2012: The Year In Review

2012: Review Of The Year

6502 miles at an average of 125.03 per week.

What a record-breaking year 2012 turned out to be. Although I didn't topple 1998 as my highest total, I slew a whole set of records in the process. Here they are:

1. Most 100s done in a single year (50). Previous record was 46 set in 1998.
2. Most consecutive 100s done in a single year (50). Previous record was 42 set in 2011.
3. Earliest week in a year to do 100 miles (week 2). Previous record was week 4 (2007 / 09 / 11).
4. Quickest time to get my weekly average to 100 (week 6). Previous record was week 11 in 1998.
5. Shortest time to reach 1000 miles (achieved in week 10).
6. Shortest time to reach 2000 miles (achieved in week 17).
7. Shortest time to reach 3000 miles (achieved in week 25).
8. Shortest time to reach 4000 miles (achieved in week 32).

Other interesting stats:
Best week: 206.4 in week 32 (w/e 12 August).
Peak average: 130.65 in week 37 (w/e 16 September).

It's been a tremendous achievement to keep up the 100s week in, week out, despite the worst summer in my memory. It was also pleasing this summer to be able to post a 200 mile week, something I was surprised to find I'd not managed since August 1999 - excluding the special effort made in 2011 on the Berwick trip of course. There was nice symmetry too that I missed out on 100 miles only in the first and very last week of the year.

I often use cricket references in this blog when talking about centuries, run chases and averages. Comparing 2012 with 1998, it's tempting to say that whereas '98 saw a Kevin Pietersen-esque acceleration halfway through the innings (av. 161.1 in the last 20 weeks of the year) 2012 has been much more an Alastair Cook kind of innings, with a steady, no fuss accumulation leading in the end to a big total. I finished the year 679 miles behind 1998's monster total. That's only 13 miles per week on average.

Here's the updated chart of my annual totals, showing where 2012 proudly takes its place at #2 in the list of achievement:

And so onto 2013. I've set myself the target of 6000 miles again.

2012 - Week 52 Graph

I've not posted a graph for a while so it's time to reflect on the performance over the last month and the year as a whole.

Here's the graph for the final four weeks of 2012:

It's not too much to look at to be honest. The years 2009-11 glided to an end with averages for the final four weeks in the sixties and seventies. 2012 had an average of 94.75 in the same period; 1998's was 139.4. The gap between 2011 and 1998, with 2012 occupying the middle point between them, is glaring.

Here's the graph showing the comparison between 1998 and 2012.

You can see how the years started to converge by the middle of the year. Far exceeding my expectations, despite several weeks where 1998 was breathing down the back of my neck I managed to cling onto the lead until the middle of September. Amazing, really. It was week 37 when I finally succumbed. I could have held on to the lead for another week as well, but it would have only delayed the inevitable for another seven days so I threw in the towel. You can clearly see on the graph how the explosive acceleration in the final third of the year lifted 1998 to its record heights.

1998 Week 52

1998: Week 52 (w/e 27 December 1998)

Miles: 91.8

Whenever I look back at 1998's figures on the spreadsheet, the final week of the year sticks out like the proverbial broken thing. After an impressive run of 38 consecutives centuries - 7 of them double centuries, let's not forget - I bowed out with a score of 91. This followed a cracking 154 only the week before. It made me wonder what happened. Why did I halt less than 9 miles short of another century? Why couldn't I get out there for another 35 minutes at most to chase down the remaining miles? I decided to dig out my diary to see why...

...but when I retrieved my diary for 1998, the entries for the last week of the year were missing! The mystery continues.

2012 Week 52

Week 52 (w/e 30 December 2012)

Miles: 67.3

The final week of the year arrived. Having set a record of 50 consecutive centuries, I wasn't convinced that I'd make this the 51st. It's no surprise that this should be the case in Christmas week, with festivities to be enjoyed, people to see, pints to be drunk etc. The nights seem darker and less inviting at the very end of the year as well. Mentally I'd accepted that I wasn't likely to get another 100, so if it didn't happen I wouldn't be too bothered. Still, I did have a target in mind and that was the 65.3 miles I needed to pass the revised target of 6500 miles for the year. By a happy coincidence, the same total would set my average weekly mileage for 2012 at 125 exactly. That would sound better than letting it slip to 124.x of course.

So how did I get on? Weather-wise, Christmas week was dank and drizzly, with plenty of showers passing through. Week 52 began with Christmas Eve. It was a dank afternoon, then heavy rain rolled in just at the time when I'd normally get the bike out. Although it turned fine in the evening, this being Christmas Eve it was time to head to the pub... Cheers! Christmas Day arrived and the weather was fine, but this wasn't a day for cycling. Boxing Day came next and the whole afternoon was wet. Although the evening was fine, I didn't feel like getting the bike out so I didn't bother. Hmm, that was three ducks from a possible seven. Normally I'd be feeling itchy by now.

Thursday afternoon was overcast but fine, so I got the chase underway with an 18 mile ride. Wintry drizzle set in for a couple of hours around teatime, but this had cleared later on so I was able to dash out again just after 10 to push on to 26 miles. Friday was similarly dank with occasional drizzle, but I got out in the late afternoon for an hour to advance to 40 miles and then nudged this up to 50 following another trip later in the evening. So I headed off into the weekend with just 13 miles remaining to achieve my target.

Saturday morning was wet but the afternoon was fine, bar a short shower at 3:30. I cycled into town for my customary Saturday afternoon shopping trip, then went out again when I got home to return triumphant with 67 miles. Target achieved! Handshakes all round.

It was just as well that I got the miles done on Saturday afternoon, as that evening was set aside for a pub crawl. Sunday was wild, blustery and wet, with constant squally showers from morning until night. Grim. So no more miles were possible. But it really didn't matter. I was happy to put my feet up and reflect on a job well done.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: N/A
Total for 2012: 6502
2012 average weekly mileage: 125.03
Consecutive 100s: 50
Miles needed for 6500: N/A
Percentage of target reached: 100%

So that's it.

2012 Week 51

Week 51 (w/e 23 December 2012)
Miles: 103.3

For the second week running I just managed to scrape together 100 miles in trying circumstances. This time, the cold snap of the previous week had been replaced by warm, wet conditions. It rained a lot. Two days out of the seven were washed out completely and a third rain-affected day went cycle-less. Nevertheless, I managed to dash out there enough times - often between showers - to cobble together a record-breaking 50th consecutive ton. It took an especially valiant effort on the final day though. Here's how it unfolded:

Monday afternoon brought several hours of steady rain. Although this had cleared away by the evening, the roads were still wet and I was feeling a bit ropey anyway, so I didn't get out on the bike at all. Tuesday's weather was much better and I got the chase underway in clear, fine conditions that afternoon with a 17 miler. I pushed that on to 25 miles by going out in the evening. Wednesday was another day disrupted by rain. It started in late morning and kept on falling until 7 pm. Looking at the rain radar I noticed that a gap had opened up between the bands of rain so I should at least have been able to get 40 minutes worth of pedalling done before the next band of rain rolled in. Alas! I dallied too long and by 9 pm a new patch of light rain had bubbled up out of nowhere over the Irish Sea and was moving in. I decided to hang on and see if this would blow over in a reasonably short space of time. If anything, the rain got heavier. Damn it! With the forecast for Thursday looking very dodgy, I was desperate to get out there for half an hour at least, so I took myself out at 10 pm despite the steady rain. I came back with 33 miles. It had stopped raining by then... (but not for long.)

