I’m in decline. I’ve got to stop the rot. It’s been another barren year of cycling for me. No century ride, just a couple of events and about three 100km rides in total. No touring either. An awful year on paper despite a few ‘featured’ rides I managed, particularly gravel rides where I got to escape into the wilderness for a few hours a few times. I loved them.
Why? Time, lockdowns and work I think. I always prioritise my family first and the rides get shoe-horned into the gaps in my calendar when I don’t have my son or Sally is working or I’m away in Wales at the folks and I can get out for a couple of hours. The rest of the time I’ve either been beating myself up on the turbo to try and maintain fitness or ride the horrible commute through Birmingham City Centre to work. That’s been my cycling life and to be honest it’s not fun and for me it’s unsustainable. I’m not enjoying it.
I’m currently building myself up for a better 2022 (mind not body). A change in my role at work should pave the way for more time to ride with less cross-Brum commutes to have to endure. My first event is the Mad March Hare Sportive at the end of March, an event I entered in 2019 as the entry was carried across twice due to Covid cancellations. That will be just after I (fingers-crossed it happens) get back from 10 days in Fuerteventura where I’ve hired an MTB. Ironically that’s where we were when the first lockdown happened in early 2020.
In July I turn 50 so I’m currently waiting to see how the current Omicron wave pans out before I book a week away cycling on my own. My short list currently is fly/hire in Gran Canaria (might be too hot) or drive to the Ardennes and explore that region from a base and maybe do some pave on the way back.
Touring is always on my radar too and I’m definitely going to try and do something whether its a weekend mini-adventure or a week. Sometimes I think you’ve just got to say fuck it and just go rather than wait and see what happens.
I was even looking at races yesterday but realistically I’ve got nothing to prove so why bother
Come September and I’m going to Canada for two weeks which will kill any fitness I have so the plan is to cram as much in as I can by then, enjoy the holiday and build back up slowly when I get back.
When I have been able to just ride, I’ve really enjoyed getting offroad and mixing it up so I might focus on that next year as I don’t have a posh road bike anymore.
This is what I need. I made this video when I was in the right frame of mind a year ago. https://www.facebook.com/779388273/videos/10159889214973274/
I don’t think 2021 was the year any of us expected. You have good plans for 2022, here’s to a better year 🤞👍