On a long drive with a friend a couple of weeks ago conversation turned to being ‘thoughtful people’ and whether or not that was always necessarily a good thing. I’m a big thinker (although not necessarily always a smart one) and can spend tons of time turning things over and over in my head for pretty much zero benefit to myself or others.

That’s exactly what I was doing last week whilst writing a post about 2022. It was long, dull, and mostly focused on some of the year having been really quite difficult. (Did I mention I hurt my back.. Zzzzzz) Before sharing I thought I’d sit on it for a week and re-read it, and on reading again this morning I found myself thinking ‘what am I looking to gain from sharing this’ and concluded that the answer was ‘not a whole lot’. I think maybe I hoped somebody would feel sorry for me and invite me around for dinner. (You can still do that, I will bring wine, and more positive conversation)

Anyway, I’ve decided to sack off the long miserable text and try to keep things positive and focused on the future rather than the past. with that in mind, here are a few broad goals for the next year.

– Keep making time for music. Since being gifted an old Bass last year I’ve totally lost track of the amount of time I’ve spent picking it up and losing myself in playing it. Similarly to cycling it’s a way of getting into that focused state of mind and being really present, and honestly just leaves me feeling great. I’ve got a loose ambition to get a few people together and play some shit covers in a pub some day. I have a feeling this goal will come easily as playing has become such a habit now that I can’t see myself stopping any time soon!

– Write. Very occasionally a friend will mention that they’ve enjoyed reading something on here, and every time it makes me feel a little bit warm and fuzzy that somebody has actually taken some joy or interest in what I’ve written. I don’t think I’d have joined the mighty Bristol South CC, become quite so obsessed with bicycles, or met so many great people if it hadn’t been for reading the blogs of local (total legend) cyclists like the now long-gone Traumfahrrad and Hamilton Wheelers. I’m writing this first and foremost for me, but if anybody at all grabs a sliver of inspiration from anything I’ve been up to and uses this to do something that makes them happy, then that’s something I’m very pleased about.

– Work on the body. Injuring my back last year was a total shitter and made me re-evaluate a lot of things. I’m now stretching every morning and evening and working on strengthening my core so that I can get back to riding the bike as much as I like, rather than as much as I feel that I can. It feels like things are getting better and I’m super motivated to get stronger again, You might even see me at a Hillclimb again next year, That feeling of speed and effortlessness on the climbs is something I’ve not felt for a while and I’d love to get it back. I’ve also entered the 600km Dales Divide endurance race again, and am hoping that by Easter I’ll be in a position to pedal a long way without too much discomfort. it doesn’t need to be fast, it just needs to be.

– Get away big and small. Whether it’s a week in the mountains or a weekend pedaling around Wales. a few things on the list for this summer include getting up to the North coast of Scotland, visiting the Lakes about 1000 times, and going to see a friend in Paris I’ve been meaning to visit for years. Basically, when something comes up I want to make sure I do it. It’s all too easy to think about doing, without doing any doing.

– Read more books. Again. this was on my list for last year and I failed miserably at it, so we’ll see how this goes. hit me up with any recommendations, generally, non-fiction is preferable, I love something to geek out on.

– Practice frugality. Not in the sense of being stingy, but focusing my resource on experiences rather than things, and taking a bit of time to think about whether I really need something before I buy it, or whether I’m being subconsciously drawn in by the ‘work and spend’ consumerist model for life, which we all know does not equal happiness.

– Cook more and cook better. I really enjoy cooking and can put a few decent meals together but when time is short I’m also prone to smashing down a bowl of ravioli with some pesto on and calling it dinner. I’d like to get my ‘easy but tasty’ meal options a bit more varied. let’s see how that goes.

So there we go… hopefully I will come back to this list next year and feel that some of it has sunk in and some progress has been made. It’s a while since I’ve been as filled with excitement and enthusiasm for a new year as I am at the moment, and I’m hoping it stays that way.

I’ve got a few things planned for February including a hike across the Brecons with the usual gang. Stay tuned to find out which one of Andrew and I is big spoon whilst we’re cuddling in a tent with hypothermia. ✌️✌️✌️