Thursday was a complete washout with constant rain from morning until night. Bah. Friday was fine at least, but there were plenty of local floods to contend with as the groaning dykes burst under the strain of so much water. I took myself out in the late afternoon and pushed on to 52 miles. I was keen to get myself to 60 for the weekend, to give myself a fighting chance of landing another 100, and a ride later in the evening saw me on to 61 miles.

Saturday arrived and it was an utter washout. Bad news. There was no chance of doing any cycling that day and to make matters worse I was off out to the pub in the evening, which meant that it would all come down to the final day, when I needed 39 miles despite the inevitable hangover. I was certainly glad that I did those 8 miles in the rain on Wednesday night. It was a relief to find the weather on Sunday calm, clear and fine. So, 39 miles needed. I had a couple of options. I could either go out and do a big ride of 28 - 30 miles and then mop up the remainder later, or I could plan a shorter route and do several laps of that to shave the total down bit by bit. I went for the latter option. I identified a loop of around 12 miles and planned on doing that three times. It didn't quite work out like that though - the first ride turned into a 14 miler, after which I came home for a coffee break instead of doing the loop again as I'd intended. Refreshed, I went back out 40 minutes later on the original loop and came home with 88 miles. Finally, at 9:30 I dragged myself back out for an hour and rolled home with 103 for the week. Phew! 42 miles up on the day.

It truly was the greatest escape of the year.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 38 m.
Total for 2012: 6434.7
2012 average weekly mileage: 126.17
Consecutive 100s: 50 (new record)
Miles needed for 6500: 65.3
Percentage of target reached: 98.99%

With 1 week to go, average weekly miles needed for 6500: 65.3

The third slowest 100 of the year, beaten only by weeks 3 and 19 which were both grinds in the teeth of gale-force winds. The ponderous pace this week owes much to the fact that my bike is knackered. It's desperately in need of a thorough service as the gears keep slipping. I can't use gears 17 - 24 because of the constant slippage so my average speed is down by around a mile.

So with just one week to go, I only need 65 miles to reach the revised target of 6500 miles. Having become accustomed to doing 100 miles every week, this seems a doddle... as long as the weather holds up.

How was 1998 getting on?

1998 Week 51
Miles: 154
Total: 7089.2
Difference: +654.5

2012 Week 50

Week 50 (w/e 16 December 2012)

Miles: 102.1

In a couple of weeks time when I come to review the year's performance, I think this week will stand out for me as one where sheer bloody belligerence saw me to another 100 mile total in spite of difficult circumstances.

This week, the cold snap made an unwelcome return, and by heck it was cold too. I don't think the temperature got much above freezing for the first four days of the week and certainly dropped in the evening when - crazily - I decided to do some miles. Despite having "thermal" gloves, my fingers often felt as if they would fall victim to frost bite. 

Despite the clear and cold conditions, I started the week in a reasonable fashion, with a slow and careful 10 miles ride out around the dodgy country lanes on Monday afternoon, topped up with 6 more miles in the evening. For the latter I decided that caution was the better part of valour and so stuck to the main road. I repeated this for the next few days. I may have had to contend with a bit more traffic but at least the roads had been gritted. Tuesday was bitterly cold so I ended up giving the cycling a miss altogether. Wednesday's weather was also cold, but some cloud cover nipped the edge off the big freeze so I made a couple of trips along the main road through the neighbouring villages to move on to 34 miles.

Thursday was the coldest day of the week. I headed off along the main in the late afternoon, advancing to 43 miles in the process. I dragged myself back out into the sparkling frosty night at 9:30 and did another 8 mile loop up the A road. Wow, it felt cold. My poor fingers... The following day brought wintry rain, which was a relief. It was looking like being a complete washout which wouldn't be good news for my chances of bagging a ton, but fortunately the rain moved away inland by 8 so I was able to dash out at 10 pm and thus move along to 60 miles.

Saturday was overcast and dank, but noticeably milder with it. I made my customary trip into town in the afternoon, although I got caught by a fairly heavy wintry shower on the way back. This soon passed over, so I got myself out for the next ride before tea (attaining 76 miles in the process) and then got back out again at 9:30 for another 8 miles. Thus, heading into the final day I had 84 miles and an excellent chance of getting to 100. The forecast however suggested that heavy rain would be here by 6 pm so I took myself out a little earlier than usual on Sunday afternoon and rolled home with 102 miles. The rain eventually rolled in at 7:15 pm and stayed for several hours. So that was that. It felt like another great escape though.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 33 m.
Total for 2012: 6331.4
2012 average weekly mileage: 126.62
Consecutive 100s: 49 (new record)
Miles needed for 6500: 168.6
Percentage of target reached: 97.4%
With 2 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6500: 84.3

The pedestrian pace for reaching 100 miles probably reflects my more cautious approach to cycling in slippery conditions this week.

With just two weeks to go, I need less than 100 miles each week to get that 6500 target done.

How was 1998 getting on?

1998 Week 50.
Miles: 105.7
Total: 6935.2
Difference: +603.8

2012 Week 49

Week 49 (w/e 9 December 2012)

Miles: 106.3
Total: 6229.3

Some respite from the cold snap was had this week, although Thursday was a complete washout.

2012 - Week 48 Graph

Graph to follow. Maybe.

2012 Week 48

Week 48 w/e 2 December 2012)

Miles: 105.2
Total: 6123

This week a cold snap descended over the country, making things a little more tricky. Sensibly, I avoided the untreated country lanes and stuck to the salted main roads instead. Although I had to contend with a little more traffic, at least I felt fairly secure that I wouldn't be hitting a patch of black ice on my travels. It was still a struggle to get out there and chalk up the miles though, as the temperature was hovering around zero in the evenings for much of the week.

This week's ton took me past 1997's total of 6066.5 miles which means 2012 moves into second place in the all-time table of achievement.

2012 Week 47

Week 47 (w/e 25 November 2012)

Miles: 108.2
Total: 6017.8

And so I made it to my 6000 mile target, with 5 weeks to spare.

It wasn't quite as easy as that though. Having sprinted to 75 miles by Wednesday evening, the rest of the week turned into a bit of a stagger to the line thanks mainly to bad weather. Thursday was completely washed out. I had things to do on Friday afternoon so couldn't get out for the usual hour, contenting myself with a 30 minute ride in the evening that took me to 83 miles. A ride into town and back on Saturday afternoon took me to 93 miles but then wintry drizzle rolled in. I'd made plans to go out to the pub that night anyway. That just left Sunday to mop up the remainder and thankfully it was clear and fine.

New target: 6500 miles

2012 Week 46

Week 46 (w/e 18 November 2012)

Miles: 120.1
Total: 5906.6

2012 Week 45

Week 45 (w/e 11 November 2012)

Miles: 112.3
Total: 5789.5

By Thursday night I'd got 86 miles in the bag. The following afternoon I went down to Manchester for the night. When I got home on Saturday teatime it was raining. Sunday afternoon was clear, so I polished off the 100 in one ride and pushed on to 112 later that evening.

2012 - Week 44 Graph

.

2012 Week 44

Week 44 (w/e 4 November 2012)

Miles: 108.2
Total: 5677.2

A weekend trip to Halifax meant that I still required 13 miles when I got home on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately the weather was good, so I got the 100 sorted with two short rides.

2012 Week 43

Week 43 (w/e 28 October 2012)

Miles: 111.5
Total: 5569

Despite chalking up 101 miles by Friday night, weekend rain and other commitments meant that I only added an extra 10 to the total by the end of the week.

