2014 MFP Classics Challenge - Discussion
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Accidentally posted my ride results in *this* thread and couldn't figure out how to delete it. I've moved it to its proper place.0
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Results for the fourth race challenge are now in...
g]
Gent Wevelgem
- cyclenut64, with 130.0km, an interesting looking "lollypop" route which I'm looking forward to having a closer look at via Google Streetview in a few idle minutes...
- Me to be honest, I decided to get stuck into the bonus points this week, as I wasn't sure that my knee was going to hold up under a longer distance. Still - in fairness, it's my first metric century of the year (well, 107.4km), so I shouldn't be too down on it.
- Kupe 90.1km - again making the best of his Antipodean weather. Jealous - Me? - you bet I am
Some fantastic ride reports and photo's - I have to confess I'm rather fond of Clive's video/map reporting approach - though I'm not 100% convinced I'd be prepared to ride for 4+ hours with a small tellytubby balanced on my skid-lid.
I've included the overall column in the leaderboard - good to see that the spot prizes aren't skewing the results too badly, as the distance and points top three are the same people...
Once Again, congratulations to everyone who managed to get out for a ride - and to the ones who missed for whatever reason, there's still plenty of time to catch up - plenty of weekends left
See you all on Sunday for the Ronde van Vlaanderen for more beer and frites :drinker:0 -
Top effort by all... I'm pleased with 6th place for this challenge! Onwards and upwards for the next one
I have to confess I'm rather fond of Clive's video/map reporting approach...
You put me onto the Kinomap site mate
You wouldn't know I had a camera on my lid...
Much :laugh:
Told you it was a bit of a 'Heath-Robinson' installation affair :laugh:
Sorry; my helmet is rather dirty :blushing: :laugh: :huh:... though I'm not 100% convinced I'd be prepared to ride for 4+ hours with a small tellytubby balanced on my skid-lid.
The battery only lasts circa 2 hours, so without a sizeable 'Cafe' break half way, I'd be scuppered :blushing:0 -
I've had a little experiement with something similar Clive - I've got the SVC200 that you mentioned once IIRC, and the inbuilt display is on the LH side as the camera faces front, so it ideally needs to be on the other side of the lid, and TBH the spesh Propero II is a bit exposed on the shell front, so if I did do the ziptie trick, I reckon it'd have to be on the old Giro that I use on the MTB.
Oh, and just as an aside - there was another "still image" from my video capture that I originally intended putting in my report, but never got around to fixing the spherical aberation etc. but it's here now...
I thought I may stop for a "frites break" mid ride (I was starving for some reason) but a) the chippy was shut, and b) I doubt they'd have had any mayo anyway...
Perhaps it's not QUITE the chippy to take the kids to...0 -
- cyclenut64, with 130.0km, an interesting looking "lollypop" route which I'm looking forward to having a closer look at via Google Streetview in a few idle minutes...
Truth be told, I went looking for the 10% grade and realized that when I finally arrived that I was 40 miles from home, I took the shortest ride back. At mile 60 I was dead tired (not enough sleep night before), last 20 was a killer.0 -
I am ready, just hope the weather co-operates :grumble:
Sorry to hear of your hail stones... Ouch!
The coming Sunday (6 April) should be just rain LOL!0 -
Post Ride Provisions - Check...
got to love my decent nearly local Off-Licence - www.bierhuis.co.uk.0 -
Post Ride Provisions - Check...
got to love my decent nearly local Off-Licence - www.bierhuis.co.uk.
Are they going to last 'til Sunday though... That is the question
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considering they're all somewhere near as strong as the Duvel iirc. they'd better last until at least June...
they did have a couple of "Trippels" in the shop, but I decided against it.
Orvel's 6.2% - " Trappist beer hoppy smell and extra dry taste"
Affligem - 6.8% - "Dark Golden abbey beer with a light hoppy character and a clean finish"
Kasteel Blonde 7.0% - "Strong blonde abbey style beer"0 -
Oh - I'll drop this in here as well - in case anyone hasn't spotted it in the entries thread (and to stop Clive replying into a closed thread...
