Week 46 (w/e 16 November 2014)
Miles: 110.5
In the weekly history of 2014, this must go down as the greatest escape of them all. Thanks to illness, my glorious run of 44 consecutive 100s looked to be coming to a close. Thankfully, I got away with it...
November. Dank, drizzly November. Not my favourite time of the year. Monday was drizzly so I didn't get out on the bike. Tuesday was wet until mid-afternoon, thereafter it was dank. I managed to get out later in the afternoon for 11.5 miles then had a blast in the evening despite the drizzle to push on to 18. Wednesday was showery earlier in the afternoon but fine thereafter, so I was able to advance to 37 miles following two trips.
Thursday was dank and blustery, with quite a gale blowing from the SE. I felt increasingly grim as the day advanced and took to my bed at 5 pm. It was some kind of 24 hour stomach bug. I'll spare you the unpleasant details, but boy, did I feel rough. I didn't eat anything for a full 24 hours. After rain in the morning, Friday was clear and sunny. I was up and about in the evening and on the mend, although understandably I was still feeling ropey. I was nervous about the weekend though - with only 37 miles on the clock, I was putting myself at the mercy of the weather. With 63 miles required, a washout for Saturday or Sunday would mean no 100 for me. Eager to get that target down to something more manageable, I dragged my aching bones out on Friday evening despite my delicate condition. Loony. 9 miles later, I rolled home with with 46.
As luck would have it, the weekend was dry and sunny. I advanced to 74 miles by the close of Saturday. An hour on Sunday afternoon took me to 98 miles... which became 110 in the evening. A lucky escape!
The Stats
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 47 mins
Average speed for 100: 14.75 mph
Total for 2014: 5626.5
2014 average weekly mileage: 122.31
Consecutive 100s: 45
Miles needed for 6000: 373.5
Percentage of target reached: 93.77%
Required average weekly mileage: 62.25
Showing posts with label Great Escape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Escape. Show all posts
Monday, 17 November 2014
Monday, 14 January 2013
2013 Week 2
Week 2 (w/e 13 January 2013)
Miles: 101.2
The weekday weather was mostly dank and misty, then came an arctic blast for the weekend... but I was able to chalk up another 100 despite my increasingly decrepit bike. I got the week underway with a short trip on Monday afternoon for 9 miles. Rain arrived at 9 in the evening, so I didn't add to the total. Tuesday saw steady rain until around 4 pm, after which it was fine but foggy. I was able to go out for a trundle in the evening and returned with 18 miles in total. Wednesday was a very foggy day and not the kind of weather to be wobbling around the roads on a bike, so I left it at home. It was the best move.
Thursday was clearer and colder with it. I got out for almost an hour's ride in the late afternoon, moving on to 31 miles in the process. I came back just as the fog was forming, which was quite a hairy experience. The fog had thickened in the evening but I went out anyway for half an hour on the usual loop into the countryside and back. I advanced to 39 miles in the process. Friday was overcast but fine. An afternoon's bike ride took me to 53 miles. Come the evening, I noticed on the rain radar some heavy showers drifting in from the south west. I thought I'd better get some more miles done before they arrived. I thus pushed on to 62 miles by 10 pm. The rain didn't actually turn up until midnight. So that left 48 miles to rattle off over the weekend to get another early ton.
The weather changed again at the weekend as the cold snap crept in. It was clear and cold on Saturday with an icy blast coming this way from the east. I cycled into town in the afternoon as usual, then nipped out for a supplementary ride after returning home. That put me on 78 miles. The temperature in the evening really dropped. By crikey, it was cold! I took to wearing two pairs of gloves at this point. This helped slightly, but the cold still managed to freeze my digits. I dragged myself out for a ride in the evening despite the cold and came back with 86 miles. And frozen fingers. I was glad of the effort on Sunday, as I only needed 14 more miles but suddenly the weather had worsened... sleet started coming down at 1 pm. This alternated with wintry drizzle without firming up into snow. By 7 pm it had stopped so at 9 pm I ventured out for an hour in my double gloves to chalk off the remaining miles I needed to score a century. I kept myself to the main road (the A588) which had been gritted - resuming the routes I'd cycled last month when the temperature had similarly tumbled. By 10 pm the job was done. A fine effort.
