MFP Cycling Classics Challenge 2013
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Okay - Thread about to open for submissions
Finalised list of Amstel Bonuses...
Dutch Beer - Amstel do sponsor the race, so it's kind of a given. Anything Dutch will do - it's a tough week ahead!
Stroopwaffels - extra kudos (though no extra points) if they're on a proper "Koffie verkeerd" (or "Wrong Coffee" - order a Cafe Latte with a false passport :laugh: )
Patat / Vlaamse Friet - yep chips and mayo. It was always coming at some point :laugh:
or, as an alternative, some form of Cheese Related Action - Edam/Gouda/Limburger or other cheese of Dutch Origin.
No ride related bonuses this week - for once you can just get on the bike and ride, without hunting for Windmills or looking for something that vaguely resembles Pave, or any of the other bloody silly stuff I've been dreaming up recently... Let's all just have a ride "for smiles as well as miles" - something my Dad always nagged me to do more often.0 -
14-04 Amstel Gold Race!
74.6km http://app.strava.com/activities/48691919
Stroopwaffels?? Honestly don't know if this is the real thing - just the closet thing I found that looks like one :bigsmile:
Gouda! Authentic from Holland - my aunt brought it back a few months ago - very handy :happy:
Happy meal!
The drinks photo needs to follow separately... the one I bought was consumed when I got home :explode:
TBY Edit: Distance Entered, 1pt Waffels (close enough!), 1pt Cheese0 -
Here's the ride:
http://app.strava.com/activities/48783254
Just wasn't feeling up to an epic today. Every time you turned south the wind just beat you down...we're under a "High Wind Watch" wind currently 26mph, gusting to 35mph. Some of those gusts nearly stopped me in my tracks!
Here's the post-ride libation, although since it is not even 10am it will be consumed a little later - maybe while I'm finishing taxes.
This was the highest point of my ride. Beautiful day in spite of the winds.
No funny waffles of fries and mayo or Dutch cheese, payday isn't until Thursday so I'm making I with what I have on hand.
TBY Edit: Distance Entered, 1pt Recovery Drink0 -
My Amstel Gold Race..
http://app.strava.com/activities/48733642
Very Windy but stayed dry although the Cross wind almost caught me on the Illies hill today
must be the Scariest descent i have ever done!
But on a plus note the wind did helped with a new Kom
Good Choice on the Cheese but had to go with a Heinney though no Amstel to be found
TBY Edit, Distance Entered, 1pt Cheese, 1pt Recovery Drink0 -
Just too windy for the road bike today (in my opinion, had a couple of scary descents lately which have put me off!) so left it as long as i could and when it was clear that the wind was here to stay for the day i finally opted for my +30LB 29er, good choice in the end! maybe the mileage isn't there but at least i didn't score a DNS, got home in one piece and found a new respect for the road manners of the 29er in high wind. Will opt for this to take me too work when i would normally wimp out i think (seeing as it is my cycle to work scheme bike after all :laugh: )
Mileage = 89.34 miles
only kidding = 19.62 :smokin: <dutch *kitten*
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/297912551
and for the spot prizes, first taste of Amstel, thoughts? Don't think this 6 pack is going to make Monday :drinker:
and for the stroppywafels or whatever they're called? (don't think i'll be buying these again, i'm not a wafer person tbh, if i get one in my ice-cream then its usually thrown straight out :grumble: )
and finally onto the chips and mayo :sick: seriously :indifferent: no thanks, i bought some edam and made a tasty ham & cheese bagel as a requisite pre-ride snack :glasses:
here's hoping for better weather soon, at least it's getting warmer, if we can just get these winds to calm down now. Good riding everyone.
TBY Edit, Distance Entered, 1pt Cheese, 1pt Waffels, 1pt Recovery Drink0 -
DNS here folks - sorry
Don't have an MTB, so sat this one out... Too damn dangerous IMHO!
Looks like the wind is going to be with us most of the week too :sad:
Just looked on AccuWeather and Wednesday's looking like 35km/h winds with 60km/h gusts :sad:
TBY Edit - Here's hoping the forecast fo wednesday's wrong mate - not fancying another epic in that stuff myself0 -
You're all stars - each and every one of you... even you cloggsy mate - I can understand knocking it on the head - my weather was "borderline" at best, and probably 10mph slower winds...
My ride today... http://connect.garmin.com/activity/297725842
83.3km worth of riding sideways leaning on the wind!
