2016 MFP Classics Challenge - Ride Logging Thread
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logged to this point - any more, or is 5 riders the total for this one ??
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02/03/2016 - Le Samyn - DNR0
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2016 Classics Challenge
14/02/2016 Trofeo-Laigueglia: 37.0km 326m; https://www.strava.com/activities/493549373
27/02/2916 Omloop het Nieuwsblad: 28.5km 347m; https://www.strava.com/activities/503674547
28/02/2016 K-B-K: 35.0km, 544m; https://www.strava.com/activities/504792306
02/03/2016 Le Samyn: 14.1km, 184m; https://www.strava.com/activities/507279933
Doctor in the morning so I had to drive to work, but that gave me opportunity to get last in the woods after work. And that's what I did. Beautiful afternoon, light wind, bright blue skies and warm (67F!). Made suffering in the dirt not half bad. But I knew it was too good to be true, how could you have such a great day without something untoward happening? Survived the ride, cleaned a section I'd never cleaned before, cleaned another section I'd always walked a second time, went home and cut the tip of my thumb off. I liked the riding so much better.0 -
okay folks - that's the cut-off for submissions to Le Samyn. Results to follow in the discussion thread, and watch for the Write-up on this weekends ride - the Strade Bianche...
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Not actually part of the “monuments” of the sport, this is a relative newcomer – founded in 2007 as the “Monte Paschi Eroica” ( 2007 , 2008 ) and “Montepaschi Strade Bianche” ( 2009 , 2010 , 2011 ) but it’s possibly one of the most spectacularly beautiful races to imagine (given good weather of course)
It is characterized by the innovative presence on the trail of some sectors of roads, dirt roads typical of the countryside of Tuscany , which makes it a unique event in Italy and beyond.
It is no coincidence that the race combines two aspects of the famous “northern classics” – the long tiring stretches of rough/unmade roads of the Paris Roubaix and the numerous and repeated hard “walls” or short steep climbs of the Ronde van Vlaanderen. For these reasons, the riders likely to be in contention for the final victory are usually the toughest, strongest and most resilient – which is what makes this a true classic in the making.
The start is in Gaiole in Chianti and the epilogue in the famous Piazza del Campo in Siena .
http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/StradeBianche/en/?lang=en&t=01
Last 51km of the 2012 race video (you can speak Italian can’t you?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhFiPffEZsM
And, as with many of the spring classics, there is an amateur event that we mere mortals can aspire to join in with – in this case it’s L’Eroica. A little more specialised than most of the modern “sportifs” – in that there are specific entry criteria – not for you, but for your bike… These are they (from the official rules and regs document):
Your vintage bicycle must have all the following characteristics:
• road racing bicycle, built before 1987 (not cyclo cross or time trial bike)
• steel frame (the only aluminum frame bikes permitted are ALAN or VITUS with either screwed or glued joints)
• gear shift levers on the down tube of the frame (exceptionally, only pre-1980 bar-end gear shifts are allowed)
• pedals with toe clips and fitted straps (quick release pedals are not allowed, except Cinelli M71 pedals)
• the passage of brake cable outside the handlebars
• New bicycles with steel frames can be used but they must be assembled with vintage components (gear levers, handlebars, pedals, etc).
• The adjustment of the rear wheel gears to suit the difficulty of the route is permitted.
You get the idea. This ride is for vintage bikes only. You can just about get away with aluminium but carbon? No chance. And if you were to show up with Di2 you’d have everyone else in town choking on their espresso and biscotti.
Scoring for this challenge
Each "race" will accumulate "MFP Points" (a bit like UCI points, but nothing to do with Fat Pat and Corkscrew Hein.)
"Winner" of the race is the person who rides the furthest in the 24 hours that the race is run (or the weekend, should the race be on saturday/sunday), in your own time-zone, in a single ride - if you ride to and from work, pick the longest of the two as I'm only accepting a single ride in a given day!
For the Overall Competition, For Each Ride, Points Will be Awarded as Follows
1st - 25 pts
2nd - 20 pts
3rd - 16 pts
4th - 12 pts
5th - 11 pts
6th - 10 pts
7th - 9 pts
8th - 8 pts
9th - 7 pts
10th - 6 pts
11th - 5 pts
12th - 4 pts
13th - 3 pts
14th - 2 pts
15th - 1 pts
A Individual and Overall Table will be maintained, and hopefully results published within a couple of days of the ride completing (time constraints and my being around to "do the math" notwithstanding).
