Donger
Convoi Exceptionnel
- Location
- Quedgeley, Glos.
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.
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.
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