Reflecting on my riding over the last 12 months, I've realised its been a great year! My highlights include:
- completing the Wild Wales Challenge
- doing my first Time Trial (and being gobsmacked at coming first out of the women)
- riding the Sa Colobra climb in Majorca
- setting up some women's rides to encourage more girls into cycling, and seeing them all loving it and going on to become fitter and faster 🙂
So what are your highlights from 2012? The one's that make you smile when you remember 🙂
Nice riding Sue. Here's mine:
The week with Riviera Bike
The always-on rides arranged by my mates in the collective
Riding with Martin and becky and seeing Becky's riding develop
I finally rolled down the slab in Holford Green!
Not drowning when riding the Kiaren Path
Laps of the Nevis red trail with uplift
got on a road bike at the end of march out of shape and knackered by a 20m ride
did the 106m dartmoor classic in 7h45 at the end of june and raised nearly £3000 for our local Neonatal unit.
Rode Scotland Coast to Coast with a couple of mates back in August. An amazing 5 days.
All the times I've been over to Herts to see Jedi and co.
Short, local rides around the Tring/Ashridge are during which I've discovered some beautiful trails that I'm looking forward to seeing in Summer.
Lots of great mtb memories (Les Arcs, Snowdon days, perfect Penmanchno mornings, afternoons on the Carneddi and cheeky hours spent DHing up around Mynydd Llandygai), but the big change for me has been taking to the road. The mileage, weather changes and vistas one can grab in a couple of hours in Snowdonia are truly awesome. 😀
Passportes Du Soleil. Epic trip with awsome riding and views.
Maxx exposure. Took over an hour off the year before time. Happy 🙂
My MTB highlights were going on a skills course with Jedi and then riding Snowdon for the first time, having lived in Wales all my life I had never been up Snowdon before. My road cycling highlight was doing the Wild Wales Challenge. (And completing it 😀 )
The week I spent on the road bike in Spain with some good friends.
Looking forward to next years trip very much.
2012 was amazing in so many ways. learned snowboarding, rode loads bmx and mtb too and met so many awesome people, some who have become close friends.
Glencoe ski-lifts through to Fort William and then back using the WHW, on a glorious warm sunny day - probably the only day this year I've not worn my waterproof shorts...
Completing the Kielder 100 and in under 12 hours - enjoyed it from start to finish (apart from the 3 punctures) but the climb out of Newcastleton was particularly memorable for being so much better than last year.
Other than that it was a great snowy ride above Threshfield in Jan, Wenslydale in June, exploring Grizedale and Walna Scar in July and a night ride around Clumber Park in October that have been the highlights.
Riding snowdon for the first time, mondraker/exmoor enduro and riding gawton (in particular Egypt) in the dry back in may - was a novelty! Had a good year, lots of riding in Wales, loads of trips up to Dartmoor (lustleigh side), plenty locally too, new trails found, old ones brought back to life. Lots planned for next year, lakes, hebden bridge, quantocks, a few gravity enduros and snowdon again.
Not dying at megavalanche
being Jedi'd
Getting a group of friends all of whom were total newbies riding more and more this year and getting them round coed y brenin without mishap and then getting them asking when are we going back.
Not riding the stuff I enjoy most this year but it has been good out on the bikes.
Finding awesome friends and having loads of fun on my bike! Also finding the best Indian restaurant ever
Great riding everyone ... and some inspiration for next year!
jam bo - that's fantastic 🙂 Well done you!
Riding the 7 Stanes with my two boys.
taking the jump on every lap of both Bikefests....
discovering a new kind of fun on the bike with a like-minded bunch of idiots.
MTBing I have 3...
1) Week with White Room in the alps. "just" a holiday, but a bloody brilliant one. Could almost have been tailor-fit for me.
No Fuss Endurance Downhill at Fort William- 2nd year for me, but first with a big bike. Love this thing, wouldn't miss it, it's kind of mad but there's nothing else like it. Pretty happy with my performance too, made it into the top quarter which is damn good for me.
Also No Fuss, the Dudes of Hazzard Enduro. Trashed my bike, crashed my brains out, got so frozen on the practice day it took a week to get all the feeling back in my fingers... Fantastic 😆 I had a disasterous but massively enjoyable race, can't wait to get back and ride the trails again. Just, not in November.
But it's been a good year- got a road bike, did a ton of riding, good times with my mates whatever flavour of bikes it was.
Getting Jedi'd and the subsequent changes in my riding (my first time hitting a downslope cleanly was a magical feeling).
Swooping through the forest section at Penmachno on the edge of control in August.