2012 Week 42

Week 42 (w/e 21 October 2012)

Miles: 142.3
Total: 5457.5

2012 Week 41

Week 41 (w/e 14 October 2012)

Miles: 131
Total: 5315.2

2012 - Week 40 Graph

Graph.

2012 Week 40

Week 40 (w/e 7 October 2012)

Miles: 105.3
Total: 5184.2

2012 Week 39

Week 39 (w/e 30 September 2012)

Miles: 116.3
Total: 5078.9

2012 Week 38

Week 38 (w/e 23 September 2012)

Miles: 128.2
Total: 4962.6

2012 Week 37

Week 37 (w/e 16 September 2012)

Miles: 134.2
Total: 4834.4

2012 - Week 36 Graph

Coming sometime.

2012 Week 36

Week 36 (w/e 9 September 2012)

Miles: 180.2

It was going to take some effort to stay ahead of 1998 this week - and I was equal to the challenge. I needed 163.6 miles this week to keep in front and managed that with a bit to spare, thanks to a short-lived Indian Summer.

Roughly 25 miles per day saw me to 100 miles by Thursday night. This became 120 by Friday, 147 by Saturday night and then 180 (obviously) by Sunday evening... although rain was moving in by the time I was finishing off my weekly effort that night and I got a soaking riding the remaining 3 miles back home.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 16 m.
Total for 2012: 4700.2
2012 average weekly mileage: 130.56
Consecutive 100s: 35
Miles needed for 6000: 1299.8
Percentage of target reached: 78.3%
With 16 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 81.24

My weekly average hit 130 miles for the first time this year.

As I approach the 5000 mile mark, I'm starting to overtake my previous years. This week's 4700 took me sailing past 2008, when I only managed 4680.6 miles. So 2012 moves into 8th place in the overall league table and it's only the start of September.

How was 1998 getting on?

1998 Week 36.
Miles: 173.5.
Total: 4683.5
Difference: +16.7

Next week I'll need 139.5 miles to keep in front.

2012 Week 35

Week 35 (w/e 2 September 2012)
Miles: 115.3

I've got loads of updating to do on here, I know. But before things get even more hopelessly out of date, here at least is a description of last week.

It was a stuttering performance due to the weather, annoyingly. I didn't get to 100 miles until Sunday afternoon. I could have done with 30 or 40 extra miles over the 7 days to at least give myself a chance of maintaining the lead over 1998 for another week. Yes, astonishingly to me if nobody else, I'm still ahead of that peak year (thanks to the double ton of week 32). This could well be the final week before the record tumbles though. So, last week. Bank Holiday Monday was a complete washout so it wasn't until Tuesday that I got the chase underway, finishing the day with 27 miles following two trips. A ride on Wednesday afternoon moved me on to 43 miles, but then rain in the evening put an end to any thoughts of more.

Thursday was generally clear and sunny so I was able to push on to 68 miles by the end of the day. Frustratingly, drizzly rain started coming down midway through Friday afternoon and the day turned out to be another complete washout. Saturday was fine, so two short trips in the afternoon took me to 87 miles. In the evening I spent a night out around the pubs, so went into Sunday needing 13 miles at least to clinch the obligatory ton. Fortunately the weather was good, so an hour's ride in the afternoon took me past 100, then I topped this up to 115 in the evening.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 15 m.
Total for 2012: 4520 exactly
2012 average weekly mileage: 129.14
Consecutive 100s: 34
Miles needed for 6000: 1480
Percentage of target reached: 75.34%
With 17 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 87.06

So I'm 75% of the way there now. My weekly average took a slight dip this week. I needed 129.6 to keep it steady. 

How was 1998 getting on?

1998 Week 35.
Miles: 207.5.
Total: 4510 exactly
Difference: +10

This was the second of two consecutive weeks of 200+ miles in 1998, which means that I'm just a whisker away from being overtaken. However, the following week only saw me get 173.5 miles ("only"!) so there's actually a good chance that I'll stay ahead after all, since the weather so far has been warm and sunny. Fingers crossed eh readers? Sadly, looming on the near horizon in 1998 as September drifted into October are four consecutive 200+ weeks. Bonkers.

Utter Rubbish!

Entry to follow.

2012 Week 34

Week 34 (w/e 26 August 2012)

Miles: 151.3
Total: 4404.7

1998 Week 34

It was all happening back then.

2012 Week 33

Week 33 (w/e 19 August 2012)

Miles: 132.2
Total: 4253.4

2012 - Week 32 Graph

Entry to follow.

2012 Week 32

Week 32 (w/e 12 August 2012)

Miles: 206.4

A monster week! Helped by several days of warm and sunny weather, I put together my first weekly score of 200+ (not counting the one-off week a year ago when I did the Berwick trip) since August 1999. I can't quite believe that the last occasion I achieved this was 13 long years ago.

The big score was given a helpful push by going off on a special 52 mile ride on the Tuesday with my cycling mate Bryn. See the special entry to read about the route.

The Lancaster Loop ride

The Lancaster Loop


Tuesday 7 August 2012

Today I did a special longer ride (52 miles) ride with my cycling mate Bryn, up the hills to Caton, Lancaster and back. We took a chance on the weather. It was belting down at 8 am and still raining at 10. But the BBC forecast claimed that the afternoon would be sunny, so Bryn took the chance and came over from West Yorkshire. By 1 pm the clouds were beginning to disperse and the sun was attempting break out, so we set off. Things temporarily got a bit grey and chilly when we'd climed through Quernmore, but before too long we had blue skies and pleasant sunshine for the remainder of the ride.

Here's a link to the route:

http://www.plotaroute.com/route/32189

And a screenshot of the route:

2012 Week 31

Week 31 (w/e 5 August 2012)

Miles: 162.3
Total: 3914.8

2012 Week 30

Week 30 (w/e 29 July 2012)

Miles: 166.4

Another great week. By the end of play on Sunday evening I was only 0.9 of a mile off matching my best score of the year so far. By that time I'd already done several more miles than I intended in the darkness anyway and I'd had enough. Otherwise I would have jumped back on the bike for another mile to get the record.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 31 m.
Total for 2012: 3752.5
2012 average weekly mileage: 125.08
Consecutive 100s: 29
Miles needed for 6000: 2247.5
Percentage of target reached: 62.54%
With 22 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 102.16

A very slow time to get to 100 miles this week, but I was on litter picking duty for most of the days, as I'll reveal tomorrow. The second 150+ week on the trot sets a new high in the weekly average. I also chopped another chunk off the average miles needed from now until the end of the year to achieve the goal of 6000 miles: 2.79 miles this week. Actually, if I hit the target of 148 miles in the next week I'll get that average below the psychologically important 100 miles mark. Now there's something to aim for.

Brand New Weekly Stat
How was 1998 getting on?

1998 Week 30.
Miles: 100.4.
Total: 3623.4
Difference: +129.1

That's a handy lead to have at this time of the year.

2012 Week 29

Week 29 (w/e 22 July 2012)

Miles: 157.3

I don't want to get too far behind with updating this blog so I'm going to add a couple of cut-down entries with just the figures for the last few weeks. I can always come back later and add a photo and a lengthier description of how the action unfolded. But for now:

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 12 m.
Total for 2012: 3586.1
2012 average weekly mileage: 123.65
Consecutive 100s: 28
Miles needed for 6000: 2413.9
Percentage of target reached: 59.76%
With 23 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 104.95

A good week for me. This was the second quickest 100 of the year. Not surprisingly the total meant that I pushed the weekly average to a new high. It was also pleasing to lop a chunk off the average miles needed from now until the end of the year to achieve the goal of 6000 miles: 2.18 miles in fact.

