Aims and aspirations for 2024

[Jon in Sweden]

The New Year is shortly going to be upon us and it gives us a time to reflect on a year in cycling and what we're hoping for for 2024.

What are you proudest of in 2023? What are your highlights? What are your lowlights? What are you looking forward to in 2024 and what are you hoping to achieve?

For me, 2023 was my first full year back in the saddle after stopping cycling aged 21 (I'm 39 now). By the end of this week, I will have covered 14,000km (about half on gravel) and become a regular, reasonably long distance commuter.

My highlights include:

* completing my first Vätternrundan at over 30kph, riding largely solo. 315km
* doing 3 gravel events at 140-165km
* cracking 3hrs for 100km solo for a circular route
* getting faster and leaner generally
* and doing 14,000km of course

My aspirations for 2024 are:

* cover 16,000km, again 50% gravel
* complete Vätternrundan at 35kph
* run three successful gravel tours for a UK gravel cycling holiday company
* do some promotion of the gravel cycling here with social media influencers from the UK
* increase my FTP to 370w
* somehow find time for a cycling holiday. Most likely outside of summer. Maybe October in the Sierra Nevada.
* continue enjoying myself!

[cycle tramp]

Deleted

[Cugel]

One ambition is shared with Jon - to keep enjoying myself, on the bike (but elsewhere too).

Although I've never been an avid measurer or data collector with reference to my many and varied activities, I may have once been something of a Jon in terms of how much cycling I did and the efforts put in. But for me the memories of those times are about the fundamental experiences, not some metrics describing them.

I do recall the odd bit of data gathering from when I tried a then-novel bicycle computer. The fastest race I took part in was run at 27. summick mph average speed; I had a couple of years when I measured my cycling at around 12,000 miles per year. My average commute speed for the circa 50 mile there & back across the flat Fylde was always at least 20 mph but rarely above 22 mph. In the few TTs I did it was always a result around 25 mph +/- 1 mph. but I never attempted any TT over 50 miles and most were 10s or 25s.

The computer didn't last - I hated it's constant sneers and judgements! Compared to road racing, I found TTing utterly tedious. As time passed from those high mileage years, cycling gradually became more a pleasurable pastime than a sport and primary commuting means. These days its still as pleasurable but also a means to fend of the rots of aging.

Any cycling "ambitions" (too big a word for them) I have for the coming year are to do with finding and riding roads out here in West Wales I haven't yet explored; perhaps doing a few longer rides into the far Cambrians; more exploration of the zillion forest gravel tracks out here; persuading the ladywife to extend her longest-ride distances without putting her off cycling via physical exhaustion inclusive of the sore nether regions.

I won't be measuring any of it apart from tracing the route on OSMaps to discover the distances and height-gain-descent, purely to enable planning the drink & grub to take, as cafes out here are few and far between; or generally closed.

Good luck to Jon in his ambitions, even the ones about collecting the data.

[rjb]

I'm keeping it simple next year. Just make it to 2025.
Enjoy your year.
I've a renewed interest in simple bikes with my stable now containing an ever expanding fleet of hub geared bikes. A Moulton 4 spd Fw, Raleigh 20 and 3 Dawes Kingpins. Plenty to tinker with in the man cave.

[gbnz]

?

For me, 2023 was my first full year back in the saddle after stopping cycling aged 21 (I'm 39 now). By the end of this week, I will have covered 14,000km

* getting faster and leaner generally

An impressive mileage, when just back on the bike after a lengthy break. And my past year?

- May 12th, jumped on spec onto a long distance train. 10 Hour ride back, several hours in a terrain I've never cycled in
- Have "learnt" to cycle on major dual carriageways. That 20-40 miles being better than the 15 hour wait, in some derelict bus stop. Always pleasant to have dipped headlights and a wave around 2-4am, from that sole HGV heading down the road

Next year

- Leaner, back on the program this week (Nb. KCal count & intensive gym work - gym for 9 weeks now)
- Will undertake that essential maintenance to the 2 No. main bicycles, required since January this year
- Who knows, a ride abroad?

[Carlton green]

I'm keeping it simple next year. Just make it to 2025.
Enjoy your year.
I've a renewed interest in simple bikes with my stable now containing an ever expanding fleet of hub geared bikes. A Moulton 4 spd Fw, Raleigh 20 and 3 Dawes Kingpins. Plenty to tinker with in the man cave.

I’m of a similar mindset, just making it to 2025 and enjoying the year would be a bonus. Targets are all very well, except when they become your master; on the other hand aspirations can be (IMHO) helpfully vague and flexible.

For me simple bikes and simple rides / riding is ‘where it’s at’, well that and the pleasure that they give me. I’m hoping to sell or give away one of the kids bikes off road bikes (too fancy for me) and pick-up a cheap folder from somewhere - something that’ll take me out for an hour or so and be accepted on buses. Maybe there will be some more letting go of ‘treasures’ to make space in life and home for other stuff.

New Year’s resolutions aren’t for me. From time to time (say a few times a year) I do like to have a think about how things are going and then, if needed, I resolve to change what I can and to try to live in contentment with the rest.

