February
I hate being cold, and I only gave names for outdoor rides. So my year starts in February, which is quite early for me (foreshadowing ...).
March
Aaaaaahhhh, the sacred month of march, when every cyclist in continental Europe and the British isles fly to the sunny island of Mallorca. So, Mallorca it was. Our daughter in the save hands of the grandparents, we left for a week of riding in warmer temperatures. Pro-Tip: Don't take your bike. Rent. It's not much more expensive than bringing your own bike, and if you stretch your budget a bit, you can even ride a bike that is nicer than the one at home. In my case, a Cannondale System Six, pre-loved by some EF Education First Pro I can't remember. Oh, and I did see Magnus Cort on Randa, I was impressed, he wasn't, story of my life.
)
April
One last ride in Mallorca, and for reasons I cannot remember there then is a three week break without any rides. I had some back issues this year, maybe that's why? Speaking of which, back issues suck. Stay healthy, kids!
May
May was a pretty amazing month for me. I managed to get in over 1.000km, which makes it the strongest month of my 2023. Three rides over 100km, and I did a variant of a loop I've come to call 'The Soulcrusher' on 2023-05-22 which looks like a vulture on Strava and that's also how it felt.
June
WTF happened here? Only five rides in the mid of summer? Oh - yeah. A beach holiday in 🇬🇷 happened here. I definitely had back issues then. Spent the whole vacation on pain killers and red wine.
July
What's going on here? Two rides with company? How very un-2023 of me. Also, got to ride twice in Salzburg, got rained on both times. Salzburg, amirite?
August
There are two Furka Passes in the world. One is in Switzerland, and the other one is in Vorarlberg. You can ride both with the one and only Hugo. I know, because I did. The last time, we rode the one in Vorarlberg from Rankweil, that's the not so cool side. This year, we rode it from the Bregenzer Wald side, the proper side. Also, it was raining and Hugo played his famous charm and managed to convince some Hotel staff to let us sit out the worst in their breakfast room. They even gave us coffee. On the animal side of things, I met a poodle.
September
2023 has been a wild year temperature-wise. I don't know how many "I'll head out and enjoy the last day of summer" rides September had. More than one. More than a dozen probably.
October
Boom. End of season, switch to kettlebells. And it shows.
November
At this point, I don't even know why I bother. When putting on your clothes feels it's taking longer than doing the ride itself, even the benefits of fresh air seem questionable. I'm too old for this shit, and it shows.
| Date | Ride | Song | Map | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | In the end all you can hope for / Is the love you felt to equal the pain you've gone through | Editors - Bones |  |