2013 - Week 4 Graph

Four weeks into the year, it's now time to have a look at the graph. Since I'll be going into battle with 2012 for the next few months, I'll ignore all the other years for now. Hopefully it will be July before I have to start plotting when 1998 is suddenly looming at my shoulder again.

After a great start in weeks 1 and 2 established a lead of 51.2 miles, the rotten weather hauled me back in and I've been overtaken already.

Those figures then after four weeks:

2013 - 347.5
2012 - 362.4
1998 - 228.5

So I lost the lead after week 3 and now have a deficit on last year of 14.9 miles. To win back the lead over the next four weeks I'll need to add 476 miles exactly at an average of 119 per week.

As I mentioned in the previous entry, last year's mild winter allowed me to set the bar unseasonably high. Looking back at previous years in the last decade, particularly post-2006 when I stepped up the cycling after a series of fallow years, the averages for the first two wintry months of the year remained much of a muchness:

After 4 weeks
2007 - 52.6 miles
2008 - 56.8 miles
2009 - 59.45 miles
2010 - 26.17 miles
2011 - 56.82 miles

After 6 weeks
2007 - 68.8 miles
2008 - 66.4 miles
2009 - 72.1 miles
2010 - 52.75 miles
2011 - 67.26 miles

After 8 weeks
2007 - 64.3 miles
2008 - 69.2 miles
2009 - 79.3 miles
2010 - 67.23 miles
2011 - 76.6 miles

I'm sure the weather wasn't all that bad at the time. What changed in 2012 was the addition of the mental determination to keep the great run going that the weather had allowed me to start.

2013 Week 4

Week 4 (w/e 27 January 2013)
Miles: 60.1

This field has been flooded a full 12 months I think.

Oh dear oh dear. A promising start to the year receives a blow thanks to the weather.

Monday morning. Snow! Thick, wet sleety stuff that didn't stick very much. It cleared away by 5 pm but I wasn't going to get the bike out in a hurry. Tuesday's skies were clear but oddly it felt quite warm - until the sun went down at least. I went out for a ride down the main road just before teatime, almost getting knocked off by some dick in a car pulling out of a goods yard as I passed under his nose. Fecking idiot. I got back with 9 miles then went back out along the same road in the evening to come back with 17.5 in total. Wednesday afternoon brought the sleet back for a brief shower. Brr. The evening was clear but cold so I donned double gloves and went out for the best part of an hour to push on to 30 miles. Crumbs, it was cold though. My fingers still felt it despite the extra layer.

Thursday. Clear skies became overcast by late afternoon. I got out on my bike at teatime. I didn't fancy going down the main road again after the previous evening's near miss. Cycling in the dark when people are travelling home from work can be a bit hairy. So I  headed off into the country lanes instead, correctly thinking that the roads wouldn't be slippy by now. The gritter passed me after a couple of miles anyway, which was reassuring. I got back with almost 39 miles on the clock. In the evening I took up an invitation to go to the pub, so no more miles were added. Friday saw sleet, then proper snow. The gritters struggled to cope with the deluge and even the main road was reduced to a path of white cut by tyre tracks. Not a cycling day, clearly.

Heavy rain arrived on Saturday afternoon and it continued to fall all evening. Not a cycling day then. At least it washed the snow away. Sunday at least was bright and sunny. I got myself out on the bike at 6 for half an hour, moving along to 48 miles on the way. I went out again later in the evening. By this time the wind had whipped up, which didn't make it much fun. I crawled back home almost an hour later with a total of 60 miles for the week.

60 miles! Very poor. The problem is that last year's mild winter let me zip away to a great start and having laid down the early benchmark of 100 a week in the winter, I never looked back. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have to chase a total in the ice and snow.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: N/A
Total for 2013: 347.5
2013 average weekly mileage: 86.87
Consecutive 100s: 0
Miles needed for 6000: 5652.5
Percentage of target reached: 5.8%
Required average weekly mileage: 117.76

My figures are getting worse on my knackered bike. 60.1 miles took me 4 hours and 23 minutes at an average of 13.67 mph.

