Hiatus - Life Updates ~ Sept-Oct

I've been quiet.

September was a busy month - a mix of long-days out on local lanes, trips away to see friends and celebrations (anniversaries, birthdays, etc). It was also a busy, busy period of job applications, interviews and pitches, which hasn't given me a lot of time to pause and reflect.

The good news - I have a new permanent job! The type of job i've been waiting for - a great career move and the financial stability to start getting excited about new trips, upgrades to the bike(s) and potentially other life changes. Obviously, that means a reduction ride time, and perhaps a shift in what I need (ie. 6 hours a week means I hardly need loads of bikes) so i'm reviewing my initial bike upgrades in favour of more specific adventures as well as more targeted weekenders.

Given it suits me more, my (fairly light) indicative schedule leans a lot towards gravel:

• Sherwood Pines Glorious Gravel long (Jan-March)
• Scarborough / North Yorks Moors (TBC - Date)
• Norway Gravel (recce) ?? (May)
• Slovenia Glorious Gravel (June 3rd-June 8th)
• Dunwich Dynamo > Suffolk (20th July tbc)
• Provence (Ventoux) - (31st - 5th September)

I'm also hoping I can apply for a Glorious Gravel season-pass to cut the costs of the rides and jump onto one's as/when my schedule is light/I can. Otherwise, I also want to try and get a couple of Audax's under my belt, body, mind and time permitted.

For now, it's back to (probable) damp weekend club rides, indoor sessions and hopefully some slippy, sloppy gravel winter fun!

This Year is a Year of CHANGE

I keep hearing that phrase. It's kind of true. Things are changing, and ever-moving.

After settling into life as a cycle commuter in a 9/5 job local to me, my job situation went awry, with the (un/fortunate) result of me being back on the job market. The 'nicest commute in the area' is no more.

The change has, however, given me a renewed sense of self, and a desire to 'go-get' and put myself out there to find the next steps of my career, either as a salaryman or as a more free-roaming creative/entrepreneur. For all the faults that job had, it felt like people were more entreprenurial, scrapping at ideas and side-hustling - being among that 24/7 is quite good for you.

Since leaving, I've had some promising 'big career' job leads, but I've also started a course, am building my online portfolio, creating a local flyer for tutoring/services and networking to find 10 small jobs rather than 1 big job. I've also started thinking about my own business ideas too - and, always, my dream of working in something related to cycling. I've started filming (and learning!) to kickstart a YouTube channel, something i've wanted to do for a long-time, mostly held back by lack of confidence.

For now, it's back to enjoying the good weather, and how fortunate I am to have choices and nice bikes. Ciao.

Mixing it up in January.

By virtue of signing up to ‘compete’ in my first gravel race/event in Sherwood Forest in March, there’s no better time to start getting techy and hitting the off-road gravel-come-mud scene.

There’s not actually all that much gravel in my local area (minus a few trails leading to wind-farms, and a quarry), so public bridleways it was. Created a 20-mile off, 25mile on road route, with the off a mixture of cycle-paths, gravel and public bridleways.

Turns out, public bridleways in this county are a bit of a myth. They either do not exist – in which I ended up on a farmers doorstep or nearly KO'ing into a fence/wall – or they’re not maintained; crumbling and barely useable. Compound that with the sheer amount of rain we’ve had and well – slip, slop, failure.

A few diversions here and there (unfortunately back on road) and it ended up being a pleasant and warm ride, visiting villages new to me such as Irnham, Keisby and Aslackby, with undulating hills, nice sweeping lanes and really beautiful skies.

2023, complete.

An odd but decent on-bike year. Cycled similar mileage to 2022 but can definitely see really good areas of improvement, particularly in my fitness and lifestyle choices -  eating healthily, less drinking, combining to drop me down to a much more natural weight of around 70kg (170cm). 

I also feel far more comfortable on the bike with a combination of improved flexibility (thanks Yoga with Adrienne lol) and better bike-handling. My main struggle of 2023 has been staying healthy - a combination of stress, weather and (from time-to-time) pushing myself too hard and expecting too much (watts, power, speed).

I’ve improved a lot and know I want too much too quickly, so 2024 aim is to be a bit more intentional with my training, get a coach/trainer and just manage my expectations. 

Sadly cycling oversea’s eluded me for another year, but really did enjoy a lot of UK roads and fields, mostly in-and-around Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, as well as a couple of excursions into Yorkshire. Nearly did a bike-packing trip around Cornwall (overnight sleeper), but storm-stopped play, but is back on the list for 2024.