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2016 MFP CLASSICS CHALLENGE - DISCUSSION THREAD

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  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    ntnunk wrote: »
    Hate to miss out on the first event but I just can't do it. I live in the South and consequently just don't have the gear to ride outdoors in the current (and unusual) 25F temps. Excuses, I know. :-)

    plenty of races to go at over the challenge, I'm sure most of us will "duck out" on one or two along the line...
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    Okay Folks... looks like we've had a good turnout for the first ride in the Challenge...

    As I'm feeling generous - I'm awarding everyone who got out and rode the first event, and logged the ride within the weekend a 2 point bonus...

  • stewartlayzell
    stewartlayzell Posts: 36 Member
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    Is it too late to join this challenge ?
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    stewartlayzell wrote: »
    Is it too late to join this challenge ?

    not at all, but too late to book a ride from this past weekend... for the rest of the races going forward, sure... knock yourself out mate :)
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Well... I think that's it folks - we've one "provisonal" but as it's a good way out of the final points scoring anyway, I think we can draw a line under the Trofeo-Laiguglia

    Congratulations to

    #1 - @Jakess1971 with 104.2km - the only person to break the century barrier this week.
    #2 - @BigG59 with 99.6km - I think my OCD would have kicked in and I'd have had to ride up and down the street a couple of times to get the round 100km personally :lol:
    #3 - @jillyian with 85.6km - another strong early season ride.


    Full Results Here...

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1USBZpOdSTdQu0Ia9K3Nh1nwot8aj1I7p8bxlfm_N9JE/edit?usp=sharing




    Thanks to everyone who went out there and braved the elements to get a ride in early season like this. We've a weekend off next week, but we're back on the Saturday AND the Sunday on the weekend of the 27/28th then the 2nd March with a little trip into Belgium for the Omloop, K-B-B and Le Samyn respectively. Sounds like fun!

    entries thread now closed until next race-day.

  • Jakess1971
    Jakess1971 Posts: 1,208 Member
    edited February 2016
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    I always start off well and then sink fast as the year goes on, something about this challenge that I tend to screw up at some point, It's that back to back weekender I'm not liking the look off, ties in nicely with the end of the Winter Challenge though.
  • Spatialized
    Spatialized Posts: 623 Member
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    I'm trying to be more organized this year and rational when it comes down to it so I can do better at this rides, y'know, structured instead of random. Have the rides mapped out on the calendar and actually planned "no-commute" days to off-set the rides. We'll see how well that pans out. But on a year to year basis I'm doing better than last so there's that!
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    well - I basically had a whole barrow-load of fail in my Classics Campaign last year, this is hopefully going to be the thing that galvanizes me into actually riding properly again - just put 2015 behind me and resume where I left off... problem is, I've pretty much been set-back fitness wise, to somewhere nearer 2012, so I'm not likely to be anywhere near competitive - my only hope is that consistency will help me get up the table a bit.
  • verdemujer
    verdemujer Posts: 1,397 Member
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    Ok - I was thinking about this challenge and thought, well I never told BY that I'm going to start riding again. But he's got eagle eyes on Strava.

    @verdemujer - https://www.strava.com/activities/492846992 - 5.8km

    So - its a start. And then the wind started acting like that post I saw about riders being unable to even start an event because the wind was blowing them over. Its suppose to be March is "in like a lion out like a lamb" or reverse but its only Feb.
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    In case anyone's missed it - the "entries thread" now has a couple of mini write-ups about the oncoming weekends rides. At this moment, there is no plan for additional bonus points to be up for grabs this weekend - just the points down to 10th place.

    Please also note, as we've got a ride both Saturday AND Sunday, i'm re-instating the "Ride must be on the Day" rule. So if you only ride on Saturday, you have to submit it for Saturday's Race, and the same with Sunday - otherwise everyone will hold on to posting their rides until the last minute, to try and work out which day they'll score most points on... And also, no splitting the ride on one day, and applying it to the 2 days...

    Ride one, Ride the Other, Ride both - but Saturdays ride goes for Saturdays Race, and Sundays goes for Sundays.

    And get your rides booked on the day if you can, I'll be closing off on the Monday at mid-day UK time (to give me time to prepare the results, then add the write-up for the Wednesday Ride... it's all go, isn't it...)

  • BigG59
    BigG59 Posts: 396 Member
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    TheBigYin wrote: »
    #2 - @BigG59 with 99.6km - I think my OCD would have kicked in and I'd have had to ride up and down the street a couple of times to get the round 100km personally :lol:
    I'll get enough of those in during the coming months.

    It was probably over the 100km anyway. I don't start and stop my Garmin at home for security reasons (and yes I keep my home address private in the App).

