How was 2016's Cycling for you, and what plans are afoot for 2017?

[Donger]

This, my 8th year of cycling, is the year I have really caught the bug. I started the year weighing between 20 and 21 stone, and I'm finishing it still weighing between 20 and 21 stone but feeling much fitter! Being 6 foot 6 and weighing that much, I am not your typical 56 year old cyclist. While I can appreciate other people's superior performance and achievements, I tend to ignore all that and just concentrate on doing what I never thought I'd ever be capable of doing. I just claim everything I do as new unofficial veterans' super-heavyweight records.

My four targets for 2016 were:
(1) To do my first imperial century (having ducked out last year). Achieved. Even threw in a big climb at the 98 mile mark and survived to tell the tale.
(2) To have my first 3,000 mile year. Achieved today. As I write, I have just passed the 3,000 mile mark for the first time ever. No commuting, just 88 leisure rides so far - averaging 34 miles a pop. I've been lucky enough to have done over 10% of that (310 miles) abroad .... Holland and France this year, and loved every mile of it.
(3) To do some Welsh mountains and follow it up by doing at least 3 categorised Tour de France climbs in the Alps. Achieved. Llangynidr Mountain done with my clubmates at Kingsway CC, and The Bwllch and the Rhigos done on a great day out with @Banjo. Then climbed the Col de Tamie, the Col du Marais and the Col de Leschaux in the Savoy Alps.
(4) To complete the Metric Century a Month Challenge for the second year in a row. .....Still going strong. Due to head out with @jembullo on Sunday to get my December ride in.

Thoroughly enjoyed riding with a variety of great people this year. @Frazzle, @Dark46 and my other KCC clubmates, a couple of joint club rides with Caerphilly CC, one outing with Stroud Valley Velos and three with Eastgate Cycles to start with. Add some nice local rides around Newent with my ex colleague Simon, a charity ride with my old school mate Andy, a great day out in Wales with @Banjo and the "Flapjack" audax with @Pikey and a couple more with @jembullo, and it has been a great year for cycling and for making friends.

Next year I aim to tone down the mileage targets a tad, but go for quality of miles over quantity. I will be holidaying in the Yorkshire Dales and the North West of Scotland ... and hopefully another week in France, and I'll definitely also be on the lookout for opportunities to do some interesting rides a bit further from home. For no reason that I can explain, I really fancy rides that take in the Newport Transporter Bridge and the Starcross Ferry. (I like my bridges and ferries). I'm also looking into the possibility of a Caen to Cherbourg hundred miler of a day trip some time next year. Who knows? Whatever I do, you can bet I'll be out there on New Year's Day starting my next year's adventures. I'll definitely be doing the Metric Century a Month Challenge again, (as I need two more 100km audaxes to get my Brevet 2000 badge from Audax UK to add to the Brevet 500 and Brevet 1000 that I received this year), and I look forward to seeing more of you take up the challenge too. Cheers, Donger.

 

[Banjo]

Quite a year by the sound of it@Donger.

I have had a fairly quiet but enjoyable year .

Have done some Audax DIY routes using the new mandatory route system which is great as you can use any road you fancy.

Had a memorable day in the hills with @Donger.We tackled the Bwlch from Neath which goes from sea level to over 500 meters in about 10 miles .not bad for a pair not optimally built for climbing.

Still plodding on and looking forward to 2017

 

[steverob]

If you'd have asked me that question about six weeks ago, I'd have said I was fairly happy with 2016. While I hadn't gone into the year with any real plans apart from beating last year's mileage total (even by just 1 mile, that would be acceptable) and a vague hope that I'd be accepted into RideLondon again (soon dashed unfortunately), I felt that my cycling had maybe slightly improved or at the very least, hadn't gotten any worse.

High points: I got to ride in the Tour of Cambridgeshire which was my "big" ride of the year and while I didn't enjoy it particularly on the day - which was probably mainly down to the strong headwind during the second half of the ride which absolutely killed me, plus the stinking cold that broke the day before the ride - with hindsight I look back on it with a little fondness and a sense of achievement. Also set a PR on the Tour de Vale (my local sportive that I enter most years) despite having only done one ride in the three weeks leading up to it (combination of holiday and injury) and finally managed a ride with over 1000m of climbing in it having come close a few times before but never quite getting over the magic mark. I also managed to run my first ever 10K, which is a major achievement for me, although I still hate running! And until recent events, it looked like I was easily going to top last year's mileage total, probably with a month or so to spare.

But then everything started going a bit southwards. My fitness levels and my enthusiasm just dropped away for reasons I can't fathom and I started to struggle to motivate myself to get out on the bike, and even when I did, I just wasn't getting the sorts of speeds I had earlier in the year or managing the distances that I knew I was capable of. I would say that I haven't had a ride that I was truly happy with since the end of October and with my recent puncture woes (detailed elsewhere on this forum) and some family issues I've managed less than 20 miles in the last 20 days. If I get my mojo back and the weather is not completely horrible over Christmas (as I'm off work for the entire period), I should still be able to just beat last year's mileage total, but it'll be close.

However I am determined to do better in 2017 and am going to set myself some lofty goals (for me anyway) which will hopefully force me to get over my funk and back on the road. Even if I don't quite manage them, as long as I've made an effort and come close, it'll still mean I'll end up having done more than in previous years.

My minimum is to do at least a 50 mile ride each month. I only joined CycleChat in February this year and unfortunately only found out about the (half) century challenges in April and while I've backdated my rides on that thread (only just December's ride away from completing 50km each month), it annoys the completest (sp?) in me that I missed out on doing a 50 miler each month because I only did 47 miles in January. Yes I know that it's still a bronze star whether you do 50km or 50 miles, but I just like being neat and 11/12 just won't do!