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Ronde van Vlaanderen
Thread will open, as per usual around noon tomorrow (5th April 2014 BST)
Bonus Points as Follows:
In Ride Bonus - 1 point for 500m of ascent, 2 points for 1000m, 3 Points for 1500m or above.
Snack Bonus - 1 point for Waffles OR Belgian Chocolate (eat both if you want, but there's only 1 point for it...)
Post Ride Recovery Drink - 1 point for any GENUINE Belgian beer... so, Hoegaarden, Leffe, Duvel or any fancy trappist stuff you can find... I reserve the right to withold points if someone posts "wifebeater", or award extra if someone gets a really exotic one (think 2 for "dubbels" and 3 for "trippels")!
Nothing for Pavé this week - I'm saving that one for Next Week.
And once again I'm rolling out the "Billy No Mates" bonus - 1 point extra for anyone who's riding solo... extra kudos to the poor benighted souls out in the freezing conditions for 4-5 hours with only their Garmin and that irritating creak from the rear mudguard for company smile0 -
I might need to cast my net further afield. My local supermarket had a whole 2 Belgian beers to choose from, and one of them was that weird fruity stuff that gives me heartburn.
Thats an impressive selection there, no mistake.0 -
if all else fails - bierhuis.co.uk - they do mail-order, though it may be a bit short notice for this week 0
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I used to work in Ossett, if thats not too random a fact for you. I dont recall the shop, but it looks like a treasure trove of real / artisan brews.
I feel another train crash picture heading in my direction :blushing:0 -
it's in the little mini-60's precinct bit behind the bus station - and to be honest, the three types I bought were pretty much the only ones I'd tried before (other than Duvel of course, but that's nearly as common as Leffe or Hoegarden these days - even Asda and Morrisons stock it!)
And as to the "train wreck" picture - this one's my thread, and if anyone posts it, I'll just delete it - Moderatorship hath its privelidges 0 -
Results for the fifth race challenge are now in...
Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) - harksy, with 79.6km, the longest ride in quite a close-run competition this week. Sounds like pretty much everything consipired against him in getting a ride at all, so It's doubly impressive. - Me Another shorter than my usual ride (73.5km), as I was carrying the aftermath of my knee-problems. - BigG59 - 72.6km - some amazingly close distances this week
In fact, all the top 6 people rode within 6.5miles of each other - I've known clubruns that have a larger distance discrepancy than that - and we're all over the globe, not from the same town!
As Always, congratulations to everyone who managed to get out for a ride - and to the ones who missed for whatever reason, there's some time to catch up - plenty of weekends left
See you all on Sunday for the Paris Roubaix - don't forget the double-wrap on the 'bar tape and your thickest Chamois 0 -
Paris Roubaix Spot Prize details as follows...Photo Bonuses
Pave
1pt for "Pseudo Pave" - dirt roads/block paving/smooth surfaced stone setts or textured concrete
2pts for "Real" Pave, but it MUST be the genuine article, as that's the whole deal with Paris-Roubaix
just post the picture, I'll decide which category it fits into
Moulin
1pt for either a modern windfarm tower or wind-pump tower
2pts for a former Windmill now converted to residence or other use (probably sans mill-blades in this case)
3pts for the real thing - a full working (or visually complete looking) traditional windmill
again, just post the picture, I'll decide which category it fits into
Post Ride Face
and one "just for fun" - some of the most powerful images from the Paris-Roubaix have been of the faces of the riders at the end of the ride. So, if you're feeling daring, post a "selfie" as you get home from the ride - muddy face and bad "helmet hair" optional, but to be encouraged. 2pts if you do post one, 3 points for the person I decide looks most authentically shattered!
hint:
Supplementary Bonuses
1 point for the Recovery Drink - pretty much any kind of french "Biere" or Vin Rouge is acceptable. One point for either.
1 point only for your choice of...
Any French Patisserie (including brioche etc.) in ride or post ride.
