Happy New Year 2026!

Happy New Year to all those that read my blog! I hope 2025 treated you well. I hope that 2026 blows your socks off!

It's actually the 2 Jan 2026 as I write this post and I figured I'd review my goals of yesteryear. I had wanted to complete a 'Rat Race' and I'm pleased to say this was achieved. Mr Orange and I completed this 100-mile coast to coast adventure in the Scottish Highlands which incorporated running, trekking, cycling and kayaking. This was awesome and a great way to celebrate our 50ths!

Breakfast on Marcher Castles Way adventure

Didn't cycle the Cantii Way. However, Jamie and I cycled similar events including our rendition of the Marcher Castles Way. We had a lovely trip that incorporated a section in Rhayader with the mountains on fire, this was a spectacle that will sit in my headspace for a while.

Grwyne Fawr Bothy

Lluest Cum Bach Bothy

Managed to sleep in a bothy. Not once, but twice. Phantom and I have spent a night in the UK's smallest bothy, and we met the knowledgeable Goblin King on our second bothy visit. Would like to continue bothy visiting and would love it if my other mates could join too - especially Mr O as he inspired me in the first place and gave me a book about bothy.

Did not complete my A-Z of ParkRun, but came close and only have the letter Z remaining. I ran my most ParkRuns ever in a year in 2025, completing 32 in all. I ran these mostly solo, however SJ, Spoon, The Phantom, Cass, Dan, the Jannaway's and even Flairio joined me for some! I also beat my 2024 fastest time (25:21) with a 2025 fastest time of 23:06. My PB remains 21:39 which I doubt I will beat this year.

Ran a total of 544k in 2025 that beat 2024's effort of 286k. My best year was 2016 (Iron Man year) where I totted up 1,204k. I wonder what I will cover this year.

I didn't cycle an audax 200k or over, though did cycle shorter distances. Cycled a total of 4,804k in 2025 which beat 2024's distance of 4,398k. My average yearly distance (since I kept records) is 7,926 so didn't do great here. In 2013 (LEL year) I managed to cycle 12,498k!

Last thing on 2025's plan was to drink some of the Phantom's nettle tea. This didn't happen. I'll try improved motivation tactics this year! Hmm.

So, what are my plans and goals for this year? Well, they're quite simple really. I just want to love and support my family, work hard (yeah yeah) and cycle, run and wild camp. I have some cycling events that I've entered and asked AI to help me prepare.

My training plan actually started on the day of my last post - 29 December 2025 to be precise. It was easy creating a training plan, I just told some random AI machine that I plan to cycle the Snowdrop Audax in February, the Dirty Reiver not long after and the Solstice Sprint in June and hey presto, it created an action plan for me to follow with options for a shorter or longer week depending on hours I have to spare. Perhaps the plan is a bit optimistic, first suggestion was for me to complete a 90-minute Zwift session targeting my threshold sweet spot. I completed a shorter version, 50 minutes but had to stop twice to get my breath back, lower my heart rate and try to compose myself. Not a good start to a training plan. I weighed myself afterwards and it was clear that I put on a couple of kg during the festive period - sure this hasn’t helped either.

Following couple of cycles were much improved. I cycled a robo-pacer session on Zwift, following Maria who doesn't kick out huge watts - this was much easier. The second ride was on my fixie where I conducted a test. Basically, I was just checking if the current 48 x 18 teeth gearing suited me well. AI suggested I find a flat 30k stretch, cycle same, and feedback my time, distance, elevation, feel and it would work out my RPM's, likely watts etc. The results stated that 48 x 18 'is a great fast endurance' gear for me. It also suggested I swap to a 20t rear cog if I want to be kinder to my knees and cycle hilly routes. I'm going to follow this advice and replace my redundant 18t free wheel with a 20t cog and use same should I start commuting to work again.

Tonight, I have a planned Zwift session. Saturday will hopefully see my first ParkRun of 2026. After that, well, I guess we'll all have to wait and see. I'm sure adventure awaits.