Meanwhile, back in 2012...
I did 107.1 miles which gave me a total of 362.4. So I've been overtaken already. The lead is only 14.9 miles mind you.

2013 Week 3

Week 3 (w/e 20 January 2013)
Miles: 84

This week, the weather turned cold again. Very cold. Snow was coming. My mileage suffered accordingly.

Monday started off with wintry showers, after which it turned clear and bitterly cold. So cold that I decided not to bother getting out on the bike at all. After all, it was only Monday and I could afford to take a day off, surely? Tuesday saw clear skies again but I got things underway in the late afternoon with a ride down the main road and back for 13 miles. I nipped out again later in the evening along the same road to come home with 19 miles for the day. Wednesday was cloudy and so not quite as cold. I was going to nip out for half an hour late in the evening but ended up struggling with my front light after swapping the batteries. The wretched thing refused to work. I wasted a good ten minutes fiddling with it and by the time I got it working again, it wasn't work going out. I did manage a decent ride in the evening though. Sticking again to the gritted main road, I came back home with 33 miles. So far so reasonable.

Thursday was very cold. A bitter wind from the south really pulled the temperature down. Sleet started to fall here at about 5 pm so I wasn't able to get the bike out at my usual time. There were still flakes in the air long into the evening, so that was that. Sheltered areas had a small covering of snow, but the roads and pavements around here stayed clear. Friday was achingly cold. A few flakes of snow twinkled in the air now and again but that was all. It was too cold for me to want to go for a bike ride, certainly. I think by this time I'd resigned myself to not being able to post a century this week and I was ok with that. I must be going soft.

I headed into the weekend with 33 miles then. The weather warmed up noticeably and it was dank but fine. I made my usual Saturday afternoon trip into town, dashed out again for a short trip when I got home and then undertook a third ride in the evening to push on to 61 miles. It was cloudy but cold on Sunday and fine at least. After making a short trip locally to take some photos for this blog, a 50 minute ride a bit later at tea time saw me on to 75 miles. I got back out in the evening and trundled up and down the main road to come home at 10 pm with 84 miles exactly.

So I missed out on a third consecutive 100. But to come within 16 miles of it in the circumstances (3 days of zero cycling) was a good effort... if I hadn't missed the chance of half an hour's ride on Wednesday thanks to the dodgy bike light, I would only have been about 8 miles short. Gah.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: N/A
Total for 2013: 287.4
2013 average weekly mileage: 95.8
Consecutive 100s: 0
Miles needed for 6000: 5712.6
Percentage of target reached: 4.8%
Required average weekly mileage: 116.58

It actually took me 6 hours and 2 minutes to get my 84 miles this week at an average of 13.93 mph. Very poor. At least I'm 32.1 miles ahead of this time in 2012.

2013 Week 2

Week 2 (w/e 13 January 2013)
Miles: 101.2

The weekday weather was mostly dank and misty, then came an arctic blast for the weekend... but I was able to chalk up another 100 despite my increasingly decrepit bike. I got the week underway with a short trip on Monday afternoon for 9 miles. Rain arrived at 9 in the evening, so I didn't add to the total. Tuesday saw steady rain until around 4 pm, after which it was fine but foggy. I was able to go out for a trundle in the evening and returned with 18 miles in total. Wednesday was a very foggy day and not the kind of weather to be wobbling around the roads on a bike, so I left it at home. It was the best move.

Thursday was clearer and colder with it. I got out for almost an hour's ride in the late afternoon, moving on to 31 miles in the process. I came back just as the fog was forming, which was quite a hairy experience. The fog had thickened in the evening but I went out anyway for half an hour on the usual loop into the countryside and back. I advanced to 39 miles in the process. Friday was overcast but fine. An afternoon's bike ride took me to 53 miles. Come the evening, I noticed on the rain radar some heavy showers drifting in from the south west. I thought I'd better get some more miles done before they arrived. I thus pushed on to 62 miles by 10 pm. The rain didn't actually turn up until midnight. So that left 48 miles to rattle off over the weekend to get another early ton.

