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It took me all day... but finally got the file(s) to play ball... so much for having a break...
Done a massive write-up in the upload description on Strava:
https://www.strava.com/activities/3763413321
Also raising money for Doctors Without Borders, as chosen by one of the residents of the street who helped me out and put up with my freewheel for 23 hours:
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Fully recorded on Android Strava app, but much more inaccurate, losing me about 2,500m of gain... I'll be disgusted if that's the version I have to post.
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Ended up Trenching it. Unfortunately, the Wahoo decided to crash and not recover the data at rep 333. Hoping to recover it somehow when I've had a good sleep. I restarted the ride and the average height for each rep was about 11.38m... did 1,001 (1 for good luck at the end) which gives me 11,380m of gain. First time a cobbled street has been Everest & Trenched, I am pretty sure, and now I know why... I'll post some data and the full ride report into here too when I'm physically able too. Took 23 hours exactly.5am-4am. Singlespeed Trek Checkpoint ALR5 in 24/20 gearing - I think I must have averaged about 60rpm hahhaha
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And some more...
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Some more photos...
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Strava link: http://strava.com/activities/3412598172
More photos / stories on my Instagram: http://instagram.com/josephxkendrick
A little shorter than expected. Here’s why… I wanted to do a 500km ‘flat’ ride in Norway. So I got investigating on the map and found a river valley north-east of Oslo that gave me a 500km+ route with only 2,500m of gain - sounded perfect. Naturally, for a ride that will last ~24 hours I set off at about 1pm. Getting out of Oslo was a lot easier than I expected thanks to Komoot giving me turn-by-turn navigation. Most of the ups & downs were here.
Things got hairy when I turned onto the E16, which was essentially a motorway with no cycling allowed on the other side of the junction I came in on. Unimaginable traffic on a small 2-lane road. Tons of trucks/lorries and people in race-mode having just come off of the motorway with a higher speed limit. I jumped onto the bike lanes through the towns whenever I could. There was hectic crosswind too which was a real challenge to manage when oncoming trucks disturbed the air even more. Some sketchy moments. And yes, I know, I’m terrible at route planning but I just kinda go with the flow. Although part of the reason for this route choice was because I wanted to ride a fully unclosed loop, as is tradition with me, and I went out of my way to make it happen - literally.
I was so thankful when I got off of this section and started making my way along the edge of valley. This is where it was going to flatten out and be super fast, right? Wrong. Insane headwind. Despite there being no wind forecast the last time I checked. Ouch. (Check the photos for the picture of the flag blowing stiffly in the wind... in the wrong direction for me!) I struggled to maintain the same average I had negotiating hills and exiting the city. I pretty much just laid down the hammer for 100km as I headed north. I wanted to reach a store before it closed at 11pm. I got there with 40 minutes to go as I saw the Sun set and full moon rise. Stunning. That ’sprint’ impressed myself with the determination to push on. Reminded me of my headwind day in Western Australia when I had to catch a roadhouse before it closed.
I devoured a loaf of bread, two jars of salsa, two packs of chocolate chip cookies and orangeade in a race against the checkout girl closing the store. I was shivering at this point due to the wind chill, the night coming in and being too stubborn to stop and put some layers on because I just wanted to get to the shop. I put on my base layer, dad fleece, fleece neck buff, winter cycling cap, thermal leggings and, for the first time ever, I actually put on my winter lobster cycling gloves/mitts. WOW. They made my hands feel like they were in a toaster! I reckon I could have been completely naked apart from these gloves and I would have felt fine. Temperatures for the town I was in were set to drop to -2C in a few hours. My original plan was to do another 50km northwards before turning back down the other side of the valley. But the fact I was already shivering and the prospect of more headwinds meant I decided to cut the ride short and turn back early (11pm).
There was now a small tailwind and I was at the highest point of the ride. The road on the other side of the valley was a slightly larger road but because it was late there was not much traffic at all. Smashing it down open and empty big dark roads is one of my favourite things about night riding - especially when it feels 100 times easier than the last 5 hours of riding you were doing. The moon was directly in front of me. Behind, the faint blue sky seemed to remain all night. I guess this is what happens when you’re that far north in May. It was incredibly interesting and energising.
