Last year, I started 2013 with a leisurely 25km bike ride. As I wrote about at the time, it was a lovely way to bring in a new year. So lovely, in fact, that I decided to repeat the experience to welcome in 2014.
I left home a little later this year than last (7.30am instead of 6.30am), which means I saw more people on my outing and didn't quite have cycle paths to myself. However, the sunshine was equally sparkling and the scenes I passed were equally beautiful.
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| Scarborough beach cycle path, ~8am |
I set out with no firm plans as to where I'd cycle, or for how long. After reaching the coast, it was easy to follow the cycle path north where each uphill was followed by a glorious, scenic downhill.
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| This bit is flat, but there were hills around the corner! |
Like last year, I felt joy at the freedom of movement, at the sense of possibility that cycling brings, and at the prospect of a brand new year. I passed swimmers and dog walkers who seemed to feel the same.
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| Sorrento beach, ~9am |
Eventually, I reached my northern most point and paused to look back at the coast I'd cycled. With our planned move to England this year, my new year's morning for 2015 may be quite different; less sun, more cloud and less beach, more land. I gave silent thanks to this year's mild sunny morning, just as I felt a bubble of excitement about what 2014 may bring.
In the end, I cycled far further than intended. I was out for over 2 hours and covered 40km versus last year's 25km! I returned home exhausted, but happy.
I don't know where I'll be next year, but the tradition of a bike ride on new year's day is one I'd like to keep.
This post also gives me an opportunity to announce the winner of the Paul's Warehouse voucher giveaway. I'm pleased to say that the randomly selected winner is...My Kitchen Stories! Congratulations! I will email you your voucher code shortly.
A last note is that I have updated the header for bite-sized thoughts, my Blogger profile picture, and the blog's Facebook header. I have also fixed the malfunctioning search box, and offer apologies to anyone who was inconvenienced while it didn't work. I'm not fond of how the search results are now displayed (full posts rather than a list), but it is at least working again.
I'm linking this post to Fitness Fridays on Running Bloggers.
How do you like to start your new year?
I love the idea of kicking off the new year with some exercise! It's the best way.
ReplyDeleteIt really does get things going in a positive way!
DeleteGreat ride to kick off the new year.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that my New Year's morning would set the tone for the year. I got up early, took a photo at daybreak, Rode on the trainer for 30 min, and started the reading for the first week of my bible study. All before 8am!
It sounds like you did brilliantly in starting the year off well!
DeleteAnd you're excited about moving to England?! I woke up to continuous rain and howling wind on New Year's Day!
ReplyDeleteA long bike ride in the sunshine sounds like the perfect start to the year.
Teehee...yes, I think next year will be different ;) But I'm sure I'll appreciate the occasional sunny days all the more in England, for not being so frequent or so hot...I'll have to get all my bike riding in then (so, you know, 5 days a year or some such).
DeleteAh, sunshine. What's that like? Your bike ride looked lovely and I'm massively jealous having spent the day being rained, hailed and thundered on. Still, you've got it all to look forward to :)
ReplyDeleteMmm, sounds delightful :P I hope you have some respite from the hail at least!
DeleteWhat a wonderful New Year's tradition, Kari! I hope your last year in Australia will be filled with wonderful memories and amazing friendships.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Min :)
DeleteWow, what a ride! I need to get out and do some longer rides. I went for a run on New Year's morning, at 5.30am, and was surprised to see lots of drunks walking home!
ReplyDeleteI remember one Christmas morning I went out for an early run and saw some people walking home carrying their shoes, after a big night out. It certainly makes you feel like you made the right choices with your night/morning!! A 5.30am start is rather impressive Theresa - good on you :)
DeleteI love your new banner. Does your husband cycle too or do you just head out on your own? I used to ride a bike when I lived in NZ and loved it but I haven't ridden since being in Sydney as there are very few cycle ways and it's so bloody dangerous. I always vowed that if we moved to Canberra, I would take up cycling xx
ReplyDeleteMr Bite actually cycles more regularly than me, because he heads out two nights a week with his sister (only for 30 - 45 minutes though). That timing might give you a clue that our exercise preferences are not very compatible ;) We sometimes manage a cycle together on a weekend afternoon, but he's generally sleeping soundly when I exercise in the mornings!
DeleteI fear that the bike paths in London will be like Sydney - injury inviting. Perth is very fortunate with it network and yes, Canberra too I think (plus Canberra has so little traffic!).
Nice! We did the same thing.. but in the afternoon because even Texas is pretty chilly now.. Although no snow, so we can keep on biking. :) Here's to a happy and healthy new year!
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely a great advantage of Texas winter :-) A happy and healthy new year indeed!
Delete40km! Whoa girl. Good work. I would have loved that motivation on new years day. I just cleaned up my house and got everything organised so I could start the new year fresh!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds pretty impressive to me! I love starting a year fresh :)
DeleteSuch a scenic route. Views like that would definitely inspire me to keep moving. It was a little nippy out so I started my New Year off sweating in the gym.
ReplyDeleteProbably less scenic, but more practical in your case :-) Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteWhat a lovely way to welcome to the New Year in! Will be a shame that next New Years will be much colder for you.
ReplyDeleteHow on earth did you fix your search box? Mine is crazy and I can't work out how to fix it!
I had to abandon the standard Blogger search gadget and apply html I found through searching elsewhere...it seems like the Blogger one has lots of problems and Blogger isn't working very hard to fix it! The html I used was from http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2008/07/help-your-readers-search-your-blog.html :)
DeleteThank you soooooo much for that!
DeleteNow to fix mine when I get a spare moment.
I really like your new header! Very fresh and happy. Great bike ride and a really good tradition to uphold. Happy New Year :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
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