#threespeedoct

#threespeedoct2019 Week One, Ride 2: Saturday 28 September It all started off good, leaving the house mid-afternoon. A beautiful early fall day, sun and 58F/15C when I departed to do some #threespeederrands on the #raleighsuperbe . I felt almost overdressed with my thick sweater. I made some copies on Hawthorne.

When I came out I heard the crack o' thunder and looked up to a dark sky. Checking the weather, I see a blob of red heading our way, National Weather Service warning of hail and lightning. I rush off to my next destino, seeing if I can outrun. After a brief visit to Portland Bicycle Emporium the skies opened up. A big flash of lighting and crack of thunder was almost directly overhead, so I rushed to an awning in a parking garage to wait it out. A few other cylists had the same idea. The rain and hail came, and then lessened. The temp dropped a good 10 degrees F. Now I feel underdressed!

I headed over to SE Foster and decided to check out Foster Outdoor Whaddya know, a nice wool scarf for sale? To think, I thought September was too early for "scarf weather", but what do I know?

#threespeedoct2019 Week One, Ride One, Friday 27 Sept

Three Speed October 2019 is coming! (Sept 27-Nov 3) 

 Hello, friends of Three Speeds! After taking a break for 2018, the Three Speed October Challenge is on for 2019!

The premise is simple: Ride your three speed during the month of October! Here are the basic stipulations of this challenge:

Ride a three speed bicycle

Three times a week

At least three miles (5 km) each trip

For at least three weeks during the duration of the challenge

During a five-week period that centers around the month of October

And those of you who successfully complete the challenge will qualify to get something! If you are not already a member, successful completion of the challenge will qualify for a discounted SoTS membership.

For 2019, the Three Speed October Challenge will run from Friday September 27th to Sunday November 3rd. All times local.

You can find all the tl;dr rules here.

While the basics of the event remain the same, there are some tweaks and revisions to the 2019 Challenge:

Starting with the 2019 challenge, you do not have to follow a traditional calendar week. It just has to be a seven day period.  For example, if you started your first ride on a Wednesday, your week ends on the following Tuesday. But most importantly, weeks cannot overlap. So if you start one week on a Wednesday, your next “week” can’t start until at least the following Wednesday. You just need to fill up three non-overlapping “weeks” during the duration of the challenge. (And yes, there can be gaps. The weeks don’t have to butt up against each other.) The first full week you can do is Friday September 27 through Thursday October 3rd. The last full week you can do is Monday October 28th through Sunday November 3rd.

The final weekend of the challenge, Friday November 1st through Sunday November 3rd, is designated as a Make-Up Weekend. During this “make up weekend” can only do one ride and one ride only to make up for a missed one for any previous “biffed” week. So you’ll still need to ride two rides during a previous week. Please note you can still do part of a regular week during this time too, if your final week happens during November 1-3.

In the past I allowed the possibility of doing two rides in a day. Since I made the calendar more flexible, I’m taking that away. So, you need to ride three separate and distinct trips in a week, each ride on a different day.

The prize pack for this year will consist of my new Three Speed October design that you see above. There are stickers, and there will be patches! These will be awarded to those who successfully complete the challenge. (Please note that there is a fee for getting the stickers/patches.)

And starting in 2019, there will be some bonus prizes! What can you do to get these bonus prizes? Well, I’ll be awarding one for each of the following:

Longest single ride. This one is pretty straightforward. (Must be contained to a 24 hour period.) If two or more people tie, see tie-breakers in item four below.

Best write up of your ride(s). Make them interesting!

Best photo. Must include in photo a bike you rode. If you are posting pics here to tumbr, or to Instagram/flickr, tag them with #threespeedoct2019 and make sure I know about them!

Most bikes used during the challenge. The maximum amount you can do is nine, one for each ride. (Sorry, you can’t switch out bikes during a ride to get more bikes in.) If two or more people tie, tiebreakers will include, in this order: “Naked” hub gear bikes will win over any bike with an attached derailleur (like a Brompton.) (Note: this does not include derailleurs used strictly as a chain tensioner.) Pure three speed hub gear bikes will win over four or five speed hubs. Age of bikes, i.e. older bikes win over newer.

If you are mailing in your Challenge Reports, a prize for most interesting package!

And what is the prize pack for 2019? Take a gander at this years design (above)! It will be available in both patch and sticker form. These prize packs will cost between $5 and $20, depending.

*****

Okay! You want to do this? Please fill out the Google Form here. Once you fill in this form, you’ll get the submission forms emailed to you! These Submission Forms will be sent after October 4, 2019.

The deadline for reporting your rides for the Challenge is 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Friday November 15 2019.

Don’t want to fill out online forms? You can submit reports via Post! If you want to do this, please get in touch first. You can email me at [email protected] Or send me a letter or postcard to:

SHAWN GRANTON

P O BOX 14185

PORTLAND OR 97293

Errands by #threespeed today. The Three Speed October Challenge starts tomorrow! Hope you are ready, and can participate. (Beyond full details available via link in profile.) And it has come to light that I may be wearing the same shirt as @targetsalad today. (Or maybe it’s @caffeinated_wheelman ?)😯

Three Speed October 2019 starts TOMORROW. Now, let’s talk about “the calendar”.

Hello, friends of Three Speeds! The Three Speed October Challenge starts tomorrow, Friday September 27. The challenge will go on until Sunday November 3rd.

Here are the basic stipulations of this challenge:

Ride a three speed bicycle

Three times a week

At least three miles (5 km) each trip

For at least three weeks during the duration of the challenge

During a five-week period that centers…