The last days of 2025

It's nearly the end of 2025 and before I comment on the New Year, I wanted to shout out about a few other 'new' things. These new things include a log burner, an axe and a shed. These new things are as equally awesome as my new MSR fry pan. Oh, and now my friends Jamie and Phantom have the self-same MSR fry pans too!

From this...

... to this!

After just 3 days graft, Tim 'the log-burner-man', opened up our chimney, removed back-burner and fitted a really awesome log burner. SJ got to painting. And wham bam, we have a new log-burner sat in our lounge looking rather splendid and radiating and all this was complete before we had guests (family) over for Christmas! The New Year will see us replace the silver handle for a black one, but otherwise, pretty much complete.

With a new log-burner, came a new axe. New axe meant new learning as my wood chopping skills were naff and I chopped my pinky finger. Thankfully, I didn't chop the pinky off!

Pleased to inform the other 'new' thing was the construction of a new bike shed in my garden. This shed has been dubbed *Kim's shed* as my sister Kim kindly gifted this to us. This shed is ace and houses some of my toys. Thanks Kim. My dear folks have gotten me a water bucket 'thing' for my shed and are going to supply some draining pipes and guttering too. Thanks folks! (A bit of a clean-up will follow in the New Year).

My Zwift spinning and training has paused somewhat during this festive period. I completed an FTP test and scored '272' on the second go (as my dad interrupted the first attempt) - was a bit disappointed with this as had a higher score previously. Hopefully my FTP score will rise next year when I start my training plan and if I manage to increase my max V02 running and cycling scores, I'll be well chuffed. (Highest V02 max was recorded this year and was 47 running and 53 cycling respectively). I leave 2025 as a Zwiftie at level 65.

ParkRun 104

ParkRun 105 (Christmas Day)

ParkRun 106

Completed 3 Parkrun's since my last post which means I have now run a total of 106 ParkRuns at 41 different locations. My PB remains 21:39 which I doubt I will ever beat. Fastest time this year was 23:06. Spoon joined me on ParkRun 104, and we ran around Arrow Valley. Spoon agreed to run this as Arrow Valley were not running an event Christmas day this year. I wore a Christmas hat, but Spoon was not sporting one herself this year and this was the first ParkRun where she didn't grab my hand for support. I guess she's growing up. Spoon pinky promised to run with me on Christmas day, but she broke that promise too despite blackmailing me with a Maccies (stating if it was a Starbucks she's have come). So Christmas day ParkRun was run on my lonesome at Evesham and it was very bitterly cold. I'm pleased I ran but would have been happier if Spoon had joined. ParkRun 106 was back at Arrow Valley and completed in a time of 24:41 which I was happy with.

Managed another wild camp during this December month. Phantom and I decided we would camp in a little area we walked through recently with Spoon and Ernie. This was a lovely little spot we dubbed 'Peckers Pit' because it's a little wooded area at the top of a hill, in a kind of pit that has tree's that have been pecked by woodpeckers no less, revealing the wonderful holes.

This was a slighlty warmer camp than the previous week and I made a better job of constructing my tarp. Phantom used a tarp too and tried out a hammock under quilt for the first time. I changed my SLR towards more of a 90% sag compared to the previous 83% and it felt better but still not perfect. My feet were warmer in their Alpkit booties and lowering the tarp sides was a good move. *I've since done some more research and apparently, due to my height of 6' 2'', a larger 11' hammock is probably indicated, rather than my current 10' one. However, it's suggested that I invest in a 258cm SLR which will lock in 86% sag, which will 'provide the maximum diagonal space for a taller frame in a 10ft hammock'. Also, I already knew of the strange rule of putting feet higher than head and research says to set foot (strap) end at eye level and head end at shoulder level as 'the foot end should be roughly 8 -10 inches higher than the head end. This shifts the deepest part of the hammock under your torso, letting your feet stay in the wide, flat fabric'. Furthermore, when setting straps, advice says to use the 'finger gun' test where the thumb touches strap and index finger the suspension to ensure an ideal angle of 30 degrees. And that's not all, research says to place a 'sit mat inside the foot of your sleeping bag to prevent cold heels and provide insulation where the under-quilt ends'* So much information, already looking forward to next camp to try all this out. Hoping I won't need to invest in a 11' hammock.