On this section, I decided when I got nearer to the finish I’d add on an extra 100km long-cut home so I still do a 500km ride. I liked that I was ‘overcoming’ my previous mindset and decision. Sometimes you can convince yourself to take the easy way out and fighting that feels great. This was my intentions for hours. The early 5am sunrise gave me even more impetus. It was actually light an hour before that! However, despite the sky now being lit with fresh rays, this was actually the coldest point of the ride. 2C at 6am. Toes were feeling it - and I wasn’t feeling my toes.
The ride got undulating as I made my way out of the targeted valley. Eventually I got to a town which was only ~40km from Oslo. This is where I stopped for another big food break. A loaf of bread and two tubs of hummus. I also topped up with water. I also planned out my extra loop on Komoot to add 100km to the ride instead of going directly home. It was going to be quite hilly due to the area I was now in but it is what it is. However, when I got up from my break, my right knee had decided to quit. It must have cooled down and given up working any more. I could barely turn the pedals at low cadence on climbs. Ironically, this wouldn’t have been an issue on a fixed gear because the cranks ease your legs through the dead spot which means you can still ride if you have a poorly leg. But at the moment I’m riding singlespeed so my climbing became more of a limp. Despite this, I had convinced myself I’d do the bonus 100km so was sticking to the new route regardless.
After about 15km of riding like this I came to the realisation that it wasn’t going to work out - especially as I knew there would be more climbing coming up and potentially some steep ones. The brute force power and technique wasn’t there anymore. I took the ‘easy’ way out and rode the final 35km directly home - albeit making sure I didn’t touch my outbound route!
Coming back into the city was rough. I was riding super slow, because I couldn’t go any faster due to the knee, and was being sent up and down curbs due to the bike lanes following the pavements/sidewalks. More abuse to the joints. I was, however, pleasantly surprised upon making it back into the city centre to realise how relatively traffic-free it is. It feels like a sanctuary, a bubble. Lovely city to cycle around if you don’t like lots of cars around.
All-in-all, a pretty epic and magical ride for 800mm wide MTB bars, no TT/aerobars, 40mm dedicated gravel tyres (okay, there was like 2km of actual gravel), mostly single-digit temperatures and only one gear. I was intending and expecting to have an 'easy' slow ride, so climbing some Dutch mountains definitely wasn't on the menu but I got it done anyway. Interestingly (or not) this was actually the 'easiest' overnight ride I've ever done. This is probably down to the night length, full moon in my face and interesting lighting. I didn't once feel tired, sleepy or counting down the minutes until sunrise. It might not have been 500km but I think I made up for the extra 100km with my determination and courage. Proud of myself to be determined to do the extra 100km. Also proud of myself to realise it would have been dangerous and just limped home for the four hundo. You always learn something on these sort of rides. Maybe we’ll get 500km next time…
Animal species spotted: 3 - White-tailed deer. 2 - Red squirrel. 2 - Prowling farm cats. 1 - Badger (roadkill - RIP). 1 - Person standing at the side of the road in a random place at 3am with their arms straight up the air (was actually just a street sign… tripping mind).
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I finally got round to editing the second part (of three) of my challenge to make £1,000 from doing deliveries in London by bicycle in a single calendar week.
--> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUcRwPa4iMQ
It was over 1,100km of riding and 97 hours online - but did I make the £1,000? Find out in a couple of months when I get the final part edited lol.
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In Oslo for the next few months :-)
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Can't make it tomorrow. Next year......... oxox
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Part one of the £1000-in-a-week doing deliveries on a bicycle challenge!
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Okay. I'm in this year.
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I'm scared.
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I need to think up a shape that will be grand enough to take a 400km+ ride to draw. 9 hours is not enough artistic sacrifice.
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Got hungry towards the end. Oopsie!
