Last Monday saw my last ride of the year, and it was a cracking one with which to finish the year. It was minus 7 degrees Celsius as I left the house at 5:30am. The temperature didn’t really get above freezing until closer to 11:00am, by which time I was high up on the Black Mountains, east of Brecon. The ridge tops were majestically covered in a dusting of snow, and though the ground was frozen, the going was far from easy. The 100km loop took over 10 hours to ride, but left me satisfied that I’d rounded off the year in suitable style.
Despite various set-backs over the year, I managed to lay down more miles and climb more metres than I did in 2013. Here’s how things have totalled up:
- Number of rides completed: 84
- Total distance ridden: 5,335 km (3,315 miles)
- Total elevation gained: 105,052 metres (344,659 feet)
- Duration: 381 hours, 47 minutes
- Average speed/ distance/ elevation: 14.0 km/h (8.7 mph) / 63.5 km (39.5 miles) / 1,250 metres (4,103 feet)
- Longest ride: 223 km (138.5 miles) on the Bear Bones 200
- Max elevation gained: 6,829 metres (22,404 feet) on the Lakeland 200
Given that all those are mainly off road rides, most on a singlespeed and some on the fatbike, and not to mention the amount of hike-a-bike endured, I’m quite content with what I’ve achieved. If you fancy having a look at where these rides took place, take a look at the my Strava Heatmap of 2014 rides
I’ve got some exciting stuff coming in 2015, and I’m confident that as one year closes and another begins, I’m ready to take things up a gear.
Happy New Year!
Middle Ring All The Way 