Having set a new record last week with the very first 100 in the first week of a year, it follows that I've set another first this week by doing 100s in weeks one and two.
The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 7 hrs 4 mins
Total for 2013: 203.4
2013 average weekly mileage: 101.7
Consecutive 100s: 2
Miles needed for 6000: 5796.6
Percentage of target reached: 3.4%
Required average weekly mileage: 115.93
The slowest 100 on record this week as I'm pretty much limited to using the first 7 gears on my ramshackle bike. My average speed was only 14.15 mph. Urgh. Terrible.
Miles: 101.2
Thursday was clearer and colder with it. I got out for almost an hour's ride in the late afternoon, moving on to 31 miles in the process. I came back just as the fog was forming, which was quite a hairy experience. The fog had thickened in the evening but I went out anyway for half an hour on the usual loop into the countryside and back. I advanced to 39 miles in the process. Friday was overcast but fine. An afternoon's bike ride took me to 53 miles. Come the evening, I noticed on the rain radar some heavy showers drifting in from the south west. I thought I'd better get some more miles done before they arrived. I thus pushed on to 62 miles by 10 pm. The rain didn't actually turn up until midnight. So that left 48 miles to rattle off over the weekend to get another early ton.
The weather changed again at the weekend as the cold snap crept in. It was clear and cold on Saturday with an icy blast coming this way from the east. I cycled into town in the afternoon as usual, then nipped out for a supplementary ride after returning home. That put me on 78 miles. The temperature in the evening really dropped. By crikey, it was cold! I took to wearing two pairs of gloves at this point. This helped slightly, but the cold still managed to freeze my digits. I dragged myself out for a ride in the evening despite the cold and came back with 86 miles. And frozen fingers. I was glad of the effort on Sunday, as I only needed 14 more miles but suddenly the weather had worsened... sleet started coming down at 1 pm. This alternated with wintry drizzle without firming up into snow. By 7 pm it had stopped so at 9 pm I ventured out for an hour in my double gloves to chalk off the remaining miles I needed to score a century. I kept myself to the main road (the A588) which had been gritted - resuming the routes I'd cycled last month when the temperature had similarly tumbled. By 10 pm the job was done. A fine effort.
Having set a new record last week with the very first 100 in the first week of a year, it follows that I've set another first this week by doing 100s in weeks one and two.
The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 7 hrs 4 mins
Total for 2013: 203.4
2013 average weekly mileage: 101.7
Consecutive 100s: 2
Miles needed for 6000: 5796.6
Percentage of target reached: 3.4%
Required average weekly mileage: 115.93
The slowest 100 on record this week as I'm pretty much limited to using the first 7 gears on my ramshackle bike. My average speed was only 14.15 mph. Urgh. Terrible.
Monday, 24 December 2012
2012 Week 51
Week 51 (w/e 23 December 2012)
Miles: 103.3
For the second week running I just managed to scrape together 100 miles in trying circumstances. This time, the cold snap of the previous week had been replaced by warm, wet conditions. It rained a lot. Two days out of the seven were washed out completely and a third rain-affected day went cycle-less. Nevertheless, I managed to dash out there enough times - often between showers - to cobble together a record-breaking 50th consecutive ton. It took an especially valiant effort on the final day though. Here's how it unfolded:
Monday afternoon brought several hours of steady rain. Although this had cleared away by the evening, the roads were still wet and I was feeling a bit ropey anyway, so I didn't get out on the bike at all. Tuesday's weather was much better and I got the chase underway in clear, fine conditions that afternoon with a 17 miler. I pushed that on to 25 miles by going out in the evening. Wednesday was another day disrupted by rain. It started in late morning and kept on falling until 7 pm. Looking at the rain radar I noticed that a gap had opened up between the bands of rain so I should at least have been able to get 40 minutes worth of pedalling done before the next band of rain rolled in. Alas! I dallied too long and by 9 pm a new patch of light rain had bubbled up out of nowhere over the Irish Sea and was moving in. I decided to hang on and see if this would blow over in a reasonably short space of time. If anything, the rain got heavier. Damn it! With the forecast for Thursday looking very dodgy, I was desperate to get out there for half an hour at least, so I took myself out at 10 pm despite the steady rain. I came back with 33 miles. It had stopped raining by then... (but not for long.)