Croissants (presumably as a pre-ride breakfast)
Any Baguette related sandwich action - either as a cafebreak, post-ride refuel - or even old-school bikie style cut into bitesized morsels and wrapped in aluminium foil then stuffed in your shirt-pockets :laugh:
Eat all three if you do a big enough ride, but you're only likely to get credit for one of 'em...0 -
I have a baseball game Sunday so I'll try to squeeze in a post-game ride to avoid the DNR...0
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Anyone who's struggling to find a Windmill might find this useful...
http://www.windmillworld.com/
(yes, I know - there really IS a website for pretty much everything, isn't there... now I just need to see if there's a www.cobblefinder.com or something similar :laugh:)0 -
In Johannesburg, South Africa. Going to do my best even a short on so there is no DNS. Going to struggle
With the photos though.0 -
Results for the Sixth race challenge are now in...
2014_Ride6_Results by The Big Yin, on Flickr
(larger image available on https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_big_yin/13889385313/)
Paris Roubaix - A clear win this week from KitTheRoadie, who again participated in his local Audax ("Dustman Dave's Doddle) and completed 157.0km. Chapeau! - cyclenut64 with 121.7km, a great ride report and quite a few "spot point" photo's to boot. - harksy 108.3km - seems that century rides were the order of the day today, with the top 5 all hitting metrics (and Chris actually being within a cough-and-a-spit of an imperial).
Notable mentions to BigG59, who bled for us, and indeterminate who was seem sporting the best/worst example of helmet hair i've seen in a long time... I think it's only fair however that the Selfie of the week goes to BigG59's wounded elbow.
As Always, congratulations to everyone who managed to get out for a ride - and to the ones who missed for whatever reason, there's some time to catch up - still 4 rides remaining
See you all on Sunday in Maastricht for the Amstel Gold - and don't forget, it's the "busy week" coming up..
20/04/2014 - 23/04/2014 - Fleche Wallonne
27/04/2014 - Liege Bastogne Liege
before the Summer Lay-Off and the Grand Tour Challenges starting up.0 -
Wehey!! :happy: :blushing: It's an honour to stand on the top step! It makes up for all the 'races' I've had and will have to DNS this year!
Thanks as always goes to Mark for organising a great set of events, and I know this one meant a lot to him and his pa so for me it is even more special. :drinker:
I really wanted to hit that imperial century but I was extending the ride back to where I was staying, I was knackered and dehydrated, I just couldn't face that extra 2.5 miles! Sad I know but with my family calling and a hot bath on the go I had to forego it in this instance! Defo next year if I get to do it again...
Some great rides out there again people! Always a pleasure seeing other peoples rides, photos and fun! :happy:
Probably won't see you out there this Sunday so ride safe and keep it real!0 -
TBY I have a future classics option day suggestion, now I've been looking at the weather for this nice long weekend we have ahead of us, Easter Friday beautiful sunshine, Saturday sunny intervals, Sunday classics day pissing it down, Monday ... don't know yet but sods law says it'll be nice lol. I was thinking of doing a nice century ride but if I have a choice of doing it on a sunny day or rainy day call me crazy but I'd rather do it on the nicer day, any chance that future classics might give us a day option to submit an entry? For one weather wise it's advantageous and also less likely to clash with people's family or other 'life' commitments, given a choice I'd do Friday as a submission, this might give others a heads up on what I've done but personally I see this Classics Challenge more about the ride and spirit of the classics (and bonus points) then a win really. 0
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TBY I have a future classics option day suggestion, now I've been looking at the weather for this nice long weekend we have ahead of us, Easter Friday beautiful sunshine, Saturday sunny intervals, Sunday classics day pissing it down, Monday ... don't know yet but sods law says it'll be nice lol. I was thinking of doing a nice century ride but if I have a choice of doing it on a sunny day or rainy day call me crazy but I'd rather do it on the nicer day, any chance that future classics might give us a day option to submit an entry? For one weather wise it's advantageous and also less likely to clash with people's family or other 'life' commitments, given a choice I'd do Friday as a submission, this might give others a heads up on what I've done but personally I see this Classics Challenge more about the ride and spirit of the classics (and bonus points) then a win really.
