Looking forward to an even fuller 2013

Almost a year ago I wrote my first ever resolution list. Not that I am a big fan of such silly things, but looking back at it now, it feels that it has been a productive one.

In the Chiltern Hills, in a cold January day

In January we did our first audax of the season, and it went quite well. In further months, we clocked up a 200 km ride, then my first 300 (the Dean, with its superb route), and visited the Peak District. Came April, and we went on tour of Belgium and France, where we also watched the infamous Paris Roubaix. I also managed to ride a 200 km in under 9 hours, which it was a big surprise at the time!

In May we headed down South, to Bordeaux, for our Camino. It really was a great trip, and I highly recommend it to everyone. In June, we embarked on our first 400 km ride, which went ok, although Lucy found it a bit much and decided not to do more (ridiculously) long rides.

Riding the Dean 300 audax, in March, on shorts and t-shirt. With Ulfson, my companion for the day

I carried on with the silly aim of become a Super Randonneur, and kept clocking up the km to keep fit. We visited Shropshire, and enjoyed the English countryside at its best, in August.

September was fun. Not only I had a fantastic time touring in the West of Scotland, but also, I managed to ride 600 km all in one go. My thoughts about long rides were mixed by the time I finish though...possibly helped by the fact that I had a very sore butt for nearly the whole ride, and my rear hub was playing up since the very beginning.

Flooded roads in Dartmoor in late October. These days, Lucy and I are very rarely put off by rain, wind or cold. Not too long ago Lucy promised not to ride if the thermometers dropped below 10C!

Dartmoor, in October

October and November were also fairly pleasant, with a couple of long rides thrown in (here and here). I had by then decided to ride at least one 200 km audax per month.

December is a weird month, with the Xmas celebrations and all the stuff, so I did my monthly audax on the first weekend and try and enjoy other things the rest of the month.

Also, I became a Doctor (a PhD doctor!) after nearly four years of continuous efforts and struggle.

So, what about 2013:

- Keep doing my Randonneur Round the Year
- Visit Scotland in Easter, Outer Hebrides this time
- Go to Wales for a few audaxes, which will imply hills. Being Spanish, I have to love hills don't I?
- Ride the infamous Bryan Chapman Memorial audax with its 600 km and 8000 m climb, in May, in Wales
- A tour of Iceland. A long-standing dream of mine. It will possibly be wet, windy and miserable at times, but I am sure we will have a blast
- Fit in a bit more mtb rides, including the South Down Way
- Try and fit in as many tours as possible!!!

Route planning while en route

I still have mixed thoughts about the longer audax rides. This year is LEL (London-Edimburgh-London year), MGM (Madrid-Gijón-Madrid), and a few other long randonnées. None of them are cheap, and all require taking a week of annual leave. I think I would enjoy a week of touring a bit more than those rides.

Wish you all a good 2013 with plenty of scenic miles

Frosty bike computer. Bring on the kms in 2013!