2020 review

[voodoo_simon]

Let’s have a nice, positive end to the year

This thread is a bit of a love/hate one each year but what the hell. Pick your favourites of 2020
-favourite ride you’ve done this year (overnight or not)
-favourite bit of kit you’ve bought this year
-favourite piece of media you’ve watched/read/listened etc

[slarge]

OK, let's keep it positive!!:

best ride - the Yorkshire Dales 300 - started out as a tough old ride but met a couple of other riders and we did the last half together - was a great social ride in fantastic scenery. (The Dales Divide 600km was a very close 2nd).
favourite bit of kit - haven't bought much but probably a PHD race sleeping bag - ultra light, very thin but surprisingly warm
favourite piece of media - tricky one this - finished off Homeland which was a good end, and also halfway through Vikings on Amazon

The trouble this year is that there hasn't been much competition for favourite anything

[The Cumbrian]

Favourite ride: I started cycling again just over a year ago after a hiatus of over 20 years, so I'm still in a bit of a honeymoon period and enjoy myself every time I go out. A ride that I keep on returning to though is a 20 mile loop from Frodsham that incorporates country lanes, towpaths, bridleways and a wide variety of scenery and terrain including open fields and woodland. There's a decent climb (for Cheshire) and probably the best downhill in the county.

Favourite bit of kit: Jones bars. The reason I stopped cycling all those years ago was that my hands would very quickly go numb whilst cycling after a bout of carpal tunnel syndrome in my early twenties. I've always had a bike in the interim, but only ever used it for short leisure rides. When my youngest son started mountain biking in summer 2019 I started to go with him and got right back into it, but was held back by my hands going numb. After discovering Jones bars (on here) and installing them, I'm now able to go out on decent length rides again.

Favourite media: The Thousand Mile Summer by Colin Fletcher. Hiking rather than cycling, it's Fletcher's account of his walk along the length of California from the desert through the High Sierra in 1958. A fantastic read that makes you thankful for modern lightweight kit, but also yearn for a bygone age when you could get the wild places to yourself.

[woodsmith]

From a riding point of view its all been good . Pre lockdown riding around Gallipoli at the beginning of my soon to be aborted trip through Central Asia was pretty special.

Best purchase was a Thermarest NeoAir X-Therm. So much warmer than the X-lite it replaced.

" The Railway Man" by Eric Lomax. Quite simply one of the greatest books I've ever read.

[jameso]

Ride, without doubt, during a snatched week road-pack into Wales in August - heading up the Cwmystwyth valley during golden hour. Just after a nice dinner and a pint, had decided to take a re-route onto a road I was sure Benp1, Zippy and I rode during WRT 2017 and ended up riding back towards Rhayader on the most beautiful road in gorgeous light. A few days into the ride, a good place to be and it just worked out so well. Big smile.

Also managed to get a good long ride in this year, not huge but enough (with zero prep, just a day before idea) that I had a very low point and there's something cathartic post that 'fk this' feeling when it's dark, the weather seems to be against you and you're 60 miles from home and 2 hours down on an optimistic time plan. Puts things in perspective because it was all my idea and it's just a bike ride. Get pissed off, see how stupid that is - reset.

Product, haven't bought much apart from a custom audax/road bike. Lovely skinny tubes and lugs, a ride that's grown on me a lot and I liked it a lot on the first ride. So, that.

Media, read very little this year - haven't been going to work on the train and that was my 1-2hrs reading many days. Miss it and need to find time in a routine to read more now. The media I have enjoyed particularly has been Soundcloud and some excellent DJ mixes. Pareidolia sessions, Sasha's LNOE series, some old Shelleys or Legends stuff maybe. When it all seem a bit sub standard or hemmed in, house music opens everything up.

[redefined_cycles]

Best ride(s): BB200 definitely and it was waited for, for a long ling time. Sadly I failed but thankfully I survived a storm and chucked in the towel in time as well as getting home in time for (not being too knackered for)work. Twas amazing and very many thanks to Stu.

Best part of this ride was the wild horses at the point where the first section of (proper) HAB started. Gorgeous they were and slightly confused as to why I was walking along their paths on my lonesome with the bike.