Hopefully, this will stop the whole competition stagnating if someone goes out on the first race day, rides a 600km Brevet and is so far ahead of anyone else that they simply cannot be caught... It worked pretty well last year.
One further feature that people seemd to enjoy last year, which I'll be continuing with is the "spot prize" points themed around certain of the races...
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!
Think that's all I need to say, apart from simply...
vai, Vai, VAI !!!0 -
14/02/2016 - Trofeo-Laigueglia - 50.5km - 306m - https://www.strava.com/activities/493320711
27/02/2016 - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - 74.0km - 1409m - https://www.strava.com/activities/503453486/
28/02/2016 - Kuurne-Brussels-Kurne - 35.1km - 438m - https://www.strava.com/activities/504497558
02/03/2016 - Le Samyn - DNR
05/03/2016 - Strade Bianche - 40.2km - 404m - https://www.strava.com/activities/509103646 - Unmetalled road piccies on Strava/Instagram
Totals: 199.8km - 2557m
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28/01/2016- my shortest real ride for the year so far, but as i was on a borrowed bike with platform pedals and i had to head off to work mid morning i am just happy to have gotten outside.
19.5km 128 meters
https://www.strava.com/activities/504852983
02/03/2016 Le Samyn - 63 km - 713 m -https://www.strava.com/activities/507138814
beautiful day with some exploring of one area we have not been before
05/03/2016 - Strade Bianche 36.8 km - 184 m - https://www.strava.com/activities/509308436
no unmetalled road, just a easy ride today before work and a couple days of rain0 -
6/3/2016 - Strade Bianche - 100.5km - 702m - https://www.strava.com/activities/509641236
Found a loop through a reserve of unmetalled road, which was a bonus. Pretty good day in Perth for a ride albeit there is a strong easterly blowing. So got caught with head wind no matter which direction I was traveling. Last 5km hurt, on the edge a bonk. Didn't eat correctly as it was a unplanned metric.
Bonus pic of a waterfall on the way
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6/3/2016 - Strade Bianche - DNR0
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Strade Bianche Ride - https://www.strava.com/activities/509891084 - 19.1km.
Fully intended a 30-40km half-and-half road-trail loop this morning, but I wasn't allowing for the weather and past couple of days worth of rain/snow. Within a couple of Km's I was on my first track, (photo from Instagram, linked in the above strava url), which rapidly became my first "lake" - about 100m worth of really rather unpleasantly cold, murky water. At it's worst I think it was about 1cm over the top of the front brake disk - certainly well over hub and feet depth. 300m further, and another, shorter but slightly deeper one meant that I was now well and truly soaked below the shins. Decided to press on for a while, just to try and make it worthwhile the hassle of getting dressed up for the ride. Started to warm up a bit after 10km, but just before I had to "make the calculation" (tm S.Kelly) as to if I'd extend the ride or simply do a short loop, the weather decided for me - first hailstones, then snow - I'm supposed to be careful in bad weather according to the doc's, so that was sadly my decision made for me. Headed home for another low scoring round.
And, as I type this, the suns broken through, snow's gone, and the temperatures just climbed about 5° in the space of 15 minutes. Yeah, very funny!
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13/02/2016 - Trofeo-Laigueglia - 104.2km - 1054m https://www.strava.com/activities/492312839
27/02/2016 - Omloop het Nieuwsblad - 84.6km - 535m https://www.strava.com/activities/503716004
28/02/2016 - Kuurne-Brussels-Kurne - 109.1km - 780m https://www.strava.com/activities/504647290
02/03/2016 - Le Samyn - 14km - 60m - https://www.strava.com/activities/506906310
06/03/2016 - Strade Bianche - DNR
Too many birthday & wedding social stuff getting in the way
Totals: 311.9km & 2383m climbed0 -
booked to this point...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1USBZpOdSTdQu0Ia9K3Nh1nwot8aj1I7p8bxlfm_N9JE/edit?usp=sharing0 -
Strade Bianche https://www.strava.com/activities/509153156 35.5 km 170m
Photo of unmetalled road linked in Strava. This was taken in a forest park that I cycle past most days but have never found the time to venture into. As it turns out, it is a very small forest park and so most of the ride was on my usual potholed tarmac.0 -
6/3/16 Strade Bianchi 981.km 369m https://www.strava.com/activities/5100779960
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booked to this point...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1USBZpOdSTdQu0Ia9K3Nh1nwot8aj1I7p8bxlfm_N9JE/edit?usp=sharing
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Seemed to have got the MTB chainring straight enough to not throw the chain at all. Rear derailleur needs adjustment though as it skipped while under load several times. Also seems like there is some play in the thumb shifter. Did some road, gravel road and gravel trail riding. Short ride though... photos tagged in Strava session.
