2013 Metric Century Challenge

KPHC

Just managed to squeeze another 2 in at the weekend, the #festive500 has been a help to get a final heave at the years end. Happy New Year to all, see you all again here for 2014's edition hopefully!

durrin

Congrats to the 14 that completed! 1 dropped out in December: lucky paddy.

After quite a fight for positions 2-4, Runner2cycling held on to his silver medal, while Rolf, with a huge 17 point december, beat Charlie out for bronze. Among the 14 that completed, there were more points earned in december than in jan, feb, mar, sep, oct, or nov!

jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec total
1   1   4   11  13  17  17  17  3   1   2   3   90    durrin (1,=)
7   7   6   5   5   8   7   7   6   8   4   8   78    Runner2Cycling (2,=)
1   2   2   5   7   5   6   7   6   5   9   17  72    Rolf F (3,+1)
3   3   3   5   4   7   5   7   6   8   8   7   66    Charlie Potatoes (4,-1)
1   2   1   7   3   9   6   12  2   5   4   3   55    JamesB (5,=)
3   4   4   4   4   4   4   6   3   3   1   1   41    diplodicus (6,=)
1   1   1   4   6   6   5   4   3   2   1   1   35    bikergirl17 (7,=)
1   1   3   2   5   6   1   1   3   1   3   2   29    genki (8,+2)
1   1   3   3   4   5   2   3   1   2   3   1   29    wiffachip (8,+1)
1   2   1   1   4   1   1   3   1   1   2   3   21    KPHC (10,+1)
1   1   3   1   2   1   1   1   1   1   2   1   16    Pollys Bott (11,+1)
1   1   1   3   2   2   1   1   1   1   1   1   16    thecrofter (11,+1)
1   1   1   1   1   1   2   3   1   1   1   1   15    EPR (13,+1)
1   1   1   1   2   1   1   2   1   1   1   1   14    wind700 (14,+1)

charlie_potatoes

Well done everyone.
Top effort Rolf, bronze medal well deserved

JamesB

Rolf---staggering Dec score well done

just need a few more trains down here for 2014

rolf_f

JamesB wrote:

Rolf---staggering Dec score well done just need a few more trains down here for 2014

Charlie Potatoes wrote:

Well done everyone. Top effort Rolf, bronze medal well deserved

Thanks folks. I did suffer for it - unashamed reposting below of my post in the SCStats forum (the 12,000 mile target being the big target for the year - the 100km challenge being the means to achieve it!). Thanks for the fun competition!

Rolf F wrote:

Well that nearly destroyed me! 1420 miles in December - I think the second highest monthly mileage posted all year. 750 miles in the last 16 days. In December, I had two days off at the start as I was away doing non-cycley things and then a day off driving down to my parents in Sussex and then the day after boxing day and the day before new years eve off. And that was it. And every other non-working day was a 100km ride. But it got me 2nd place and 12000 miles and that was worth it (possibly, maybe, probably not.....)

I don't know how I did it or why. I was only planning on scraping just over 12,000 miles but then things conspired against me. Shorter club Sunday rides and the 100km challenge in Road Cycling meant I started doing 100km rides on Saturday followed by another on Sunday - so my mileage increased as the days got shorter. A race to beat Mr Charlie Potatoes to third place on the 100km challenge had a lot to answer for. And all this meant that with barely more than 2 weeks to go I had reached 11250 miles rather than about 11,000 - and that made a difference. And then there was the Strava Rapha Festive 500. I'd signed up for it with a dismissive 'yeah, sure, I've got nothing better to do over Christmas than spend 8 days of it riding 500km over Christmas rather than watching The Great Escape and everything else I've seen before on TV' but that suddenly became something else I had to do. And it worked out that completing the Rapha Challenge and making 12000 miles would probably happen out on the same ride.

I couldn't have done anymore. I just got slower and slower and how I finished the last one, in the pouring rain, I don't know but it is done and I am glad.

And what about the bike? It is an absolute wreck now. All that West Sussex crud I had to keep picking off the bike after each ride didn't stop the front calipers from jamming, the rear calipers from not quite pulling back properly, the rear mech from getting clogged up, the front crud from wearing through, the rear crud exploding due to it getting snagged in a piece of tree and the front pads wearing through so quickly that on my final ride, there was no pad left and a rather nasty score in the rim of a thankfully nearly worn out front wheel. See pic - note lack of front pad and nice scrape across the wheel labels.....

Poor bike. But I'm not so cruel - I've only got home this afternoon but it is already stripped to a bare frame and each part will be lovingly cleaned, greased, oiled, polished etc. Will look like new by the end of the weekend so it is ready to be messed up again on Monday mornings commute.



So, what can I say - I am an easy victim to a challenge. Someone says something or someone I've never heard of in another country suggests a challenge and I do it. And that's because I'm stupid.

But this is it. I've done 12,000 miles in one year. I don't have to do it again. I can't think of any other distance related challenge that is feasible so I don't ever have to do a five figure sum of mileage again! And I'll be better for it. So I'll continue to do the Strava challenges but I won't care if I fail. I'll ration the mileage and I won't go over 8100 this year. I haven't even yet logged on to SCStats 2014 (I was number one of one on the first of January last year! Hang on - that means all I did this year was go from 1st to 2nd.....) but I will do. And I hope I remain well into double figures on SCS all year.

And thanks to ITB, CiB, Will B, Charlie Potatoes, the 100km Challenge (viewtopic.php?f=40007&t=12952602), Strava, Rapha for the Festive 500k, Airedale Olympic cycling club and my own stupid mentality........