10,000 kilometres

Bike

31 Dec 2020

With all overseas plans for 2020 cancelled, multiple phases of lockdown and permanent working from home, combined with a good summer of weather meant I had lots of time to ride my bikes locally throughout the year. Any kind of multi-day event or bigger challenge I’d set myself was off the cards due to pandemic restrictions, but I did have a lot more time than usual to ride. Towards the second half of the year, I’d clocked up a decent number of kilometres, so I decided to set myself the target of hitting the 10,000km mark for the year. This would be the most I’ve done in any single calendar year by several thousand kilometers. Plus, as I hadn’t been able to travel for much of the year, the riding was restricted to the UK, which mainly looked like riding out from my house in London, my Mum’s in Herefordshire or my Aunty’s in north Wales - shown on the heat map below. I did manage to squeeze in a trip to Scotland for a few days in the brief summer period when we were able to travel a bit more freely. My ride highlights of the year are shown below, a mix of road, off-road and mountain bike rides, plus a few photos from along the way.

Hertford gravel roads

Top of the Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons

Heading up from Beddgelert, Snowdonia

Llyan Gwynant, Snowdonia

Llynau Mymbyr, Snowdonia

Snowdonia

Stwlan Damn service road, Snowdonia

Heatmap of rides across the UK over 2020

Combined with the most running I’ve done in a year, I finished 2020 feeling super fit, hoping for restrictions to ease up in 2021 to allow for some adventures further afield where I can put this fitness to good use. However, with travelling abroad realistically being unlikely for a while yet, there are a number of UK based trips that have been on my list for several years, so 2021 will likely be another year of local travel to national parks and coasts.

Reflecting on the amount of time I’ve spent riding this year, I’m also keen for a change and to spend more time pursuing other sports that I haven’t been able to do during the pandemic and also in the last few years for whatever reason. So, I hope to add some variety to this journal moving forward, whilst also diversifying my portfolio of motivations and expanding my skill set.