2018. How will it be for you?

[Pickled Onion]

Post Rides and Touring plans for the coming year...

[Veloman]

Post Rides and Touring plans for the coming year...

Go on then!

[Pickled Onion]

OK then 

It's going to be tricky going away as I've got the builders in from March, but the plans are:

1. Andalucía. Because I missed it last year.
2. Albania. Absolutely loved it, so aim to return and see the other half. Wizz Air have a new route to Tirana starting in the summer.
3. The Caucasus. Aiming to see Nogorno-Karabach, Armenia, Georgia and Abkhazia. Apparently you're allowed in from Georgia on a bicycle but not in motorised transport. Getting a visa may be tricky.
4. Poland. Because I've never been there. No idea which bits.

[Wowbagger]

I have booked train tickets to Brussels on That Eurostar with a view to 4 of us taking bicycles as a sort of action replay of the tour Auntie Helen organised for us in (IIRC) 2010. That will be in early May.

I also want to spend some time in Vienna for music-related activities. Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and the Bösendorfer factory. I doubt that we will take bikes to that, but hiring them for a day's ride along the Danube is a must.

[Karla]

Fly to Miami in May, ride to Anchorage.  Fly to Hokkaido, ride down Japan and across S Korea and China to see some friends near Chengdu.  I might finish the year there or I might continue down to some other friends in Cambodia.  After that, I'll come home when I run out of money, land or funds, and/or when the 2019 weather in Britain becomes warm enough to be bearable.  If I'm lucky I'll make it to Bali for a beach holiday before that happens.

All of that is eminently subject to change, based on my own sweet whim

[Andrij]

For 2018 the goal is to crack the 10,000km barrier, and ride a minimum of 800km per month.

I'd like to do more longer rides (only did 5 rides of over 100km in 2017), and explore more.  I'll also try to manage at least one tour, perhaps Hadrian's Wall or/and C2C.

[andrewc]

I've got a return ferry ticket booked for Le Havre in May.  The plan is to follow the Seine up to Giverny & take a look at Monet's house & garden, then head down for a nose around Chartres before returning to the coast.


I must try to do some more weekend riding as well, as that was totally neglected this year.

[essexian]

I do wonder whether it is worth setting any targets for this year given that I never, ever stick to my plans....its easier from an armchair.... but here goes:

So far, I have booked to do a number of local sportives run by small companies over the winter months and are planning to cycle to most of our away matches: they tend to be something like 30 to 80km in total... I can always get the train back if not feeling like the return ride. There are also a number of local reliability rides around here over the winter which I might tag onto.

I also have an epic weekend away planned to do the Etape Loch Ness.... well I have booked to get there and my hotel but not booked my return yet...CBH is worried I might like to stop up there   

I also intend to finish some business I started last year and failed miserably at, namely cycling from Carlisle to Newcastle in the day. Being a "Soft Southerner" I will take a jacket this time.

Also, I would like to do the London to Brighton charity ride.... well I did Manchester to Blackpool last year so thought it would be nice to cross this one off of the list of rides non cyclists have heard of.

My final target is to ride more.... I went out on my bike only 158 times last year, which is down some 60 rides from 2016. That's just not good enough!

[SoreTween]

I really don't know how this years going to go.  4 months ago I was thinking for 2018 maybe try and score Audax points on each bike (Road, cross, MTB & brompton).  But for the next 4 months I'm on rotation to Italy, time in the UK is going to be exceedingly limited and hence valuable.  I'm signed up for 2 events and neither will get me any points, TINAT 300 slow and Deano's Moor Gravel 150.  That's two valuable weekends blown and no progress.

[Jurek]

Having not ridden on any bike since the beginning of October has led to Jurek becoming Fat Boy  - no longer able to do up the buttons onna shirt which was close-fitting in October.

This.
Will.
Have.
To.
Change.

[De Sisti]

Well, after a sort of barren 2017 (1250 miles, as opposed to about 4000-5000) did my first ride of the year.
2018 won't be much better, as I'm due a hip replacement operation soon, recouperation and recovery,
orchestral practice (which takes precedence over cycling) and shift-working (which is leaving me tired,
despite the generous time off in between shifts).

On a positive note, shift pay is good and my final salary will be based on it (allowing me to take my pension
early and pay off my mortgage in 2019).

[mzjo]

MTB ride for the beginning of february (this used to be a road ride for me but the organisers have given up the road option since there were sometimes only four or five of us so 2018 will see me joining the vtt boys and girls). Knee replacement end of february - rest of 2018 suck it and see but don't  think I will be in full flow before the summer recess so next planned ride the club do at the end of september. Might be inspired to go out and get fit again!!

[Steph]

No tours or any holidays planned at all, just like the last few years. 2018 will see me even poorer than in 2017. I am due another pay cut at the end of March.

[Pedal Castro]

My son who I normally manage to get to join me on a week's tour in France, Belgium or Holland is soon to be a father so may not be able to get "time off".

My youngest daughter recently moved in with her fiancé in Gothenburg and is looking to get married quite soon(ish), in which case I will ride to the wedding as I did for my oldest daughter in 2016 although that was only just north of Leeds.