Brand New Weekly Stat
Since I've got 1998 breathing down my neck, I thought I'd start adding the figures from the equivalent week back then to see how close it's getting to overtaking me.

1998 Week 29.
Miles: 123.5.
Total: 3523
Difference: +63.1

2012 - Week 28 Graph

Another four weeks on, here's how the race is looking:

I'm genuinely amazed that I've still got a lead over 1998. Not by much though, as you can see by the way the lines almost converge at the top right-hand side of the graph.

Over these four weeks I added 527.9 miles this year. That's just 2 miles less in total than the previous four weeks. Blimey, that's either a show of consistency or - more likely - evidence of how my cycling activities have become regimented and predictable in terms of when I get out and how far I go, week in, week out. Either way, it's an average of 131.97 per week. 1998 yielded 560.1 at 140.02 miles per week in the same period.

The leads currently stand so:

1998 - 29.3
2009 - 424.7

So what do I need to keep ahead this time? In 1998, weeks 29 - 32 yielded 559.2 miles at an average of 139.8 per week. That's only 0.8 miles less than the previous four weeks. What was I saying about consistency? This was 14 years ago too. The individual weekly scores were 123.5, 100.4, 190.7 and 144.6. That low second score will help me in the chase, although I clearly made up for it the next week. The new target to aim for is thus 3958.8 miles, so that's a target of adding another 530 miles exactly at an average of 132.5 every week. That's 8 miles more per week than last time.

Continuing with last week's bonus, here's the graph showing the relative performances of 1998 and 2012 so far.

Fingers crossed that the graph still looks like this next time, eh readers?

2012 Week 28

Week 28 (w/e 15 July 2012)
Miles: 124.4

An overcast Monday afternoon brightened after a few hours so I got the week underway with the usual hour-long trundle towards teatime, getting back with 15.5 miles on the clock. Another half an hour or so later in the evening took the total for the day to 24 miles. A decent start usually helps. Tuesday afternoon was drizzly. This discouraged me from going out on the bike at the usual time, although hindsight dug me in the ribs and told me that I could have got 40 minutes of rain-free pedalling done if I'd really bothered. At least I got the bike out later in the evening, adding another 8 miles to the total with the familiar loop into the countryside. That would be 34 miles done then. Wednesday's weather followed the same pattern as the day before, with a drizzly afternoon but fine evening. I took myself out for an hour in the late afternoon anyway, rolling homeward with 48 miles. Later on I topped this up with another half an hour / 8 mile trip, so Wednesday closed with me sporting a total of 56 miles. More than halfway to the target then. Good.

Thursday. The sun came out. Oh joy! An hour's effort in the warm and hazy afternoon pushed the total along to 71 miles. In the evening I went to the pub instead, when I would have otherwise added 8 more miles to that. Never mind eh? On Friday afternoon I took a trip to Halifax to see the group Low play in the Minster there. It was belting down with rain when I set off anyway, so it's debatable whether I would have got any cycling done had I not gone over there. Perhaps half an hour in the evening at most.

Into the weekend I ploughed, requiring another 29 miles to get the obligatory ton under my belt. Saturday's weather was good. The sun was on show again. Wow! I got an hour's cycling done once I'd arrived back home. Although it was sunny, there was quite a breeze coming in from the west that slowed me down a bit. I got back with 87 miles. I would have surely added a few more miles in the evening, but it was time for a Saturday night pub crawl again. So that was that. Sunday arrived and I needed another 13 miles to stumble over the finishing line. Fortunately the weather was good and I was in the mood to push on a bit as well. I went out for 75 minutes late in the afternoon. This saw me home with 106 miles. I launched myself back out there at 9:25 in the evening, resolved at the very least to get to 118 miles for the week. Once I got out there I found myself in something of a groove and so kept going for longer than I originally intended. It was one of those evenings. I eventually came back home over an hour later in the dark with 124 miles in total, having added 37 on the day. That score meant that I nudged my 2012 average a fraction higher, which was a bonus.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 15 m.
Total for 2012: 3428.8
2012 average weekly mileage: 122.45
Consecutive 100s: 27
Miles needed for 6000: 2571.2
Percentage of target reached: 57.14%
With 24 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 107.13

As mentioned above, this total set a new high in the year average.

I was tempted to include this week as one of those that get the label of could have done better but having thought about it, the extra miles I did on Sunday night made up for the 8 that I missed out on on Thursday night when I went to the pub instead, if not Saturday night as well.

This completes another four week period, so the next update will be the review. Will I have done enough to keep 1998 at bay?

2012 Week 27

Week 27 (w/e 8 July 2012)
Miles: 131.2

Oi! July's rolling away so get your finger out and catch up with the last few weeks of entries - Ed.

Sorry, boss. Here we go. The first full week of July didn't show much improvement with the weather from the last week of June. There were still plenty of showers around. Ho hum. On the plus side, Euro 2012 had ended so there would be no more distractions from that direction to stop me dragging my bones out on the bike. Sadly, Monday proved to be a washout. It wasn't a day where it rained constantly, more of one of those annoying days when heavy showers turn up just when you think the roads will have dried out sufficiently for it to be time to get the wheels rolling. It was coming down steadily at 4 for a couple of hours, which nobbled my usual cycling time there, then it happened again mid-evening. So that meant a zero. Moving on, Tuesday was overcast but fine, so I was able to get the weekly run chase underway in the afternoon with a 14 miler. The usual half an hour in the evening pushed this along to 22 miles. Wednesday saw showers again early in the afternoon - showers that returned a few hours later, scuppering my plan to get out on the bike. At least the evening was dry, so I took myself out at 9 pm for an hour, rolling home with 41 miles.

At least the weather perked up on Thursday. Hazy sunshine was the order of the day. Well, the afternoon at least. I got an hour's pedaling done before tea, taking myself to 58 miles in the process. A heavy shower passed over at 9 pm but it soon cleared up, allowing me to dash out again to add another 8 miles to the total (so 66 then). Friday afternoon was blustery and grey with... yes, more showers here and there. With one eye on the rain radar I went out on the bike an hour earlier than I normally do, so as to avoid the bands of rain that I could see moving in. Half an hour's ride took me to 74 miles. I encountered some spots of rain in the air on the way, but nothing more substantial. After calling in back home for a quick coffee break, I sprang out again twenty minutes later while the going was good. The steadier rain was just arriving as I raced back home, but I made it back with 81 miles without getting a soaking. The weather cleared up in the evening so I was able to do another 8 mile loop which made the earlier frantic rush seem a little silly. At least I pushed the score along to 90 miles.

Into the weekend, and Saturday was sunny! I was due to drive over to Hebden Bridge in the late afternoon to go and see the Stephen Holt-fronted Inspiral Carpets there, so before getting ready I dashed out on a 12 mile ride that at least saw me creep over the 100 mile mark - to 102, as it happened. Unfortunately, mechanical failure meant that I never even made it into Yorkshire, never mind to Hebden. Damn it. Oh well, Sunday's weather was at least pleasantly sunny in a hazy kind of way, so I got just under an hour's worth of cycling done in the later afternoon that took me to 117 miles. I was in the mood to push on a bit for the final ride of the week, so at 9 pm I got out for close to another hour with the result that I came home with a total of 131 miles. Considering that I'd spent most of the week dodging showers, this wasn't a bad result.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 11 m.
Total for 2012: 3304.4
2012 average weekly mileage: 122.38
Consecutive 100s: 26
Miles needed for 6000: 2695.6
Percentage of target reached: 55.07%
With 25 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 107.82

I was quite surprised this week to find that I'd smashed the record for the fastest time to get 100. I'd shaved four whole minutes off the previous record, one that I only set two weeks previously (and matched last week). Crikey. I also nudged my 2012 weekly average to a new high.

