My Cycling Year - 2025

A DiY Wrapped

I am very happy to report that I reached the distance goal I set myself for the year - 18,000km done.

A few things come to mind that have helped.

  • A spouse who knows and accepts that I love riding a bike. I’ve always been like this.
  • Regularly getting out on my bike at 5.00 am for a 50km ride. Having a goto route when doing so.
  • Living in Kent with easy access to country lanes and rural landscapes.
  • Having a few side goals along the way.
  • Tracking my progress.
  • Getting in a two week bike tour in May and a few other long rides during the year.
  • Riding in the dark with dynamo hub powered lights.
  • Dressing for the weather.
  • Living close to a fella who mends my bike when it breaks and not charging the earth to do so.
  • Having a spare bike to ride when I need it.

This was the state of play on the 20/12/2025. I might get a few more rides in before the year end.

Dark themed banner displaying 2025 cycling statistics in four colored cards: Distance 18,035 km (coral orange), Elevation 187,619 m (teal blue), Active Time 858h 54m or 35.8 days (mint green), and Calories 441,463 kcal (golden yellow). Each stat features large bold numbers with colored accent bars above dark grey cards.
Stats Panel
Horizontal bar chart comparing cycling distances. Your 2025 cycling (18,035 km) is shown in coral orange, followed by M25 motorway at 188 km representing 96 laps (purple), LEJOG return trip at 2,814 km representing 6.4 trips (teal), London to Sydney at 17,000 km (light blue), and Earth’s circumference at 40,075 km (mint green). The chart shows you cycled nearly to Sydney and completed 96 laps of the M25.
Distance Comparison
Horizontal bar chart comparing elevation gained. Your 2025 climbing of 187,619 m (coral orange) dominates the chart, followed by the Kármán line at 100,000 m (purple), Mariana Trench depth at 10,994 m representing 17.1 times (dark teal), and Mount Everest at 8,849 m representing 21.2 climbs (blue). The chart illustrates climbing equivalent to 21 Everests or descending the Mariana Trench 17 times.
Elevation Comparison
Horizontal bar chart showing calories burned (441,463 kcal) as food equivalents. Veggie bean burgers: 2,196 (brown), pints of lager: 1,895 (golden yellow), and falafel wraps: 1,298 (green). The chart visualizes a year’s worth of cycling energy in vegetarian-friendly food terms.
Falafel Index
Dual-axis chart showing monthly cycling data throughout 2025. Coral orange line with area fill represents distance (left y-axis), peaking dramatically in May at 2,731 km and dipping in July to 806 km. Teal blue bars represent elevation (right y-axis), following similar patterns. The chart reveals seasonal riding patterns with a major peak in late spring and a summer dip.
Monthly Distance and Elevation
Pie chart showing how 2025 was spent in hours. Cycling: 859h (35.8 continuous days) in coral orange (9.8%), Sleep: 2,920h (365 nights × 8h) in teal blue (33.3%), Work: 1,875h (250 days × 7.5h) in yellow (21.4%), and Everything Else: 3,106h (129.4 continuous days) in grey (35.5%). The cycling segment is slightly pulled out for emphasis.
Time Distribution

This beats the personal best I achieved of 17,987 km back in 2015. Still cranking out the miles ten years on feels quite reassurring to me. The sense of accomplishment is nothing though compared to the benefit of pursuing the goal. Purpose, motivation, fitness and conditioning, places visited and sights seen. Riding a bike is great. I love it!

The next 12 months will, fingers crossed, be more of the same. I’m currently three months into two simultaneous RRtY awards. That means at least two rides a month of 200km or more for 12 consecutive months. It’s Audax UK’s 50th Anniversary. A good year to go for at least 50 points and get the The Randonneur 5,000 award. The award is obtained by riding BR or BRM events totalling 5,000 km in a Randonneur year. I’ve been told that may get me a commemorative fridge magnet. What more of an incentive could I possibly need.

In May I plan to ride 2,200km through France and Spain down to Portugal. I am less worried about getting there than I am about getting my bike in a bag for the journey back by train. I’m sure it will all work out okay with a bit of planning.

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