[Closed] Good year, bad year, meh year?

New house, old job, great kids and missus. 2013 will hopefully be less interesting, but more relaxing and fun. And maybe more money. Although probably not. Actually, next year will almost certainly be worse 🙂

A mixed bag tbh, but overall pretty good I'd say.

Bloody brilliant, thanks! Simply brilliant! 🙂

Family great, work has been very stressful - many sleepless nights worrying 😳

Very very good for me (and my family) thanks 🙂

I've got on the property ladder, me and my missus have both had new (to us) cars and we celebrated 1 year of marriage. Work is crazy busy, but it means that I have a crap work life balance and no riding time. I've also been ill for much of the past few months. Need to get my arse in gear in the New Year and ride more.

Mine has had a couple of seriously crap events in it where folk close to me have died, but my kids are making me proud at school and nursery, my career is looking good for the forseeable future and i'm healthier than i've been in a long time. So not too bad apart from a couple of downers.

Are you actually me? Sounds exactly like my year.

Pretty good year - but hoping next year will be calmer and easier to enjoy!

absolutely awful Jan due to issues beyond my control at work and still effect me everyday i go there, but it's made ne value the good things in life and i've managed to go from a BMI of "obese" to "healthy" in the last 20 weeks so hoping for a much better 2013 with more positive changes

Meh here...although I think I may be working out how to turn things around.

This year has been pretty awful tbh. Mum and sister have been in hospital, and mother continues to get worse as the years go on. I have been ill (albeit with loads of annoying minor stuff) more times than I can remember. Work has been truly awful and looks like it is going to get worse. Little to look forward to, and at times little reason to get up in the morning and keep going. I am hoping things will improve next year but I have no real reason to think they will.

Nice one RocketDog - how did you make that much change in 20 weeks? Trying to do the same myself, but the weight is staying stubbornly where it was (although fat/muscle ratio is improving!)

sadly no miracles it's the old equation of move more eat less, with help from www.myfitnesspal.com which has been a great motivation tool

sold flat
bought flat
got promoted
had a kid
got a 20% payrise

pretty. damn. good. 😀

I am just hoping that the muscle gain will end soon and the flubber will start to depart! Need to get out on the bike more though - the last few weeks have been challenging on the motivation front!

it's not easy this time of year, i've had to resort to running 😯

Tough year.

Wife’s expecting

Promotion at work

Tempered by the sudden and unexpected death of one of my best mates at 39 years of age.

bought house
Didnt get promoted
had another kid
got a 5% payrise but a 10% reduction in OTE
The few mtb'ing rides I've done have been excellent with great people. Unfortunately not enough of them.

So great in some respects, average in all others, so meh +

Up and down. New job in April, massive payrise, yay! By August, new job turns out to be a gigantic crock of ****, boss is a nutter, signed off with stress, boo.

So that's been all the way up and all the way down. But in other ways it's been mostly excellent. And, well, I've been drawing that massive payrise for 5 months now while riding my bike all the time so it's not [i]all[/i] bad.

Good year overall, thanks for asking. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and all that 🙂

Crappy year, but things are really on the up. Only positive thoughts for the future.

Awful... Wife had really bad anxiety problems at the start of the year, poorly father in law, new neighbours moved in and we ended up getting a harrasment warning onto them after months of shit, poorly father in law passed away last week...
On the plus points my dad had the all clear for his cancer. I have a fantastic wife and two great kids!

Not too bad, my business is getting busier which means its a struggle to get out on two wheels, something I aim to get the balance right in 2013.

Bought my own house
Had some fantastic holidays
Met a chap 🙂
Rode the Wild Wales Challenge (best, and hardest, ride I've ever done)
Shared some great times with friends
Laughed lots

Despite the occasional work issues, and a few too many bugs, life has been good - looking forward to whatever 2013 will bring!

I'd give this year a meh.Been on the mtb less than planned, mainly due to the weather.I did more road cycling though,and consequently did more miles cycling this year than ever.Darkest cloud of the year was the big c taking away my best mate from my twenties(he died last week aged 49).

