Not sure.
peak ITT the week before the group start was great weather, great riding and I seemed to get round in good form

Ht550 was a disaster for many reasons. But eating a self heating meal in good company was a high point of an all too short doomed trip.

Riding the majority of the trans nevada in Spain at touring pace was great too...

Oh. Had a great short trip to the Highlands with a pal. Mainly a beery and whiskey fuel trip but long mild evenings by the camp fire with a decent malt is always nice

As per usual I planned a whole load of stuff for this year and managed about 30% of it but highlights there were and these were:

Road biking in Majorca in May - Epic scenery and big hot miles



Tour of Mont Blanc in September - simple alpine loveliness (and breaking a mates bikepacking cherry).


(That's not me, it's Eddie)

(Failed) BB200 in October - despite it hurting more than most things ever it was one hell of a 25 hour bike ride (angry walk dragging a bike through nothing in the dark and wet).


(Taken when the decision to call it a day was made - ouchy!)

All-in-all not a terrible year (though nothing compared to what I've got lined up for 2015 - ha!).

The one that sticks in my mind is not sun bathed, but rather a grim wet weekend in mid Wales with Boing Boing and Paramart. The wind blowed hard and it rained solid for 2 days. Overnighting at a bothy, the fire and a beer

Just simple pleasures and the joy of being out

Some great tales and photos up there ^ ^ ^ very impressive.

Haven't really done many big rides this year but having done the Camino Frances a couple of times before, I did manage to fit in the shorter but more challenging Camino Primitivo (the first of the Camino de Santiago routes) in May.

A few pix below and a few more (a sample of a lot more which were taken!) here http://s261.photobucket.com/user/plaind ... ivo%202014.

gairym wrote:Road biking in Majorca in May - Epic scenery and big hot miles.

Sa Calobra is an amazing climb isn't it? Pick a gear and keep churning it out for 10Km. May must have been quite warm - only done it at end of September.

My Highlights:

• A January turbo session (my first time back on the bike after a major op)
• Doing the Bowderdale descent in the Howgills.
• Doing the Doethie Valley descent.

Got some hard work (on the bike) to look forward to in the new year

Doing several 100 + mile off road days this year, particularly the 130 I did on my second and last day of the HTR.
Deciding to do a ride in the cairngorms on midsummers day, at about 10am, throwing bags and gear on the bike, driving up to Blair Atholl and heading up glen tilt with no clear destination or idea of where I was going, just riding until dark and camping. (Actually did a variation of the Cairngorms outer loop in reverse over a day and a morning)
Doing the cairngorms inner loop on a stunner of a day with dry trails. 90 miles of the hardest riding I've ever done until....

Doing the whole cairngorms loop and managing to keep going in the face of some drastic (for me) river crossings and hard (ie wet) trail conditions - 186 miles of the hardest riding I've ever done

Endless days of sun and dry trails

Biggest highlight was cruising down to the yorkshire dales on my Fargo in July over three days and then sitting on a hill side in the sun with several thousand other people watching the Tour de France go by.

BB200 for me. I set off with no idea if I could do it and no expectations. I didn't chase a fast time and really enjoyed it as a result. Learned loads, met good people and saw some beautiful sights.

whitestone wrote:

gairym wrote:Road biking in Majorca in May - Epic scenery and big hot miles.

Sa Calobra is an amazing climb isn't it? Pick a gear and keep churning it out for 10Km. May must have been quite warm - only done it at end of September.

Yep, it's a doozy!

I didn't so much pick a gear as run out of gears and then grimace my way to the top in that.

And yes, it was warm.

This thread should have a sub-title called "Why We Do It"

Riding in the Austrian Alps in the Summer. Rode in the Hinter Tux valley and around Ischgl. Very nice. Bike hire is plentiful and I tried my first "uplift" via cable car and also rode a full suspension bike for the first time. They are not called mountains for nothing! Some serious climbing...

BB200... Not sure if highlight is the right word, but it was certainly an achievement to finish.

Si

So many good trips this year but 2 that stand out are a 3 dayer with Matt





And another 3 dayer earlier on in the year with Yetiman





Roll on 2015

It would be very hard to beat the Tdf trip

Great weather and the best way to see the tour roll past my front door. Once in a lifetime opportunity and reet proud.

Fish & Chips anyone?






Which ones Keyser Soze?