[JohnR]

After riding a supported Rhine source-to-sea ride this year (nominally downhill all the way), I've paid my deposit for a supported London to Venice ride. There will be a van to carry the baggage but I've still got the task of getting myself and the bike up the hills towards the end of the trip. The longest of these is about 13 miles averaging about 8% to rise 1600m (about 5250ft in old money) which will need several hours of steady pedalling with intermittent refuelling stops. I'm hoping there won't be any headwind. I'll be trying to build up my fitness. There's another hill with a higher summit but is less of a climb from the overnight stop and I'm sure I'll be puffing and panting up that one due to the thinner air. I've just passed 6k miles for this year. Whether I pedal further in 2024 depends on other demands on my time. At my speed cycling consumes a lot of hours with further time building/rebuilding bikes in the hope that I might go a little faster.

[toontra]

For me it's simply getting back to fitness after having an injury-ridden 2023 - a really nasty attack of sciatica in March on a training holiday in Tenerife which ruled out serious cycling for 3 months, immediately followed by a sudden bulging inguinal hernia which required surgery from which I'm still recovering. I missed all my usual events - audaxes, my annual
London to Scotland ride I've done for 18 years and cancelled foreign tours.

Until this year I somehow thought I was invincible and had never been off the bike for more than a few days in my adult life. Both the sciatica and the hernia came completely out of the blue. Hopefully I'm on the mend and can get back to doing the cycling and running that are a big part of my life.

I've learned 2 things though - firstly how tenuous health can be, and secondly how much I hated not being able to cycle.

Here's to a healthy and happy 2024 everyone!

[eileithyia]

Like Toontra, after a few on/off years of up and health issues... to stay healthy and improve my fitness. Only my OH is possibly facing a meniscal tear surgery in the new year... waiting on consultant verdict in the new year.

[cycleruk]

I've no aims for next year.
I have got a couple or three 'likes' though.
I'd like to get rid of my pot belly.
I'd like to climb a few more hills than I did in 23. ( that won't be hard as I didn't do any in 23. )
I do have a plan to to do a small 3 day tour.
I'd like to go to Majorca.
Otherwise the main objective is to stay or even improve my health.
And lastly not to upset as many people as I usually do.

[VinceLedge]

Cycle more.....

[Pinhead]

Cycle from Aberystwyth to Llandudno

Thanks to the advice here I have the panniers (never had before) I already have 2 bikes with the same battery so spare one to take

100 miles, so I guess 40 miles a day 3 days, B and B perhaps 2 days with a charge overnight

[Cugel]

Cycle from Aberystwyth to Llandudno

Thanks to the advice here I have the panniers (never had before) I already have 2 bikes with the same battery so spare one to take

100 miles, so I guess 40 miles a day 3 days, B and B perhaps 2 days with a charge overnight

You might surprise yourself at how far you're able to ride in a day without issue. If you can ride 40 miles, you can probably ride 60 or 70 and just be slightly more tired (assuming your eat and drink). At 10 mph average road speed, you'll finish the day's ride in 4 hours (or 5 with a few rest stops).

If you have a route planned with definite stops with definite things to do at those stops, 40 miles a day may be ideal. But if you have no such plans, you might find that the 40 miles is soon done and you're twiddling your thumbs for the rest of the day at nowhere in particular. If you're going through the Cambrians and the more unpopulated parts of Eryri, there'll be no potted entertainments, really, so you would be wise to plan for the hours when not cycling.

Perhaps some exploratory walks with a camera? Or a run up & down Yr Wyddfa?

[Pinhead]

Cycle from Aberystwyth to Llandudno

Thanks to the advice here I have the panniers (never had before) I already have 2 bikes with the same battery so spare one to take

100 miles, so I guess 40 miles a day 3 days, B and B perhaps 2 days with a charge overnight

You might surprise yourself at how far you're able to ride in a day without issue. If you can ride 40 miles, you can probably ride 60 or 70 and just be slightly more tired (assuming your eat and drink). At 10 mph average road speed, you'll finish the day's ride in 4 hours (or 5 with a few rest stops).

If you have a route planned with definite stops with definite things to do at those stops, 40 miles a day may be ideal. But if you have no such plans, you might find that the 40 miles is soon done and you're twiddling your thumbs for the rest of the day at nowhere in particular. If you're going through the Cambrians and the more unpopulated parts of Eryri, there'll be no potted entertainments, really, so you would be wise to plan for the hours when not cycling.

Perhaps some exploratory walks with a camera? Or a run up & down Yr Wyddfa?

No I won't not on an E bike relying on batteries I know the distances, 70 miles on 2 batteries

I did Pontrefendegaid to Cellan return 28 miles, just. Battery dead at the end, 2 batteries 55ish

My final choice is the lightest of my cameras which leaves out my medium format film cameras, D4s and 600mm lenses, Canon 650D for lightness.

All but my Canon EOS 33e perhaps and a few 200asa films

[carlislemike]

Staying a , staying upright and getting in a few miles despite the weather! Rick on 2024