Quit work packed up everything
Emigrated to oz
Took long break from work got much fitter
Work part time all going well
Broke thumb on Sunday

Very up and down year

not bad. interesting trips to the emerald Isle with work (6x since mid March). not touched a bike all year - weather too crap, taking too long to get home from work, rock'n'roll band taking up a fair bit of free time.

looking forward to 2013.

Great year.

New push bikes, new motorbikes, new cars' lost weight, improved fitness, my lad started school and doing great. Rode Morzine/ppds

Lost two family members. Suffered first ever seizure

Which means life tastes so much sweeter and I appreciate everything more. Watching my daughter grow into a young lady will be a continuing theme.

Pretty dire to be honest but you got to keep on going, you never know what is just around the corner.

Left my corporate job in January to go it alone. Not looked back.

Not sure, boring but secure(ish) and close to home job is not bad given how things are here in Spain, dog and cat both died, but got two new cats...

Meh, I suppose. But could be a LOT worse.

Every year is a good un. It's what you make of it, shit things happen and folk leave us, but life goes on. I'm a mega optimist, in case, you couldn't tell!.

As others, many ups and downs.

Ups
- some brilliant times with the girlfriend, including weekend trip to Golspie/Laggan
- 3 week trip to Malysia/Thailand with above gf
- Got 6 month internship secured at Rolls Royce (starting next January)
- Completed Relentless 24 solo (first ever mountain bike race)
- In various bike magazines/calendar/websites

Downs
- broke up with above gf couple months back
- had shoulder surgery just before summer (although I guess it's good that it's "fixed"
- didn't do very well in uni exams (from how I felt they they went anyway...)

Christ my year has been rosey compared to lots of the posts on here. Here's wishing a better 2013 to all those who have had a tough 2012.

Started poorly, new job that didn't live up to expectations, went downhill to May when I was sacked! Had a couple of interviews, went to Disney, Orlando (been planned for a year), got a phone at 4am to say I'd got the job, big payrise. Been tough to start again for the second time in six months but this time it's got better rather than worse and instead of sacking me it's looking pretty certain I'll get a permenant contract. Youngest started school in Sept and has settled in way better than we'd hoped. So a year of 2 halfs. Just need a little less excitement in 2013 to get the weight back off and the fitness back.

1st full year of being engaged.

Cat/kitten got ill, still ill. Op on 27th. (He was the engagement present!)

Realised missus is mental, but a wholly beautiful woman.

Am £12k further towards house deposit than I was/ we were previously (she cannot save).

Bought my dream bike.

My Dad had another year of glaucoma and still remaining chipper.

I have health, missus has health.

Realised this year there is no such word as "fair".

Keep striving for a family in 2013.

STW is an example of life; full of ego nonsense but equally full of compassionate support.

started the year with redundancies around me then a month in new zealand, a few job related frustrations, not the job just some of those around me, ended up with me handing my notice in then retracting it... and still a few uncertainties over where i live.

hopefully the 15% pay rise was the right thing to do.

Bad:

1) Spent a year avoiding impact sports due to onset of osteonecrosis in one hip

2) Got knocked off my push bike twice (well, once was my fault)

3) Got knocked off my motorbike once

Good:

1) Made progress with that ole iDave based diet, and am now at my best weight ever

2) Took up indoor climbing and now adding that to a list of cool hobbies

4) Had some wicked fun on the motorbike, lots of thinking time on it and lots of good memories.

5) Got the all clear on the osteonecrosis, back into proper sports now! 🙂

Now I just need to meet a nice girl 'n settle down!

My wife left me and took my daughter, i lost my dream house, I was close to suicide for a while.

Not a good year.

Started well, daughter (22) is ensuring the year ends on a low note.

Probably the best year of my life. Moved back to the homeland (yorkshire) we both sill have great jobs, I ride my bike in the dales every week...

Proudest moment of my life so far was last week, my 3 year old twins (two to the right) in the nursery play, belted out their words and songs. My wife was in buckets, topped off an amazing year for us.

