So with a distinctly underwhelming 2022 just about out the backdoor and all the promise of the unknown 2023 peaking round our respective street corners its time for that most pointless of excercises, the New Year Resolution.......
Here are mine - I've decided that unlike most years when I either don't bother making them at all or screw them up after 24hrs, this year is going to be different.....hahahahahahahahahah whatever anyway, here they are:
1. I'm genuinely going to try to be nicer to people, especially my wife and children. I'm going to do this by listening to what they say rather than presuming I know what they want/think and trying my utmost not to explode with self righteous indignation whenever they don't agree with my entirely reasonable but possibly middle aged male-centric view of the world.
2. I'm going to learn to play the guitar - or rather I'm going to learn how to play very basic guitar sounds from a standing start of zero knowledge. I bought 2 guitars last year (one electric and one acoustic) and somehow managed to not pick them up after the first couple of tries because....well because it was really hard and I kidded myself that scrolling through twitter was more important than actually learning a new skill and having fun.
3. I'm going to cycle to work at least twice a week every week all year - I used to cycle loads and now I don't, its pure lazyness because I have a car and thats bollox quite frankly. Its a 50km round trip over the South Downs and so that should get rid of my xmas excess and then some.
4. I will become a full member of Singletrack - I have been several times before and I think its time I did again.
So over to you lot ....
Sounds somewhat trivial, but spend less time on screens and more in the real world.
I have three kids, all growing up, and I feel time is slipping away for them to be in my life. Innocuous stuff, like going to the snooker club today for an hour with my 16yo lad. Need to get off my backside and do more of this. Need to see my parents more. Keep having reminders that time is short. MIL was told by docs on Xmas eve she probably has 6months left to live. My Dad is 93 and Mum 92, neither enjoy good health.
Ps, last year it was to stop picking my finger nails. Done this since I was 14/15 and. Succeeded, with only two stress wobbles all year.
I aim low, as you can tell.
Man, I got a big list already. 😀
Eat well
Exercise and meditate
Learn music
- learn piano
- learn trumpet
- get better at bass
- buy a cello
Learn Japanese
Get a mountain bike working
Cycle to work regular
Read and listen to music
Go to shows and look at places
Be outside more and look at the view
Do stuff for others
Do a martial art
Do voice work
Learn German,
Start a Systems Engineering MSC,
Run at least two half marathon events.
Get my house to 90% self generated energy.
Read more.
Spend less time scrolling on screens.
Cycle at least one 100km ride per month.
10,000km minimum distance over the year.
* Get back to learning Japanese, which got paused due to the pandemic restricting travel and therefore my motivation. @pondo in case you want a starting point, I highly recommend this article on the Tofugu site.
* Progress my riding to gnarlier terrain than Swinley
Less time on social media
Ride more - incl another time trial and a few audax
Eat healthier
Get off the meds
In no particular order:
* Drink less and lose a bit of weight.
* Go sub-30 hours in my A race ultra in July (this one's not particularly realistic, but sub 33 should be possible...)
* Learn Rust (or maybe Go, not 100% sure yet). Might relearn C beforehand, just because. Use this to change project as I'm getting very bored of the current technology stack I'm using.
* Cook a new recipe / week. My diet's not that bad, but like many (most?) people I end up defaulting to old favourites.
pondo in case you want a starting point, I highly recommend this article on the Tofugu site.
Bookmarked, thank you! 🙂
Move to an area with a local pub I can walk to.
Read more and do a half marathon.
Pleased to say I’m already making good progress on both 👨🎓
@winston make sure you find a local guitar tutor, that'll help with motivation.
I never normally do new years resolutions and this time it won't be any different. However I do try to make improvements masked as not new years resolutions. Things like fewer hours spent on screens alone, more drumming, more biking, more skating, more time in bed with the better half, and more time doing stuff with the kids.
