Seeing out 2024 sees me – through the medium of detailed statistics – stuffing the tragedy into tradition. Or not. I’ve covered about the same ground although ridden a bit less and run a whole lot more. Strava – through it’s black box of dodgy metrics – tells me my fitness is good and even improving. Some days I feel like that, others I just feel my age.
Still as my friend Si is fond of saying “at our age, every day is a gift‘ so we shall enjoy it while we can, and reflect on the qualitative not the quantitative. I certainly enjoyed completing* the “100 days of exercise“, so much so that it’s continued to be my annoying daily partner (ADP) even after limping over the line on Christmas Eve.
Again a delve into the murky statistical world of activity recordings correlates good things going up and bad things going down. However, having set myself a goal of running a10km outside in 57 minutes or less by end March, some kind of training plan accelerating the withered frame to flank speed is the only bulwark against a misplaced confidence that running that distance inside counts for anything.
So that starts tomorrow with the Garmin helming the coaching ADP role. I’ve given it a target date and speed, and it’s spilled out a training plan that appears to be entirely disconnected from 10 years of data that same company holds on what it laughingly calls my “athletic performance“. We shall see. And suffer I expect. Still with dry January barely a day away, 2025 is setting itself up for enjoyment antonyms, so let’s instead pretend none of that is happening and wallow in all that my 2024 picture library can offer.
January
A month of endless filth. Even by the UK standards of winter misery, this felt like at least 100 days of rain, wind, cloud, more rain and storms. That ride was mid month and is a fair and accurate representation of exactly how shit it was.
Still Carol and I did escape to Madeira for a week successfully chasing the sun and its warmth.
February
A return to Bike Park Wales after a few years away. Steve, Em and I had a fab time even though it was raining all day. Only stopping when temperatures dropped enough for sleet to be our dampness of choice.
Matt and I found about the one dry day to clear a trail lost to forest harvesting. That was hard graft!
March
Winter failed to get the Spring memo. Reluctant to crank the season ratchet, it first froze then snowed. The white stuff covered up the filth for a bit, but it endured and we were all getting properly sick of the mud and the slop.
So heading off to Spain was the perfect antidote. Four days of partially uplifted dry trails. In my case mostly with just the one brake. Lots more of that and other nonsense here: Malaga YouTube Playlist
April
Returning from Spain, Spring finally kicked off. With a great bluebell season and dry – nay dusty – trails to play on. The hardtail was finally retired from its winter campaign leaving the RipMo and Digger dug out for these pined for conditions.
And we added Roxie “the carpet of chaos” to our family. She’s now the size of a small snub nosed furry elephant, and has massively enriched all our lives. Apart from maybe Lola’s who’s still wondering if she’s ever going home. A post on Bitey-Von-Fluffle and the convoluted way we ended up with a second dog only I wanted shall follow at some point.
May
Oh what’s this? A new bike? Surely not? On yes Shirley, a pre-loved** 2019 Yeti SB130LR. Always wanted one but could never face paying the eye watering RRP. This might be my most favourite bike since my first Ibis Mojo 3. Took it to Porlock to ride with Debs and Martin and was rewarded with blue skies, fantastic trails and good humans to spend a long weekend with. We’ll be doing that again in 2025 I hope.
Martin and Debs were then in town for Annie’s birthday. Matt fired up his outdoor Pizza oven and a fine time was had by all. At least one of which did not have a fine time the following morning 😉
June
This is my favourite time of year to ride in the Forest. It just explodes with growth and every plant is a shade of ‘that must be crap CGI‘ bright green. Here Matt, Cez, me and Johnnie are dropping off a fun little rock. Well three of us are 🙂
Went on hols with the family. First time for all of us since 2018. No familicide was committed so we might try it again 🙂 The Algarve was surprisingly lovely once away from the strip, but a tad warm for ‘blue to angry lobster in 30 minutes’ here. Still it did marginally prepare me for July.
July
Madeira gets three images. Which entirely fail to narrate the experience of 12 riders descending on a tiny island criss-crossed with epic landscapes, superbly built and maintained trails and dust. So much dust. Until the last day when us Muddy Fodders found conditions very similar to winter in our own valley. Other than being about 25 degrees warmer.
A fab trip and I need to get round to writing some more. Until then, a library from two GoPros will have suffice.
August
One of my favourite idiots, “Leaky” Lewis coming in waaaaaay too hot on the steeps nestling under the Kymin. Such a fun night ending in the Boat at Redbrook before a wobble home on the old railway. Only slightly tinged by the encroaching darkness signalling Summer was over halfway done.
Walked the four waterfalls starting at Aberdare for my birthday with the family. Quite a tough day out that, but we were fortified with ice creams on the way back. Great to have the whole fam there. Even if they did insist I carried ALL the kit!
September
Back to Molini in the Ligurian alps for the third time. It was as fantastic as ever even tho my elbow was not. We rode our favourite trails and explored a few new ones. Mostly in sunshine, once in world ending hail that had us running for the bar in Molini and wondering how we’d escaped drowning.
Arriving home, we met all of Roxie’s family. None of them were that colour by the end of the walk. Took Roxie to the the dog groomers. Based on the state she was in, not sure we’ll ever be allowed back 🙂
October
Steve’s birthday ride. Deep into Autumn. Leaves are browning out and carpeting the trails. Still dry tho and we had a fab day out.
Back into full lights night riding season. Still pretty dry and warm tho. That didn’t last for long!
November
A 3 day trip to North Wales was a huge success. Great accommodation in a tiny village that somehow hosted an amazing deli and a gourmet restaurant! Had a very big day riding the Gwydr trail and some ‘accoutrements‘ totalling 1200m of climbing. So much fun was had, we’ve rebooked for May.
Early snow. Roxie was pretty well camouflaged. Didn’t last long but long enough to remind me why WFH 4 days a week is definitely a good thing!
December
Going out the way we came in. The opening image was from our last 2024 MTB ride. Conditions remarkably good until they weren’t. When skills, grip and tyres are not enough, time to deploy the emergency tripod!
It seems apposite to finish on the people under the helmets (in so many ways this is both funny and true 🙂 ). Here’s Matt and Jimmy working up an appetite for the riders end of year curry. Again a fine evening and a slightly less fine morning after.
So that’s 2024 mostly wrapped. The stats don’t tell the story and I’m not sure the images do either. But they remind me how lucky I am to be healthy and fit to do the things that make me happy, mostly because I do it with a tribe of friends who make the whole thing just so damn life affirming.
I used to write “the joy of riding mountain bikes is 50% where you are riding and 50% who you are riding with”. I’m not sure that ratio is quite right.
The New Year storms are raging outside. Rain and snow in the forecast. They can do their worst, I’m ready for 2025 and all the adventures it will hold.
See you on the other side.
*to be absolutely clear- the enjoyment was finishing not participating.
**only not much based on the condition it turned up in.