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Guys, just dusted off another silly challenge: Making £1,000 in a calendar week doing deliveries by bicycle.
Rough stats:
1,105km ridden.
94 hours working.
209 deliveries done.
Biggest day: 174km & 15 hours online.
£1,055 made.
Fixed gear.
UberEats & Stuart.It was a close one. All came down to the last 5-6 hours on Sunday night to break the 1000 barrier and then I had to do more on top just to seal the deal and have my mind at ease for when the pay statements come in on Tuesday evening. I had to treat this a lot like an ultra race, especially near the beginning. Did not stop moving. Only ate when I ended up near a suitable shop and was waiting for a pick-up. It was pretty much non-stop with only two distinct periods throughout the week where there was a ~1 hour gap between requests. Got home at night, cooked, ate, relaxed for about 30 minutes then went to sleep with a short sleep. I could 'chill' a bit more towards the end due to higher bonuses and more requests for the weekend - although I kinda wish I had maybe gone a little bit harder to avoid stress of possibly failing in the final hours. Mainly worked from midday until 1am-ish. Nuts week!
More confirmed details and videos coming soon!
Here's the heat map of the week. Sorry about the straight lines... believe me, they cause me huge physical pain.
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Glad you liked it! Took me yonks to edit! Yeah, it was actually wet for the last 6 or so hours and I definitely didn't take enough clothes with me. Great finish to test the mental determination though. :D
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On Halloween this year, I decided I'd do another ~24 hour shift signed into UberEats accepting and completing every delivery request and not going offline at all. The FAQs on their website say that London operates from 7am-4am everyday so I thought I'd sign-in at 7am and go until the next morning. It turned out that they were not correct and it indeed still is a 24-hour service. So, naturally, I did 25 hours.
Check out how it all unfolded, how many deliveries I did, how much I earned and the ups & downs along the way in the video I put together about it. I was also wearing a spooky costume throughout too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBQupeo7c2w
The videos from the Australia fixed gear loop are coming soon. I have a big idea for next year if some stars align too...
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I just picked up a Trek Checkpoint ALR5 for dirt cheap on eBay. The plan is to use this for doing deliveries in Oslo over winter. The idea was to find a frame capable of wide tyres, disc brakes and fixed gear for optimal grip and stopping power. Apparently it gets quite cold, wet, snowy and icy there - actually snowed there today! It's an added benefit that this frame could also be used for gear-assisted adventures too (boring).
Obviously, I didn't bother researching actual compatible wheels or hubs or anything like that... that was going to all find a way to work itself out after the fact. However, upon commencing research it appears a 142x12 thru axle hub with disc brake and fixed gear capabilities is a hard thing to come by. Who would've thunk it!?
Paul seem to manufacture the exact thing I require but the price tag is pretty hefty (£145). This bike is going to probably get pretty abused and roughed up in crappy weather and I only went along with this frame because the eBay auction went by surprisingly uneventfully. I've also never had a bike which did not have a threaded BB shell so this is new territory for me. I will need to look into cranks too, I guess! Let's not even get started on what rims or brakes to go for... Unintentionally, this may turn out to be the nicest bike I've ever put together due to limitations thanks to my strange specifications.
From the Paul website it seems that other people have built up rear disc brake fixed bikes as they surely aren't making this product just for a laugh. Does anyone have any examples? Is there another hub manufacturer out there that would also work? I also have decide between 700c and 650b. Apparently this frame can fit 49x700 but will I be wanting more? I think I need to look into studded tyre options and sizes those come in. Any recommendations welcome!
Photo 1: The frame I just won
Photo 2: Paul fixed / disc hub
Photo 3: A Trek Checkpoint set-up for single-speed (inspo) -
I felt like testing out my fixed gear endurance again so booked a last minute ferry to France. I left at midnight from London to catch an 8:15 ferry from Portsmouth to Caen. I basically rode the A3 dual carriageway the entire way. It was fabulous until a huge rain front came in and I got absolutely drenched with about 3 hours to go on the 136km ride. Oh well, it kept me moving and I arrived with 2 hours to spare.