To be honest, I'm certainly not changing it for this year - we're over half way through now. When I originally came up with the idea, it crossed my mind to allow people to pick either the saturday or sunday as their nominated "ride day" but decided that part of the gritty appeal of the classics for me WAS the fixed "perform on the given day" nature of the races, whatever the weather. Also, of course, most of the post-ride spot prizes are designed such that you sit and eat/drink them while watching the race on telly after your ride.
If, and it's a big if (organising this is quite a commitment), we run it next year, then I may well allow people to submit rides from the previous day to the race - though there MAY be a caveat that this is ONLY allowed if the ride is on (or near) the actual parcours of the race. This would actually allow me to get over to belgium and ride a couple of the pre-race sportifs :laugh:
Of course, if I don't run these things next year, if anyone else chooses to organise something, then... their challenge, their rules...0 -
I can see what your going for so that's fair enough, it's just a personal preference, as it's slinging it down *even worse then what it said yesterday* I'll be favouring Friday as a decent ride out but will still do something for Sunday, need to catch up my V classics after all too! 0
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Well - on the upside, looks like the weather forecast has improved somewhat from earlier in the week...
but on the downside, I've just tried 3 separate pikey supermarkets in the last couple of days, and not a sign of stroopwaffels anywhere :sad:
Dutch beer - ditto - plenty of "Dutch Origin, but brewed in the UK (Tadcaster most likely)" (Carslberg :sick: )
And couldn't find any Limburger anywhere for the truly authentic stinky-cheese sandwich after the ride, but at least I found a pack of Gouda -cheese on toast it is then :laugh:
Anyhoo - swapped to the "summer wheels" now, did a shakedown ride yesterday - a nice steady 75km towards the Velobici challenge - may go for another loosener this afternoon, seems a shame not to take advantage before tomorrows winds ramp up a bit...0 -
DNS for me today! :sad:0
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DNS for me yesterday too
, only just got back from Sheffield, Sunday was the only day I couldn't get a ride in, grrrr lol, on a week I topped the MFP milage table too!, working Wed but will get in a decent ride for that before work and next Sundays gonna be hit n miss for me too, not been a classic classic season really.... anyhow going for a Velo classics catchup later though and I'll enjoy reading the ride reports for Sunday and kudos for those that made it 0 -
I was half expecting a few DNS's with it being the Bank Holiday weekend tbh, I'll have to close the entries thread lunchtime tomorrow, as I'll need a bit of time to get wednesday's ride writeup in place prior to the race...0
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Provisional Results for the Seventh race challenge are now in...
2014_Ride7_Results by The Big Yin, on Flickr
(larger image available on https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_big_yin/13987513573/)
Amstel Gold - Coming with a late surge, our winner this week was cyclenut64 with an excellent ride of 134.5km. Hopefully he'll get to upload a few photos at some point, where I'll be able to award any applicable spot-prize points as well. Chapeau! - Me. 110.0km on a "mixed weather" day where I was awfully glad of my "flandrian best" Castelli Gabba and Nanotechs. - katozdad 106.8km - another excellent metric century rides slotted in between traditional Easter festivities.
Well done to everyone who managed to fit a ride in this weekend - hope you've paced yourself for the rest of the week - We're already gearing up for the three passes of the Mur de Huy tomorrow - hence the slightly hurried pace of this weeks announcements - I wanted to get each ride closed off before the next started :laugh:
As Always, congratulations to everyone who managed to get out for a ride - and to the ones who missed for whatever reason, there's some time to catch up - still 3 rides remaining
See you all on Wednesday in Binche for the Fleche Wallonne, and hopefully also on Sunday in Liege before the Summer Lay-Off and the Grand Tour Challenges starting up.0 -
Nice work people; especially those on the Podium! Top Effort!
I thought I was going to 'sneak a 3rd' and I would've done too, if it 'wasn't for those meddling kids...'
http://youtu.be/0_C2HJvtRDY 0