Get down from 89kgs to < 80kgs and get WAY fitter than I currently am by mid May by
a) Going to Gym (joined and started in December), surprised myself in that I'm actually enjoying the gym which I never thought I would.
b) Doing more on Zwift
c) significant Alcohol intake reduction
Survive the Trans Madeira in May and (stretch goal) finish top 50%
(Reason for the previous resolutions)
Do less in work (Will be a struggle as I already do SFA) but should be achievable as I've booked June - August off
- Make good use of 3 months off work 🙂
Decide, based on 3 months off work whether to be more motivated when I go back to work in Sept or else call it a day and retire.
Eat less
Excercise more
Spend less (might be difficult with bathroom and kitchen to do)
Finish fixing my guitar after 2 years of a half repaired snapped headstock.
Ride my bike... Any amount would be an improvement!
1. Gap-drop in the local woods.. That's my task for this year. According to my lad "its easy" and he thinks i've done harder features... me, i'm less convinced.
I don’t normally do this but…
I’m going to partake in dry January. Drinking has become more often that I’m comfortable with and I need to lose a few pounds. I want to calm down my brain so I’ll be posting on here less, trying a less stressful “come what may “ approach to life in my fifties focused on my family and - with the exception of appropriate charity - little else E.g. not keep up with Jones’ in any respect but focused on the kids growth and our adult path in life.
Learn how to manual
I also plan to reduce alcohol and improve diet. Continue moving towards eating less meat and reducing fat intake, had a body MOT telling me I was 5% over my body fat recommendation so I'm going to get some scales that tell me what it is and work on losing 10% body fat and keep my cholesterol down. Biggest challenge is going to be to stop eating sweets and crisps here 🤣
I'm not one for resolutions but things I've been thinking abiut recently are
Being more adventurous with my riding - I'm in a bit of a rut on both mtb and road, so I want to change that (includes riding in more unfavourable conditions - I'm not a fair weather rider but my weather thresholds are still pretty low)
Allowing myself to spend more on stuff but less often - kit, food, whatever, I'm always making do with whatever is cheapest rather than thinking about the long game
Retirement - financially I'm OK, and I'm down to 3 days work a week, but something is stopping me from pulling the plug. I need to work out what that is and what I'm going to do about it.
Being myself - accept that it's OK to be me, whatever that is, rather than what people/society expects me to be. And don't feel obliged to make excuses or apologise for it either - if I'm true to myself then they can take it or leave it.
work out an alternative to another 20yrs working...
everything else is just big chores, my time will be taken up:
repoint the house
rebuild the chimney, replace the register plate
design/fund the kitchen
re-roof with solar slates
so capital investment and cutting back on costs where possible, see pt.1...
More bike riding, I’m in a fantastic area for it but haven’t really took full advantage due to one issue or another.
I’m looking forward to driving again once Spain sign off on driving licence recognition and actually being able to leave Spain as the bureaucratic nightmare of my residency application must surely end soon 🙂
Nothing.
Pondo there is no way you'll be able to do all that!! Pick a couple and focus on them IMO (unless you're retired, in which case crack on)
Personally, my long COVID (I just calculated that today is day 1,000 😕) and AS mean I can't do the usual 'cycle xx miles' or 'work more on music' or whatever.
But I will continue to try and improve my health through physio, yoga, improving my diet (I think easing down the caffeine and meat intake might be this year's focus) and doing as much cycling as walking as my body will allow me. Oh, and start swimming this year - even if it's only 15 minutes at a time!
One proper resolution should be 'spend less time reading my phone and more time reading books'. But it's hard! 😅
1. Spend less time watching shite TV than last year.
2. Spend less, spend more time outdoors.
3. Just be myself and accept that it’s OK to be me.
4.0 W/kg
I can either lose nearly 8kg, or up my ftp by 30 watts
Or some partial combination of the two.
I just want to be better, better at being a Dad, better at being at work, being a better person and better at handling what life throws - the grounding is there, and I know well enough when I'm doing the right or wrong thing but I'd like to positively elevate it all a bit
I started reading Marcus Aurelius meditations earlier, I got about half way through it last year, I just need to keep more if this stuff in mind day to day
I'd like to join in with the spend less and ride more aims, but the fact I have today cancelled my first ride of the year because that's the day the boiler heat exchanger is being replaced has ****ed both of these in one go. 😢
I'm heading into 2023 with two main aims (not going to call them resolutions as far more likely to break them that way)... They are...