Thursday was a complete washout with constant rain from morning until night. Bah. Friday was fine at least, but there were plenty of local floods to contend with as the groaning dykes burst under the strain of so much water. I took myself out in the late afternoon and pushed on to 52 miles. I was keen to get myself to 60 for the weekend, to give myself a fighting chance of landing another 100, and a ride later in the evening saw me on to 61 miles.
Saturday arrived and it was an utter washout. Bad news. There was no chance of doing any cycling that day and to make matters worse I was off out to the pub in the evening, which meant that it would all come down to the final day, when I needed 39 miles despite the inevitable hangover. I was certainly glad that I did those 8 miles in the rain on Wednesday night. It was a relief to find the weather on Sunday calm, clear and fine. So, 39 miles needed. I had a couple of options. I could either go out and do a big ride of 28 - 30 miles and then mop up the remainder later, or I could plan a shorter route and do several laps of that to shave the total down bit by bit. I went for the latter option. I identified a loop of around 12 miles and planned on doing that three times. It didn't quite work out like that though - the first ride turned into a 14 miler, after which I came home for a coffee break instead of doing the loop again as I'd intended. Refreshed, I went back out 40 minutes later on the original loop and came home with 88 miles. Finally, at 9:30 I dragged myself back out for an hour and rolled home with 103 for the week. Phew! 42 miles up on the day.
It truly was the greatest escape of the year.
The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 38 m.
Total for 2012: 6434.7
2012 average weekly mileage: 126.17
Consecutive 100s: 50 (new record)
Miles needed for 6500: 65.3
Percentage of target reached: 98.99%
With 1 week to go, average weekly miles needed for 6500: 65.3
The third slowest 100 of the year, beaten only by weeks 3 and 19 which were both grinds in the teeth of gale-force winds. The ponderous pace this week owes much to the fact that my bike is knackered. It's desperately in need of a thorough service as the gears keep slipping. I can't use gears 17 - 24 because of the constant slippage so my average speed is down by around a mile.
So with just one week to go, I only need 65 miles to reach the revised target of 6500 miles. Having become accustomed to doing 100 miles every week, this seems a doddle... as long as the weather holds up.
How was 1998 getting on?
1998 Week 51
Miles: 154
Total: 7089.2
Difference: +654.5
Miles: 103.3
For the second week running I just managed to scrape together 100 miles in trying circumstances. This time, the cold snap of the previous week had been replaced by warm, wet conditions. It rained a lot. Two days out of the seven were washed out completely and a third rain-affected day went cycle-less. Nevertheless, I managed to dash out there enough times - often between showers - to cobble together a record-breaking 50th consecutive ton. It took an especially valiant effort on the final day though. Here's how it unfolded:
Monday afternoon brought several hours of steady rain. Although this had cleared away by the evening, the roads were still wet and I was feeling a bit ropey anyway, so I didn't get out on the bike at all. Tuesday's weather was much better and I got the chase underway in clear, fine conditions that afternoon with a 17 miler. I pushed that on to 25 miles by going out in the evening. Wednesday was another day disrupted by rain. It started in late morning and kept on falling until 7 pm. Looking at the rain radar I noticed that a gap had opened up between the bands of rain so I should at least have been able to get 40 minutes worth of pedalling done before the next band of rain rolled in. Alas! I dallied too long and by 9 pm a new patch of light rain had bubbled up out of nowhere over the Irish Sea and was moving in. I decided to hang on and see if this would blow over in a reasonably short space of time. If anything, the rain got heavier. Damn it! With the forecast for Thursday looking very dodgy, I was desperate to get out there for half an hour at least, so I took myself out at 10 pm despite the steady rain. I came back with 33 miles. It had stopped raining by then... (but not for long.)
