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2015 MFP Grand Tour Challenge - SIgnup and Discussion Thread...

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  • anviljenkins
    anviljenkins Posts: 562 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Let's see if this took, weird I changed my profile pic back to the 302 picture.
  • Bram61
    Bram61 Posts: 69 Member
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    I'm missing for two weeks of Le Tour so probably better to be out. I'll be looking out for La Vuelta though. Thanks Mark.
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    anviljenkins wrote: »
    I'm in, would like to keep my number if I can :-)

    Bill - to be honest, numbers are a little "fluid" at the moment - one or two riders are giving LeTour a miss (probably to prepare for LaVuelta) so one of two of the riders near the top of the leaderboard in the Giro may beed to move teams etc. to try and balance things out. However, I always issue a fresh set of Dossards for every challenge, it's just part of the service ;)


  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    Bram61 wrote: »
    I'm missing for two weeks of Le Tour so probably better to be out. I'll be looking out for La Vuelta though. Thanks Mark.

    Fair enough Bram - Look forward to seeing you for the Spanish leg of the Triple.


  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    wesleepuntilthesungoesdown wrote: »
    in :drinker:
    verdemujer wrote: »
    In :smile:
    KitTheRoadie wrote: »
    In for miles and smiles! :-)
    Dave2041 wrote: »
    In of course :smiley:
    phytogurl wrote: »
    I'm in :)
    steffenson wrote: »
    Count me in!

    Excellent - I've dropped you all into the sheet - need to do a little number crunching to decide teams etc. but you're certainly on the rosta...


  • anviljenkins
    anviljenkins Posts: 562 Member
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    Well the "302" I had for the last go round ?? That was the number I was hoping to keep, but maybe I do not understand how they are derived :-). It will be all good anyway :-).
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    anviljenkins wrote: »
    Well the "302" I had for the last go round ?? That was the number I was hoping to keep, but maybe I do not understand how they are derived :-). It will be all good anyway :-).

    It's reasonably simple Bill, within reason I try and keep the people who have participated in a prior version of one of the challenges on the same number... By Priority it'd be

    1) Same number as LAST YEARS version of this challenge - so if Clive was 303 in last Years TdF challenge but 305 in this years Giro, he'd be riding 303

    2) failing that, if you didn't ride the challenge last year, then you'd get the same number as your most recent challenge... which would put you on #302 again (unless someone had already bagged that spot from last year...)

    both of those rules are basically to make it as simple as possible to get the dossards produced. If someone complies with #1 (like mine always does - i'm #309 while-ever the challenges are being run, owners perks!) then it's a simple "copy" from 2014 to 2015 and takes a couple of seconds. If someone changes number it's a bit more complex and involves altering a layer within the appropriate Photoshop file. IF someone keeps the same Number, but is keeping it from another tour, then it's yet another layer to alter (the "bar" at the bottom of the dossard has to change colour and text).

    3) Occasionally someone will get whatever place I decided was appropriate to "balance out" the teams distances a bit based on "form" from prior rides... that's the bit where it gets complicated, and sometimes rules 1 and 2 have to be bent / ignored to get the balance as good as I can manage.

    4) Newcomers get to fill in the gaps, and get a "generic" dossard based on the location quoted in their strava. Occasionally, a regular will mention that "Hey, I live in America, but i'm English / Canadian / Martian / Sufferlandrian" and I'll do a bit of a "easter egg" version with a tweaked flag...

    My favourite tweak of all though is the "his and hers" versions of the Dossard for CentralCaliCycling and MrsCentralCaliCycling... Though, Kupes "inverted 313" is a close run thing, as are the "Yorkshire/Lancashire/Nottingham England" ones :lol:

  • Jakess1971
    Jakess1971 Posts: 1,208 Member
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    Well it's been a better then I could have imagined neck strain recovery so far so I'm now definitely in as long as one of my legs doesn't drop off in the meantime.
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Jakess1971 wrote: »
    Well it's been a better then I could have imagined neck strain recovery so far so I'm now definitely in as long as one of my legs doesn't drop off in the meantime.

