Your greatest cycling achievements and memories?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Shaun

Founder
Moderator
When you've been cycling for years and done hundreds of rides and ridden with hundreds of people it's easy to forget some of your cycling achievements and memorable moments.

Personally I've got three that immediately spring to mind:
  • Hitting 45mph downhill in the middle of the North York Moors with only the cows and sheep for company (who didn't seem to care about the odd bloke on the bike screaming with pleasure!)
  • My second FNRttC; why the second one? Well the first one was a lot harder work than I'd expected and by the end of it I was cold, tired and ready for home (pleased I'd done it, but still many miles away from home and it just seemed to take forever to get back and crash out) - by comparison the second was a warmer evening and didn't feel like anywhere near as hard work as the first one so was much more of a pleasure ride. :thumbsup:
  • Almost completing a 100 mile solo ride. I made it to around 96 miles but couldn't push my knee any further for fear of causing serious damage, so called my brother out to come and pick me up - but still, 96 miles was a hell of a good go and one of these days I'll work up the gumption to try again and hopefully crack the magic 100. ^_^
Unfortunately I've not yet had the opportunity to cycle abroad or do a full weekend away on the bike - maybe something I'll get the chance to do later in life - but if I thought about it some more I expect there are a bunch of other things I could add to the list.

So what about you - what great cycling achievements or memories do you have?
 

Kies

Guest
My greatest has been doing 107 miles from Bristol suspension bridge to Uxbridge. My neighbour and I did it as a sponsored ride for Dementia UK as we both have family members that suffer with this terrible disease. We managed to raise £2000, so very satisfying to ride that distance (our longest) and help a very worthy cause.. This was in July 2013 and a scorcher of a day
 

GetAGrip

Still trying to look cool and not the fool HA
Location
N Devon
Not having a bike of my own as a child, my first great achievement was, while riding up and down a rough track on my aunties old huge black step through bike.
Unable obviously to reach the pedals, I was pedalling standing up bobbing up and down with the seat repeatedly banging me in the back.
On what turned out to be my last go, I managed to scramble up on to the saddle and as I bumped about down over a short hill, my legs were swinging away each side of the bike. Oh what a feeling that was, my first real tummy wobbler. Mind you, it didn't end well at all :thumbsdown::B):cry: and I wasn't allowed to 'practise' on that particular bike ever again.
 

Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
First century, Largs to Dumfries about 3 years ago (only done two more since then, and they didn't give the same feeling of achievement).

Most enjoyable experience was probably touring the Loire valley, two years ago. Great weather, nice cycling without having to push myself, and just the feeling of exploring somewhere different.
 

KneesUp

Guru
My dad and I did a week cycling around North Wales when I was 13 or so which made me realise how much you miss in the car. Plus we had chocolate bars every stop :smile:

(I've just looked at the hills on some of those rides on your modern internet - I must have been fitter than I thought, and my dad was definitely fitter at 45 than I am now!)
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
First century when I was about 16. We'd planned to take two days, but foolishly pressed on at the half way point (the second half proved to be much harder!). First seeing the lights of Aberystwyth (our destination) in the distance and realising it was downhill all the way from there.
Successfully organising and cat herding a group of friends into a tour, booking all the ferries and accommodation and stuff and planning all the routes for my 50th last year.
 
Charity ride from where we lived to the coast and back...mileage wasn't that far (about 50 miles a day) but made the best friends and had a laugh every day!!!
 

nickyboy

Norven Mankey
Before I got into cycling I arranged with my Dad (who was a proper cyclist) to ride some of the Transpennine Trail from Hadfield, into Yorkshire, stay a couple of nights touring around, then back again.

The weather was lovely, cycling was hard (I was on a rented MTB) but Dad and I had a really nice time together. This was about 12 years ago. Sadly he passed away (on a bike ride with his mates) a couple of years ago so I'm glad we had that time together, just us two.
 

Bryony

Veteran
Location
Ramsgate, Kent
Mine is probably my first charity ride last year. I had taken up cycling end of April last year after 11 years off the bike to get fitter and lose weight to help the heart condition I have. My first ever ride was a disaster I barely managed 2 miles, but 2 months later I completed a 25 mile (and pretty hilly) ride for charity on a very heavy mountain bike! I got a medal at the finish which I now treasure as after my first tragic 2 mile ride I never imagined I'd achieve what I did in a short amount of time!
 

rb58

Enigma
Location
Bexley, Kent
Two stand out memories - both on same ride, and within 2 miles of each other. Four of five years ago, it was very early on a summer morning and I was coming along Clark's Lane off the North Downs towards Westerham when I came across a guy standing in a field at the top of the Downs where the view is for miles. He was topless, with a kilt on the bottom half and he was playing bagpipes. On his own. In the warm morning sun. Then a short distance further down the hill, a very large bird (to my shame I can't remember what kind of bird it was) flew alongside me, no more than an arm's length from my left shoulder, for a good few hundred metres. I'm not sure if these two things were connected, but it certainly was a morning to remember.
 

mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
Number one would have to be the feeling as I arrived back in Aldborough St John last May at the end of the Lincoln 400 Audax. Totally spent, everything ached, but I'd made it and was euphoric :smile:

Second is rolling down into a valley along the Scottish north coast on tour after LonJOG. It was just me, the sun and beautiful mountain/coastal scenery as far as I could see.
 
Last edited:
I guess the single biggest one that I shall never forget is arriving at Nordkapp (North Cape), Norway at midnight and seeing the midnight sun having cycled 7,000km to get there. It also counted as the single longest ride (89 miles) I have done and the most climbing in one day (somewhere over 4000m), along with the longest tunnel (7km), longest distance underground (15km) and the lowest I have cycled (212m below sea level). What I remember more than anything else is the support that all the people who had driven past us during the day gave us when they saw us approaching Nordkapp visitors centre. They waved, cheered and clapped us on and I think it was that that kept us going because we were physically exhausted. Oh and seeing the midnight sun at Nordkapp was also something special! ;)
 
Top Bottom