[Captain Offensive]

Nothing definite planned yet but thinking of going to that 'abroad'; possibly a bit of Belgium and France - I had a vague idea of trying to take in a few battle sites from various wars.  But I might do something different completely.

On a more general note I set a new record in 2017 in terms of miles cycled but still fell 90 miles short of the 3,000 mile mark; so hopefully I'll make it over that marker this year

[T42]

Nothing definite. I had been thinking of doing the 200 km BRM and then deciding about the rest of the series, but the way my climbing performance has declined over the past year is making me think hard about that.  I might do a bikepacking sort of thing down to the Berry at some point, going at only 150-200 km/day instead of 300, but then again I might not.  I'd like to do Strasbourg-Perpignan again too, but since the SNCF eliminated the wonderful overnight sleeper for the return trip I'd have to go back via Paris, which is long and pricey. Since the SNCF was made into a for-profit state-owned company it's gone to hell.

Whatever: I still want to do more km than last year's measly 6342, even if it's 6343.

[Ham]

I want to do summat, thinking of alternative formats such as driving somewhere with Mrs Ham and doing circular or semi circular routes, like riding-where-we-ski as a theme. Col d'Iseran beckons, as we have skied both Val Cenis and Val d'Isere (there's a ski slope back to Val d'Isere from the col). Be nice to do it before it re-opens to cars, but that means either up and back the same side or a lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-ong drive for Mrs Ham. Anyhow, that's detail. Need To Decide.


ETA Val Cenis has the added benefit of what looked like a really "nice" climb the other way into Italy, up to Col de Mont Cenis, the road is a green ski piste wiggling up ( with reds going straight down). There's a great restaurant at the col, too.

[sg37409]

A yeAr or less for me. Less money (resolved to quitting job which will mean massive reduction in money and stress) less riding sadly (last year was my biggest mileage after increasing yoy for years) less buying stuff but more of everything that matters.  I hope to do a few more Audaxes and a wee tour of the west coast and hopefully another wee trip to France money permitting.  Looking at loads of options such as Bike bus to south of France and riding back.   The job thing is worrying but I hope it’s less stressful than my current job

[D.A.L.E.]

Fly to Miami in May, ride to Anchorage.  Fly to Hokkaido, ride down Japan and across S Korea and China to see some friends near Chengdu.  I might finish the year there or I might continue down to some other friends in Cambodia.  After that, I'll come home when I run out of money, land or funds, and/or when the 2019 weather in Britain becomes warm enough to be bearable.  If I'm lucky I'll make it to Bali for a beach holiday before that happens.

All of that is eminently subject to change, based on my own sweet whim

I could burst with jealousy.

[perpetual dan]

Not much in the way of plans here. Miss Dan the Elder has GCSEs so not sodding off all day at the weekends so much is my main plan. I also need to do a bit more exercise, so more running as well.
Our family holiday plans involve bikes and the new forest. Also, at some point I have unfinished south downs way business after cutting it short due to a lack of staying upright in 2017.
Maybe a little something later in the year

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

[Karla]

Fly to Miami in May, ride to Anchorage.  Fly to Hokkaido, ride down Japan and across S Korea and China to see some friends near Chengdu.  I might finish the year there or I might continue down to some other friends in Cambodia.  After that, I'll come home when I run out of money, land or funds, and/or when the 2019 weather in Britain becomes warm enough to be bearable.  If I'm lucky I'll make it to Bali for a beach holiday before that happens.

All of that is eminently subject to change, based on my own sweet whim

I could burst with jealousy.

If you can fund a long haul flight, you're extremely welcome to join in for however much you like.  I was going to start with a leg down to Lisbon to allow people to do that without resorting to expensive flight tickets, but I have a date in Texas that sadly precludes that.

[Pickled Onion]

OK then 

It's going to be tricky going away as I've got the builders in from March, but the plans are:

1. Andalucía. Because I missed it last year.
2. Albania. Absolutely loved it, so aim to return and see the other half. Wizz Air have a new route to Tirana starting in the summer.
3. The Caucasus. Aiming to see Nogorno-Karabach, Armenia, Georgia and Abkhazia. Apparently you're allowed in from Georgia on a bicycle but not in motorised transport. Getting a visa may be tricky.
4. Poland. Because I've never been there. No idea which bits.

1 & 3 - yes. Absolutely loved it esp. Abkhazia, also upper Svaneti. Builders are still in so didn't manage 2 & 4. Still on the to-do list.

[Ian H]

I seem to be steering towards Paris-Brest-Paris and perhaps a few other more energetic rides.  We shall see what happens, though.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

At least three trips to France this year, a weekend of UAF 200s in Ile de France, a Paris-Tourmalet UAF 1000 followed by a Pyrenean Super Randonnee (that'll be a solid week of riding) and PBP of course. A 600 from Germany, through Austria and Switzerland to Italy might be bulked out with some touring, if I'm lucky.

Not sure if I'll be riding in other countries this year; that might depend on where work takes me.

[bludger]

I'm doing the Paris Roubaix sportive and thinking of touring my way there, then continuing on around the low countries for a bit before returning home in late April. However I have study obligations around mid-late may so it might be a very short one indeed.

Aside from that nothing yet firm.