Sharon's Gone Cycling: December 2025

We are rapidly heading up to another year change, and in some ways I feel that I’ve only just got used to writing 2025. This trip round the sun seems to have gone so quickly and first thoughts lead me to believe it was all quite uneventful. But as we met together to exchange presents and share memories with one another, I realised that we have actually done quite a bit.

The mild winter and the promise of spring gave a new enthusiasm for cycling and with big plans ahead, I needed to get up to speed on my Brompton. So any excuse for a ride saw me increasing my distance.

I also took advantage of the convenience of the fold to use public transport to take me further afield. It’s been a long time since I was last stood in front of Worthing’s beach side theatre and I was quite disappointed to find out that my first home there was now a car park.

A dropped bike on a cycle to the Hawk conservancy meant a new Garmin as a Birthday present to myself. Apparently they couldn’t fix the old one, even though it didn’t look too difficult. But they did offer me a discount on the upgrade.

With camping season fast approaching, I needed to work out a way to transport all my gear on little wheels.

This proved easier than I thought. And I was soon off on a couple of practice camps with Iona. I had the pleasure of joining the Brompton touring group for a camp at Ashurst - the closest campsite to home. It was quite a buzz riding in a small wheeled convoy to Lepe beach and back via Beaulieu.

With a couple of Kidical mass rides and a trip down the Squirrel trail on the IOW, we were soon ready for our biggest adventure of the year.

After a mammoth train journey, we started to make our way from the Irish to the North Sea, across the country, following the Way of the Roses.

Having overcome numerous challenges together, at 170 miles we spied the North Sea and our journey was just about complete (apart from a crazy train journey back home that was harder than the whole ride, but that’s another story - link below)

Iona soon got an invite to another Brompton Touring group camp. It would be rude not to go, especially as it was school holiday time. Thanks to a signalling issue, my straightforward and direct train journey took me on a wild detour to Trowbridge via Basingstoke! To end up on the same train I would have caught had I stayed in Southampton.

It was great to have another opportunity to meet with a group of small wheeled fans. And I got the chance to visit the birthplace of photography while I was at it.

On one of the longest days of the year, we decided to bag some mileposts, while riding from Reading to Oxford.

After a fantastic days cycling and lots of crazy antics from my cycle friends, another 12 posts were added to my collection, bringing the total for the year to 14.

Of course I have written about each of these rides in more detail and will post links below. But all these along with the regular shorter weekend rides to New Alsford, Whitchurch or just to the Handlebar cafe, have seasoned the year making it so much more enjoyable than if I didn’t cycle anywhere.

As always, huge thanks go to those who accompany me on many of these rides Jo, Jenny, Jill and Babs and the odd trip with Sue too. These cycles just wouldn’t be the same without you guys

September bought a big surprise. For many years now, I have tried to encourage more people to try cycling. And as a school, we have taken part in the Love to Ride challenge that tracked our miles in a competition with other workplaces across the country. This happens three times a year and has increased the number of our regular cycle commuters substantially.

A couple of people contacted me to congratulate me on winning the Love to Ride prize draw for encouraging others. When I contacted Love to Ride, they confirmed that I had indeed won a cash prize. I decided that the most fitting thing to get with my winnings was a replacement cycle coat (as my old one wasn’t fitting any more). The winnings, plus the trade in value of my old coat was exactly the right amount for the new one. I was very pleased and it was really nice to be recognised for my efforts