As I type this blog I've just returned from (in my opinion) a well deserved holiday, and not that I am sponsored by the Tourist Board in Malta but I can highly recommend the island.......

However the reason for putting this blog together was to force me to put some thought into answering what do I do next. When I returned from Liverpool in late June having completed my last long cycling adventure I rolled (pun intended) into a busy summer of work and cycling dropped down the personal priority order to become the daily commute and very little else. In part I have to admit that having completed the Lands End to John O'Groats route, in three separate legs over a 10 month period, I had in effect completed what I had set out to achieve.......and any thoughts of what grand cycling adventure I could plan next very much dropped off my daily thoughts as the other pressures that life brings came to the forefront of my time.

Now I've returned from what was a really lovely holiday away with Jan, and its fair to say we'd both very much recommend Malta, I returned back to the day to day rhythm of work refreshed from the holiday and feeling the need to be a little more planned, organised, have some sort of focus on the horizon.

Even with the lack of "extra" cycle rides since the end of June I have managed to rack up the miles (3222.8 miles so far in 2023 and counting) and the daily commute should see me break the 4000 miles total before the end of the year.

As I have reflected at times through these blogs the addition of cycling to my life has made a significant improvement to both my physical and mental health, but to continue to undertake multi day rides I of course need to find time, and I'm not sure I can do much more of this in 2023 without spending more quality time with Jan and also ensuring I have created enough time to also scoop up the day to day jobs that life requires of me (which I would refer to as the "to do" list of outstanding DIY chores......our house needs some love!).

With limited time likely to continue over the course of the rest of the year I need to kick start myself to get back out on the bike in small bite size time chunks, repeating previous routes around the New Forest and beyond. I have half an idea to get the train up to London to see my daughters, both of whom live in the city to then cycle back in a day or two.

Having drawn on a large GCSE map of the UK the routes I have completed so far I also feel the need to criss cross the UK in some way, or try and fill in the map with some additional loops to the west / east ...... and thanks to the excellent Sustrans National Cycle Network of routes there are plenty of options for me to consider.

I've also almost come to a decision to sell my car, in part to help finance a new bathroom, in part because I've only used the car for less than 1000 miles between MOT's . We are fortunate asa family to have two cars, but this low level of mileage proves that we don't need both, so the car sale feels like a sensible decision to make.

Over the course of publishing the previous 34 or so blogs I've also received some really lovely (really, really lovely) , positive feedback from readers who have reached out to let me know their positive experience of reading the blogs. Even away on holiday I'm pleased to report that Jan has finally started to read them....she might even realise she has become a regular part of the blogs if she keeps going. Several people have suggested taking the next step to writing some form of book, based on the cycling blogs not a non-cycling book, which has also been an idea rattling around my brain as I've been on the bike over the past year or so.

Whilst I do not claim to have any writing skill, everyone apparently has a book in them don't they? Taking the blogs onto the next level of writing, aka a lot more words, details and maybe someone to support the grammar / spelling etc, is something I would love to explore more. As part of my cycling journey I have tried to read a number of cycling and travel books (it's a genre of books I really enjoy) and with the exception of Michael Palin's books capturing his late 1980's Around the World in 80 days TV series and subsequent series Pole to Pole and the one about travelling around the Pacific, I've struggled to read and really enjoy any other travel books recently..... maybe there is a tiny corner of a small cycling book niche I could fill with my ramblings ?

Anyway for the time being its back to the planning stage, or quite simply getting my backside out on the bike and using this cycling time to consider the next cycling adventures, or maybe just simply enjoying the cycling opportunities the rest of this year might throw my way and see what the year ahead might offer.

Either way Red, the bike, and I intend to keep riding and literally enjoy the ride, each and every moment along the way !