Review of 2013

I started the year with a few cycling themed targets, how did I do?

Cycling targets for 2013:

1. Average 10 mile per day, which will result in 3650 miles for the year, my previous best was 3144 in 1990.
2. Ride up Mont Ventoux, will have to lose at least another 2 stone before that though so a third target is;
3. Get weight down to below 12 st
4. Ride at least one metric century each month (100 km = 62.1 miles).
5. Ride a 200km audax
6. Complete a Randonneur 500 (i.e. completing a 50, 100, 150 and 200km audax ride in one season)
7. Complete a Brevet 500 (i.e. complete 5 x 100km audax BP rides)

Results:

1. HIT: Reached target on October 26 and ended year with 4832 miles. With 868 miles being ridden in December, that was my biggest month every recorded, beating the previous best of 815 miles in July 1979.

2. MISS: See #3 below

3. MISS: Expected to lose weight simply by cycling a lot and not counting calories. It didn’t work, I ended up the year at exactly the same weight I started!

4. MISS: After a good start riding 65 miles on 1st January, a combination of illness, business trips abroad and poor weather resulted in only another 2 rides and 65 miles in the first three months of the year.

5. HIT: Rode four 200km audacia – two on fixed, one in Snowdonia (not fixed!) gaining 2.75 Audax Altitude Award (AAA) points in the process.

6. HIT: Once I had done the 200 this was easy to achieve but I did the 150 on fixed too so I could claim an (unofficial) “Fixed Wheel” Randonneur 500.

7. HIT: In fact I achieved the Brevet 1000 award by riding ten 100km events this season, finishing with the Oundle 114.

Summary:

I cycled more miles this year than ever before since I started in 1978, 36 years ago. I rode on 112 days averaging 43 miles on those days. Of the 4832 miles this year, 1407 were done of fixed, and 924 on my commute which means I rode to work and back 16.5 times.

I rode more than 100 miles on six of those days, with my longest being 136 miles. I had not done a century ride since 1981.

I rode two tours, Lands End to Oundle (B&B), and Normandy (camping). I also managed to cycle in 3 other countries I had not cycled in before, Hong Kong, Spain and China.

From the Strava Heat Map above, it appears the roads I have most often cycled is the Pitsford to Brigstock portion of my commute and the Glapthorn to Oundle road. (Click map for larger version)