Was I somewhere near the Pant, I'm not sure. It was one of the most southern points of the route and also the highest point. The other favourite ride was riding, editing and reriding the NorthPeaks100. Twas lovely and I've yet to complete it fully.

Oh wait... Hold on, actually this was the favourite. Or one of them, or the most scenic and not too wet. When I rode down to sleep at a high spot in the Peaks-middle. Who'd have thought this section could actually look so amazing and gorgeous. Just a few superman-stones throw across from Holme Moss

Favourite bit of kit was my Arcteryx goretex shoes. Bought last year for the BB200 but within the financial year that ended in 2020. So am gonna class it as this year. Quickly became my favourite kit that fell apart too quickly and dealing with Arcteryx has been almost like dealing with somewhere like Planet X. Still, they were oh so comfortable that after I finish this post I'll be emailing em back after their non-response laat time to grovel the 40% voucher they'd offered.

Other favourite piece of kit being Scawwwtish. My beautiful Trekkertent which Allah gave me after a search and latience of nearly three years. Worked wonderfully on the BB200 with a tiny footprint which I pitched beside the path, almost on the banking (bridle).

Favourite listening/watching. Well for me I can listen to it for hours and have done. On repeat over many days and the same thing. Recitation of the Quran by a Qaari (fluent reciter of the Quran) called Tawfeeq As Sayegh. What was even more wonderful was when I realised his recitations were available on SoundCloud (enough of a reason for me to subscribe now so I can skip the ads) so I needn't keep listening to 28th section. Big big smile!

[voodoo_simon]

^^^
Just about to reply Shaf saying use as many or as little words as you want to I’ll always welcome pictures to another thread and you can have more than one favourite too

[redefined_cycles]

^^^
Just about to reply Shaf saying use as many or as little words as you want to I’ll always welcome pictures to another thread and you can have more than one favourite too

Ace. Work in progress. I'd been thinking that this year had been a waste. Not in terms of productivity or other stuff... But just in limited outdoor riding, thanks for this though Simon as it's put things in persepctive and helped me find some real gems hidden away in the phone and brain.

Watch this (well that there above) space...

[voodoo_simon]

Favourite ride
Nothing grand but it hit the spot. A two hour local ride taking in several hills around the Delamere area. Lots of dust that ride, felt great on the bike and was flying but more importantly it reset my brain that Friday night. Went very a very stressed out voodoo to a content one that evening and it really helped with my mood and the way I interacted with my family that weekend Hooray for bikes!


Favourite piece of kit
Bought an Osprey bum bag and it’s been fantastic, carried everything I need for a day ride plus an extra layer of needs be. So good I almost forgot about it!

Exposure Toro. It really has made my winter riding this year, has made night riding much more enjoyable.

Still have a new water filter and sleeping mat to try out that I bought the week before lockdown 1...

Favourite media
Difficult to pick but quickly...
Annie and Huw did a lecture at the start of lockdown of their fatbike trip to Greenland. It was our first lockdown lecture online and it was great to watch

Safety to Nome - fat bike film. Snow and fatbikes make me happy. Highly recommended

Lastly, I watched a lecture by Karl Bushby. Someone I’ve never heard of but he’s walking back to Hull from Chile Incredible achievement so far, he’s yet to finish. I’ll let you research into him but you won’t be disappointed

[Borderer]

Best ride - An Turas Mor
Best kit - a 'new' bike for Joe. It's a gift for me too as he loves riding it. Win win.
Best thing watched - Still Game.

[ton]

Best ride, from laggan up to the corrour station, with my wife, in septembe. ace ride, ace lunch.

best bit of kit, columbia outdry waterproof. just bloody perfect.

media, a couple of films made me cry (with joy) Lion and Green Book.


i have had a good year cycling, without going too far from home.

[RIP]

Ride: by far and away, August's RealWRT with long-suffering BDS, locating 46 old Ceridigion metal-mining sites.
Kit: an extra copy of David Bick's "Old Metal Mines of Mid-Wales Vol 3"
Media: a book; something to do with holes, or mineral extraction, or similar, I think it was..

[fatbikephil]

Ride:- my jaunt round Ben Alder / Advericke / Ossian / Road to the Ilse and back over Bealachs Cumhan and Dubh all in blazing sunshine and with a fab bivvy to boot.

