Managed the 100km milestone!

My mind works in imperial - give me miles over km's! However, I think it's fair to say that 100kms is a milestone in anyone's distance, and a distance I would have never considered attempting this time last year. I attempted the Strava Festive 500 challenge (Christmas week), due to the nature of the challenge, long rides were required and a 100km ride seemed like a target to aim for - unfortunately, I never managed to reach the 100km - I managed 96km - but ran out of time and daylight.

Roll forward a few days to 2014, more rain and another Strava challenge. The wet December has been followed by an even wetter January, in fact the wettest January since records began. Since my New Years Eve ride I'd not used the bike, a new garden fence has taken most of my spare time. DIY mixed with the weather, I'd not thought about entering any of the Strava challenges and quite a challenge (for me) it is. The Gran Fondo tasks you with riding 130km in a single ride; motivated by a dry day off work, excessive competiveness (one of mates completed it on Wednesday) and a rush of blood to the brain, I thought I'd give it a go!

I maybe foolish, but I'm not stupid, well not entirely! I made sure I put some extra psi in the Nobbly Nics and picked a fairly flat route. I based it on the 96km route I'd used previously.

Making sure I had a full Camelbak and some energy bars (thought I'd try the chocolate orange Mule Bar), I set the Trance's suspension to climb and set off. After an hour I was 20 miles in, time to stretch my legs and take my obligatory photo of my bike at Mumbles pier.

Back on the saddle and time to weave my way past the people walking on the seafront cycle track, though been midweek and the cold wind meant for much quieter route than my previous weekend loop. Turning off the seafront, I headed up the disused railway line in Clyne, my target was the Loughor Estuary. As with most railway cycle tracks, it wasn't steep, just a steady uphill gradient, but at this point I really wasn't feeling my 'mojo'. Passing the Railway Inn, I was down to a snail's pace, thankfully the gradient was levelling and the going was getting easier. Soon I was heading downhill and left the trees and emerged into a housing estate. At this point I got lost and ended up in some playing fields in Gorseinon. The pleasant downhill section of cycle track, also meant a long drag uphill for the return leg. I decided that rather than trying to find the Estuary, it was time to head back to the seafront, but first, time for some Mule bar to boost the energy for the climb. Choc Orange, it was okay, but I prefer (I really like) the Apple Strudel version.

Four hours and 45 miles in and to steal a phrase - I was in a dark place! Shattered, hungry and a rear puncture, despite the incredibly wet weather, I couldn't find any standing water to try and find the puncture. I finished the mule bar and pushed up to the crest of the Briton Ferry bridge. From there I rolled down to McDonald's, I could feel the carcass of the wheel flexing, most off putting! A quick McD's and a hot coffee and I was feeling better. Time was getting short, so I drank the coffee on the move (when they warn you its hot liquid, they're not lying!) With some more air in the tyre I set off once again, I hoped that the puncture was slow enough that I wouldn't have to deal with it on route.  However, I was wrong, I had to stop a 2nd time to add more air, so decided that the best course of action was to get into Port Talbot and the Tesco petrol station. I could change the inner tube in a safer spot and use the air compressor there to inflate it. Amid calls of 'puncture is it?', I started to change the inner tube. Wheel stripped down, I got the spare out of my bag, only to find it was from a road bike?! WTF! I've never owned a road bike, so how/why did I have a spare inner tube for one. Ho hum, I guess I'd have to make the best of a bad situation, I knew at this point the 130km was not reachable, but maybe the 100k was possible.

I was 50 miles in to my route, cold, a puncture (very possible two now, as I couldn't find the cause of it and unless I was incredibly fortunate to put the wheel back together in exactly the same position, it could puncture again) and really, really tired. Choice, head home or keep going? Home was 6 miles away, I needed 14 miles for the 100k. 8 miles from somewhere. To fall short so close to completing the 100k for a second time didn't appeal.

I set off once again, the saddle wasn't a friend! Another disused railway line and I was going slow again, but finally I got to Rhyslyn. In the carpark, some other riders were fitting their lights and heading off. Time for me to do the same, lights fitted and tyre inflated again (and would need to be done another four or five times before I'd get home). By the time I was in Cymmer, it was properly dark and cold, I was really thankful I had the Hope Vision with me. I was surprised how busy the trails were, the glow of the lights weaving through the forest was quite eerie!

Home, and oh boy was I tired, but I'd done it, a 104km on my full sus.

Could I have done the 130km without the puncture or if I'd used more XC orientated tyres? (most of the route was on tarmac) I don't know, but I guess there's only one way to find out!

