2013, a year in review

And what a year it was.

My primary career ended up stuck in a permanent wheel spin. The year started off with a bang with a great first six months, but fizzled a bit at the end. I don't discuss what I do for a living on the Internet, but take it from me that for someone doing what I do for a living, this is fairly normal. This year this "normal" was pushed to the limits a bit though.

For various reasons, I did not meet my goal for the number of km that I wanted to get on the bicycle. My goal was 10 000 km. I managed to get just over 5 500 km. That is a huge difference, while still being a reasonable amount of km for a non-competitive cyclist. What happened, not to make excuses, was that my head just was not in the game this year. I felt some what energyless, and my riding buddies either were too busy to ride, or did not have their own heads in the game either. This added up to the year not adding up the way I wanted it to.

However, in other ways, the year was amazing. Here is why, in no particular order.

I was able to reconnect with a good friend of mine. We both share a love of cycling and of photography. Lately, he has been too busy to get out and do much, but was able to find the time this year to get together a bit more often. This has been a real treat.

I got a new bicycle (and then proceeded to not use it much LOL) that I just love. Hopefully, by July, I will have finished tweaking it a bit and will have it right where I want it as far as how it is equipped. Being the bicycle nut that I am, new bikes make me happy.

My daughter came into her own at school and with her extra-curricular interests. She has had an amazing year and it has been a real privilege to watch her change and develop new interests. Neat stuff.

I have rejoined the health club and am working away at the weights, cross training, and RPM classes. I am hoping that this gives me the edge coming in to spring for 2014 as far as riding goes. We shall see!

I finally realized a dream of mine and started a small photography business. It is going fairly well, and is a lot of fun. I greatly enjoy creating pictures, and being able to create them specifically for other people is a hoot :)

My wife got some health problems sorted out and is on the road to achieving the fitness levels that she wants. She is happier and healthier than she has been in years. I cannot stress enough how relieved this makes us all.

Overall, the year was a good one. Hopefully, yours was as well.