The weather changed again at the weekend as the cold snap crept in. It was clear and cold on Saturday with an icy blast coming this way from the east. I cycled into town in the afternoon as usual, then nipped out for a supplementary ride after returning home. That put me on 78 miles. The temperature in the evening really dropped. By crikey, it was cold! I took to wearing two pairs of gloves at this point. This helped slightly, but the cold still managed to freeze my digits. I dragged myself out for a ride in the evening despite the cold and came back with 86 miles. And frozen fingers. I was glad of the effort on Sunday, as I only needed 14 more miles but suddenly the weather had worsened... sleet started coming down at 1 pm. This alternated with wintry drizzle without firming up into snow. By 7 pm it had stopped so at 9 pm I ventured out for an hour in my double gloves to chalk off the remaining miles I needed to score a century. I kept myself to the main road (the A588) which had been gritted - resuming the routes I'd cycled last month when the temperature had similarly tumbled. By 10 pm the job was done. A fine effort.

Having set a new record last week with the very first 100 in the first week of a year, it follows that I've set another first this week by doing 100s in weeks one and two.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 7 hrs 4 mins
Total for 2013: 203.4
2013 average weekly mileage: 101.7
Consecutive 100s: 2
Miles needed for 6000: 5796.6
Percentage of target reached: 3.4%
Required average weekly mileage: 115.93

The slowest 100 on record this week as I'm pretty much limited to using the first 7 gears on my ramshackle bike. My average speed was only 14.15 mph. Urgh. Terrible.

2013 Week 1

Week 1 (w/e 6 January 2013)
Miles: 102.2

Another year, another mountain of miles to conquer. For 2013 I've set myself the same target as 2012, that is, 6000 miles. Should I come close to that before the end of the year, I can always up the total again.

Although Monday 31st December technically fell within the first cycling week of my year, I made sure that I didn't sully my figures by doing any miles. Besides, New Year's Eve called for a pint or two. I pedalled my first miles of the year in the evening of Tuesday 1st. 8, to be exact. Wednesday afternoon was dank after morning rain but I got myself out again in the evening for another 8 miles to move on to 16 in total. A slow start then. Things weren't helped by me developing a horrible cold this week. I'd even venture to state that it approached the outskirts of man flu at its peak. I must have picked it up in the pub on New Year's Eve. It proved annoyingly difficult to shake off as well. Despite feeling rough, I dragged myself out on the bike late on Thursday afternoon for half an hour then did the same again later, moving along to 31 miles in the process. Friday was similarly dank, but I put on 11 miles in the afternoon and upped that to 50 by the end of the day.

So that left 50 miles for the weekend. I felt rougher than ever on Saturday with the wretched cold I had, but having dosed myself up with hot lemon powders I took myself out for a 16 miler having decided to give my usual Saturday afternoon shopping trip the swerve. I just got home as it started to rain, but this proved to be only a brief shower. I went back out into the misty murk of the evening later on, coming home with 75 miles. It was dank and dark on Sunday as well, but at least it didn't rain. I broke the back of the chase with an 18 mile ride in the afternoon, then finished things off mid-evening, rolling home with 102 for the week.

Amazingly, despite all the records that tumbled last year, I set another one this week: never before since I started keeping records had I managed to cycle 100 miles in the first week of a year. The previous record was 83 miles, set in both 1999 and 2008 (although 1999 was actually the record at 83.2). I felt quite proud about that.

The stats:
Time taken to get 100: 6 hrs 47 mins
Total for 2013: 102.2
2013 average weekly mileage: 102.2
Consecutive 100s: 1
Miles needed for 6000: 5897.8
Percentage of target reached: 1.7%
Required average weekly mileage: 115.64

A painfully slow 100 again as my bike is falling to pieces.

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.