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.