    Excellent

    vpejadz7c4z8.gif





  • Frannybobs
    Frannybobs Posts: 741 Member
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    I'm gonna skip this one, I can't guarantee a decent amount of rides, still on Project House Move and that's taking up most of my non-work time (as well as band, choir, church stuff) and I'll only be able to manage commutes - which for the Giro was woeful. It may be that I get more in in July but I can't say for sure, so I'll sit this one out and watch with interest and hopefully be back in the game for La Vuelta :smile: Good luck to all!
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    Frannybobs wrote: »
    I'm gonna skip this one, I can't guarantee a decent amount of rides, still on Project House Move and that's taking up most of my non-work time (as well as band, choir, church stuff) and I'll only be able to manage commutes - which for the Giro was woeful. It may be that I get more in in July but I can't say for sure, so I'll sit this one out and watch with interest and hopefully be back in the game for La Vuelta :smile: Good luck to all!

    No worries Fran - makes sense - you've enough stress going on in your life with a House Move... See you for LaVuelta maybe, if it's all calmed down by then.



  • jillyian
    jillyian Posts: 423 Member
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    You got me right? I am looking forward to this!
    Did I say for the last one, how much fun it was... I don't know how you got these started but it is such a great idea!!!
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    jillyian wrote: »
    You got me right? I am looking forward to this!
    Did I say for the last one, how much fun it was... I don't know how you got these started but it is such a great idea!!!

    Yeah, I got your name in the "pre-registrations" list...

    Hopefully tomorrow i'll get a short "window" between work to be able to actually put up the "official" signup list with the pre-registered people listed out, and the vacancies still available...

    As it stands I've currently 11 spaces (if I can count correctly after a day of editing photographs, I'm a little cross-eyed) - these are either people I've contacted who haven't replied, or who have said "Non, LeTour est pas pour moi cette année" or, who I THINK I've contacted, but MFP blocked my PM's to them, because they suspected me of "spamming" because I sent the same message to around 20 people from the Giro List...

    If you Rode the Giro, and want to be sure to ride the tour, please POST IN THIS THREAD BEFORE TOMORROW MORNING UK TIME and say so, otherwise I can't guarantee you a place...

    No reply so far from

    @rides4sanity
    @ToughMudderAddict
    @domane1
    @anaconda469
    @banshee1013


  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    As to how the challenges got started... well - it was purely a case of me having too much time on my hands one day - I'd been riding in a couple of challenges within the C+ Group, but, well... with the best will in the world, they were rather erm, Boring. 2 teams - imaginatively called team 1 and 2, as you signed up you went on alternate teams, and people just said "I've ridden 6 miles today..." - no logging, no verifying, no chance to see every ones route and do a little virtual exploring using google Streetview... so I started thinking "how can I make this a little less drab. Came up with an idea of something based around the pro cycling calendars - so there's a "spring classics" challenge that's all individual rides rather than teams, the big three tours, we even had our own version of the "worlds" one year... All the "razamataz" that goes with the three tours challenges - the Dossards, the spreadsheet, the prizegiving ceremony and the avatar prize badges for the winners just sort of did a Topsy and "growed and growed"

    my favourites though are still the spring classics, which is why being "hors de combat" this spring really pissed me off...

  • jillyian
    jillyian Posts: 423 Member
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    Well it seems as if this must have definitely taken away the time you had on your hands. :-)
    again, thank you
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    Okay folks - final 11 places are now "open availability" - first come first served...

    Anyone who wants to share this on their newsfeed - feel free to do so...
  • ToughMudderAddict
    ToughMudderAddict Posts: 290 Member
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    Sorry! I've been so busy (camping) the past week, I'd like to join in this challenge as well! My miles will taper the week after the 4th as I have a double century the following weekend (!!) and then if I can get back on the bike after that all will be good lol
  • TheBigYin
    TheBigYin Posts: 5,682 Member
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    woo-hoo - that's 10 places left.
  • verdemujer
    verdemujer Posts: 1,397 Member
    edited June 2015
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    @anaconda469 had a really bad accident a little over a week ago. She's just now getting back on her bike and so she may stay out for LeTour as she's having issues with headaches and stiffness and all that. She really took a header and says her helmet saved her life. If you are in the Move Your @$$ group, she posted pictures and it looked pretty rough. She has started riding again but being cautious. Healing is pretty important is what I told her.


    Update: Her most recent post at that group says she's still thinking about riding the Le Tour so maybe we'll see her here soon.
  • banshee1013
    banshee1013 Posts: 125 Member
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    I'm SO in :)

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