2016 Review

2016 Review

When I look back at this year I have to admit that it has been a difficult one. Problems in my personal life took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions including an ongoing battle with depression. I found that keeping busy was a good way to deal with things, which has resulted in an exciting year of physical and mental challenges and adventures.

Here's a quick look back at what I got up to this year:

January
Denbies 10 Miler - 10 mile run in the snow around the Denbies Wine Estate.

March
South Downs Way Bike Ride - 100 miles from Winchester to Eastbourne.

April
Riding with the London Mountain Biking Club in the Surrey Hills and Guildford.

May
Kayak The Canal - An evening paddle from Limehouse to Crate Brewery.
Womens International Parkour Weekend - a foray into the world of parkour.

June
Camp Wildfire - a weekend of bushcraft and adventure activities.
Full moon swim and campfire - An evening swim at Brockwell Lido, followed by a campfire and marshmallows in the park.
Hard as Snails 10km run - An evening trail run along the North Downs Way.

July
4 week BCU 1 Star Kayak Course - Gained my BCU 1 Star qualification at Shadwell Basin over 4 evening sessions.
Dunwich Dynamo - 120 mile overnight bike ride from London Fields to Dunwich, Suffolk.
Cotswold 24 Hour Relay Race - A 24 hour team relay race running around a 10km loop in Cirencester Park.

August
Kayaking in the Norwegian Fjords - A 2 day sea kayaking trip in Norway.
Devon coast to coast bike ride - 4 days cycling from Plymouth to Ilfracombe and back.

September
Great North Run - My first half marathon.
London to Brighton off-road bike ride - A 75 mile ride from London to Brighton. I camped overnight and rode back to London the next day.

October
Downs Dash MTB Ride - Weekend ride in Cranleigh.

December
Gravel Grinder MTB Ride - A 45 mile ride around Surrey.
The Sandstone Way Bikepacking Ride - 120 miles from Hexham to Berwick-upon-Tweed bikepacking.
HopeTech Womens Ride - A morning ride with the Hopetech women in the Surrey Hills.

Also here's my 2016 Strava Year in Sport.

It's been a busy year with some interesting challenges and I have to say that finishing The Sandstone Way was a great way to end 2016. Back in January I had sat and made a list of things I wanted to try and I'm happy to see that I've achieved a lot of those things.

2016 might not have been the best year for me in my personal life but I got out there and lived. This year made me realise even more that life is for living and it's too short to sit around wishing that you had done things, you have to get out there are do them. It's with this mentality that I intend to head into 2017 for another year of crazy adventures and to see what life has to offer!