While I'm here, last week I reached the 26th week of the year, which is the halfway point as far as my cycling calendar is concerned. Out of interest I thought I'd compare the performance of 1998 with the current year. In the first half of 1998 I managed 3072.9 miles at an average of 118.18. As you can see if you scroll down, this year it's been 3173.2 at 122.04 per week. The second half of 1998 was significantly better: 4108.1 miles at an average of 158 per week exactly. Phew, that will take some beating.

2012 Week 26

Week 26 (w/e 1 July 2012)
Miles: 147.1

The start of a new week and time once more to reset the odometer to zero and begin all over again.

Monday afternoon was overcast but fine. By 5 pm the clouds had gone and the sun was shining, so an hour's cycling then yielded 16 miles. Another 30 minutes worth in the evening took me to 24 miles. It's always good to start the week with a decent foundation. Tuesday afternoon was grey with sporadic drizzle. Urgh. Despite this I got out for the best part of an hour, rolling home with 38 miles. The evening was fine but grey. I should have gone out again to add another 8 miles to the total but instead I took up the offer of going to the pub. The weather on Wednesday was much improved, with hazy sunshine. An hour's ride in the late afternoon took me to 54 miles. In the evening I watched Portugal v Spain play their Euro 2012 semi-final. What a dull spectacle! I was so bored at full time that I decided to go out on my bike again rather than sit through another turgid period of extra time. I got back with 62 miles, just as the penalty shoot out had ended, extinguishing Portugal's hopes in the process.

Thursday afternoon was menaced by heavy showers. I watched them scudding in on the rain radar with some dismay. But by 4 pm the skies had cleared and the sun was back out, so I squeezed in almost an hour's cycling. I'd reached 76 miles. In the evening I settled down to watched the other semi-final in the Euro tournament, Germany v Italy. With the match over in normal time, I decided to go out to the pub again rather than top up the day's mileage. Tsk, twice in a week. Friday was soon upon me. It was a mostly sunny day, but a fierce gale was blowing in from the south west. An hour of pedalling in the late afternoon saw me to 92 miles by tea time. With the target in sight I dashed out again later in the evening and came gliding home 35 minutes later with 101 miles in the bag. Another century week chalked off.

Saturday. The final day of June closed the month with a reminder of what we'd had for much of the preceding four weeks - grey skies, blustery wind and occasional showers. Farewell June, you won't be missed. The drizzle delayed my customary Saturday afternoon trip into town, but I made it there a little later than usual. Having returned home I then dashed out for another 30 minutes, advancing to 120 miles in the process. In the evening I'd arranged a trip to a pub or two. Had this not been the case, inevitably I would have added a few more miles to the total. The weather on Sunday was generally sunny, but the brisk wind took the edge off the temperature. Once my post-beer night weariness had eased, I got out on my bike for just under an hour. Moving to 133 in the process, I returned home to watch Spain thrash Italy in the Euro 2012 final. Once the match was over I shot out for the final ride of the week. I was in the mood to push on a bit despite the lateness of the hour, so ended up rolling home just before 11 pm with 147 miles.

In conclusion, a good performance this week but it felt about 24 miles light due to those three pub visits. Having a social life can be such a drawback.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 15 m.
Total for 2012: 3173.2
2012 average weekly mileage: 122.04
Consecutive 100s: 25
Miles needed for 6000: 2826.8
Percentage of target reached: 52.88%
With 26 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 108.72

This week I matched my record quickest time to get 100 miles done, a record I only set last week. This week's total also saw my target average drop below 110 for the first time this year. All good stuff.

2012 Week 25

Week 25 (w/e 24 June 2012)
Miles: 125.2

Monday got the week underway in fine fashion with a sunny afternoon. I did 15 miles on the usual route in the late afternoon. But change was at hand in the evening - a large shower of heavy rain passed over from the south between 9 and 9:30. It left drizzle in its aftermath, so no more cycling was done that day. Tuesday was hot and sunny. Wow! Perhaps summer was making a comeback? Lovely stuff anyway, so I took myself out for an hour in the afternoon (back with 32 miles) and then nipped back out in the evening after watching England v Ukraine to add another 8 miles to the total, returning home with 40. Wednesday was mostly sunny and very warm, although there was a period in the afternoon where it looked as if it was turning thundery. This never happened and the sun came back out. In celebration I went out on my bike for a good hour, taking my camera along for the ride again to take a couple of snaps for the blog. I got back with 57 miles. There was no football to distract me in the evening so I shot out again later on for another 8 miles, gliding homeward with a total of 65. Sterling work for a Wednesday.

Thursday morning brought rain in plentiful supply. By the afternoon this had (temporarily) cleared away. I decided to get out on the bike slightly earlier than usual just in case the patches of rain that were threatening the region pounced before the rain radar suggested they would. I'd only gone a mile when I got a fly in my eye, despite wearing glasses as usual. Ouch! I had to return home to fish it out and then set off again. It turned out to be a humid, sticky ride. The overhead conditions weren't great and there were patches of heavily localised showers in the area. I managed to avoid these, encountering just the odd spots of drizzle here and there instead. I came home with 81 miles. Steady rain returned at 7:30 in the evening and became quite heavy so no more cycling was possible that day. As a consolation prize, I went to the pub instead. No guilt attached to this, as there was no alternative. Friday was a complete washout. Appalling. It rained from 8 am at least until finally stopping just after midnight. The River Calder flooded again over in West Yorkshire but we got off lightly here in comparison.

Saturday. A grey and blustery day until mid-evening at least. I didn't bother making my customary trip into town but went out into the countryside instead. I had to make a detour from my planned route before a mile was up to avoid a stretch of flooded road. I rolled home 70 minutes later with 98.5 miles... I dashed in to get my camera to take a pic of the flooded road. I was disappointed to discover that the water level had subsided noticeably in the meantime. Never mind, I returned home with 100 miles in the bag. The rain returned while I was watching the rather dull Spain v France quarter final on tv, so no more miles were done.
That left Sunday for me to push on and post a bigger total. Fortunately the weather was much improved; sunny, but with a gusty wind coming in straight off the Irish Sea. I took myself out on a 24 miler and came home with 125 miles in total. In the evening there was the small matter of England v Italy on tv. The extra time and penalties realistically left no time to add any more to the total, so that was it for this week. Had the match ended after 90 minutes I would have definitely added another 8 at least. I think I should have gone out on the bike instead of suffering the pain of watching those penalties.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 15 m.
Total for 2012: 3026.1
2012 average weekly mileage: 121.04
Consecutive 100s: 24
Miles needed for 6000: 2973.9
Percentage of target reached: 50.43%
With 27 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 110.14

A few things of note have occurred this week. The big news is that I've reached the halfway stage in my quest to do 6000 miles this year. I've achieved it a week ahead of the halfway stage in the year too. Excellent. The other piece of newsworthy info is that I posted my fastest time of the year to get 100 miles done; 6 hours 15 minutes shaved four minutes off my previous best, set just last week.

Update
Here's a photo of the flooded road. It was a lot deeper than that when I first encountered it. Honest.

2012 - Week 24 Graph

Time once more to pause and take stock after the passing of another four weeks.