  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    Posting a day late... it's now 9 days and counting folks... Time to start digging out your maps and planning your "dirt road" excursions before the weekend of 5th/6th March...

    fnvn2zstdq49.jpg
  • m1xm0d3
    m1xm0d3 Posts: 1,576 Member
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    Uugh after suffering several gravel section flats, looking at that photo makes me cringe. Surely body weight has an impact of puncture resistance. Me being 200+ lbs I bet tortures tire much more than the pro's 50 lbs less.

    I've got my 10yr old daughter both days this weekend, no sitter, so my outdoor rides may be quite short, but I will do what I can. Probably on the MTB as well unless I swap out the trainer tire tonight or tomorrow AM.
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    submission thread now open guys... feel free to add a short "ride report" along with the Strava URL

    for the newcomers to this challenge, it's not like all the other grand tour and winter challenges, where we discourage anything other than "plain data recording" - write a line, a paragraph or half a page about your ride - add a photo if you wish - give us a "feel" for the ride... or the "apres-ride" for that matter.
  • ruthbardell
    ruthbardell Posts: 76 Member
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    Today was completely taken up with rowing. It was my club's (Avon County) head race today. I have rowed in 2 races and spent the rest of the day marshaling. I am running the Bath Two Tunnels 5 k tomorrow, so I may or may not make it out tomorrow.

    Wednesday is looking much more promising. I have the day off work and the bike is booked in for a service, so I shall just cycle the long way home.
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
    edited February 2016
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    special 1-point bonus point for everyone who managed to ride both days of the "flemish weekend"... if you book both days, the bonus point will be awarded on the sunday ride.

    (I know for some of you, it must be difficult to find time with a busy family life to actually ride both days, so it deserves some form of award...)
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    thread now closed - that's all for now, and I'll update the actual standings after a short ride (need to try and stretch my legs after the past 2 days...)
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Sorry for the delay folks... real life, and getting my car ready for its annual MOT inspection kind of ate up yesterday...

    So time for the results of this weekends riding then...

    First up...

    nbxbz65szj41.jpg

    6bqpyd650vbk.png

    Congratulations to our Podium,

    in third place, Graham with the first of a pair of strong rides - 69.7km
    in second place, Clive, venturing outdoors in daylight for a rather hilly looking 74.0km
    and in first place, Jason with 84.6km.

    Great to see people making the effort to get out and ride, even if the weather was stupid-cold or otherwise inclement.



    And so to Sundays event.

    5oc2bqfnbla9.jpg

    8swios3qzre1.png

    And once again, special congratulations to the podium placed riders...

    In third place, Aaron, with a metric Century+ in the bag, 105.0km
    In second Place, Jason, again cracking the metric C+ with 109.1km
    and in first place, with a seriously hard-core Imperial C+ (and a bit!) of 183.3km, Dave (that's not "call me Dave" is it ??)

    Well done to all the people who rode, I decided to award a special bonus point to everyone who rode both days of this weekend, just as an extra little thank-you to all who participated, after all, the challenge is nothing without the people participating - I can put all the effort I want into dreaming up challenges and running fancy logging, but if you lot don't go out and ride, i'm just wasting my time.

    Thank you all for confirming I'm not wasting my time at the moment :)

    Right. Now I suppose I'd better go write a potted history of Tomorrows Challenge - Le Semyn... More Belgian stuff, but this Wednesday we're with the Walloons ;)






  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    Belated Results for Le Samyn

    vn92jz04ky8j.jpg

    ym3zirwvf6ih.png

    congratulations to the podium placed riders...

    In third place, Me, with a wet and sleety 22.6km mainly offroad on the Cyclocross bike
    In second Tom - @TDSeest with 24.1km
    and in first place, putting the rest of us to shame with a ride of 64.0km, Jill @jillyian

    Well done to everyone that rode, and to those who didn't, don't worry - it's a long challenge - plenty of time to make up between now and October!

    Okay... This weekend features one of my favourite races of the year - the Strade Bianche... As this featured in the past couple of years of "classics challenge" i'm giving it "honorary full-classic" standing - so the points start at 25, and go down to 15th place - PLUS, there are additional "bonus" points which will be mentioned in the "blurb" i'll attach to the Submissions Thread. See you in Chianti-Shire folks...
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    Spot Prizes For the Strade Bianche

    - if you post a photo that shows your bike on a unmetalled road with proof that it was that days ride then it may just get an extra point.

    - if you complete your challenge ride on a "L'Eroica" compliant bike (http://www.eroica-ciclismo.it/documents/regolamento_eng.pdf for the rules) and post a photo to prove it, you'll get another 5 points.

    - and just for the hell of it - post a picture of your post-ride recovery bottle/glass of Chianti or Italian Birra and you can have yet another point!

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