Thursday was a complete washout with constant rain from morning until night. Bah. Friday was fine at least, but there were plenty of local floods to contend with as the groaning dykes burst under the strain of so much water. I took myself out in the late afternoon and pushed on to 52 miles. I was keen to get myself to 60 for the weekend, to give myself a fighting chance of landing another 100, and a ride later in the evening saw me on to 61 miles.
Saturday arrived and it was an utter washout. Bad news. There was no chance of doing any cycling that day and to make matters worse I was off out to the pub in the evening, which meant that it would all come down to the final day, when I needed 39 miles despite the inevitable hangover. I was certainly glad that I did those 8 miles in the rain on Wednesday night. It was a relief to find the weather on Sunday calm, clear and fine. So, 39 miles needed. I had a couple of options. I could either go out and do a big ride of 28 - 30 miles and then mop up the remainder later, or I could plan a shorter route and do several laps of that to shave the total down bit by bit. I went for the latter option. I identified a loop of around 12 miles and planned on doing that three times. It didn't quite work out like that though - the first ride turned into a 14 miler, after which I came home for a coffee break instead of doing the loop again as I'd intended. Refreshed, I went back out 40 minutes later on the original loop and came home with 88 miles. Finally, at 9:30 I dragged myself back out for an hour and rolled home with 103 for the week. Phew! 42 miles up on the day.
It truly was the greatest escape of the year.
The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 38 m.
Total for 2012: 6434.7
2012 average weekly mileage: 126.17
Consecutive 100s: 50 (new record)
Miles needed for 6500: 65.3
Percentage of target reached: 98.99%
With 1 week to go, average weekly miles needed for 6500: 65.3
The third slowest 100 of the year, beaten only by weeks 3 and 19 which were both grinds in the teeth of gale-force winds. The ponderous pace this week owes much to the fact that my bike is knackered. It's desperately in need of a thorough service as the gears keep slipping. I can't use gears 17 - 24 because of the constant slippage so my average speed is down by around a mile.
So with just one week to go, I only need 65 miles to reach the revised target of 6500 miles. Having become accustomed to doing 100 miles every week, this seems a doddle... as long as the weather holds up.
How was 1998 getting on?
1998 Week 51
Miles: 154
Total: 7089.2
Difference: +654.5
Monday, 17 December 2012
2012 Week 50
Week 50 (w/e 16 December 2012)
Miles: 102.1
In a couple of weeks time when I come to review the year's performance, I think this week will stand out for me as one where sheer bloody belligerence saw me to another 100 mile total in spite of difficult circumstances.
This week, the cold snap made an unwelcome return, and by heck it was cold too. I don't think the temperature got much above freezing for the first four days of the week and certainly dropped in the evening when - crazily - I decided to do some miles. Despite having "thermal" gloves, my fingers often felt as if they would fall victim to frost bite.
Despite the clear and cold conditions, I started the week in a reasonable fashion, with a slow and careful 10 miles ride out around the dodgy country lanes on Monday afternoon, topped up with 6 more miles in the evening. For the latter I decided that caution was the better part of valour and so stuck to the main road. I repeated this for the next few days. I may have had to contend with a bit more traffic but at least the roads had been gritted. Tuesday was bitterly cold so I ended up giving the cycling a miss altogether. Wednesday's weather was also cold, but some cloud cover nipped the edge off the big freeze so I made a couple of trips along the main road through the neighbouring villages to move on to 34 miles.
Thursday was the coldest day of the week. I headed off along the main in the late afternoon, advancing to 43 miles in the process. I dragged myself back out into the sparkling frosty night at 9:30 and did another 8 mile loop up the A road. Wow, it felt cold. My poor fingers... The following day brought wintry rain, which was a relief. It was looking like being a complete washout which wouldn't be good news for my chances of bagging a ton, but fortunately the rain moved away inland by 8 so I was able to dash out at 10 pm and thus move along to 60 miles.