I'm happy to note that I still maintain a lead of 1998, although this lead has been cut slightly due to two below average performances in the last two weeks. Over these four weeks I added 529.2 miles in 2012, at an average of 132.3 per week. 1998 yielded 547 at 136.75 miles per week in the same period.

The leads currently stand so:

1998 - 61.5
2009 - 534.5

This month, 2009 replaces 2011 as the next best challenger. You may notice above that at the equivalent stage in 2009 (the cyan line) I suddenly had a spurt of acceleration. That was when a combination of fine, sunny weather and a bit of purpose saw me post four consecutive weeks of 150+ between weeks 22 and 25.

So what do I need to keep ahead? In 1998, weeks 25 - 28 yielded 560.1 miles at an average of 140 per week. I need to get myself to 3399.6 by then, so that's another 498.7 miles at an average of 124.6 every week. Perfectly achievable, as long as this wretched weather improves.

As a bonus for this month, here's a graph showing the relative performances of 1998 and 2012 so far.

Let's hope it still looks like this next month.

2012 Week 24

Week 24 (w/e 17 June 2012)
Miles: 106.2

This is quite a novelty - for the first time in a while I find myself writing about last week's cycling larks rather than some distant time. Sadly, this week mirrored last week in the respect that the weather frustratingly held back my charge for glory. Here's how in unravelled.

Monday. Monday afternoon was overcast and cool. But a greater distraction presented itself in the shape of France v England in the Euros. So no cycling was done until later in the evening, when I made a start on the chase by trundling along my usual 8 mile loop. Tuesday's weather showed a slight improvement, with broken cloud cover allowing occasional sunny breaks. I took myself out in the late afternoon for an hour, returning home with 24 miles in total. This was improved to 32 miles when I dashed out once more in the evening to add another 8 miles. Wednesday morning was wet but by the afternoon the rain had moved on, leaving behind grey clouds and menacing threats. I cycled into town for a change, having missed out the previous Saturday. In the evening, after watching Netherlands v Germany on tv I slipped quietly out for another 8 miles on the familiar loop. I got back with a total of 51 miles. A decent result for Wednesday, all said.

What did I write about Wednesday last week?

"A good foundation once more - surely getting another 50 over four days wouldn't pose a problem?"

I'm getting a distinct feeling of deja vu here.

Thursday afternoon was generally sunny. Italy v Croatia was on tv but I eschewed this in favour of more pedalling. I got out there for an hour, noticing that the blustery easterly wind had turned up once again. Urgh. I got back with 67 miles done, half an hour ahead of the arrival of drizzle... that developed into firm rain by nightfall. I had a visit to the pub planned anyway, but there was no guilt attached as this wasn't cycling weather. Friday brought showers. Morning rain had eased away by noon but come 3:30 it was pelting down again. I managed to get out on my bike for a mile and a half, riding to the local bike shop to pick up my new back tyre. It was drizzling for the next couple of hours. There was a clear spell from around 7 pm until 9, but this coincided with Sweden v England on the television. I would have probably zipped out for half an hour after the match had it not been raining steadily again by then. Ho hum.

Into the weekend then, requiring another 31 miles to rack up another centrury. And the omens weren't good. The weather on Saturday was grim. Very grim. It felt like a November day than one in June, to be quite frank. The blustery wind blew and steady rain came down for much of the afternoon. By 5:30 it had appeared to have stopped. I really didn't want to leave too many miles to get on Sunday and 31 miles was too many in my opinion. I got myself ready to go out for half an hour and just then... it started to rain again. Bah! Fortunately, having watched the Czech Republic v Poland in the evening a window of opportunity opened again and I hurled myself through it. 9 miles later I came home with 80 on the clock, leaving a much more palatable 20 to get the next day. As luck would have it, Sunday was a fine and sunny day. The contrast with Saturday couldn't have been more different. I took myself out on a 24 miler to polish off the 100 in one gasp. Coming back with 104 miles, I then checked my cycling spreadsheet and noticed that I was only two miles off reaching the total of 2900 miles for the year. Never one to shirk the challenge of passing a milestone when dangled so temptingly in front of me, I nipped out at half time in the Portugal v Netherlands game and bagged a brace of miles to finish with 106.

In a re-run of last week, I then had an appointment with the pub. Once again, I would have otherwise nipped out for another half an hour to get the 8 or 9 miles needed to keep my averages from falling. But I didn't. So it goes again.

The stats:

Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 27 m.
Total for 2012: 2900.9

2012 average weekly mileage: 120.8
Consecutive 100s: 23
Miles needed for 6000: 3099.1

Percentage of target reached: 48.34%
With 28 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 110.68

A strangely slow week to reach 100 miles by recent standards. Blustery weather was the cause, I suspect.

A frustrating fortnight has seen me put on just 214.7 miles. Ideally I would have liked many more than that to maintain the gap between this year and 1998.

2012 Week 23

Week 23 (w/e 10 June 2012)
Miles: 108.5

A week in which the weather turned wild, leaving me slightly up against it.

You wouldn't have guessed that this would be the case on the Monday though, as it was a splendid sunny day, much as it had been for the previous week. I took myself out on the bike in the afternoon for a 16 mile ride. This was the jubilee weekend and a Bank Holiday Monday, so I celebrated that evening in the customary fashion by going to the pub. No more miles were added. The weather then lurched to the other end of the scale. Tuesday afternoon was overcast and drizzly. I managed to dash out at 5:45 for half an hour or so despite the light rain that was swirling around in the air. I got back with almost 26 miles. Steady rain rolled in ten minutes later and got heavier as the evening progressed, so that was that for the day. Wednesday afternoon was mostly clear and sunny in comparison. But checking the rain radar I noticed heavy bands of rain moving up the country from the south. It looked distinctly ominous so I decided to get the bike out a few hours earlier than normal. An hour's ride brought me home with 42 miles in the bag. As luck would have it, the heavy rain showers missed the Fylde completely; the wind blew them over to the north east. Phew. This allowed me to dash back out on Wednesday evening for another half an hour to end the day with 50 miles. A good foundation once more - surely getting another 50 over four days wouldn't pose a problem?

Thursday came. So did steady rain. It came down until about 9 in the evening. There was a slight chance that I might have dashed out for half an hour around 10 pm, but I took up a better offer of going to the pub instead. Besides, the roads would have been pretty wet by that time. And with 50 miles already in the bank, there was no need to panic. Friday arrived and it was wild. A gale came howling in off the Irish Sea, bringing rain in the morning. By the afternoon it was merely grey and blustery, with spots of rain in the air. Flaming June? You're having a laugh. Friday also marked the start of Euro 2012. After watching the first half of the opening game (Poland v Greece) I nipped out for half an hour to edge along to 59 miles. Heavy rain came bucketing in by mid-evening, so no more miles were added. Into the weekend then, with 41 miles of the target remaining.

Saturday. More rain. A grim afternoon. Fortunately the rain stopped at about 2:30, enabling me to get the bike out. The first job was to cycle the short distance to my local bike shop to put in an order for a new back tyre, as mine was wearing through in too many places. You may have spotted that it gets a lot of use. Despite the grey and blustery conditions, I took myself out for 90 minutes to break the back of the run chase. I came home with 83 miles. With the rain holding off I shot back out later in the evening for the usual 30 minute loop, coming back with 91 miles. Sterling work. 32 miles on the day rescued the position. That left Sunday to get the remaining 9 miles to achieve another century. The weather was fortunately sunny. I went out for around 70 minutes later in the afternoon, rolling home with 108 miles. There was more football to watch in the evening (Republic of Ireland v Croatia) and then I took up another offer of going to the pub. I could have added another 8 miles otherwise to keep my averages from slipping, but never mind.

