So how has your 2021 cycling year been?

[nickyboy]

I've been cycling about 8 years and every year I've set myself the target of 5,200 miles...100 miles per week. Never made it

Until this year! Well, I'm at 5,090 so I will comfortably get there. The key was doing LEJOG this year, 950 miles in 10 days. Really great experience; great route, kind weather, no issues for any of the four of us. Got a good fitness bounce in August but that's tailed off...Peak District in winter it's tough to keep the miles up and work has been really busy

Managed to cycle a couple of new places...Looe in Cornwall was a lot of fun and quite hilly. La Gomera (the smallest of the Canary Islands) was ridiculously, off the scale hilly....25 miles/5,000ft climbing type hilly

 

[Glow worm]

Fewer miles this year largely down to almost no commuting as well as no NL tour . I normally hit 3000 miles but so far I’m only at 2175.

The worst bit was losing my main bike (cracked frame) in May after 42,000 miles.

The highlight was buying a new bike, from the wonderful Spa Cyles in Harrogate and riding it home to East Anglia. Here’s a pic of the bike in the shop just before I jumped aboard and headed south. Happy Christmas everyone.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Patchy is the only way to describe my cycling year. Combination of illness and low mood has meant several patches of a couple of months have been missed. I don't record mileage but I doubt that I have ridden 1500 miles in total.
I am hoping to get more riding in next year, but won't be making resolutions or setting targets because I have seen too often the best laid plans blown apart by life.
If I have one aim it is to enjoy the miles that I ride, and do them because I want to, not because I think I ought to.

 

[StuAff]

Overall mileage down, again, it'll just sneak over the 3,000 mile mark (December is always a wash due to acts of work). A few centuries, and only one slightly daft long ride (Portsmouth-Liss then train to Woking on account of road closure-Windsor-Winchester). Would have done Portsmouth-Bristol-Barry again but there was a DJ Shadow gig in Brighton the same night (he was playing Bristol the previous night). The plague permitting, 2022 mileage will be up somewhat.

 

[Sharky]

On track to hit 6000 miles, just need to do 5,400 in the next week.

Has been a difficult year for cycling. Managed to ride a few more 10's and chalked up my 500th TT event, but time wise, quite slow. The last few months have been hit by preparations for my daughters wedding and Christmas and the very time consuming process of getting our eldest daughter transitioning into her new care home. Not an easy task.

Outside cycling, managed to resume playing table tennis after an almost 2yr break and undefeated after two matches. Admitidly a slight lower standard than I had been playing, but it my age quite a challenge.

 

[Brandane]

Not great here. Despite not having worked this year and the weather being better than average, so no excuses other than August/September being wiped out due to 2 minor operations requiring stitching of the abdomen and a ban on strenuous exercise.

I find I get bored with repeated local routes, no matter how nice they might be. Hamster wheel syndrome sets in. Tours were pretty much ruled out this year due to crazy accommodation prices, and camp sites apparently solidly booked - and also stupidly expensive.

Haven't checked the bike mileages yet but at a rough guess I will be somewhere about 2500 miles for the year. Not a total disaster but I was hoping for much better at the start of the year.

 

[Cavalol]

Sorry to say, it's been dreadful. Have hardly been out on any of the bikes at all, just been too lazy. Would think total miles probably about 100 if I'm lucky, a very poor effort. Just bought a Bianchi road bike though, been after one for years, so hopefully that'll gee me on to a few rides.

 

[Bazzer]

Crap. Commuting went out of the window with the plague and and working from home. Then everyday life interfered with big chunks of cycling time. Couldn't even find time to get ridden up for the Manchester to Blackpool FNRttC.
The 50k monthly challenge on here has been a lifeline, albeit sometimes riding at what to many others, might be silly o-clock in the morning.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I am currently on 5,700 miles which is significantly down on previous years. Been out on the bike 241 times this year. Which means my average bike ride is around 23 miles. That feels about right as I typically head out for approx 1.5 hours and mostly at lunch time.

Like many I’m sure your cycling routine is a bit out of kilter. I try and get out 4 or 5 times a week. I had a cold in October the effects of which lingered into November. I’m not quite back into my cycling routines yet. But I’m working on it and building my base back up. I always treat this time of year as a reset anyway.

My local cycling club seems to have imploded after an EGM. So it’s mostly back to solo or rides with my wife.

 

[palinurus]

Almost no leisure cycling, no touring- that's not unusual- not an yearly event, plenty of commuting (I work in a lab so work from home is only an option from time to time- realistically hardly ever being as I live in a flat that's too small to work in)

I have however taken a lot of stuff to the dump in the trailer- so that makes it a great year.

 

[Jenkins]

A change in shift pattern at the start of the year seems to have left me with less free time, so my leisure rides are more of the shorter ones as I just don't find myself with a spare four or five hours aside for a good long ride that often. Added to which has been an impression that the weather's not been as good this year and I've had the need to get away more thanks to the various lockdowns and travel restrictions of the past year and a half.

Thanks to adding a few extra miles each day to the commute to compensate for the above (not missed a day this year) I'll still be around my usual total of around 9500 miles, but it's just not been the same this year.

Another landmark is that it's now 25 months since a new bike arrived at Jenkins Towers - with any luck this should be rectified some time in January

 

[Alex321]

So I looked at that at the start of the year, and wondered if 3,000 miles might just be possible this year. I'm actually going to reach 4,000 in the next couple of days (currently on 3,975) 🎉 .

As expected, hit the 4,000 miles (exactly!) today.

 

[RoubaixCube]

Nudging 2900 miles this year so far. compared to last years effort which was 1600. You could say i definitely made more of an effort to get out. Made good use of the heatwave earlier in the year to really stretch my legs.

The meter is still running so i'll definitely break 3k before the new year.

 

[PaulSB]

I'm not sure really. I know I've been riding well but also know I've been off form all year. 2021 total is 5734 miles against a 2020 total of 7736 and my climbing is down from 411,000 feet to 260,000. Having said that in 2020 I set a target of 7500 miles and 400,000 feet and despite achieving both the six weeks starting from November 1st were miserable as myself and a buddy did nothing but chase miles for our individual year targets.

My target for 2021 was 5,000 miles so I hit this easily. The disappointment is in 2020 I was in fantastic form and setting good PBs on all the local climbs plus some notable ones further afield - Fleet Moss, Buttertubs and similar. This year I haven't been able to match the form and the reason is very simple. In 2020 lockdown I rode 30/35 miles a day five days a week absolutely flat out and hit peak fitness. I've put a programme in place to get properly fit by March 31st and look forward to a great season after that. I am only talking about competing with myself, no one else.

The highlight of the year was The Fred Whitton which I rode in 9 hours 8 minutes which at 67 I think is pretty good. It's a wonderful ride and while Honister and Hardknott both hurt the rest is superb. A great day out. I'll enter again for 2022 and if I get a place I'm targeting below nine hours.

The other big positive for 2021 was getting in to gravel riding. This is going to feature a lot more in our pensioners group rides.

 

[DCBassman]

Not great, but still more miles than any previous recorded year. Problems are mainly physical (spine), will see what the new year looks like medically before setting any targets.