Coffee, Waffel, & Edam on Toast before repairing to the pub...
and - my completely, and unashamedly non-qualifying recovery drink
TBY Edit - Distance Added, 1pt Cheese, 1pt Waffels, 0pt (but a lot of pleasure) Drink0 -
Here is my contribution for the Amstel classic - 80.5km
http://app.strava.com/activities/48816625
Route was mainly covered, but the Penistone to Stocksbidge was very exposed with wind coming in strong from my right.
And for the bonus points. We have the Stroopwaffels from Lidl, which my wife has taken a shine to also.
And a bottle of Grolsch. Spent ages in the local Asda sussing the different brands out, since they did not stock Amstel. Not my usual tipple, but the ride made it more acceptable.
TBY Edit - Distance Added, 1pt Waffels, 1pt Drink
And if you'd have rode that route 4 hours earlier, I'd have seen you going the opposite way somewhere near Wintersett :laugh:
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http://connect.garmin.com/activity/298155557
52 km and I am shot....the wind was wicked not to mention the rain. I had high hopes to go another 20 or so but my legs were not happy.
TBY Edit - Distance Added0 -
My Amstel Gold Race, I ended up completing a metric century, with all the wind and the many hills along the way (2306 feet of elevation gain), my legs are shot.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/298166887
I got started a little later than I wanted to because I had a second interview with a potential new employee, yes on Sunday. He asked questions for 2 hours so I think he is really interested. As it turns out it was a good thing I got started late, it warmed up a bit and the snow was gone by the time I got on the road. With all the wind the roads were dry soon after I started. It turned out to be a nice ride, didn’t pre-plan at all just started riding (like TBY suggested), of the 4 hr moving I was 2.75 hr into the wind and only 1.25 hr with the wind but the 1.25 hr was really fun. Stopped mid ride in a tavern to have my Amstel beer.
This morning I put a roast in the oven and slow cooked it most of the day at low temperature. So when I got home it was ready. Just had to hold my breath and cut the cheese.
Yes I picked up some Limburger cheese, interesting fact about the cheese, there is only 1 factory in the all of the States that still produces this smelly cheese and is located in a small town in Wisconsin about an hour drive from my house.
So I cut the cheese, I really expected to be knocked over by the smell but it truly wasn’t as bad as people make it out to be. Yes is smells but much less than my imagination lead me to believe. Now you are wondering did I eat the cheese.
The answer is yes I did, my recovery meal consisted of my 8 hr roast (It was really tender and tasty), some cooked carrots from the roast pan, a salad with the Limburger Cheese I added a light vinegar and oil base dressing and some Pepita’s. Also had some rolls and pineapple and a protean shake. My oldest daughter tried the cheese but disliked it; she is the most adventurous of the three when it comes to trying new things to eat. My other 2 kids complained about the smell as they passed a piece around the table. I must admit the salad was good, I like a strong cheese in my salad, will I ever purchase it again, probably not, and will I eat the remaining cheese, yes. I am going to try it on a hamburger next. I feel some extra kudos is in order for eating the Limburger.
TBY Edit - Distance Added, 1pt Cheese, 1pt Drink, and certainly the classiest use of the food bonuses so far
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I think we were supposed to ride today so here it is....http://app.strava.com/activities/48867483 I sort of did three rides today but they were all contiguous - first the ride from home to the starting area for the slower paced rider training ride - second, the training ride itself (I sweep a group of about 20 riders - lots of chain issues today but no flats!) - third the ride back home which was less ambitious than I originally planned as I just didn't feel sharp today....not sure why but still a good ride of 66 miles and 3000 feet of climbing.
TBY Edit - Distance Added0 -
Disapointed to add a DNS this time around! :frown: No excuses just didn't have the time...
Hope to make up for it next week though...
TBY Edit - No problems, thanks for reporting the DNS, and don't forget there's also the Midweek ride (Fleche Wallone) on Wednesday0 -
Amstel Gold Race Part 2!
Here is my belated recovery drinks :drinker: :drinker:
It's alright if I missed the time-cut, I'm just having so much fun with all these photo taking spot prizes :glasses:
TBY Edit: Seeing as the original disappeared while you were out, I'll make an exception this time 1pt 0 -
And with that, thread closing - mind the doors 0
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Provisional Results for the Sixth section of the Classics Challenge are as Follows:
- Three Rides in one from amiller7x7, no messing about, just out there racking up the Km's - Chapeau!!
- Yet another Century+ ride from cyclenut64 - living up to the group name 
- Me - good to be back on the bike, it may be the only thing at the moment that's keeping me sane.
Honourable mention to Katozdad, frankly an amazing distance in the weather conditions we were having on sunday - all the more impressive when you consider it was on a Hybrid... And As ever well done to everyone who got out there and did a ride - and to those who didn't make it - there's still a few races tto pull back some points.