Breakfasting up on DOA at Whinlatter on a beautiful crisp morning in February.
Moments of proper 'flow' on local, familiar singletrack.
The first ride on my newly-built BFe in the spring.
Five days in northern France on gravel, on a Fargo, with good friends and lashings of wine.
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It was the last time we had dry ground, back in October.
Passing the club's ramp test when I was untrained which resulted in me making the race squad and getting coaching.
Going from 4th cat to 2nd cat in my first season of racing.
Getting into a break of 8 riders in a race, going onto place 3rd, missing 2nd by a centimetre (have never been both so happy and disappointed in one go!)
Loads of other achievements this year, was a great year 8)
Been really lucky this year. Two weeks in Les Arcs (with added goodness in Tignes and La Rosiere), a few days in the Sierra Nevada, countless weekends away to brilliant UK spots. That all made up for the rubbish weather and consequently very little local riding in my favourite Mendips trails.
Sadly finished the year a couple of weeks ago by going over the bars and cracking some ribs. Very scared about rolling down anything again - a good excuse for a trip to see Jedi next year I reckon!
2012 feels a bit of a let down after 2011 and I did ride 10,800km.
On the road I cycled in The Alps including 2 ascents of Alpe d'Huez one of which was from the back end as will be seen in 2013 TdF.
Off road I managed an overnighter every month and I did enjoy the Bearbones 200 event in mid Wales in October. I also managed about 2km cycling in Bhutan.
Big plans for 2013 so hopefully more to report.
*Edit - A weeks touring in France, Belgium, Luxembourg & Germany sleeping rough was most excellent.
My highlights are just riding my bikes.After years of racing/training and all those base levels to get ready for the season.Its nice just to ride your bikes for the sheer hell of it as many times a week as you like or not, no goals no challenges.Happy riding everybody. 🙂
Ben Lawers traverse - 7 munros on a perfect summers day except it was March!
Bike rafting in May in Aviemore.
Dreish and Mayar on a hot Spring day
Riding from Ambleside to Keswick on some blindingly good cheeky trails
Cheeky ride up on Fairfield Horseshoe in the snow on a stunning midweek day in December
Mallorca on the Fargo - always good!
Getting blown to hell on Ben Chonzie by gale force winds
Eating ice cream with good friends on a glorious autumn day after a classic Ullock Pike ride.
Another one for not dying on the Mega and qualifying sufficiently well to get a mass start race.
Low point the bloody weather, will it ever end 🙁
Completing the Liverpool-Chester-Liverpool 90 mile challenge.
Was a great ride with many people pushing their limits! Plus nice ladies on road bikes!Always a nice sight!
My 5 year old little girl riding the easy 3 mile loop at Sherwood Pines.
Watching my non-sporty 9 year old start to finally gain some confidence on a bike, and riding a lap of Carsington reservoir.
Using my Ice Spikers for the first time at the beginning of the year when the towpath commute turned to sheet ice
Finishing a snowy audax ride in November and seeing one of the tandems with a dead pheasant strapped to the pannier rack - post ride recovery?
for me its getting into biking, bought my 1st bike in april a norco six three 2007... love doing the local descents and trails, and just yesterday placing my order for my 1st brand new bike rocky mountain altitude 50... looking forward to alot more riding and more suitable riding equipment 🙂
My highlights were the LeJog I rode in July, and the West Highland Way in a day, which was in May.
Rode the col de joux plane several times, the alpe, the col de la ramaz and just about spewed on the col du corbier.
Great stuff!
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My highlight of 2012 has to be my week in the Alps in July, my first time there, with 2 days riding down the trails on Les Deux Alpes on our xc bikes amongst all the DH lads! It was about the only time this year that I got to ride a dry, dusty trail! That week was also my road biking highlight, as we climbed Alpe D'Huez, and the Col du Galibier.
+ Wales Coast to Coast ont' MTB
+ First ever podium at Bristol Oktoberfest
+ averaging 4 rides a week for the year
– The weather
– Burnout/lost mojo in the spring
Coming last in MACavalanche (Perhaps I beat Jelly Baby -not sure but who cares) brilliant weather and fantastic weekend!
Riding down from Roches de Naye in Montreaux off road in the summer 2000 meter descent with a bit of everything followed by a swim in lac Leman 😀 Ah summer
Due to the weather I did lots of rides on the roadbike & the ride that stood out was the "ride with brad" sportive.On the mountainbike we got a sunny day in the dales.
Rangers pass, Snowdon, February.
Puerto Soller tracks, Majorca, September
Gisburn Post Xmas ride.
Surviving a week in Morzine. On Hardtails 😯