[img] [/img]

Best and worst so far.
from being homeless in paradise for six weeks on the beach to being sectioned to a mental hospital. lost someone powerful to me. gained my family back. found some new passions and some old ones were prised from my grasp. ate through too many jobs. battled addiction. experienced pleasure and pain I hadn't imagined possible. was robbed of all my possessions. wrote off my car. spent a few nights behind bars. danced naked in the rain. smiled and laughed till i was hoarse.
still truckin.

Some powerful stuff here. Humbling.

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20810452 ]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20810452[/url]

(I was just about to post when I read mechmonkey's post - what I'm going to say now seems trite and inconsequential)

Pretty good actually for me.
I rode more than I've ever ridden before.
I've struggled with work although it's been interesting. The last month or so has been the most intense, frustrating and challenging period of my working life by far. It seems to have gone OK though.

Apart from that, it's just been a bit of a slog. Teenage son has been the biggest pain this year I reckon.

Very tough year. But dwelling on positives:
I'm quite fit and healthy
I've had time to ride bikes a lot
I managed to keep doing my work at an acceptable standard and so kept my job
Friends have been amazing. I love them all

Next year could be game changer

10 marrige ended.Never looked more forward to a new year. 😉

Very tough year. I'll be glad to see the back of it.

Positives:

My tech skills got a bit better. I managed some dreaded steps last Sunday that I had been scared stiff of!
Got a road bike (OK, OK, I know, don't shout!) 😀
Got some stuff on the house done.
Started night riding with some great people.

Negatives:

Partner suffering severe anxiety depression, makes me feel constantly on edge and haven't focussed on much. 😕

I'm going to make sure that 2013 is a much better year. More biking of all sorts and more focus on me. 😀

Horrible horrible horrible year.

Rollercoaster.

I'm doing exactly the same as I was this time last year.

Some pretty candid words here.

I've had a humbling year, I think these words sum it up:

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."

A number of significant things have not gone to plan, life has been testing but one way or another other options have always appeared despite how bleak things have looked. It's a relative bleakness, I'm lucky for what I have and the freedom to find options. Next year looks to be more about new chapters than the re-writing of old ones.

And learning to manual 😡 One day... one day.

It's been a tale of two cities.

I may have grown up a bit.

Made some changes for my family, friends and wife who i now realise are all i really have and care about. Everything else can pretty much GTF.

But, what's passed has passed. Onwards!

Been a bit up and down this year .

Work been carzy busy and being self employed that's got to be a good thing .

New extension and kitchen being built at home so that's all good .

Unfortunaetly relationships have not been so good , split up with my gf about three months ago , my decision , just wasn't right . Then out of the blue someone else came in to my life but now she doesn't know what she wants and has really ****ed with my head .

Fighting with depresion again at the minute but determined to get through it without medication this time .

Looking forward to Christmas day with my parents then going to visit my sister in Wales for a few days , hoping getting away will help .

KINGTUT - Member
My wife left me and took my daughter, i lost my dream house, I was close to suicide for a while.

Not a good year.

Mike - if you ever want a (slow, I'm seriously unfit at the mo) ride and a chat let me know. I'm a good listener.

Life is a rollercoaster, scream on the ride and it won't make a difference and even if you puke, he won't let you off, we all head to death.

On that cheerful note I had mostly a fab year. I had a crap start when I struggled to get a new contract which made it tough financially until the middle of the year but then in Sept I married the most beautiful girl on the planet, stunning and beautiful on the inside too. Made up.

I need to set my goals for next year ... I've achieved them last two years but am not sure what to aim for in 2013. Hmmm makes me think. What next. Never dwell on the past, always look forward, never back.

My wife left me and took my daughter, i lost my dream house, I was close to suicide for a while.

Not a good year.

I've always liked the cut of your jib, KT. So this saddens me. Reach out to those who have offered help.

Failing that, come to Peterborough and I'll buy you a pint. It's ace. So flat you can go for a 30 mile ride and still see your house 8)

Some good stuff, some bad stuff, could have been better, could have been worse (especially hearing what some people have been through).

Meh covers it very nicely I think.

Bit hit and miss. Moved into a flat with ex gf we split 6 months after moving in. My grans dementia has worsened and its now affecting her nutrition so I highly doubt we'll have her much longer 🙁

A close friendship with a ex work colleague has developed into a great relationship.
Started a brand new job on a Orthopaedic Trauma ward.
Now off work for a week due to badly scalding my whole hand with boiling water at work.