Strava Festive 500

Managed the 50% waypoint on the Strava Festive 500 challenge, but only just, 251km reached on the final day of the challenge. A killer 40 mile loop of the Gower, well it almost killed me, just edged me over the distance needed. I had my rear light, but not the front light. Cycling back on the road, in the dark, isn't full - and I would whole heartedly not recommend it. Lesson learnt.


A windswept Wormshead, Rhossili.

Rapha Rising: La Centième

I use Strava on most rides these days, it pandas to my 'inner geek', recording my routes and the distances, something which I used to do with a paper notebook and cycle computer in my younger days. It's also quite a good aid to training (not that I really do any proper training!), it gives me a bit more motivation to keep going when I'm feeling tired. Strava run challenges most months, I give some a go, with limited success.

This July they ran the Rapha Rising Challenge, basically the challenge to is cycle a total climbing distance of 7,235 meters in 8 days.

To celebrate the 100th edition of the Tour de France, and the mountains that have made it legendary, Rapha and Strava are proud to announce Rapha Rising: La Centième.
To quote Strava:-

"In the week which starts on Bastille Day (14th-21st July), Rapha is challenging participating riders to climb the combined height, from sea level, of the Peyresourde, Ventoux and Col de Sarenne, all of which feature in this year’s race. Just as the pros will have to scale Alpe d’Huez twice, Rapha is challenging riders to scale the Alpe once more, making a total climbing distance of 7,235m (23,737ft), the combined elevations of the Peyresourde, Ventoux, Sarenne and Alpe d’Huez from sea level to top."

I'm not particularly skillful or fit, but I am quite determined and (strangely) I do quite like forestry fireroad climbs. The challenge also had a set target - which I prefer to the open ended style of challenge (and you also get a woven badge - even more incentive!) So this seemed like a Challenge I could really give a go at completing. I'd be doing the rides on a full sus MTB, with all my routes been planned off road, I think my mates were pretty sceptical!

The Challenge started on the 14th July, and for a few weeks leading up to this I'd got a route planned out in my mind, roughly a 80km loop of the Margam and Afan forest fireroads, with some 9000 feet of climb. As the date approached, so the weather improved, to the point where it has been hotter here than it's been for over 8 years, not ideal of a chubby chap wanting to do a long XC ride!

The 14th was a boiling hot day, despite setting off early, it was far to warm for me. SWMBO was concerned for my health (aw bless), so I had to be back by 12 noon or face her wrath! At the half way point, I'd emptied the camelbak and a 750ml water bottle with an electrolyte drink in it. It was close to midday so called it quits and headed for home. With only been able to complete half the climb I'd hoped to have been able to do, I'd been left with a real up hill struggle (excuse the pun)

The hot weather continued all week, this left me with the choice of cycling in the heat of the early evening or waiting until later, when cooler but the midges were then out! I couldn't cycle any earlier as had to be in work for 8am. I chose the midges....


The nights had been difficult, the house to warm to sleep, most mornings I was awake in the early hours. So on the morning of the 20th, with some 45% left to do, I took advantage of been up at 5am and set off early. It was actually very pleasant at this time in the morning, and I made good progress, trying to pace myself, I certainly wasn't going to beat any speed records, but there was a long way to go! I needed to do the ride I'd planned for the previous Sunday.

Thankfully I managed to complete the ride, unfortunately, the battery on phone did not. It ran out some 6 miles before the end of the ride, this left me with a bigger ride on the 21st than had hoped. Thankfully the final Sunday of the challenge was a cooler day, but I still had to get out early to try and avoid the midday heat. I managed the to complete the challenge plus a little bit extra! I just waiting to hear from Strava about sending them my details for the woven roundel.

Thanks Strava and Rapha for a really tough challenge and for the roundel - which was extra incentive to keep going!

Strava Challenges - The May Massive.



I've tried a few Strava challenges in the past, I usually end up pretty near the end of the table. The same is more or less true this time round, but I did manage to reach my target of 250km and get a 'challenge badge'. With only a few days of the challenge left to run I still needed around another 60km, I'd done a 60km ride last month, so I thought I'd try for a 100km MTB ride. That would get me to my target distance of 250km and also it would be a distance I would never have imagined riding.

It was a mostly dry day, but the wind was awful, with some sections having a brutal head/cross wind, I never seemed to find a tailwind though! In Margam Park, I took a slight detour to my planned route to ride a section of the XC route from last weeks WMBS race. I continued along the track (rather than turning left), the track zigzagged through the clumps of trees on the hillside to a steep descent back down to the main track. I've watched several MTB races at Margam, many of them have used this descent, and I've seen a lot of people crash or decide to carry their bikes down it. I was worried about the descent, I didn't consider the trail through the trees, as it turned out the section through the trees was tight and rooty and I found it quite tricky. I had second thoughts about riding the descent when I was at the top looking down, but thought I'd give it a go. The surface was loose soil and rocks, I was braking to heavily and the wheels locked and slid on the surface, releasing the brakes the bike straightened up, but picked up speed quickly. I managed to find the right balance and then I was at the bottom and back on track.

