To date this year, I’ve not really signed up to do any bike challenges. About this time last year, I’d cycled from London to Loughborough, but I currently haven’t planned anything similar this year. I’d talked about doing the Devon Coast to Coast or the Way of the Roses but this has been hot air for the time being. I thought it was about time that I signed up and did something this year.

I spent last weekend in Berlin, as part of a work trip to Germany for a conference. Whilst I was there, I decided to spend some time cycling around Berlin with Fat Tire Bike Tours. I’d spent a few days walking around Magdeburg whilst I was there, mainly from the university (where the conference was) to the hotel, making sure I got to see the sights along the way. I’d considered taking the Brompton with me, as my flight tickets included a checked bag, but I decided not to this time around.

Since my Patagonia bag failed catastrophically at protecting the contents of my bag from water in January, I’ve been looking at preventing it happening again. Things such as keeping electronics from the upper pocket that was affected by the rain water was the start. I then went on to buy a HUMP rain proof cover but found that the size supposed to fit my bag size was to small and didn’t offer decent protection - it often kept slipping off the top and exposing the zip that was caused the initial problem!

So I bought a new bike today. The n + 1 rule is a commonly known belief amongst cyclists in that the best number of bikes to own is the current number (n) plus one. Whilst this rule applies, I’ve not actually purchased this bike for myself! I think I’ve slowly worn my girlfriend down and there’s been talk of us riding together. Well, I bought a new helmet for myself at the London Bike Show and she’d said she wasn’t going to go riding without a helmet.

I was lucky enough last week to get a chance to visit the Vulpine sample sale. Vulpine are a British gear manufacturer that make stylish clothes that appear to rival Rapha in quality. When it was posted on the London Brompton Club Facebook page, I thought I’d get myself over there for a look. Vulpine I didn’t manage to get there until the evening. I got there about 17:00, having left work slightly early to see what was left.

This past week has seen me ride more than I rode in the entirety of last January! In fact, taking into account the Evans organised ride, it means that I’ve done about three times the amount of cycling in comparison to last year! I’ve put in 19 hours to date this month, and this time last year, I’d completed 10 (and that included runs, which I’ve not done this year). In terms of distance, that’s a bit more.

On Sunday, I took part in my first Evans Ride It sportive - I’d booked one of these to ride in 2013 (the Hatfield one) but due to illness, I didn’t get a chance to ride it. So when I saw this one advertised before Christmas, I decided that I’d give it a go. I signed up for the long distance but saw that I could drop down to the medium on the day if I wanted which could be good if bad weather came in.

With the Christmas sales on, I decided to get myself a few new items for the bike. I’ve put them through their paces today on my ride home from Wimbledon. Castelli Gloves My gloves of choice, my Rab power stretch grip gloves were getting a bit chilly in the very cold weather that had come in recently. Most importantly, they were letting the win chill in and was causing some uncomfortable early morning cycles to the office.

So this is my first year in review for my blog - so it has been “A Year in Bike” and that’ll continue on into 2015. It’s been a good year, so here’s a quick year in review post. Highlights Highlights this year were: Getting the Brompton. Taking part in the London Brompton Club rides. My bike “tour” from Loughborough to London. The St Crispins Ride overnight ride (this years only century).

So now I’ve settled down and moved into my flat and tidied up a bit, I’ve got my full size bike back. I spent today getting it roadworthy again so I can take it out this week whilst I’m off work. It’s been in storage for the past nine months and it wasn’t really used much before it went into storage so this mainly consisted of getting the saddle sorted again and sorting out the brakes.