Something in the back of my mind tells me that when the year draws to a close, I'll be looking back on a week like this and mildly cursing myself for not taking advantage of the opportunity when I realise that I'm only a comparatively few miles off achieving a rounded figure for totals or averages. So it goes.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 21 m.
Total for 2012: 2794.7
2012 average weekly mileage: 121.5
Consecutive 100s: 22
Miles needed for 6000: 3205.3
Percentage of target reached: 46.57%
With 29 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 110.53

By posting a total less than the weekly average, the numbers slip back slightly.

2012 Week 22

Week 22 (w/e 3 June 2012)
Miles: 152.2

And so we glide into June.

The smashing sunny weather of the previous week continued here until Wednesday at least. Beginning the week on Monday, as is the custom, I noticed that the wind had changed direction again. The gusty easterly that had plagued my weekend had become a much more typical north-westerly. It had also dropped in ferocity, which was nice. Although it was still very warm, the sunshine was much more hazier than of late. Still, dry and fine cycling weather is always welcome, so off I went in the late afternoon for my usual trundle. I took my camera with me, hoping to take a few more photos to use on this blog, so my hour only yielded 13.5 miles this time as I was stopping and snapping. I nipped back out on the bike in the evening and pushed on to 21 miles for the day. Tuesday's weather was cloudy at first but by mid-afternoon the sun had burned away the cloud cover and it felt hot out there. An hour of afternoon cycling took me to 36.5 miles, which then became 45.5 miles in the evening once I'd been out for my supplementary trip.

Wednesday. The sunshine was a little more hazy today but conditions were still fine. I pushed on to 60 miles in the afternoon and then in the evening my usual loop to there and back saw me on to 68 miles. An excellent foundation for a big total by the weekend, I hoped. These hopes took a slight knock the very next day, when rain greeted me on rising. Fortunately it stopped in the early afternoon and remained fine thereafter. I was able to get out on the bike in the afternoon for an hour, rolling home with 80 miles. I would have more than likely added another 8 to the total in the evening, but I went to the pub instead. The hot and sunny weather returned on Friday. Glorious stuff. Off I went in the afternoon for an hour, waltzing back with 101 miles in the bag. Job done with two full days to spare again. I wasn't finished for the day though and another 9 miles in the evening pushed me along to 110 for the week.

Come the weekend, the weather worsoned. Saturday was overcast and cool, with spots of rain often in the air. A typical English summer's day in many respects. I made my usual Saturday afternoon trip into town then dashed out for another half an hour when I got home. That nudged my total along to 129 miles. No more cycling was done in the evening because I went out for the night instead. Sunday was grim and grey with steady rain when I emerged from my slumber with a fuzzy head. When the rain cleared I was able to get out for a good 30 minutes or so around 6 pm, which took me to 137.5 miles. It was drizzling again by 9 pm but I was determined to push on and record a decent total, so I ended up doing an hour in the descending gloom to finish the week with 152. Good work, Jenkins.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 19 m.
Total for 2012: 2686.2
2012 average weekly mileage: 122.1

Consecutive 100s: 21

Miles needed for 6000: 3314

Percentage of target reached: 44.77%

With 30 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 110.46

Last week I set my fastest time to get to 100 miles and this week I've broken the record again... by a whole minute. I also take my average weekly mileage to a new year high.

I've had a very fine three weeks in the saddle, with scores of 147.1, 162.3 and 152.2 yielding 461.6 miles at an average of 153.8. That's a very welcome shot of pace to put some distance between 2012 and 1998. I'm going to need it. I just hope it can continue. It's also shaved 4 whole miles off my "average weekly total needed to get to 6000 miles" figure. I'll soon have it under 110 at this rate.

2012 Week 21

Week 21 (w/e 27 May 2012)
Miles: 162.3

I should try much harder to keep this blog up to date. Writing about events from three weeks ago is like looking back to another era at the moment, especially with the distinct change in the weather. I'm writing this now on a dreary, wet Saturday afternoon coming after what has been a dreary, wet week. It was only a few weeks back at the end of May that we had a burst of summer. It all happened in week 21. And I cashed in.

The previous week had seen me tot up a score of 147 during a mostly fine week. The following week was warm - sometimes very close to hot! - and sunny. Excellent weather for cycling then. I got underway on the Monday with the usual hour's ride in the afternoon and topped that up in the evening with the usual 8 mile loop that saw me to 24 miles on the day. Tuesday's weather was similarly glorious, so I repeated the routes I'd taken the day before, gliding to 48 miles in the process. Wednesday was the odd man out with the weather. While the rest of the country basked in glorious sunshine, this part of the north west remained stubbornly overcast and cool. Never mind, I took myself out for an hour in the afternoon to advance to 64 miles, then pushed on in the evening to finish the day with 73 miles. Great work for a Wednesday.

Thursday saw the return of hot and sunny conditions. An hour's ride in the afternoon took me to 89 miles. In the evening I had to visit a mate's house on an errand - I cycled there, naturally. So that round trip meant I closed the day with 92 miles. Friday was also pleasantly sunny; in fact, it felt HOT in sheltered spots. Marvellous. Unfortunately for me, a fair breeze had whipped up on that day and was gusting in from an easterly direction. Distracted by the start of the second test against the West Indies, I didn't get out on the bike until 6. I rolled home 30 minutes later with 100 miles in the bag once again. There was time in the evening to push this on to 108 miles.

It was hot and sunny again on both Saturday and Sunday, but that stiff easterly breeze hung around to take the air temperature down a peg or two. I cycled to town as per usual on Saturday afternoon, then dashed out for a quick supplementary ride when I got back to edge to 127 miles. After a couple of hours rest I nipped out again to finish the day with 135. I was on target for a comfortable 150+ week then. And so it proved. Sunday was again hot and sunny. An hour in the afternoon took me to 151 miles. The fine conditions tempted me to get out again mid-evening and push on a bit more than usual. Thus done, I rolled home with 162 miles in total, only 5 miles behind my best score of the year so far. Splendid work. I could do with a few more weeks like that this summer.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 20 m.
Total for 2012: 2534
2012 average weekly mileage: 120.66
Consecutive 100s: 20
Miles needed for 6000: 3466
Percentage of target reached: 42.23%
With 31 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 111.8

The fastest 100 of the year so far, despite the blustery end to the week. Of course, wind blowing in from one direction both punishes and rewards depending on whether you're facing it. So it all evens out I suppose. This week pushed my weekly average to a year high of 120.6

The Great Balloon Mystery

The Great Balloon Mystery

Sunday 28 May 2012
It was a warm and sunny afternoon, so I set off on a ride to push on from the 135 miles I'd managed to trouser that week. Cycling along Union Lane in Out Rawcliffe, my eagle eyes spotted a burst balloon at the side of the road with a tag attached to it with string. Curiosity spiked, I went back to investigate. The tag was printed with the words:

St. Margaret's Swinton
Parochial Church Council
Acorns Group

Although there was no encouragement for me to get in touch, as there sometimes are with these things to note how far they've travelled, a Google search led me to the website for a church in the town of Swinton, near Rotherham in South Yorkshire. I sent them an email and the reply from the vicar confirmed where it had come from:

"the balloons were released from St Margaret's Parish Church, Swinton, Rotherham at 11 00am Sunday morning to celebrate Whit Sunday. Thanks so much for taking the time to get in touch, the children at church will be delighted to hear this news."