A bit of a rollercoaster with more downs than ups.

Ups:
Knee problems disappeared - enjoyed a great ski holiday and loads more cycling than the previous year.
Overall fitness improved.
Alcohol consumption reduced.
Doing loads of voluntary work - trustee of 2 charities and provide training to young people in two other charities, which is both enjoyable and satisfying.

Downs:
Work as a self-employed management consultant in the charity sector and public sector has been dire due to government / local government budget cuts.
Money worries as a result of above.
Elderly mother, who lives over 200 miles away, is getting increasingly fragile, can't hear very well any more, and has dementia - I'm an only child so am quite stressed by the decline and trying to be supportive (frankly I haven't a clue as to what to do).
Love life not happened in the way that I hoped - similar situation to the Wellwellwell thread on here recently.

Last year was spent living life as a 20 yr old despite being 40. This year was spent dealing with the consequences. I was a massive **** but have realised what's important, so - things aren't perfect, but I know how lucky I am and what really matters to me. Really looking forward to this Christmas with my fantastic family and making next year perfect!

reading some of the above posts helps put a perspective on things....

all-in-all i've had a good year. it's been quite hectic with a house move and lots of work, but good....

i didn't get the GF pregnant.

didn't get to ride as much as i had hoped due to work. i only guided one tour this year as other (more lucrative) work came calling. however, i still managed to get down south at least once a fortnight once the snow had melted. i managed a couple of weekend-away trips by myself which was nice. and the highlight of my biking year being the two two-week longs biking holidays with the GF (Leogang-Saalbach and Vinschgau) in spring and autumn.
two low points on the biking front: i discovered a crack in the head tube/downtube on my frame, but Mike@dialled was brilliant and sorted me a new frame within a week (not bad considering i'm in Germany); the other was that our basement got done over and the GF's Boardman was taken. on a positive note they left my bike, even pushing it aside to get hers... ❓

i got run over by some crazy woman, destroying my rear wheel a week before we were due to go to Leogang. long story short, i gave her an ultimatum and ended up taking 500€ from her. i now have a super-duper set of Mavic Deemax.... what is it they say about every cloud?

work has been coming in pretty solid for most of the year and i made a few new contacts. although there were a few quiet patches, but that meant i could piss off down south for a few days with the bike or get some work done on the flat.

we finally found a new flat (Munich is a nightmare when it comes to finding a place to live) and a really nice (affordable!) one at that. "Altbau", lots of character, in the "right" area of town (south side) and about 1/4 mile to the river and the Isar-trails.
as said above, the basement got done over. we had only been here two nights and when i went downstairs on the thrid day i saw that the door had been wrenched open. was (still am!) really gutted. kind of took the shine off the new place a little. fun way to meet the neighbours, mind... "hi, we're new and our bike has just been pinched"... said whilst trying to see into their hallway for evidence.

unfortunately i only made it over to the UK once this year, much to mum's disappointment. i'll have to rectify that next year.

my sister has finally found herself a man who can use a knife and fork with grace and communicate using sentences consisting of five words or more (Essex... the pickings are slim).

i am developing a bit of a belly which is a worry, but have plans to build a climbing wall (not a climbing climbing wall, but a climbing wall like they used to have in the school halls) which should in theory help combat that. drinking less would also help, i guess.

so yeah, a good year.

i'm going to try and take a little more time off in 2013. i want to have more "me-time", get some big private jobs done and get over and see my folks and lil'sis.

Pretty darn good year in the Bouy household.

Started he year with a fresh outlook on the work front and despite the extensive travelling its Been both rewarding and challenging. With that came the decrease in riding which has been the worst aspect of the year by far, so too cutting down on windsurfing/kiting/sailing that I'd always taken for granted would be there. However being away from my sailing club taught me good mates are indeed Good Mates and absence makes the friendship stronger.
Riding on my own more this year as fitting group rides in didn't fit in with work/family etc. which in itself has brought a new aspect to riding, taking more of the environment in, giving my head some space to think about fek all, instead of endless "races" trying to beat my riding mates I've taken the opportunity to kick back and just ride. Roadie riding has been almost non exsitant except early in the year when it was just fabulous.
MrsBouy has been able to devote a vast majority of her time sculpting and I'm thankfull that she's had the opportunity to develop a natural talent that for many a year has been suppressed.

