2010 for me, in terms of cycling anyway, wasn’t a great year at first glance. I had a couple of crashes, illness, injury and bad weather at both ends of the year kept me off the bike more than I’d like, and I missed out on the Bangor Coastal Challenge and my notional goal of doing “2010 in 2010″. I also lost interest in this blog after it all got a bit too ranty and aggressive. Bah.
But dig a bit deeper and there were many positives.
1889 Miles in 2010
In the spring I picked up a new commuting bike, built a new storage area for the fleet, and took part in a very sunny Marie Curie Craigavon Cycle Trail, which was great fun as usual.
I missed the Bangor Coastal, but June saw the Halfords Tour Series come to Belfast for the first time, which was a great evening’s entertainment and the first high level cycling event that I’d seen up close. I also took part in Phill‘s #June100 challenge (with some success) and attended the Belfast Cycle City Visions For The Future conference.
I did a record 180(ish) miles in one month, and tried some new Sunday routes, all in preparation for a much warmer Lap The Lough. I even found time to do some fundraising for the RNIB.
So, on balance, maybe 2010 wasn’t a bad year after all.
Hey John. My name is Darren and I’ve made a return to cycling this year after an absence of some 15 years (am 39 now) and have read your blogs with interest too as they have informed me of a number of events that I’d like to have a go at this year.
I’m bashing round on the mountain bike at the moment, my old 1993 Specialized Rockhopper Comp and yes it is totally rigid. This will be until I get a) a new mountain bike and b) a new road bike. I turn 40 in May so hopefully the missus will be perceptive enough to realize that a new bike is crucial!
I head out on a monday night from the Cyclezone shop in Lisburn with some other MTB nutters and hammer down the Lagan towpath to Belfast where we ride around Mary Peters and Belvoir parks before racing back to Lisburn.
Obviously this winter has been horrendous but I’ve still managed to get a few ‘hairy’ rides in on the snow. Just wanted to ask what Snow Miles count as??
Thanks a million and keep up the training and blogging and I’ll aim to meet you at Lap The Lough.
Glad you’re enjoying your rediscovered hobby Darren! A new bike is always essential – the correct number of bikes is n+1.
Awesome work John. Speaking of awesome, I love the way Emma’s treated her look back on 2010, at:
http://www.emmarush.com/2010/12/31/what-awesome-things-did-you-do-in-2010/
You got a lot of good things done, keep on keeping on John!