At about half way, my route took me over some moorland towards Cymmer and then Blaengarw, it was at this point I realised that I wasn't going to get to the 100km. I reached the top of a small hill, with views down to Maesteg and over to the Afan trails (where I was heading). The soft-ground, cold headwind and spits of rain sapped my strength, I thought it would be better to finish than ride past the point of no return. This was one of the few places on the route where I would have used the same section of trail twice, I turned around and followed my tyre tracks back to the relative shelter of the forestry road.

Once out of the wind, I fuelled up and set off again. My route followed parts of the old (but hopefully soon to reopen Penhydd trail) and the start of Y Wall - Alpha, Elevator and the fireroad climb. Rather than turning left up to Rhiwgregan, I continued onto Glyncorrwg where I had a rest and a bite to eat. Then back down to do Y Wall - where I had a brief chat with a fellow group of riders, I got the impression the thought the climb from the visitors centre to Rhiwgregan had got me to my current b****y knackered condition!

76.5km, just under 7000ft of climbing and 7hours in the saddle, not exactly a blistering pace, maybe I'd have got further, quicker with the Kona Kula (but she's in need of TLC). But if anyone asks, "Can I use the Giant Trance for a long XC ride?", my answer would be Yes!

This challenge, it seems to me like most of the Strava challenges, is very much road bike biased, my MTB 250km target for the month, is ridden by some on a single ride. It would be nice if they would have some challenges which have a MTB bias - though I don't know how they'd achieve this.

Strava, MTB and a sunny day.

It was a lovely spring day today, the sort of day that makes you think that winter might actually be coming to an end (and it's been a very long winter, especially as we pretty much skipped summer last year and went straight from spring to autumn). I've been trying to get out on the bike a bit more of late, I need to build some fitness as I'll be heading off to Scotland in a few weeks. Six days of mountain biking, with a group of mates who can cycle me into the ground!

As an additional motivation to get out there on the bike (and put off the DIY, work etc) I'd joined the Strava Spring Classics Challenge, basically it's to ride the....

"cumulative distance of five of cycling’s most storied races that form the Spring Classics, adding up to a monumental total of 1,319 kilometers or 820 miles."
(For the full details, check out the challenge page in Strava.)

That's a lot of mileage to get through in April. I don't ride on road (where I can avoid it), so they'd be MTB miles.
I'd got a plan of cycling to several of the 'trail hubs' in the area, Margam Park, Afan Argoed, Glyncorrwg and Bryn Betws, the route was more or less planned in my mind and I'd set myself a rough target of 40 miles. It would be a lot of fireroad, but it's the sort of thing my Kona Kula takes in it's stride, despite it really showing it's age. I'm also waiting for my Frameskin tape to arrive to wrap my new Giant in a protective cover (yes I know it's a bike and it's going to get damaged, but...well, you know!)

I've been using the Strava app on my HTC to record my rides, despite fully charging the battery - to my great annoyance - the battery ran out before I'd finished the ride. My route was lost, I checked the phone for GPX files in the hope of finding my route, but nothing. I knew my start time, and the time I got home, plus, I'd ridden sections of the route a few times before so I was able to log the route with a GPX editor to get my distance. But my times were lost, there was no way to be accurate or fair in retrieving these, more frustrating was that I knew I set some fair times on a few segments. I incorrectly thought that Strava needed a 3G signal (in addition to the GPS signal) to work, after reading the battery tips section on Strava, I now know I was wrong! I just hope we get a summer this year so that I can do the route again. This time with 3G turned off and I won't use the camera on the phone, so hopefully it will make the distance.

I surprised myself to be honest, I completed the 38.6 mile ride! It took me 6 hours, a pace that certainly wasn't setting the world alight, but I did set some quite good times towards the start of the route. In my defence, there was over 5000ft of climbing in the route, and it was more about completing the distance than setting quick times.

My aim now is to repeat the route, but with a few additions to top the distance up to the 40+ mile mark, and to do it in a quicker time.

**As a thought, when I saw that the battery was running low, if I'd stopped recording the route, then straight away started a new recording, would the first recording have 'survived' the phone rebooting itself? - that way I'd have only lost the end portion of the ride, rather than all of it. Or maybe I should just get one of those battery booster gadgets you see now.