2022 ; 59kg of chocolate cake

 Post #678

Yet another year over and the 20th on a bike about to begin.  I think it's referred to as a long-term addiction! (safe to say, I reckon I've kicked the smoking habit now)  

Thankfully the year's been upright, mostly repeating the usual local circuits with an odd lap in Daylesford, Melbourne, Castlemaine and Cobram here and there.  No events though, and that's a first (might get that back on the 2023 agenda).   Avoiding the usual Strava data we get on the years' addiction, rain stopped play on 34 days, a lack of motivation took 19 days off the playlist (add the usual Sundays) and back pain was a pain in the sit site for a week. 

2022 was a year of those 3 chasing terriers in Archer Rd, pot-holes the size of craters, the cow in the middle of a foggy Boundary Rd (28/5), floods, roadworks on Channel Rd, Ms Angry on the Butter Factory's footpath (surely a Karen!) and 36 days of 3 degrees or lower (my measure of real cold) that broke the record on all prior winter chills.  Not forgetting those relentless southerlies (usually en-route to Sanctuary Drive) and dead worms stuck to the bike through Winter. 

6 tyres and umpteen tubes (yes Emil, I've heard of tubeless!), 3 chains and a new Dura-Ace crankset kept the bike going, the engine managing 300 k's a week (13,230 for the year).   By Strava's algorithm, that's 219,952 calories worth.  59.2 kg of chocolate cake gets it into focus!  

Most of this two wheeled habit was with the considerate circus called Couldabeens, tolerating my dramatics as I try to keep pace (explains the calories consumed?)   Jen made her comeback, Lance and young Liam hit the deck, GiantAndy made a mockery of 3 Peaks, Greg Tour de Cure'd, Wozza did his back, a few contracted the spicy cough, LiamM and Lili caught the Couldabeens disease, new bikes for Molly, The Godfather, Greg, Trav and Lili (Lenny got a "new" 90's Cannondale) and Jen got new wheels.   The shop squad tore up the tarmac till Winter when Coulda's clans combined to tough out the temperature together. The side project Squirrels started their second year.  

Thanks one and all for the camaraderie, the laughs, the motivation (dragging me out of bed at stupid o'clock) and the therapy that this addiction brings.  Let's keep 2023 upright.  May the tail-wind be with you! See you on the road somewhere.