
- June / July - 5ish week trip from St Malo along the Loire, across to the Moselle and home
FAILED: busy moving my father into a care home
- Sept - possibly Essex to Liverpool the long way, ie via Oxford and Shropshire
FAILED: but had a splendid 2 weeks in The Netherlands instead
- Deano's Don't Keep to the Road Audax....depending on my fitness
FAILED: family things again
SUCCESS: 39 nights
- ......so much to do, so little time / money
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I didn't post here at the start of the year, but here is my 2017 in review:
I hit my target of averaging 800km/mo, though fell a little short of my secondary target of 10,000km for the year.
Total Riding Time: 486:11:48
Total Distance: 9,916.39 km (6,161.76 mi)
Cycling days: 221
Average Time: 2:12:00
Average Distance: 44.87km (27.88 mi)
Average Speed: 20.40 km/h (12.68 mph)
Long rides: 100-199km: 3; 200+: 2
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My year was basically rubbish! I rode 400 miles less than in 2016 at approx 2 400 miles and went out on my bike only 158 times (approximately). My average speed was also down 0.2mph at 12.91mph.
I did however, manage a couple of 100km rides (Ride for the 96... I got lost and Manchester to Blackpool plus the rides to the start and finish) and finished the Bala Mini Bash which has beaten me twice previously. I also managed the climbs of Milwich and Camp Hills without stopping for the first time ever.
This year will be better.... :-\
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i haven't set any riding targets for the 2017, but it turned out to be my biggest cycling year ever over 26,000km (500km/wk avg!).
i'll be riding less this year, no particular plans just yet - just to be fit before the season starts.