However I am also going to aim for the metric century challenge as well next year - managed that 6/11 months so far this year and feel that my major challenge is getting it done in Jan and Feb - if I can, it should then be a lot easier for the rest of the year.

My final challenge is to do more climbing. This really is my weak spot and this year I used training for the Tour of Cambs as an excuse to do a lot more long, flat rides and then when I finally started to throw some more hills in, I realised how much worse I was getting at climbing due to lack of practice. So next year I will set myself an elevation goal for the year - not sure what yet, but it's got to be substantially more than 110,000 feet, as that's been my average for the last two years. I've got the Chilterns on my doorstep, so there's no excuse!

 

[Dogtrousers]

for reasons I can't fathom and I started to struggle to motivate myself to get out on the bike, and even when I did, I just wasn't getting the sorts of speeds I had earlier in the year or managing the distances that I knew I was capable of. I would say that I haven't had a ride that I was truly happy with since the end of October

When I think back to all of my experiences of "death march" rides, just struggling for hours to keep the pedals turning on awful lumpy potholed roads, they are all winter rides, and yet all of my great rides flying along on smooth tarmac, having mysteriously been given the legs of a much fitter person, are all in the spring or late summer.

 

[jay clock]

Currently at 7200km with target of 7500 in sight. A nice 1200k across France, a 400k to Cornwall and a half Ironman with all the associated training....

 

[samsbike]

I have not done anything like the miles above. I want to be able to crack 6000km, which last year I was only about 60km off and just could not be bothered.

This year I am about 200km which in theory is achievable, although I have started using the motorcycle again so it may not happen! Oddly I have done about 15% more rides this year but they have been shorter so my mileage is not as high as last year.
EDIT as of around 16.12.2016 I am about a 120 km off, more than expected as I got ride of some duplication from strava. I think for this year I am done at where I am.
Upon reflection this seems to be about the right amount of miles for me balancing work, kids and cycle time.

I also want to do the Rapha 500. I have wanted to do this for a number of years but just have not managed it.
EDIT - this seems like more pain than its worth for now, so am out here as well.

2017 - be more consistent, more fun miles and try a 200km again. Oh yeah do the dun run, one night ride and a CC sunday London run

EDIT - did a night ride, so at least one thing achieved this year.

 

[tallliman]

2016 has been a crazy year for me. Approaching 7,300 miles for the year against an initial goal of 10/day. the most I've ever managed previously was just shy of 3,000.

First tour and imperial ton completed, many friends gained through riding which is great. Just need to keep it up next year when perhaps inspiration isn't as close to hand.

Aiming for 5,000 miles next year I think. Undecided about trying the imperial century challenge but definitely want to tour again. Perhaps I need a better touring bike which can handle some of the rail trails around the country. The main improvement I want to do is to get better at descending down steep hills.

Overall, a positive year for me and wonderful to read all the other posts around here from other people's years.

 

[Dogtrousers]

A big

GWS!

to all of you suffering from or recovering from injury or illness

 

[MontyVeda]

2016... didn't get many 'big' (for me) rides in this summer... but did ride a 50 mile section of The Bay Cycle Way from Ulverston to Lancaster.

Next year I'll hopefully be hitting the The Virginia Creeper Trail

 

[postman]

Well you know my Prostate problem.So next year anything will be better.I am just wondering how long it will take to get to riding 40-50-60 like i did with my eyes closed.Funny thing was 2015 was not good,i was turning back while in some rides,but that could have been to do with the early beginnings of the Prostate,i don't know.But i am looking forward to 17,i have even put a rack on the back and bought a larger rear bag.

 

[Johnno260]

Racked up many miles in my Hybrid it served me well, increased my mileage and endurance.

Now I have a road bike and love it, just struggling to get some rides in, either work or family life issues stop me going, or it's foggy/icy.

For 2017 I want to increase my miles and get quicker.

Looking forward to my first sportive in the spring and may try the London to Brighton.

 

[dim]

I've spent days working out a 40km route close to my home in Cambridge

I have cycled some of the roads on my longer rides and have worked out a route that I think has it all ....

Very quiet good roads, a fast route with few turns, and with 318 meters of climbing, and 318 meters of downhill ....

the bigger hills are halfway, and whichever way the wind blows, you will have an easier half and a harder half

I will be riding this route tomorrow with a mate from my village, and if it's as good as I think it is, I'm hoping to do this one every morning (monday to friday) during spring/summer when it's light at 6am .... then home for a quick shower and off to work

if I do this one with pace on a daily basis, it will be a good training route... it will give me an additional 45km per day which will not be junk miles (I cycle approx 40km per day commuting .... short trips (junk miles through the city and busy roads) as I work at several sites:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18021001/edit

if you live in Cambridge, check this route and drag the google man onto the roads .... I think it's a really good route for a quick fast ride.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I've just totaled up my miles for this year. I passed last years 4505 total on the 28th of July. I didn't know that until now. I thought i did well the first half of this year but not that well. Anyway, it all came to an end when i broke my hip last August, then again in November. I've kind of limped over the line of surpassing last year's total, by managing short rides here and there. I'm happy with my total so far of 5728. If i hadn't had those 2 mishaps i reckon i could've knocked out 8000 miles this year. Ah well, that'll be my target for 2017!

 

[Tilley]

This year saw me return to cycling following the purchase of a recumbent trike. Planning to participate in a few Audax and Sportives and also looking to undertake a 113mile charity ride to raise funds for Leukaemia research in memory of a family member who died this year.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Apart from the annual miles achievements and expectations,i'd like to do a few more 100 mile rides next year. I managed one this year, doing 104 miles in May with the local CTC. If i could do 3 century rides next year i'd be happy with that.