2024 is hopefully going to be a year focused around settling into Harrogate. Previous years tend to end up themed;
- The one where we got married
- The one where my back went
- The one where Covid happened
- The one where we got a dog
- The one where I broke most of the bones in my body, and got another dog
- The one where we moved home
The one where I become a Local
So this one is qute easy for me to quantify...I need to be able to go out on a ~2 hour bike ride (approximately 60km) and not have to worry about getting lost. To the right is a little animation of my riding heatmap in Reading (from about 2013 onwards) and my current rides I've done in Harrogate. I need to build up a knowledge of roads and rides, and start linking places together. For example, a good route from Otley, then a route from Ilkley to Otley. Riding with clubs I'll find suitable roads, but it's only by riding solo that I'll commit these to memory, and build up the mental encyclopaedia I need so that I don't get stranded in the Dales with a dead GPS one day. For training purposes, I need to find some hills of certain lengths (2 minutes, 5 minutes, 20 minutes), ideally within 30 minutes ride of the house.
We've quickly learnt that the weather here is a little more grippy than down south. We need to be better prepared and equipped. As a starter for me;
- Get a proper winter bike
- Get better and more appropriate winter clothing (fun fact - I don't have a waterproof coat!)
- Get better dog walking boots/shoes (actually probably wellies...I've survived with walking shoes for years, but they do not make the grade here)
The winter bike should actually be done in the next fortnight, I'm just wating on a specific frame to be delivered, and then I hope to have it assembled in time for the Reliability Ride Series kicking off on the 15th January.
There is the area around getting to know Harrogate itself...it's one of the reasons we moved here, to have access to amazing countryside. On Christmas Eve we did a walking tour of the town, which was fascinating. Alongside that, we have a list of things to do;
- Walk the Nidderdale Greenway
- Walk the Harrogate Link to Fewston Reservoir
- Explore Knaresborough
Finally, we need to get out and about more in town. There are loads of little cafes and shops to explore, and again we need to get a mental map of the town centre built up (and for driving, there is a comedy one-way system we need to decipher!)
The House
I should be very clear that this is not a doer-upper...it's perfectly fine as it is, however we intend this to be our forever home, so we believe it's worth investing to get it just right. I'm not expecting all this to be done this year, however we need to make some decisions, and keep a level of momentum. In no particular order;
- Extension - the house has planning permission for a large rear extension, however having been here for 2-3 months, we think it's not what we'd spend the money on. Currently we are thinking a smaller extension to move the kitchen backwards, and add in a mid-house utility room with a side-door. This would act as a "dog airlock" for the front and rear of the house, and allow us to modernise the kitchen, while also absorbing the current utility room into it to give more space. There is an option to extend the upper bathroom over this as well, as thats rather small right now.
- Garage workshop - actually nearly done. It's a fairly small garage (2.5m x 5m). I've had full-fat power run out there (to support a future car charger), and had lights and power sockets added. There is currently a door-sized hole in the wall, and all things being well a side-access door will be fitted this week. I then want to fit a roller door at the front instead of the current up-and-over (more secure, take up less internal space). I've already put flooring down and added in loads of storage racking. Once the structure is complete, I'll add bike racking and a workstand, and that is then the cycling workshop/training zone sorted.
- En-suite Refresh - Gill is keen to get this done sooner rather than later. Currently the en-suite is a little cold, and has a bath (with a shower over it). Probably a complete re-do, with better heating, a walk-in shower, and making it a more usable space. We tend to use the main bathroom instead (which is smaller, but has a walk-in shower, and is much warmer).
- Radiators/Heating - the current radiators are low-efficiency (mostly) and could probably do with an upgrade to something more modern. We should also swap out the controls for something app-controlled (we don't actually know when the hot water comes on/off, as we have not figured out the control panel in the airing cupboard). Adding on thermostatic valves would also help. If we were sensible, we'd get a level of radiator that would support a future heat pump.
- Solar Panels - this house is screaming out for them...we have a large south-facing sloped roof. If we sorted out the radiators and had a heat pump installed we could potentially bin off mains gas (which is currently only used for hot water and heating), and have a low-cost household.
- Redecorating - most of the rooms could do with a bit of a facelift. The previous guy used wall anchors to mount all his pictures (I can only assume they were made from depleted uranium), so a lick of paint, and a bit of tidying up...as well as getting some more pictures up (we have more wall space now, so our current picure collection looks sparse).
- Ongoing - as a 30 year old house, there is always going to be some maintainence required. We have big trees at the back, which shed leaves everywhere and block gutters (only last night I was jabbing a bamboo cane into a downpipe). We are strong believers in keeping on top of stuff, and it's better to fix quickly rather than let something get out of hand, or live with an annoyance.
5 Year Finance Plan
We are now on a 2-year tracker (fingers crossed the interest rates go down), and to some extent finances in the next 12-18 months may dictate what we do with the house (especially the potential extension). Ideally we'd like to bin the mortgage entirely in less than 5 years.