I was hoping to get some good sleep and to dry off on the 6-hour boat trip but the air conditioning made it seem like a hellish impossibility. I found some reclining seats and zoned out. Before I knew it, I could see France and my clothes had wicked dry (ish). Straight off the boat, I met a friend and we did a 100km loop along the coast before finally getting some proper sleep. I spent the next day just dillydallying around Caen and eating lots of food in preparation for an actual long ride attempt from Caen to Dunkirk (~400km) starting the next day.
Starting at midday, I left Caen with an epic tailwind and lovely roads. Things got weird at the massive bridge (Pont de Normandie) to Le Havre. First of all, crossing the bridge was petrifying. High winds, a tiny 'bike lane' and motorway-speed trucks coming by. Secondly, I was a bit strange in wanting to stick to the coastline so turned back into the wind westward. This area was also industrial and had tons of trucks. It wasn’t fun. I wasted an amazing amount of time and energy... and then I got a puncture from an awful pothole! I was carrying two spare tubes and to my horror the first one I tried to use was already punctured too. It must have been damaged from transport somehow. After swinging by a Decathlon which was conveniently 1km away from where I punctured, I got back to the beautiful fast roads again and I was into the flow state once more.
However, as I got to Dieppe I got caught in a downpour. I got drenched through. It was almost 10pm and I was 195km in. I found a McDonald’s and hung out there for an hour or so to ‘dry’ and drink Coke. My phone was also stressing me out because it wouldn't consistently charge. This also meant I didn't take many photos or videos and was stuck listening to the same few playlists I had synced offline. I actually could have caught a ferry back to England from here and was in time to get the last one of the day but I had already told myself I was going to do 400km and I didn't want to take the easy way out. I was kinda worrying at this point about the night being too cold and that by starting it soaking wet I'd be asking for trouble. I had already been shivering in the Maccas. As people walked past me, the wind they generated felt like it pierced into my soul with ice. I was carrying an emergency foil blanket so would probably survive.
Once I layered up and got rolling into the dark again, I felt unstoppable. For the first 2 hours after Dieppe, I averaged ~30kmh! I then strategically dodged another heavy rain shower in a bus shelter that popped into my reality just in time. However, by 3am, tiredness and the cold was hitting me. My speed dropped and I found myself stopping more (bad). I also almost fell asleep riding a few times too. I was happy when I finally saw glimmers of the Sun rising on the horizon.
Coming into Calais, I found an open shop and bought more cola, plus a baguette and vegan butter - which I also used the remainder of as chain lube. Almost there, but of course with a wrong turn at the last junction adding ~5km on top! It's never as simple as you think it will be. I was 5.5 hours early for my booked ferry and roughly 22 hours had elapsed since starting the ride, I took a well-deserved nap on some concrete outside the ticket office. It felt like a king mattress after that ordeal.
Upon arriving in Dover, after a short 2 hour crossing and a pretty uncomfortable nap, I began a cheeky 120km ride back home to London. I followed the A2 and then whatever was the straightest road home. It felt endless but I got there eventually.
The big one: http://strava.com/activities/2686523786
Follow along on adventures: http://instagram.com/josephxkendrick
Sometimes I make videos of rides: http://youtube.com/josephxkendrick -
Yessir
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Been Googling this for hours. Still no closer to an answer. Weird thing is I'm pretty sure I remember finding a number about 5 years ago on a previous search. Anyone?
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Richmond Park Rouleurs were hosting an M25 Orbital ride which involved a ~225km loop around London, weaving in & out of the M25. But, only a few days before it was due to go ahead, it was mysteriously cancelled and all information about the ride had vanished from the internet. In my personal historical fashion of doing loops and cancelled rides: we just went ahead and did it anyway!
Four brave souls, Valentina, Michal (also riding fixed), Alex and me, met up at a misty east London park at just-gone 4am to ride out to the nearest section of M25 and begin an anti-clockwise shadowing of this major road. We headed north and commenced the loop near Waltham Cross.