14/02/2016 - Trofeo-Laigueglia - 16.2km - 86m - https://www.strava.com/activities/493570948
27/02/2016 - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - 25.91km - 96m - https://www.strava.com/activities/503860642
28/02/2016 - Kuurne-Brussels-Kurne - 25.91km - 94m - https://www.strava.com/activities/505061785
02/03/2016 - Le Samyn - DNR
06/03/2016 - Strade Bianche - 12.39km - 42m - https://www.strava.com/activities/5104397210 -
06/03/2016 - Strade Bianchi - 35.3km - 75m - https://www.strava.com/activities/510563457
Photo of bike, road and Chianti posted to Strava although I'm not sure any of the photos qualify...0 -
Seemed to have got the MTB chainring straight enough to not throw the chain at all. Rear derailleur needs adjustment though as it skipped while under load several times. Also seems like there is some play in the thumb shifter. Did some road, gravel road and gravel trail riding. Short ride though... photos tagged in Strava session.
14/02/2016 - Trofeo-Laigueglia - 16.2km - 86m - https://www.strava.com/activities/493570948
27/02/2016 - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - 25.91km - 96m - https://www.strava.com/activities/503860642
28/02/2016 - Kuurne-Brussels-Kurne - 25.91km - 94m - https://www.strava.com/activities/505061785
02/03/2016 - Le Samyn - DNR
06/03/2016 - Strade Bianche - 12.39km - 42m - https://www.strava.com/activities/510439721
Logged - and photo's are prefect example of the sterrati...
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06/03/2016 - Strade Bianchi - 35.3km - 75m - https://www.strava.com/activities/510563457
Photo of bike, road and Chianti posted to Strava although I'm not sure any of the photos qualify...
again, absolutely Perfetto - 2 points, and the only person who's posted a recovery drink so far
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booked to this point...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1USBZpOdSTdQu0Ia9K3Nh1nwot8aj1I7p8bxlfm_N9JE/edit?usp=sharing
I've also "strava stalked" everyone else registered, and there's quite a few of you who are in with a shout of some good point scoring, IF you manage to book your ride report in. Shame to miss out on some substantial points...
Tick-Tock guys...
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06/03/2016 Strade Bianchi: 35.8km, 284m; https://www.strava.com/activities/510358165
Woke Saturday morning to a general feeling of ennui, body upset with me for the abuse I heaped on it Friday afternoon. Did not want to get out and ride, I just wanted to have another cup of coffee and chill. "But the Classics! The hard men of Spring! You need to HTFU right now" I thought. Then I realized that our captain had relaxed the rules, I could ride on Sunday! So that's what I did. Sunday dawned grey, overcast and breezy, but not too chilly; perfect weather to ride in the forest. Loaded up the bike grumbling about how I need a bike rack for the CRV and hit the road. The best thing about starting "early" (yes, 9am is early, most of the group rides are done by then) is that I was alone. Only 1 other car in the lot at the trailhead but not a soul out there except for the herd of elk that crossed the road ahead of me - kind of like a train crossing, only furry. 2+hours later I rolled back into the trailhead beat up from the trails and road, but not a single ounce of pavement under my wheels the entire ride. Good ride. And back after noon so I wouldn't feel to badly about having a beer with lunch!
High waters, dirt road.
And it just keeps going up. Got to earn your turn.
Post ride refreshment.0 -
booked to this point...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1USBZpOdSTdQu0Ia9K3Nh1nwot8aj1I7p8bxlfm_N9JE/edit?usp=sharing
And that's it folks - thread will now close - watch out for the official result announcements in the discussion thread.
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19.03.2016 Milano-Sanremo
Milan – San Remo (Italian: Milano–Sanremo), "the Spring classic" ("la classica di Primavera"), is an annual cycle race between - you guessed it - Milan and Sanremo. It is the longest professional one-day race at 298 km. The first was in 1907, when Lucien Petit-Breton won. Today it is one of the 'Monuments' of European cycling, and results contribute towards the UCI World Ranking; until 2007 it was part of the UCI ProTour. From 1999 to 2005, a women's race, the Primavera Rosa was organised alongside the men's but at a shorter distance.
