2020 Vision
Happy New Year!
A bit late, I know, but the sentiment is there.
I had a very quiet New Year’s Eve, a takeaway and a film with the Mrs while the boys were safely tucked up in bed (I can wholeheartedly recommend Rocketman as a great film). The beauty of that quiet evening meant I woke up feeling fresh as a daisy so I had a lovely New Year’s ride over to Box Hill and back again, getting the first 60km of the year in the books.
It was a cloudy and fairly chilly morning but it was quiet so it was a really nice time to be out and about. I was glad of the Defeet Woolie Boolie socks as my toes started to feel the chill. I expected it to be busy at Box Hill with lots of like minded cyclists considering the lack of car traffic due to New Year’s celebrations but it wasn’t so, when I reached the top I was the only cyclist there and I must’ve only seen a max of 10 cyclists in the area. Consequently I was in the top 10 for the year at the end of yesterday on the Box Hill Strava segment!! Haha!
2019 In Review
Looking back at 2019, both Adam and I had a fair bit going on. From new jobs to various holidays and cycling related excursions, we packed a fair bit in. Here’s three of my favourite things from the year
Paris-Roubaix – It’s what watching cycling is all about, an adventure to stand in a forest for 4 hours waiting for 30 seconds of madness as the peloton rolls by. What an absolute joy! The fact we managed to get to the velodrome for the finish topped off the race day but we had a brilliant weekend in total, not least the chance to meet Mike Teunissen at the sign in day
Svenska Cykel – Ever since we completed London to Paris I have wanted to cycle in more foreign countries so the opportunity to go and visit my friend Rob in Stockholm was too good to miss. We cycled, drank, laughed, took some boats, laughed, drank some more for a good four days and it was a blast. The archipelago where Stockholm resides is a beautiful place and well worth a visit, I would like to return to a log cabin there in the summer for a week as it seems like an amazing ‘back to nature’ holiday.
UCI World Championships Harrogate – I was fortunate enough to witness one of the defining cycling performances of all time as I saw Annemiek van Vleuten raise her arms at the end of the Women’s Road Race but, in truth, the whole weekend was amazing from start to finish and even the torrential rain couldn’t dampen the hardy Yorkshire spirit. It’s an experience that will live with me for a lifetime, an honour to be the smallest part of it.
Looking Forward To 2020
This year is already shaping up to be just as big as last year. Plans are in the diary, tickets have been booked and events entered so I have many objectives on my mind!
- Lose Weight – I’m already a stone into my weight loss and Christmas doesn’t look like it’s been too bad (fingers crossed)! 73kg is the target, about 6kg to go.
- Etape du Tour – The reason the above is so important and central to the cause! I’m really looking forward to this experience but I know there’s a lot of hard work to do before we fly out to Nice
- Giro d’Italia – We’re off to Italy! Weather permitting we’ll stand on the Stelvio to watch the riders make their way up one of the most iconic climbs in world cycling. Then it’s off to Asti for the finish of the following day’s sprint stage. With Mike riding his first Giro I’m hoping we get a chance to catch up with him
So there it is, the 2nd of January and the diary is looking busy already. Add to those a loft conversion on the house and my wife’s 40th birthday and it will be a really busy year!
IAIN