We're racing mid-week too - Wednesday sees us in Binche, Belgium, for the départ of la Flèche-Wallonnes heading for the finish line at the top of the Mur de Huy.0 -
And the Overall Leaderboard...
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17.04.2013 La Flèche Wallonne
The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne (the Walloon Arrow) is today normally held mid-week between the Amstel Gold Race and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. At one time, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège were run on successive days as "Le Weekend Ardennais"
La Flèche Wallonne was created to boost the sales of a newspaper Les Sports during the 1930s and was first run in 1936. While perhaps not as revered as one of the Classic 'Monuments', the race is widely regarded as a Classic, and featured on the UCI Road World Cup and UCI ProTour. It became part of the UCI World Ranking calendar in 2009.
Like many cycle race events, the course has altered considerably over the years, both in route and length. The event was first run on roads from Tournai to Liège (growing from 236 km to 300 km - its longest ever distance - in 1938), after which Mons became the starting point. From 1948, the race started at Charleroi; from 1960 the event ran in the opposite direction, starting at Liège and finishing at Charleroi (or, from 1965, Marcinelle). Some years have seen the event start and finish in the same place: Verviers (1974–1978) or Huy (1983–1985). From 1986, the race started in Spa and finished in Huy. Since 1990, the race distance has not exceeded 210 km.
Today, the 199.5 km event starts in Charleroi and heads east to Huy, where the riders do three laps of a tough circuit including the steep Mur de Huy (The wall of Huy) climb, with several sections steeper than 15% and up to 26% on one section. The finish is at the top of the Mur after the third ascent.0 -
I'm keeping spot prizes simple this ride, as there's not really been any chance for anyone to pre-prepare and seek out strange foreign foodstuffs...
Snacks - chocolate
Recovery Drink - Any Belgian Beer / Cidre / Other Alcohol.
Ride Photo Bonus - in-keeping with the name La Flèche Wallonne (the Walloon Arrow) - a photo of ANYTHING archery related (a chance to be creative)
Riding Bonus 1pt per 500m of climbing, up to a maximum of 3pts for 1500m or above.
Thread now open for early riders.0 -
Here is my La Flèche Wallonne... Drum roll......
DNS for me
Long day at work got home @ 9, seeing the rain (rained all day actually) I just did not have the motivation to go out.
However it means I have the luxury of working on the spot prizes and I'm now watching the last 15km of the real La Flèche Wallonne :laugh:
I am not any chocolate...
Drum roll again...
Found this finally (I had no idea we do have this here!)
Watch out Liège - Bastogne - Liège!!!
TBY Edit - as i'm feeling extremely generous, I'll bend the rules and let you have the spot prizes this once...0 -
My Fleche Wallonne Challenge Ride...
Ride Log - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299231735 - 83.63km 1013m of ascent. (2 bonus pts)
No Chocolate, No Waffles, No In-ride Archery photographs. Did consider taking a shot of direction arrows on the road, but thought it was a little naff, so decided to forego the bonus there too...
Did manage a "recovery drink" though - a couple of 250ml bottles of "near beer" (2.6%), not Sainsbury's finest moment, but refreshing after a ride, and washed the sandwiches down nicely...
(sandwich included in frame so nobody thinks I'm going off the rails, drinking on an empty stomach on an afternoon)
TBY Edit: distance logged 0pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 0pt Archery Bonus, 1pt Recovery Drink, 2pts Climb Bonus0 -
49.16 of the most scariest treacherous miles i hope to ever complete!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299353981
+50mph gusts and a constant 30mph headwind, rain that was stinging my bottom lip so bad that i had to poke my tongue out to protect it! (first ride with a proper cycling cap so at least my vision was good and my top lip was protected
)
(I was aware of TBY's mileage as he had posted it early on. I had planned on doing the extra miles, but to be honest i was just so glad to get home in one piece that i just let it be what it was :ohwell: )
Photos to follow.
TBY EDITED TO ADD:
Sorry for the late photo entry but i explained to TBY, i'd left my camera in work yesterday, which had a couple of the spot prize photos on it.
Here's my post-morning ride flapjack half covered in Belgium Chocolate.
yum.
After scouting the ride for an "Archery" theme photo, it suddenly dawned on me as i passed the WA centre that it had been staring me in the face all along, i'd forgotten that i pass the Wales Archery Centre almost every day!
(Nice try! :ohwell: )
and finally as i'd left my phone in work yesterday, ive just taken a photo of the empty bottle of Duvel that was thoroughly deserved and needed when i got home yesterday.