Milan – San Remo is often called the sprinters' classic while its sister Italian race the Giro di Lombardia held in autumn is the climbers' classic.
In the early years the main difficulty was the Passo del Turchino, but when cycling became more professional the climb was too far from the finish to be decisive. In 1960 the Poggio, a few kilometres before the finish, was introduced. In 1982 the Cipressa, near Imperia was added. The other hills are the 'capi', the Capo Mele, Capo Berta and Capo Cervo. From 2008 on the organisers added 'Le Manie' as well, between the Turchino and the 'capi'. The 'Turchino' and the 'Manie' are longer climbs, while 'capi', Cipressa and Poggio are rather short. The climbs are neither steep nor long for professional cyclists. As such, many sprinters are capable of keeping with the main peloton on these climbs, and therefore the race most often ends in a mass sprint.
The most successful rider was Eddy Merckx; he won seven times (record of victories in one single classic race). In recent times, the most successful rider has been Erik Zabel who won four times and lost 2004 to Óscar Freire only because he lifted his arms to celebrate too early. It was the opening race of the UCI Road World Cup series until the series was replaced by the UCI ProTour in 2005.
Being the longest professional one-day race, Milan – San Remo is an unusual test of endurance early in the season. It is won often not by the fastest sprinter, but one best prepared early. The Cipressa and Poggio have foiled many sprinters who could not stay with the front group.
Despite its flat course and long finishing straight, sprinters teams have been foiled from time-to-time by a determined attack on the last hills. Good examples include Laurent Jalabert and Maurizio Fondriest escaping in 1995 and staying away to the finish. In 2003, Paolo Bettini attacked with several riders who all stayed away and in 2006 Filippo Pozzato and Alessandro Ballan attacked on the last hill and stayed away. The fastest Milan – San Remo over the usual course was in 1990. Gianni Bugno set 6h 25 m 06 seconds to win by 4 seconds over Rolf Gölz. This was an average of 45.8kmh (28.45 mph). In 2006, the peloton came close with a 6h 29 m 41s, won by Filippo Pozzato. At the other extreme of the race Is the 1910 edition, which was won in a time of 12h 24 m, in a snowstorm.
http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/MilanoSanremo/en/?lang=en&t=01
My favourite memory of this race was the absolutely MENTAL descent of the poggio by Sean Kelly to chase down Moreno Argentin -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL3jQmkj3uI
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Okay folks - its reminder time again... don't forget, the next installment of this challenge commences 19th March 2016 - that's this Saturday coming, your local time. Once again, rides made either on the Saturday or Sunday count for the challenge, provided they're booked into this thread by a reasonable hour on Monday 21st.
And, just for sh!ts and giggles, there's spot prizes available again...
possibilities this week
- First one is related to the nickname "La Primavera" - so 1 bonus point for a mid-ride photo showing "signs of spring" (daffodils/snowdrops/catkins/newborn lambs etc. - NOT your MTB's suspension
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- Second, basically because I reckon if you're going out for 7-8 hours on the bike, you deserve a bit of a treat... 1 point for either a "bottle of Peroni / Nice glass of Italian Red post-ride recovery drink shot" OR a "cafe break shot with coffee/cakes/biscotti as appropriate" taken mid-ride.
Images should by preference have EXIF data present to verify timestamps, and the mid-ride photos should be geotagged to check they match up with the ride in time and location. For those of us using Strava, I'd suggest using a smartphone and Instagram, as you can actually link the two accounts, and the geotagging should actually show the location of the photo-call on your Strava route-trace...
- Third - and this is the big 5 pointer (so damned difficult to get) - is time related. The Milan Sanremo is the longest distance race in the series, and it's a long time in the saddle even for the pro's. So - here we go - anyone who spends more "moving time" (i.e. not counting cafe breaks, photo-calls or stopping mid ride for 7 hours for a sleep!) in their single ride gets a 5 point bonus. Obviously, I can only declare the points scored on this AFTER the pro's have crossed the line and registered their time...
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Official Winning time of this years Primavera... 6h54m45s - so that's the "target time" for the 5 point bonus folks...
