welcome to 2008

This is the traditional ‘first’ post of the year, you know the ones where we all discuss our plans for the coming year.

On a personal level 2007 has been a bit of a mixed up year, full of ups and downs with the odd twist. The highlight of the year without doubt had to be tv birth of by niece Francessa but that did not happen until July so lets back track a bit. January started with a bang, Lucy’s mum had been diagnosed with breast cancer and so we spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals and chemo sessions. On a personal side I picked up a Nike+ setup and started running; joining the Binary Bonsai Zero2hero group. Lucy’s job had also changed and she was drafted off to North Carolina for the end of January and the beginning of February and if it was not for Ant turning 30 and my dad turning 60 it would have just been a cold month. It was my brother’s birthday in March and he got the present of a life time. Whilst he was painting a nursery pink I was signing up for a cycling epic; the UK eTape, not every day the Tour De France comes to the UK. Some how I also managed to upgrade my aging 300D with a 30D (should I have waited for the 40D?) By the time April came around Lucy was back in the states and I was playing with a new product from Panic. Yet the thought of the UK eTape meant I was spending quite a bit of time in the saddle and getting some miles under my belt. Lucy had set the challenge of learning to drive in 2007 and when she returned from America she went head long into it. In June when she finally passed she started using the car more. This left me vehicle-less so I decided to learn to ride a motorbike. Not being some one to sit around and twiddle my thumbs I sat my CBT, my theory test and started my DAS all in the space of a few weeks. This took me head long into July and so far the weather for the summer was some what lacking; in fact the worse I can remember for quite a while. But hey I’m not fussed I had my number for the eTape and took part, the real Tour was on (well almost off), we had a new member of the family and Dave and I planned on cycling the length of the UK again. Which I guess brings us back round to where we started; Francesca. So lets continue our walk down the dusty road of 2007. During August I passed my full bike license which meant I could start shopping for some big boy’s toys. It did not really take long for me to settle on a Yamaha FZ6. So in September I picked up a new '57’ plate machine. Also out in September was Halo 3, which could be argued was a big deal, but my radar was blurred by the fact that there would be no end2end cycling this year. To say I was gutted was a bit of an understatement. October was a big month; I turned 30. Yep this year marked me turning of age and finally staring down the barrel of life, it was not as scary as I thought it would be but still a turning point. Steve Jobs managed to bring me back down to earth with the release date for Leopard; my life must be so empty to get excited about an Operating System! The weather was closing in and the nights were dark. I needed something to get my teeth into so during a committee meeting for the Sudbury Cycle Club I put myself forward as chairman. Not sure if that was a good move but in a year’s time I can let you know! After November is December which should be happy time with Christmas but unfortunately Lucy and I did not really have the best of times, so it is now time to look forward…

There are things I wanted to do in 2007. Some just failed because of things out of my control, things can fail at the hands of others but some never got off the ground because I failed myself. To which if there is anything I can learn from the last 12 months that is to make the most of things when you have the opportunity. Add to that my turning 30 and you realise that life does not wait for you, if you want to be in a certain place then you had better get your head down and make tracks. So what have I got planned for the next 12 months?

For starters now that I have my full bike ticket and my bike I have decided that a track day is the only option. Of course Mark said he would help out, that is if he gets a bike sorted.

On the cycling front I’ve obviously got the CCS to look after, but on from that I would like to get out and about more. There was talk of another epic ride, it might be better to try and increase that to a confirmed date than just a rumor. Keeping with the fitness side of things I still have my Nike+ shoes so it would be good to clock up a few more miles. Last year I let it slip during the summer, so this year I’m going to hit more challenges and goals.

Checking off some of my bookshelf. That is another thing I would really like to do this year. I’m forever buying new reference books; be it on photography or internet related goodies. But I never get round to reading them, they sit there, they collect dust, I never benefit.

Having read some of my photography books it might be time to make the best of my Canon. I’ve had the 30D and a couple of decent lens for quite a while yet I’m not pushing the limits by a long stretch. Time to dust off my creative side and get out there and put some time in behind the viewfinder.

Believe it or not I do actually spend quite a bit of time and effort on this site, yet it is very difficult to see the fruits of my labour. So 2008 will be an effort to make the work a bit more visible. Either that or at least I will expand my knowledge of blogs and blogging, there are some great sites out there with some truly remarkable content. I’m not trying to compare myself to these people but I would at least like to be able to put my mark on my corner of the internet.

So there you are, quite a bit on my plate for 2008, but then this is the time of year when you plan on making these resolutions and do your best at keeping them. I think the best idea will be to tackle one thing at a time and just take it one month at a time. Of course I’ll keep you posted as to how I get on.