Cooking this night went well. I prepared another Shakshuka which Phantom gave a '10/10'. He cooked sausage which was nice and both dishes went well together. I managed to cook bread in the morning which despite being a success, was messy hard work. I preferred the Phantoms sausage and egg. Our MSR fry pans are just the best, and I have plans of cooking fish and scramble dishes on another occasion.

As usual, heard the sounds of creatures in the night - definitely an owl and deer. Phantom says he heard a shotgun and we both heard unidentifiable noises for sure. Was a real windy night and we tucked in relatively early. So nice waking up in woodland on Christmas Eve.

Didn't camp loads this year, however, each time I did was lovely. Have dreams of camping more in the New Year. SJ and I have a fire pit that needs a test too!

A caught Nessie!

Christmas day followed Christmas Eve as it usually does, and this was a nice day spent with family. I took no photo's save that of a whacky present - a creature in my glass. Love it! Good job ParkRun takes place early in the day.

Ma, SJ, Pa, Moo and Spoon

Boxing day followed Christmas day as it usually does. My parents (and later Kim) came over, which was nice. Good to eat, feast and be merry.

No doubt New Years Eve will rock up next, and SJ and I are planning to celebrate this with her family. So, I'm guessing this is almost certainly going to be my last post this year. Hope you've had a good 12 months and here's hoping to a better, brighter 2026! Adventure awaits!

Crimble Bimble, Magic Pan and the Woods of Doom

Ever busy since my last post. I’ve completed lots of workouts on Zwift over the past 12 weeks since renewing my subscription — mostly on the Gravel Grinder plan. One recent workout with the Phantom saw me spin my legs at an incredible max of 160 rpm. My VO₂ max scores have been at their highest — 47 for running and 53 for cycling (noting this here in case they never go higher!). Sadly, my weight seems to be increasing with it. Parkrun frequency has dropped a little, but that’s ok — I’ve done plenty of other stuff.

I got my new ‘lead-in’ car at last. This was a bit of a menace though, because it was dropped off a day earlier than planned (thankfully, family members were in to get the key etc.) — and I got a different car than I thought I’d ordered. I’d looked at quotes for a Fiat 500 and a Kia Picanto and, in my wisdom, morphed these two together and thought I was getting a Fiat Picanto. Hmm. I ended up with the Fiat, which I didn’t want as it only has three doors.

The first test drive was awful — I couldn’t get it started. After faffing about for some time, it turned out the steering lock was on, so the key wouldn’t turn. Next problem: almost zero fuel — and once at the garage, I couldn’t open the petrol cap (forecourt guy came to the rescue). As if things couldn’t get worse, I could hardly see out of the windows as they were cloudy inside. My girls like the car, despite calling it a “girlie car.” They first thought Aunty Jackie had rocked up, as she has a similar car (mine’s hybrid).

Not only have I got a new car, but we’ve also had new windows fitted too. At last, we can close off the draughts in the front room and landing — and now Spoon can open her bedroom window and Moo can close hers! Work on the fireplace continues — now there’s even room for Santa. Would be nice if the log burner is in before Christmas.

Completed another wild camp with Jamie, which was great fun. We decided to hammock in the Woods of Doom. It was creepy entering the woods as I could see eyes watching us — not sure what sort of creatures they belonged to. After a bit of faffing and passing the remnants of another’s possible camp spot (beer cans, plastic, noodle pots, rubbish), we set up camp. It was very cold, about 1°C, but we were mostly prepared.

I did a naff job of setting up my tarp. First time I’ve used this particular one — my huge DD Tarp (2.9 x 3) — and perhaps it’s just too big? My ridgeline was way too long (about 10 m) and kept getting caught up. I think I’ll trim its length and maybe look for slightly thicker cord. I’m also thinking it might be better to attach the tarp to the ridgeline with prusik knots and carabiners rather than feeding through the loops. For someone who’s camped loads, I felt very inexperienced. After some tinkering it was up — not brilliant, but workable. I should’ve lowered the sides to keep out the breeze.