Saturday was overcast and dank, but noticeably milder with it. I made my customary trip into town in the afternoon, although I got caught by a fairly heavy wintry shower on the way back. This soon passed over, so I got myself out for the next ride before tea (attaining 76 miles in the process) and then got back out again at 9:30 for another 8 miles. Thus, heading into the final day I had 84 miles and an excellent chance of getting to 100. The forecast however suggested that heavy rain would be here by 6 pm so I took myself out a little earlier than usual on Sunday afternoon and rolled home with 102 miles. The rain eventually rolled in at 7:15 pm and stayed for several hours. So that was that. It felt like another great escape though.
The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 33 m.
Total for 2012: 6331.4
2012 average weekly mileage: 126.62
Consecutive 100s: 49 (new record)
Miles needed for 6500: 168.6
Percentage of target reached: 97.4%
With 2 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6500: 84.3
The pedestrian pace for reaching 100 miles probably reflects my more cautious approach to cycling in slippery conditions this week.
With just two weeks to go, I need less than 100 miles each week to get that 6500 target done.
How was 1998 getting on?
1998 Week 50.
Miles: 105.7
Total: 6935.2
Difference: +603.8
Miles: 102.1
In a couple of weeks time when I come to review the year's performance, I think this week will stand out for me as one where sheer bloody belligerence saw me to another 100 mile total in spite of difficult circumstances.
This week, the cold snap made an unwelcome return, and by heck it was cold too. I don't think the temperature got much above freezing for the first four days of the week and certainly dropped in the evening when - crazily - I decided to do some miles. Despite having "thermal" gloves, my fingers often felt as if they would fall victim to frost bite.
Despite the clear and cold conditions, I started the week in a reasonable fashion, with a slow and careful 10 miles ride out around the dodgy country lanes on Monday afternoon, topped up with 6 more miles in the evening. For the latter I decided that caution was the better part of valour and so stuck to the main road. I repeated this for the next few days. I may have had to contend with a bit more traffic but at least the roads had been gritted. Tuesday was bitterly cold so I ended up giving the cycling a miss altogether. Wednesday's weather was also cold, but some cloud cover nipped the edge off the big freeze so I made a couple of trips along the main road through the neighbouring villages to move on to 34 miles.
Thursday was the coldest day of the week. I headed off along the main in the late afternoon, advancing to 43 miles in the process. I dragged myself back out into the sparkling frosty night at 9:30 and did another 8 mile loop up the A road. Wow, it felt cold. My poor fingers... The following day brought wintry rain, which was a relief. It was looking like being a complete washout which wouldn't be good news for my chances of bagging a ton, but fortunately the rain moved away inland by 8 so I was able to dash out at 10 pm and thus move along to 60 miles.
Saturday was overcast and dank, but noticeably milder with it. I made my customary trip into town in the afternoon, although I got caught by a fairly heavy wintry shower on the way back. This soon passed over, so I got myself out for the next ride before tea (attaining 76 miles in the process) and then got back out again at 9:30 for another 8 miles. Thus, heading into the final day I had 84 miles and an excellent chance of getting to 100. The forecast however suggested that heavy rain would be here by 6 pm so I took myself out a little earlier than usual on Sunday afternoon and rolled home with 102 miles. The rain eventually rolled in at 7:15 pm and stayed for several hours. So that was that. It felt like another great escape though.
The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 33 m.
Total for 2012: 6331.4
2012 average weekly mileage: 126.62
Consecutive 100s: 49 (new record)
Miles needed for 6500: 168.6
Percentage of target reached: 97.4%
With 2 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6500: 84.3
The pedestrian pace for reaching 100 miles probably reflects my more cautious approach to cycling in slippery conditions this week.
With just two weeks to go, I need less than 100 miles each week to get that 6500 target done.
How was 1998 getting on?
1998 Week 50.
Miles: 105.7
Total: 6935.2
Difference: +603.8
Monday, 8 October 2012
Monday, 14 May 2012
2012 Week 19
Week 19 (w/e 13 May 2012)
Miles: 103.2
Miles: 103.2
Another week of difficult circumstances meant that the bare target of achieving 100 miles was in some doubt right until the final day. It took some application to get there, but I scraped home on Sunday afternoon.