So, I'm happy to give this year a score of 8/10 where the 2 deducted are purely because of the working/travelling balance thingy has caused muchos angstos.

Worst year ever. Total hip replacement due to septic arthritis saw no racing at all this year. So four years hard graft to get fit went wasted and am now back to square one. Wife away in Paris most of the time and (surprisingly) missing her. Work is pressure I don't need so I'm not caring atm so it's not satisfying.

2013 will be better...

I'll give my year 8 out of 10.

No major life events (death etc), had an extension built with not too many issues, got a Cotic Solaris and a dropper post 😀

My job involves meeting families who have 24 hour ventilated children and young folk with spinal injuries so always get some prospective on how hard things can be.

I'd give this year 7/10.
My toddler daughter continues to delight me every single day. My wife is great, good work ethic unlike several exs. Been out cycling a shit load, 3 trips to the lakes, up n down skiddaw & helvellyn, Borrowdale bash X2, cycled solo to Cardiff from Stafford plus up Cannock a load too. It's all good.

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."" - that's an ace quote.

Some sad tales on here. I'm not sure I want to start judging years. Family is healthy and so am I. Kids aren't setting fire to cars or anything. Money comes in and gets spent on all sorts of tat but it makes us happy. Riding bikes with my friends continues to be thing that defines the difference between 'ok' and 'bloody great'

Stressful year this one. Wife has been on the list of potential NHS redundancies all year. Just last week got slotted in to a new post with greater security so we can actually enjoy Christmas.
As a treat I've got us a couple of kayaks so next year we will be adding that to our things to do so I intend to make 2013 a year for doing fun stuff and make up for this one.

We lost our (last) gran, & both our parents to the big C, so not the best of years. On the plus side I have a fantasic partner who supported me through out our issues, got back into work, have good health & have a new bike on order. 2012 will be engraved in a our memory, roll on 2013 it really can't be any worse

Best year of my life so far.have't stopped all year and finally figured out the direction I wana take my life.only downer is my dog died after 14 years but she went peacefully.

Despite the weather, I've battled through it and remain alive and well.
Fitness has taken a plummet due to a year with only 5 rides(all in the last month), though it's still at a level good enough to cope in the trails and enjoy it.

I've covered hundreds of miles on foot, had many weeks away enjoying nature, he best being on Orkney.

I've learnt new skills, and gained great new friends.
It's certainly been a year of PMA, which I guess amounts to it feeling like its been an amazing one.

Most of all I have me heath and I like to think, my sanity.

crap- bring on the reaper

Massive lows - me dear old Mum died, suddenly, in May, which hit me a lot harder than I imagined it would.

Middling lows - Work, having to do "more" with "less".......well, "something" with "virtually nothing" - NHS woes.

Massive highs - going to see my eldest in the Kalahri and then holidaying with all the "kids" in Botswana - stunning
The middle child being head-hunted to a really good management job.
The eldest getting the offer of a funded PhD.

Funny old year. 😐

Up and down.

Met some great new friends, and my circle of friends continue to be amazng. Getting on better with mum and dad than I have done in ages, running is still cool, and have been on some lovey rides with my dad ( just the two of us, it's been lush time)

Bought a leccy guitar finally, LOL and I'll give it 7/10 so far, really not sure.

Love life has been.... Eventful 🙂 finally made a decision about a long term relationship that sort of had some weird consequences, cut a long story short and some disastrous dates, were sort of back together ( I think I'm ruined for anyone else, and she's the one person who could ruin my life at the same time!! ) we'll see

Graduate next year!! ****ing Hell!! I'll have to find a job. Scary! =)

Probably one of the worst years of my life. Less riding than I've done in the past 15-20 years, mainly because I just had to see my son on those days when I would normally have been out riding. He was the only thing that kept me going.