The sunrise was absolutely incredible and it really set the tone for the energy of the ride. We smashed it pretty hard. This was until, inevitably, the directions didn't go quite according to plan. We found ourselves having navigate around gravel footpaths but eventually gave in and actually embraced a grassy one. Nothing like a bit of tracklocross in the morning!
Somewhat stupidly, I had decided to raise my saddle before setting-off. This was because I had been watching video of myself riding and thought my knees looking like they were bending too much. Well, why fix what isn't broken? By about 50km in, my knees were killing me. I returned my saddle to it's previous position but the damage was already done. According to one Strava segment, I averaged 159RPM for 1 minute and 9 seconds. With the overextended leg position, that definitely set me up for some pain for the entirety of the rest of the ride. It also didn't help that I was riding 48/19 which is fine for solo riding when pacing is somewhat irrelevant but when you have to keep up with a vague group pace it might be on a bit of an under-geared side of things.
By the time we were half way around, the temperature was really kicking in. I believe it reached around 31C. The brutality of the heat at least took my mind away from my aching knees - although it didn't help with my speed whatsoever. Quite the opposite. We took a large break in Leatherhead and I took in some high quality nutrition - Doritos, Greggs sausage rolls and 1 litre of Coke. We then ascended to the highest point in the ride at Headley Heath where I managed to 'clip' into some fresh dog poop with my cleats. As I rested my bike down to try and clean off as much as I could I had the misfortune to place my brand new tyres (first ride with them) onto onto piece of dog poop. What a shitty situation.
After a quick and very quiet break we embraced the heat, ploughing down the A25 for a considerable distance. The traffic was regular but not too bad. I was glad to be off it though and heading north again towards Dartford. Did you know there is a free minibus shuttle service for cyclists wishing to use the Dartford Crossing? We took full advantage of it, loading the bikes into the back of the van within about 2 minutes of making the call using the single-purpose phone at the control offices. Remember to pause that Strava app though!
We were in the home straight. Just some Essex hills to conquer and we'll have completed the loop! At this point, my knees had completely given up. Every time I ran into anything vaguely reminiscent of an incline my speed dropped to minimal levels and I watched the other three zoom off ahead. The sandbag life was real with this one! This made what should have been a jubilant final quarter distort into a mentally draining torture as the anguish began to stretch on for longer than it should have. A quick check of the map thankfully confirmed there were only two major roundabouts to go until the finish line... well, not considering the additional 20km to get back home too!
A very testing ride, but these ultra rides always throw something different at you that you don't quite expect and that is the beauty of them.
276km / 172 miles. 2,319m / 7,608ft gain. 16:50 elapsed / 11:40 moving.
The all-important Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/2651545121
There will be a video up from this ride soon. Why not go check out some of my previous fixed gear adventures on my channel? https://www.youtube.com/user/josephxkendrick
What should the next fixed gear loop be around?
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Oh, unless you're talking about the actual Australia loop?
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3,136m / 10,289ft of total gain according to the uploaded file. Take that with a pinch of salt though because recorded on an iPhone!
http://strava.com/activities/2596430593
Was using 48/19 with a 28mm rear. Quite spinny but hadn't done any long rides in a while (this was my longest since finishing Australia) so didn't want to risk it with too big of a gear. Now I've been riding a bit more, it's definitely too spinny of a gear. Gets a bit hectic on descents and the damage from the overspinning probably doesn't outweigh the 'easier' climbing.
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Yeah, strange thing is the Android phone GPS data actually stuck closer to my real position but was a bit more erratic at times (when I uploaded to Strava it seemed to count 1,020ish reps). Although, the upload is purely for the harnessing of the barometric Wahoo data more than my accurate position in the horizontal plane of existence.
Freewheel - yep, I'm going to switch to fixed soon. Got myself a bolt-on cog from VeloSolo which I am excited to try out. Haven't ridden fixed for almost 6 months. Now I have no reason not to!