Monday afternoon was overcast. Then drizzle arrived. A little later on it became fine for a couple of hours but by the early evening showery rain rolled in. The rain stayed put for the rest of the evening, turning heavier as the day headed into night. I was recovering from the previous day's fun run anyway - or rather, from the post-run beer celebration - so I wasn't too bothered about missing out on cycling for a day. But then...
...Monday night into Tuesday saw me felled by either a touch of food poisoning or some nasty gastric bug that I'd picked up at the weekend. I pretty much spent 36 hours in bed, feeling very grim indeed. So that wiped out Tuesday and Wednesday. And I still felt ropey for a couple of days afterwards, which didn't help the chase.
Thursday. Although back on my feet again, I wasn't feeling tip top. The weather was also fairly dank, with plenty of showery rain floating through. With one eye on the clock and the other on the 100 mile target, I really wanted to get out that evening, even for just 9 or 10 miles. But the weather was drizzly and horrible and I didn't make it. Which thus meant that I had only 3 days to cobble together 100 miles. I decided to set myself a target of doing 33.3 miles every day so I'd get there by Sunday. As you've probably grasped from this blog so far, I tend to do my cycling in short bursts of an hour or so. For this challenge I also decided to attempt to get the 33.3 miles every day in one go, or at least get myself close to it... weather permitting, of course.
Friday. The skies were mostly clear but there was a fierce wind blowing in from the NE. I took myself off in the afternoon on a 27 miler. It was flipping hard work on the way back with that gale howling, especially since I was still feeling under par. I topped up the miles in the evening with my usual loop to finish the day with 35.8 miles. So that was the first target achieved then.
Saturday. The best day of the week, weather-wise. It was clear and sunny and the gale had mercifully eased. I went out on the bike in the late afternoon and did a 29 miler. For this ride I headed south into the Fylde for a change, crossing the River Wyre at the Cartford bridge and then performing a loop through Elswick, Roseacre, Wharles and Treales (over the M55 and back) before coming home through Inskip and St Michael's. I topped this up in the evening to clock up 36.5 miles on the day, bringing the total to 72. Good effort, especially since it brought the final target under 30 miles. Things like that help mentally.
Sunday. So, one day to go. 28 miles required - that's two hours of cycling - but with the distraction of what turned out to be a gripping final day of the Premier League season. The weather also took a turn for the worse, with increasingly leaden skies and rain moving in threateningly from the west. To add to the woe, the wind had whipped up again, this time from the south west. For the middle of May it was decidedly chilly. I watched the first half of Man City v QPR at 3 pm and would have very much liked to have stayed on the sofa and watched the rest of the match. But those miles were calling me. It's funny how these things work out; had I managed 10 miles on that dank Thursday evening as I'd wished, I would have only needed 18 miles to get to a ton, so I would have had enough time to watch the footy and then dash outside to complete the chase. Tsk, typical. Never mind, I took my radio with me stashed inside my rucksack, and listened to the commentary of the unfolding drama as I pedalled inland. For this final trip I headed east to Garstang and Scorton. I'd just reached the latter when those late goals went in. I yelled out loud in delight and got a funny look from a sheep. I followed the NCN route for a couple of miles and then came back across the A6 to head for home. This final stretch was grim due to that ruddy wind. 12 mph all the way. What a grind. It also reminded me that a hybrid bike isn't great for these kinds of trips and conditions.
I rolled home at 6:30 with 103 miles, having ridden 30.9 on the day. The rain eventually arrived at 7:30 and two hours later it was belting down. The great escape!
The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 46 m.
Total for 2012: 2224.6
Total for 2012: 2224.6
2012 average weekly mileage: 117.08
Consecutive 100s: 18
Miles needed for 6000: 3775.4
Consecutive 100s: 18
Miles needed for 6000: 3775.4
Percentage of target reached: 37.07%
With 33 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 114.41
With 33 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 114.41
The slowest time this year to get to 100 miles reflects the tortuous grind of having to cycle into strong winds. With a total barely above 100, my averages slip back a little as well. Just to show how tight these averages are, and how quickly they can slip away from you, in order to get myself back to the peak weekly average so far this year (119.2, set in week 13), I'd need to do 160 miles in the next week.
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