We have some savings remaining, and hopefully in mid 2024 I'll know the outcome of the legal case surrounding the car taking me out (I'm due a medical reassessment in May/June, and one that is complete the arguing can commence). Hopefully from ~April we can start overpaying the mortgage, and look to chip it down quickly. We'll also have a better idea of potential budget for an extension.
I'd also like to up my pension contributions. My "Retire at 55" plan is still on schedule right now (I was finalising the spreadsheet for 2023 last night), however any buffer I can add in will never hurt. I'm currently at 20% myself, and 16% company contribution. If I could nudge myself upto 40% total (24% personal contribution) that would be great.
Comments
Love the vid of the two maps. It's really striking. Did you cycle in a loop round fucking Stevenage and back to Reading? That's bloody miles away! Stevenage is just south of Henlow where I flew and that's 2 fucking hours drive around the M25 car park.
Your plans are all awesome; very impressive.
When you retire at 55, what will you do with yourself? While working for someone else is a ballache, it at least keeps the mind fresh. Will you sink into books and cycling or take up some other hobby-like-profession?
Yes, in the rain. My longest day in the saddle, and a "sort of not a race" that I won.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1567601646
I'm fortunate to have plenty of hobbies. I've seen too many people retire and just...well, die. Cycling is, and always has been, my long term health (physical and mental) plan. I already know of 2-3 weekday rides that happen around here.
- I'm quite tempted to get myself trained up as a cycle mechanic (Cytech 1 and 2). Training costs would be ~£2500, and then I could work part-time in a shop, or run as an independent out of the garage (I know a few people who do this...especially over spring/summer there is a big demand for fast repair to be done on bikes). There is a charity very similar to Reading Bike Kitchen here, and could volunteer there to build up experience.
- I've had a long-term vague sort of plan to run a mobile cafe...a cargo trike with a small water boiler, and a supply of cakes, and then do "touchline" coffee and cakes. Rock up to small local sporting events...especially where parents are watching kids, and sell them bad coffee and good cakes. These would segue quite nicely with the trained mechanic (plenty of small cycle events, and for stuff like a sportive, organisers would pay to have a mechanic with cake sitting by the roadside). Setup cost ~£4-5k for a custom e-cargo trike, and probably some sort of license from the council (actually easier here, as it's just North Yorkshire, rather than the 4-5 that converge near Reading).
- We are considering getting a beehive or two (we have some space at the bottom of the garden near the stream). RHS Harlow Carr run some courses that we are looking to join over summer this year.
- I have a degree in Biology...I could always take up gardening, I'm probably qualified!
So not worried about retiring and having nothing to do.
Well, 3 months down, and ~5 months in Harrogate. How's it going?
Become a Local
How are the local rides? Brutal.They have zero chill, and every ride is full gas. I just got back to a club ride after doing the reli-rides, and a trip to Spain (followed by the obligatory dose of plane-flu), and it was full blast for the entire distance. 100km (about 65 miles) was covered at an average of 38km/h (about 24mph)...and that includes a couple of miles stuck behind a tractor. They are used to riding in significantly larger groups than I'm used to (in Reading/the Chilterns you'd normally ride in a group of max 6-8, as that is really the limit of space you have, with the volume of traffic). Here we have much quieter roads, so groups of 20+ are fine...if a little disconcerting to get used to.
We did the first walk on the dales last weekend, a trip to Tingle Ings with the dogs, where we saw a long-distance running event pass through. Now the clocks have changed, and (hopefully) the weather relents a little we hope to get out there more often, as well as tick off some of the local paths.
What else have we been doing?
The House
We are moved in, and mostly furnished. There are a couple of "to do" piles (mainly in the spare bedroom and the dogs room, mostly as we wait for better weather to have window open while we decorate.
Finances
This will depend on;
1) The mortgage rates, and if/when we jump to a fixed rate
2) The legal case. I'm expecting a shoulder assessment in June/July, and settlement will be dependent on that. I have been offered an early settlement payout, however I'm pretty sure it's a real low-ball, and we are in no realy hurry. There are no assurances, but there are well documented guidelines. I have 2 primary injuries;
a) Shoulder/humerus fracture (+frozen shoulder)
b) Tinnitus
The tinnitus has been fully assessed, and I'm now undergoing treatment. I have learnt a lot about what tinnitus is (and isn't) from various specialists, and methods of treatment. It's possible that long-term I will need hearing aids (long story), and will be having an assessment at a specialist clinic in Leeds in April around that.
There are then a number of secondary claims (scarring, stress, time out of life etc) as well as the Schedule of Loss (including subrogation of the bike and insured items) that will be taken into account.
The underlying plan is still on track, however, so zero worries in this regard.
So I'm writing this as I head down to Reading for a flying visit. Down this morning, a medical appointment this afternoon, and then back up tomorrow morning, after a brief catch-up over breakfast with my work colleagues. Thanks to Seatfrog I get to do this in First Class, which is nice. Waiting for my bacon butty and first (of many) cups of tea.