Best bit of kit is tricky as I've bought loads of stuff this year in a mad fest of retail therapy..... I'll go with

Singlespeed stuff for Jones - been very enlightening, a huge amount of fun and a certain amount of(but well within the means of all decent folk) suffering.....
Best media also tricky as I've read loads and listened to lots of music. I think I'll go with Berlioz symphony fantastique - its been played a fair bit on R3 but the first time it came on was after a rather fraught day at the 'office' and was very uplifting.

[thenorthwind]

Best ride: Toss-up between the Dales Divide and Scotduro, which is funny because they were on consecutive weekends. Quite different rides, but I think DD takes it. New friends, pushing my limit, great scenery, decent weather, plenty of chips.

Best new kit: My new frame bag, a lockdown creation: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=17953

Best media: Not sure if it's supposed to be something that was created this year, but re-discovering old loves has been a bit of a theme for many people in many ways this year, so I'm going with it... At the beginning of the year I started re-reading The Ride Journal from cover to cover, issue 1 to 10 (I have them all ). It's probably one of the things that's brought me most joy this year. The sheer breadth of different people and experiences within is just incredible. The word inspiring is over-used, but I read roughly one article a day (I keep it in the smallest room ) and almost without fail finish it with a more positive view on the world than I did five minutes before. I'm on number 5 I think so still got another year's worth

[Charliecres]

Favourite ride: the Virtual WRT. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed riding to local places I’d not been before and sharing a similar experience with others on here.

Favourite kit: My Stooge Ti

Favourite media: I’ve not been blown away by anything this year (that I can remember) but Josh Ibbet’s GBduro vid captured some moments that all Boners will relate to.

[The Cumbrian]

Favourite listening/watching. Well for me I can listen to it for hours and have done. On repeat over many days and the same thing. Recitation of the Quran by a Qaari (fluent reciter of the Quran) called Tawfeeq As Sayegh. What was even more wonderful was when I realised his recitations were available on SoundCloud (enough of a reason for me to subscribe now so I can skip the ads) so I needn't keep listening to 28th section. Big big smile!

I worked in Jordan back in the 90s, and one of the things that sticks in my mind is listening to the dusk call to prayer from all the mosques in the city echoing around the hills of Amman. The city and it's people seemed to pause and take a breath from a day of frenetic activity before settling into night.
I'm not a believer of any description, but that's probably the most haunting and spiritual thing I've ever heard.

In direct contrast to that though was the dawn call to prayer in the small town in the desert where I was based. The imam in Al Hassa was not blessed with a fine singing voice like his counterparts in Amman.

[TheBrownDog]

Best ride: Tour de Dartmoor with Rich Charlie and Ben in Sept. Very hard for me with my lack of fitness and weight gain, buggered knees and Take More Stuff approach, but I haven't laughed so much in forever. Great antidote to lockdown.

Best kit: Brother Cycles Big Bro, just a good honest carry everything bike that will last forever. Must also add Ritchey Kyote Bars and Acepac BarBag.

Best media: Simon A Bloke in The Woods on youtube. Really enjoy this guy's quiet determination to have an Alaskan-style bushcraft outdoor experience from his base in Kent.

[gairym]

I'm trying my very best to remain positive this year but it's not easy!*

(*found out that a slip two days ago has resulted in a cracked rib which hasn't helped my positivity )

-favourite ride you’ve done this year:

Tuscany Trail - after being off then on then off then on and then almost certainly off again it finally happened in late September and was a joy and a much needed escape from all things 2020.

-favourite bit of kit you’ve bought this year

My new 'duro bike! I retired my 12 y/o 26" bouncy bike and got me a shiny new Santa Cruz 'Hightower'. It's an absolute game changer for big days in the hills around here - I love it!

-favourite piece of media you’ve watched/read/listened

Bike-related (in application)but not bike content. I found two +6 hour DJ sets from Gilles Peterson and Mr Scruff which are absolutely perfect for long days in the saddle. Cracking high energy music spanning everything from Cuban jazz to Drum and Bass, sixties Soul to Techno and much more!

Here's to a less eventful (but more full of events) 2012.....