-Stay alive
-Not kill other people
Anything achieved beyond these two can be considered a major win!
Good bloody riddance to 2022... I won't bore people with my 14yr theory, but 2008 was a shit year for me too, as was 1994, and I was born in 1980.
and I was born in 1980.
Crikey, I had your STW personality down at least a decade older than that 😉
Crikey, I had your STW personality down at least a decade older than that
And yet if you met me you'd be surprised I'm that old! I used to get ID'ed buying booze well into my mid 30's...
I'd tell you I had a tough paper round, but I didn't! Just incredibly well "weathered" by experiences out of my control I'd suggest... Still... Here's to 2023 being better than 2022!
1. Cut some people out of my personal life - not you lot coz you are just matrix LOL!
2. Meet new people who are chilled, if they exist, and not those "cool" people coz they are yesterday.
3. 5 minutes meditation everyday - to travel into the time and space wormhole LOL!
More time on bikes and generally keep rebuilding my fitness. Finish the Wainwright's, or more correctly get organised and sort out a last two walk.
More of the following
1. Coke
2. Hookers
That’s it really
1 night a month outside/under canvas/bivvying. Easy in the summer, but already tight on time for January so will have to prioritise it.
Hoping this leads to bigger and better adventures, maybe more quality time with my wife (if I can persuade her to come along in Jan/Feb/nov/dec) and generally time to escape!
Getting fit/fast again. To be achieved by (in order of importance)
- Going to bed at a sensible time
- Sorting my diet out
- Drinking less (or not at all)
- Sensible amount of training (not over doing it, but training consistently starting in January)
I had a great 2022 riding wise but never felt like I really hit form, which was a bit annoying.
More fiction in my reading stack than non fiction.
I don't need to ride more, but there's some skills I need to work on.
Buy a DH bike, just because.
I only have 2 significant alterations to what I'm currently doing;
1) get daughter off the phone, out of her bedroom and possibly outside to spend more/better time together.
2) Overcome my fear of flying.
Retire
Ride my bike loads
7680 × 4320
* Dancing. MIL bought me and Mrs HTO ballroom/Latin dancing lessons for Xmas. I reckon I'll be worse than Tony Adams, but it'll be good to put me well outside my comfort zone.
* spend more time with my parents. Dad has Alzheimers, the last 3 months he's really deteriorated.
* Listen to more music. We've just reclaimed a room in the house for Mrs HTO to make more music, and the HiFi, CDs and Vinyl are all organised. I've not really pursued my own interests in music for 20 years or more, it's time to change that.
* Be less 1-dimensional! I posted on here earlier on the year about only really having riding as the main thing I want to do with my free time; that's still the case, but I'm going to waste less time on social media and do/read/listen to stuff that broadens my mind and enriches me!
* Finally sort out the shit in the garage! We have a (potentially) amazing double garage with an upstairs, but it's all full of crap and so disorganised, hasn't been sorted since we moved 7 years ago. This is the year!
Much as I instinctively hate the idea of New Year Resolutions (if you're gong to do it, why wait until January?), there are a few things I'd like to try and change at some point in the future.
Weight.
Time 'wasted' in front of a screen or just sat on a sofa.
Use my few actual talents (mainly art and photography) in some more meaningful way.
Give something back.
To spend 1000 hours outside.
My girlfriend and I did that last year, it's the only new year resolution I've stuck too.
We decided it included all things like coffee in the garden, cycling and walking the dog. We kept a daily tally on the kitchen door on the singletrack calendar! We finished on 2078 hour between us!
Best resolution ever
I'm going to stop pointless internet browsing late at night/early am.
Ah well that didn't last.
Use that bike I bought 2 years ago and still haven't (literally) slung a leg over.
Ride king Alfred’s way.
Persuade roadie friends that off road bikepacking is the future.
Get one of my wildlife photos published by newspaper/magazine.
Sell some of my bikes (or convert loft))
