Cycling 2024

[Nickslikk2112]

I'd have been happy with half an hour on the bike today. But, just as the mist and murk cleared about three o'clock it reformed again. Ho-hum.

[Nickslikk2112]

Despite feeling distinctly under par I made it out for 16 miles yesterday. It was a bit misty, but, by going out it reduced the length of time I had to spend with my sister-in-law by ten minutes. Ten minutes that enough to avert a murderous rampage.

Today I was hoping just to get in 22 miles to get me over 100 for the week. Didn't manage it, has just started on the last loop to get me there and the rear tyre punctured Luckily it was just a five minute walk home, but I failed by 0.6 miles.

Inspection of the tyre when I got home revealed a sliver of glass through the tyre. Could have fashioned a tyre boot I suppose, but I binned it, better to be safe than sorry. Will I be safe on the only spare tubed tyre I had in stock though? It's more of a summer racing tyre. What difference can it make?

https://www.strava.com/activities/13209567417

[Nickslikk2112]

Just about got rid of my recent cough, but still made up with catarrh. Went out and did 25 miles today taking care to not retrace my steps too much as I kept leaving slippery snot rockets all over the road! Thankfully it was the road and not me as usually happens.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13217436856

[Slim]

A simple plan today: for what was probably going to be my final ride of 2024, I thought I'd repeat my first ride of the year, a fairly common variant of the Twycross Bypasser. But within a couple of minutes of setting off, I'd hatched an alternative plan. I thought I'd go up to Derby.

So I went up Top Brand, through Isley Walton and west to Melbourne. Up over Swarkestone Bridge, then up onto the scary roundabout over the A50. From the roundabout I exited onto Infinity Park Way, and pedalled up to the southern extremity of Derby.

Infinity Park Way is a newish road, only completed in the last few years. It's big, wide and well-surfaced - but pretty quiet, I assume because Infinity Park, which is a new commercial / industrial development, is still being developed. It also leads to the Rolls-Royce Aerospace campus and test sites, which have been there for many years, and eventually into Derby proper.



I've been up that way a few times, but this time I did a bit more exploring than I have in the past. I found myself in Sinfin, which is a not-particularly-nice part of Derby that I don't think I ever visited when I lived in the city. Turned back and explored a bit along a different route and was surprised to find myself on Moor Lane, which is where the Rolls-Royce recreation centre is located. Many years ago I used to shoot at the rifle range there every Friday night.

I went onto the grounds and had a look round. There are a lot of new buildings but I was pleased to see that the old range is still there, just behind the bowling green.



Turned for home after that, but I took a long route back through Weston, Aston, Shardlow, over Cavendish Bridge and down through Donington and Coleorton.

That was a really nice run out. Cloudy and damp when I set off, but lovely winter sunshine in the afternoon. There's something particularly wistful, I find, about visiting old haunts just before the turn of another year.

Back on 72.84km which gives me 785 exactly for December and 10621km (6600 miles) for the year. It's faintly possible I'll go out again before 2025 kicks in but I doubt it.

https://www.strava.com/activities/13217121617

[Nickslikk2112]

Was today my last ride of the year? We'll find out tomorrow I suppose, the morning's supposed to be dry, but it looks a bit blustery.

It was windy enough today, I finally got round to riding back up to the tops, going round the less steep way via Dronfield. The ride from Dronfield to Owler Bar was three minutes slower than the last time I did it back in November and that was very much a mid-ranking time for me.

The first section of riding back on the tops was even worse. Could barely get over 15mph on the flat and only managed to get to 25mph downhill. Then on turning off up Fox Lane it was like the wind had dropped to a flat calm. Then coming back down through Cutthorpe I got up to 45mph without pedalling, a bit risky as it was a cross tailwind and it got a bit wobbly.

Anyhoo, 31 miles gets me to 6,900 for the year, I'd have liked 7,000, but hey-ho. I've been avoiding the hills a bit too, should have got over 100 miles of climbing in in that mileage total, but didn't even break 90 miles. Must try harder. On the plus side I set my best ever 1 hour power output, the benefits of riding uphill into a headwind!

https://www.strava.com/activities/13222933974/

[Slim]

I've now completed ten years of regular cycling - and I've been looking over my statistics. Every ride I've done since January 2015 has been documented in a spreadsheet - date, distance, which bike.

I've done 80,082 km in that time (49,761 miles), over 1530 rides. Very roughly, 7% of the time I've been awake in the last ten years has been spent propelling a bicycle.

Greatest distance cycled in a month: 1302 km, August 2016. Shortest monthly distance: 29 km, December 2018. I'd injured my knees.

Longest ride: 324 km, June 20th this year. Shortest: 8.24 km, July 15th, 2018.

The following graph shows number of rides per year - I had a bit of a manic cycling habit by 2016. I was going cycling most lunchtimes weather permitting and most of those 303 rides are less than 30km.



Since my knee injury in 2018, my average ride distance has increased steadily (next graph). For sure, early retirement at the end of June this year has helped to improve the 2024 statistic (85.65 km).



The last graph shows the total distance in km for each of the last ten years. 2024 was a personal record year (10,621 km or 6600 miles).

[Slim]

2024 is over as you're no doubt already aware. I'd have to say it was a pretty good cycling year, for me. The highlight was definitely breaking my distance record in June (323.88 km, to Sutton Bridge and back). Lovely long day out on a bike. I retired (or at least stopped working indefinitely) at the end of that month, which obviously gave me more time for cycling in the second half of the month.

I broke my yearly distance record (it now stands at 10621 km). I did 46 fondos in 2024 including 9 in October.

My ride frequency seems to be pretty consistent over the last few years. It mainly depends on weather conditions and holidays. I rode a bike 124 times in 2024 compared to 127 the year before, and 120 the year before that.

As the following graph shows, cycling took a bit of a hit in September. Mainly because I was abroad for a couple of weeks but I think the weather was a bit rubbish as well.



I pie-charted my bike distances, as follows:



The Cannondale didn't get much of a look in because it needed setting up, but I did sort it out just before the end of the summer so it should get used a lot more in 2025. Once again the first Boardman was used more than any other bike, very nearly a quarter of all rides. But I lean on the Planet X in the non-summer months more than I used to.

So, for 2025 - once again my targets are pretty modest. At least one fondo every month, to a minimum of 30. Definitely want to do Wales and back again, and East Lincs and back one long day in the summer. But not necessarily by a 324 km route. I said I'd do Newark and back in 2024, and I didn't. Must do that this year, the last time was in 2021.

I'll do at least 7500 km.

I shall visit all of Leicestershire's neighbouring counties in 2025 (although I'd probably do that anyway without thinking about it).

And I must find some new territory to explore. Perhaps a new county, one I haven't done before. Essex, maybe? The very north-western corner might be doable.