TBY Edit: distance logged 1pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 1pt (very... er.... creative) Archery Bonus, 1pt Recovery Drink, 2pts Climb Bonus0 -
Ok so here's my ride!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299357107
T'was a bit blustery out there today!
And a few pics to hopefully pic up some bonus points!
The Castle 'Bow' Bar & Grill...
I think this is a 'yew' tree, in 'ye olde worlde' they used to make 'bows' out of this wood!
Ok so it's not Belgian Beer but I thought I'd go for something slightly different... I am from the South West after all, " I am a Cider drinker" and all that!
Oh and this was my very own "Mur de Huy".... Bike on floor because there were thorns all over the place!
Well I'm happy with that considering the weather conditions...
Thanks TBY and well done everyone for getting out there! And for those that couldn't make it, don't worry there's still Sunday!
TBY Edit: distance logged 0pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 1pt Archery Bonus, 1pt Recovery Drink, 1pts Climb Bonus0 -
17/04/13 - 34.8km - http://app.strava.com/activities/49291991
Archery
After ride brewski :drinker:
TBY Edit: distance logged 0pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 1pt Archery Bonus, 1pt Recovery Drink, 0pts Climb Bonus0 -
http://app.strava.com/activities/49301952
Leffe, Chocolate and the Scott Stable..
twas well apreciated when i got home Wet through & freezing
Think i fell short on the climbing though and no Archery photos
TBY Edit: distance logged 1pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 0pt Archery Bonus, 1pt Recovery Drink, 0pts Climb Bonus0 -
Here's my ride log: http://app.strava.com/activities/49315579
Only managed 13.6 Miles in the 1.5 hours allotted for my lunch break due to the 18 MPH headwind for most of the ride, with 25MPH gusts, one of which literally blew both me and the bike down (I was turning around at the end of the "tail" to head back, when a gust hit me and I was on my back with the bike on top!). However after reading FatDad Slim's account, I feel like a wimp
No arrows or archery stuff on the island - just golf, tennis, and yachting. I thought "too windy for archery" but I would think that would mean too windy for golf too Also, since I'm still at work, there's no beer to be had, but here's my lame attempt to get at least ONE spot point:
Twix and pretzels, the snack of... well, me today
Happy riding, all! See you Sunday.
TBY Edit: distance logged 1pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 0pt Archery Bonus, 0pt Recovery Drink, 0pts Climb Bonus0 -
I agree with you guys... It was tough out there today, must descents were slow with a lot of breaking in case the wind took me out, especially those side gusts.
Here is my ride 54.1miles.
http://app.strava.com/activities/49297643
There is no recovery drink for me tonight, so no bonus there.
Here is the chocolate... Ok, it is a flapjack with a layer of chocolate. I prefer the slow burning (fuller for longer) stuff for my rides.
But I did have a little treat later
And one final detour took me past the Robin Hood in Swinton, nearly stopped off for a pint, but this was a secret ride... Yes, I sneaked out of work (well I do work flexi time and I'm owed some hours), but I haven't told the wife the full extent of my ride. SHHH.
TBY Edit: distance logged 1pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 1pt Archery Bonus, 0pt Recovery Drink, 1pt Climb Bonus0 -
Looks like we had bad weather all around.....hopefully things will improve for Sunday.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299512986
Archery find
Chocolate post rides snack(s)
TBY Edit: distance logged 1pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 1pt Archery Bonus, 0pt Recovery Drink, 0pts Climb Bonus0 -
My Fleche Wallonne Ride,
Windy and wet, didn’t have much time today and combine that with the weather didn’t get very far from home.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/299524999
My only spot prize possibility is a few chocolate Girl Scout cookies
I hope the weather is better on Sunday!
TBY Edit: distance logged 1pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 0pt Archery Bonus, 0pt Recovery Drink, 0pts Climb Bonus0 -
Copied in From the "discussion thread" in case Al doesn't read my message before cut-off time...So for the 17.04.2013 La Flèche Wallonne event
Here are today's rides in 2 parts - the first is a warmup ride and the second a circa 27 mile after work ride with a few others - totals of 10.2 miles and 26.9 miles which sums to 37.1 miles.
http://app.strava.com/activities/49366095
http://app.strava.com/activities/49366134
Thx,
Al Miller
TBY Edit: distance logged 0pt Chocolate, 0pt Waffle, 0pt Archery Bonus, 0pt Recovery Drink, 0pts Climb Bonus - normally I'd have taken just the longer ride, but as the two were pretty much back-to-back, there's no real difference between this and someone's garmin/smartphone needing resetting mid-ride...0 -
TBY
Thanks for correcting my entry for 17 April 2013! I will try to keep the threads straight in the future!
Al M.0
This discussion has been closed.