Here's a map showing the distance travelled as the crow flies:

It's 70 miles according to this website: http://tinyurl.com/myk7rjm

The wind had been fairly gusting in from the east / south east for the last few days, so it makes sense that it has travelled from that direction. Cor, eh readers?

2012 - Week 20 Graph

Another four weeks have breezed by so it's time once again to pause and reflect.

As you can see from the graph, I'm still leading the pack but my lead over 1998 has been cut from a month ago. In the last four weeks I've added 468.4 miles at an average of 117.1 miles per week. That's slightly down on the previous month. In 1998, weeks 17 - 20 accumulated 504.2 miles at an average of 126.05.

The leads currently stand thus:

1998 - 79.3 miles
2011 - 432.2 miles

What do I need in the next four weeks to keep ahead of the menace of 1998? 467.8 miles. That's an average of 116.95. Not too bad then.

2012 Week 20

Week 20 (w/e 20 May 2012)
Miles: 147.1 

After the struggle of last week, this was much more like it: cycling every day in a steady progression towards a decent total. My kind of week.

Monday. The afternoon was clear and sunny until around 5, when a short shower sprang up. This delayed my usual cycling trip, so it was closer to 6 when I got out there. I came back with 12 miles but was able to top that up to 20 with an evening trip. Tuesday's weather was initially showery, but from the afternoon onwards it was clear and sunny. The only downside was the brisk northerly wind that pegged me back a bit. I got a full hour of pedalling done in the afternoon, moving on to 33 miles in the process, then pushed on to 41 miles in the evening. Wednesday's weather was very nice indeed, clear and sunny. A sign of things to come, as it turned out. My usual afternoon excursion took me to 55 miles and the traditional 8 mile evening ride pushed me on to a satisfying 63 miles for a Wednesday night.

Thursday was cloudy but warm, with hazy sunshine. I got just under an hour's cycling done in the afternoon, advancing to 77 miles in the process. This became 85 miles after I'd been out on the usual loop in the evening. Friday brought a downturn in the weather, with overcast skies and spots of rain in the air. With an eye on the looming magic number 100, I dragged myself out for an hour in the late afternoon despite the spits of drizzle. For the last few miles of the journey home the rain became increasingly more organised. Nevertheless, I came home with the ton in the bag. An hour later the rain was steady and constant and lasted until well into the small hours, so no more miles were added. Still, job done with two days to spare.

Saturday. Hazy sunshine for the afternoon. I made my usual trip into town, then came home and dashed off another quick 8 miles before tea. That pushed things along to 118 miles. In the evening I watched the Champions League final. With the extra time and penalties it didn't leave any opportunity to add to the total. Sunday's weather was mostly cloudy throughout the afternoon until the sun burst out at teatime. I got out for an hour around the time that the clouds dispersed, rolling home with 134 miles. Naturally there was still time for another ride out in the evening. I went on a slightly longer route than the usual one that produces 8 miles. This done, I closed the week with 147 miles.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 33 m.
Total for 2012: 2371.7
2012 average weekly mileage: 118.58
Consecutive 100s: 19
Miles needed for 6000: 3628.3
Percentage of target reached: 39.52%
With 32 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 113.38

A disappointingly slow time for the 100 this week. Must have been the gusty wind earlier in the week.

2012 Week 19

Week 19 (w/e 13 May 2012)
Miles: 103.2

Another week of difficult circumstances meant that the bare target of achieving 100 miles was in some doubt right until the final day. It took some application to get there, but I scraped home on Sunday afternoon.

Monday afternoon was overcast. Then drizzle arrived. A little later on it became fine for a couple of hours but by the early evening showery rain rolled in. The rain stayed put for the rest of the evening, turning heavier as the day headed into night. I was recovering from the previous day's fun run anyway - or rather, from the post-run beer celebration - so I wasn't too bothered about missing out on cycling for a day. But then...

...Monday night into Tuesday saw me felled by either a touch of food poisoning or some nasty gastric bug that I'd picked up at the weekend. I pretty much spent 36 hours in bed, feeling very grim indeed. So that wiped out Tuesday and Wednesday. And I still felt ropey for a couple of days afterwards, which didn't help the chase.

Thursday. Although back on my feet again, I wasn't feeling tip top. The weather was also fairly dank, with plenty of showery rain floating through. With one eye on the clock and the other on the 100 mile target, I really wanted to get out that evening, even for just 9 or 10 miles. But the weather was drizzly and horrible and I didn't make it. Which thus meant that I had only 3 days to cobble together 100 miles. I decided to set myself a target of doing 33.3 miles every day so I'd get there by Sunday. As you've probably grasped from this blog so far, I tend to do my cycling in short bursts of an hour or so. For this challenge I also decided to attempt to get the 33.3 miles every day in one go, or at least get myself close to it... weather permitting, of course.

Friday. The skies were mostly clear but there was a fierce wind blowing in from the NE. I took myself off in the afternoon on a 27 miler. It was flipping hard work on the way back with that gale howling, especially since I was still feeling under par. I topped up the miles in the evening with my usual loop to finish the day with 35.8 miles. So that was the first target achieved then.

Saturday. The best day of the week, weather-wise. It was clear and sunny and the gale had mercifully eased. I went out on the bike in the late afternoon and did a 29 miler. For this ride I headed south into the Fylde for a change, crossing the River Wyre at the Cartford bridge and then performing a loop through Elswick, Roseacre, Wharles and Treales (over the M55 and back) before coming home through Inskip and St Michael's. I topped this up in the evening to clock up 36.5 miles on the day, bringing the total to 72. Good effort, especially since it brought the final target under 30 miles. Things like that help mentally.

Sunday. So, one day to go. 28 miles required - that's two hours of cycling - but with the distraction of what turned out to be a gripping final day of the Premier League season. The weather also took a turn for the worse, with increasingly leaden skies and rain moving in threateningly from the west. To add to the woe, the wind had whipped up again, this time from the south west. For the middle of May it was decidedly chilly. I watched the first half of Man City v QPR at 3 pm and would have very much liked to have stayed on the sofa and watched the rest of the match. But those miles were calling me. It's funny how these things work out; had I managed 10 miles on that dank Thursday evening as I'd wished, I would have only needed 18 miles to get to a ton, so I would have had enough time to watch the footy and then dash outside to complete the chase. Tsk, typical. Never mind, I took my radio with me stashed inside my rucksack, and listened to the commentary of the unfolding drama as I pedalled inland. For this final trip I headed east to Garstang and Scorton. I'd just reached the latter when those late goals went in. I yelled out loud in delight and got a funny look from a sheep. I followed the NCN route for a couple of miles and then came back across the A6 to head for home. This final stretch was grim due to that ruddy wind. 12 mph all the way. What a grind. It also reminded me that a hybrid bike isn't great for these kinds of trips and conditions.

I rolled home at 6:30 with 103 miles, having ridden 30.9 on the day. The rain eventually arrived at 7:30 and two hours later it was belting down. The great escape!

The stats:

Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 46 m.
Total for 2012: 2224.6

2012 average weekly mileage: 117.08
Consecutive 100s: 18
Miles needed for 6000: 3775.4

Percentage of target reached: 37.07%
With 33 weeks to go, average weekly miles needed for 6000: 114.41

The slowest time this year to get to 100 miles reflects the tortuous grind of having to cycle into strong winds. With a total barely above 100, my averages slip back a little as well. Just to show how tight these averages are, and how quickly they can slip away from you, in order to get myself back to the peak weekly average so far this year (119.2, set in week 13), I'd need to do 160 miles in the next week.