[Scud]

Best ride (s) for me this year, i have only left county twice for a ride this year, but that first lockdown when we had the great weather that seemed to last for months, i went our nearly every day and mileage went from being 80-90 miles a week to nearly 200, but i would start on a familiar route, but made a point of taking bridleways and country lanes i'd not ridden before and made sure i stopped for photos, and just enjoyed riding a bike for what it is. That and Global Fat bike last saturday, had snow the day before, and forecast of 2 degrees and 25mph coastal winds, ended up really still and rode just 24 miles miles but all along the beach exploring the ship wrecks on that part of coast (North Norfolk) and riding for first time with someone else for 6 weeks was great.

Best bit of kit - not bough a great deal this year, i tend to go on kit splurges when i have big trips coming up - but a mate runs this company, and this top tube bag mount is ace, means i have a Revelate Gas Tank with pump/ tube/ tubeless repair kit and some bars, and each bike has the mount on, and i can just slide the bag on and off between bikes -

https://www.76projects.com/shop/ass-anti-strap-system

Best media - unusually for me, no music has really grabbed me this year, i have loved a few TV shows though, Better Call Saul is brilliant, and an Australian show called Mr Inbetween, a violent but very funny show, bit like Chopper, but working from home, i hate to think how many hours of podcasts i have devoured at home, especially The Cycling Podcast and Velocast

Here is to a better 2021 guys and gals.

[Richpips]

My year's highlight was definitely spending a couple of weeks with Tom, riding 700 miles of the Great North Trail from our home in Derbyshire up to Cape Wrath.

Purchase of the year has to be the makings of a Rohloff equipped Indy Fab Ti Deluxe.

Favourite media has to be these guys on Instagram https://granguanche.com/ ., uplifting images of beautiful places that I have yet to visit.

[psling]

Best bit of kit - not bough a great deal this year, i tend to go on kit splurges when i have big trips coming up - but a mate runs this company, and this top tube bag mount is ace, means i have a Revelate Gas Tank with pump/ tube/ tubeless repair kit and some bars, and each bike has the mount on, and i can just slide the bag on and off between bikes -

https://www.76projects.com/shop/ass-anti-strap-system

I had a looksie at that link... wow! what a great little range of interesting bits. Unfortunately I'm now a bit worse off than i was half an hour ago

[benp1]

Best ride - don't have one this year. I cycle commute in normal times but haven't done much of that this year so all my cycling is now for fun. My mileage has dropped but I've enjoyed riding in my local area. I've yet to do one ride that's exactly the same as another, some are very similar but always do at least one bit that's different. It's been nice to just get out on the bike

Best bit of kit -
1 - Van. Bought a van in March, always wanted one and finally did it. Lucky timing to have it before lockdown so we could use it as lockdown was eased, and then didn't have to pay crazy lockdown pricing too. Has given us so many family memories that we wouldn't have otherwise had, from sleeping in it to eating our dinner all facing each other. I like it as a tool, but I love it for the experiences/memories it's created

2 - Dog. Our previous dog passed away early last year, has been so nice to have a dog back in the house again. Even with three kids there was still something missing. I've loved having to get out twice a day for a walk

Best bit of media - hmmm. Not much of a reader at the moment. Music tends to be streaming something current. Have watched a bit of netflix but considering I've been at home so much, seem to be too busy to watch much! Main form of media are internet forums as you can duck in and out easily

[summittoppler]

Best ride:
A tough one but I like my January ride through Beddgelert forest and up onto the mountainside for a cracking pitch overlooking Snowdon. Looking back at how the year went, it was nice to have it normal.
20200119_075930 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Best bit of kit
Has to be my drone
20200222_104115 by Jeff Price, on Flickr

Best media
Has to be any of my own films

[Dave Barter]

Best ride: The Golden Road on Harris. I cannot wait to get back out there

Best bit of kit: My Crux

Best media: The nutter going across Wales in a straight line. Mainly for his utterly unpretentious filming.

[AndreR]

Best ride was WRT rode solo met some lovely people and had a blast.

Best buy was a Sonder Camino delivered just before lockdown #gravelwanker!

Best media/book; Underland by Robert McFarlane