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19/03/2016 - La Primavera - 34.2km - 76m - https://www.strava.com/activities/521368434
Well, I'll get things started with my short ride. It was a cold, cloudy, blustery day here with 10 to 13 MPH winds out of the north west. The temperature was 50F. This is the type of day where I would normally not ride, but tomorrow promised to be much worse. I began my ride with two layers on, but it became quickly evident that I was going to get cold with the cutting wind. Fortunately, I had brought along my rain coat, which has the ability to cut the winds to nothing. My first stop was at the Richards Brick company, where they had a nice big blooming Dogwood tree out front. I paused, put on my rain coat, and took a few photos of the beautiful pink, dark red and white Dogwood blooms. Next, I rode on the trail on my normal ride, looking for some Daffodil blooms. I finally located some Daffodil's near the trail by the NO Nelson School building. I paused for some quick photos. Next, I rode on into downtown Edwardsville, where I met my favorite wife at Sacred Grounds where I enjoyed a hot cup of tea (plum and cinnamon) as I don't drink coffee. Photos are provided by my lovely wife. Afterwards, we walked next door to the Madison County Courthouse where we got closer up photos of the Dogwoods and a tree that I could not identify. After that, I flew back down the hill and then back up the trail to my car. All in all, I'm glad I rode.
It looks like the Strava link above geocoded my photos for location. Additional details for the ride can be found at http://cyclemeter.com/6a08acd34d9daf7a/Cycle-20160319-1346
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19/3/2015 - Milan - San Remo - 106.6km - 550m - 4h00s52 - https://www.strava.com/activities/521536333
Picture in strava link or on Instagram
Beautiful autumn day for a long ride. Very little breeze which would later turn in a windy easterly. It was an early start with the sun just having risen. Short 8km down to the beach which was a it of a struggle with the breathing. This cleared up as soon as I warmed the engine a little more and got going.
First stretch of the ride was next to the ocean and as alway it was a pleasure it was then inland for a bit with the majority of the ride along the south bank of the Swan river. I extended the loop to the second bridge crossing and then ran the length down to just past the WACA (those cricket fans will be in the know). Crossed over onto the north bank and rode back in with an extension. It was then back home with a easy loop around Herdsman parade. Over all a very satisfying ride.
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14/02/2016 - Trofeo-Laigueglia - 50.5km - 306m - https://www.strava.com/activities/493320711
27/02/2016 - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad - 74.0km - 1409m - https://www.strava.com/activities/503453486/
28/02/2016 - Kuurne-Brussels-Kurne - 35.1km - 438m - https://www.strava.com/activities/504497558
02/03/2016 - Le Samyn - DNR
05/03/2016 - Strade Bianche - 40.2km - 404m - https://www.strava.com/activities/509103646 - Unmetalled road piccies on Strava/Instagram
20/03/2016 - Milan San Remo - 41.7km - 262m - https://www.strava.com/activities/521798967 - No bonuses
Totals: 241.5km - 2819m0 -
20/3/2016 Milan SanRemo - https://www.strava.com/activities/522057296, 2h53m20s moving time (no bonus), 66.9km
Would have been longer, but I had a visitation from the P******* fairy around km30. At which point I discovered that my glue had dried in the tube, the "non-glue" emergency stickers weren't sticky anymore, and I had no alternative but to use the one spare inner-tube I was carrying - at which point the prospect of continuing further away from home and ending up with a 40+km walk or ride with a flat tyre held little attraction - especially as I'd also forgotten my cycling wallet and had no cash/cards on me either! So, I basically took the most direct route home I could from that point (other than re-tracing my prior route - which would have been a complete PITA)
Anyhow, I can't really grumble - the weather was great, I felt like I was actually firing on at least 6 of 8 cylinders, and even the puncture happened right outside the village hall in Pollington, a lovely little village, with a big bench outside the Village Hall that I could sit on and mend my puncture, and chat to the local village "character" - must have been 120 if he was a day old, not a tooth in his head, flat cap seemingly nailed in place - he was fascinated by the bike, the wierd narrow tyres, and when I inflated the tyre with a CO2 cartridge I thought his eyes would pop out!
As I say, I Rode back the direct (but still quite scenic) way, and managed to stop for a quick "springtime" proof shot...
(my phone is a pile of shite and I can't get it to take photos and upload to instagram while out on the road for some season - it just crashes
- so this one's from the trusty "travel camera" - my Canon G11 compact - geotagging c/o lightroom.)
No "in ride" refreshments I'm afraid - as I say, I forgot my bloody wallet...
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20/3/2016 Milan SanRemo - DNS0
This discussion has been closed.