Happy birthday to...

Well, can you believe it? Cycling has kept me in enough material to keep this blog going for a year. There's been thrills, a few spills, no pills, a few punctures and lots of great stories. 
Looking back it's been interesting to watch the status of  cycling in the UK ebb and flow. We've had amazing success at the Olympics, two Tour de France winners and many promises of government cash.
But with that, cycling's popularity has bred a strong reaction from the unwilling.
There's been sabotage, road rage and sadly accidents.
So where do I think cycling will end up in the next 12 months? Well, we should finally see some investment in Manchester into the riding infrastructure and hopefully more people will take to two wheels as a result. 
In the pro sport, we of course have the Yorkshire stages of le tour to look forward to next year. Pat 'Pat' Mcquaid might get the elbow from of of his UCI positions and replaced by Brian Cookson. Finally, the sport might be able to move on from the doping which nearly destroyed the sport.
I'd also expect the demands for a women's tour to keep getting louder too - quite right too. 
Commercially, the sport will continue to thrive and we should continue to support our local bike shops rather than solely relying on on-line outlets - you'll miss them when they're gone, you mark my words.

Any excuse...

Anyway, I'm planning on bringing in a few little innovations to this blog in the next year: some interviews and guest blogs - maybe even a video or two! If you have any suggestions or want to bang out a couple of hundred words on your view of the world on two wheels, then do drop me a note.
Until then, ride safe.