This was also my first camp using the funky SRL (structured ridgeline) that Phantom and I had spliced together. We set it at approx. 83%, the ‘sweet spot’ according to our research. This gave a bigger sag than I’ve traditionally had, so I had to hang the straps higher to avoid dropping too close to the ground. It felt ok, and it was nice to have a line to hang my clothes and light from. I might try 90% next time to compare (the Goblin King suggested that, after all). I slept ok, not perfectly. The under quilt did fine, and I was grateful SJ had cinched the ends (though I forgot to tighten them until morning — hence the cold feet).

Cooking was a much better story (for me, at least). I’d brought along my MSR frying pan for its debut wild camp test and it was awesome (despite me attaching the handle upside down). In a better‑than‑Gordon‑Ramsay style, I chopped onions and peppers (using my new Opinel No. 7 knife and ‘cheap‑as‑chips’ eBay chopping board) and cooked a Shakshuka. I kid you not, it was delicious — Jamie and I were both pleased. The avocado oil and spices just elevated it. Usually, I let others cook when wild camping, but this new frying pan was aces. Jamie commented he had pan envy. His pan was really quite naff, and the sausages he was cooking kept tipping out before being abandoned. (No doubt Jamie will invest in an MSR fry pan next time.) Shout‑out to Phantom for supplying gas for the trip. In view of no sausages, I cooked a pack of bacon — which turned out perfectly crisp thanks to that pan.

Following day, we spoke to Jonny Mitchum about said pan, and I think it’s only right I quote him here:  

*“The Fabled Magic Frying Pan! Behold the Pan of Peerless Panache: a feather‑friendly, fine‑forged, flapjack‑flipping phenomenon — a sizzle‑savvy, stick‑slaying, sausage‑searing stalwart that laughs at limp eggs, fears no flame, and turns timid trail meals into gloriously golden grub. Compact, charismatic, and criminally good at crispy bacon, it’s the backcountry’s boldest breakfast boss.”*  

Couldn’t have said it better myself — nice one, Jonny.

I awoke a couple of times in the night and heard plenty of creatures — the hoot of an owl, the bark of a deer, and the snore of Jamie. He heard strange noises too; one was me having a dump at 5 a.m. Lovely to see the stars and the moonlight shining bright.

No breakfast the next morning — we’d eaten the night before. A refreshing cup of tea was welcome though, helping to warm us up ready for dismantling camp. We left no trace, unlike those before who’d left piles of rubbish. As we cycled back to my abode, I could see how cold it was — my gloves were frosting up.

Back home, the adventure wasn’t over. Oh no — we had a cycling outing planned. We scoffed down some rounds of toast and then met up with Phantom and Red for a gravel adventure dubbed *The Crimble Bimble*. It turned out to be a lovely 85 km (give or take) ride over mixed surfaces.

First leg was a road cycle to the Greenway, where we met up with Jonny M. Nice catching up with all the lads. Phantom was on his brand‑new gravel bike and Jonny had a new one too. Jamie had a recent bike fit. Great just chatting, cycling, and dreaming of adventures past and to come. We all had a laugh remembering Meekon’s fall that one time.

Red

Jamie

Jonny Mitchum

Phantom

The route was decent — mostly flat with a tough uphill section off‑road. The up soon turned to down, and it was so bumpy my bottle ejected from its cage. We hit real quagmire sections for a spell before a short road stretch, where Jonny punctured. Soon sorted with this foam sealant and a stop (thank goodness) for some food before hitting the Greenway again. Food was awesome — I had a pigs‑in‑blankets toastie with chutney. Different, but delicious.

Jonny left us where he’d joined the trail. The rest of us cycled an alternate way home, adding another gravel section down to Coughton Court. We cycled past the Woods of Doom and reached home where we’d first begun. Grateful for good friends, the open trail, and the promise of more misadventures ahead.

It’s now Sunday — a day of rest. Well, a day of little physical activity anyhow. Got a bunch of stuff to wash, unpack, oil etc. Also got a head full of adventure. More awaits…