Become a Local
I'm definitely getting used to the very arbitrary nature of the weather. A few times it has been pleasant and sunny in Harrogate, and I've gone for a bike ride, only to hit rain and howling gales less than 5 miles west as I reach the Dales. I've not done as many long rides as I hoped (mainly weather, or not quite having the 5-6 hours time needed), but I have been doing the club time trials and chaingangs. These tend to use similar roads, and as a result I've now got some locations I don't need to use a Garmin to navigate. I've also had a couple of rides where the planned route was not feasible (road closures, mechanicals), and I've managed to get myself home without too much faff. Not always by the "best" cycling route (for example, I've done Ilkley to Harrogate via A road), however the busy rods here are nothing like the South, so it's been pretty easy.
I'm currently building up a new bike, a gravel bike (think halfway between a road bike and a hardtail mountain bike...no suspension, but chunky tyres, and a geometry to handle some offroad). This will let me see some of the non-tarmacced areas aroundabouts.he loca
Done a couple of local events . Knaresborough Bed Race (video on Facebook!) was pretty cool, basically a super-competitive version of the charity bed races you're used to, including a vriver crossing, and Otley Town Centre Races, which is a top-level bike race thats been on for years. Bumped into plenty of the local riders there, and it was a really good atmosphere.
We did another murder mystery. We did not win, and this was very dissapointing.
The House
We've had the en suite replaced, which had some complications and drama. A leak meant the downstairs toilet is currently missing a roof (due to be replaced in the next week or so), and the shower refused to work...which, after much trouble-shooting, turned out to be a broken cable. Finally, the drainage for the shower couldn't handle the flow, so had to be re-worked (handily, there was no ceiling below the shower after the leak, so the pipework was able to be sorted fairly quickly).
We are now focusing a bit on the garden...trying to get the lawn mainly green, nad sort out the various beds. We are on the verge of our first strawberry crop, if the local squirrel population doesn't get there first! We've also see a few hedgehogs bumbling around. We went on an introductory bee-keeping course out at Harlow Carr (RHS garden on the edge of town), and are now pretty certain we have a decent hive location, so are currently trying to get onto a BBKA (British Beekeepers Association) course that will guide us through the first year or two.
I've continued to work on converting the garage into a workshop. It now has pegboard panels for tools, and (as of yesterday) a non-shit workbench. I _think the next thing is either installing my aircon (requiring a wall vent) or boarding the ceiling to keep it a little less frigid in winter. I've ingratiated myself with the neighbours by fixing their ebikes (gear indexing issue, and they were trying to remove the handlebars to fit in the car). I''ve found myself listening to more audiobooks (partly as I now need glasses to read, and falling alseep with glasses on is a pain) in the garage while working and fettling. I've managed to work my way through the Stormlight Archives (another epic Fantasy series over...currently....about 200 hours of narration).
Finances
Still in a holding pattern. interest rates have not yet started to drop, and the legal case is ongoing, though the other side are making noises about settlement (they have made 2 offers so far). My trip is for a shoulder assessment (it's a year since my last general anaesthetic), and the outcome of that should start the endgame of settlement negoation. I would be amazed if we go to court, as they are already offering out-of-court settlement.
This time last year we were preparing to move house (move speficially, we were knee-deep in solicitor and estate agent hell, but 3 weeks from moving). SO we've been in Yorkshire very nearly a year. Lets see how things are going.
Become a Local
I've had a great summer of cycling. I found myself wondering "I wonder how much hillier it is here compared to the Thames Valley?", so spent a bit of time digging out some logs from Strava and Garmin to do a quick comparison between January - September 2023 and January - September 2024. I didn't feel comparing October - December was much point...I'm doing a lot of indoor virtual riding (where climbs are not really a thing, just a simulation), and October - December 2022 I was mainly off the bike with broken bones.
January - September 2023
January - September 2024
The handful of longer rides I've done can be seen on there as well. I did a long solo venture west, going through upper Wharfdale (massive Highland vibes), over Fleet Moss and Buttertubs Pass (Fleet Moss being the highest road/borderline goat track in the Dales, and Buttertubs being rather famous for this insane picture from the TdF depart. You can also see the Moonglu 100 Club ride (Moonglu is a cycling club in Ripon), where we headed upto Catterick and back for probably the flattest ride I've done here (0.5%).
I'm now bracing for autumn and winter (the knee warmers were worn for the first time today)...hopefully with more preparation than last year. The garage has power, lights and a fully set up Wattbike (including widescreen TV) for the bad days. The winter bike has been upgraded with hydraulic disc brakes and 32mm tyres, and I have a better selection of winter gear after a bit of a purchasing spree last year. I also have the gravel bike for really atrocious weather. My main bike does not like wet weather, with the headset in particular getting wrrecked via water ingress very quickly...I don't intend to take it out, and instead it will winter in the garage, and get a bit of TLC (new brake pads, new chain and cassette, and a good cleaning all round...probably new hydraulic fluid etc).
In non-cycling local things, in September we took a week off after a wedding down near Derby (which was a "wow, we really are a long way north" moment, as it took 2½ hours to drive there), and did a couple of local things. We did one of the Yorkshire 3-Peaks (Whernside, topping out at 736 metres), and did a trip to the rather windy Yorkshire coast at Fraisthorne Beach...where we randomly bumped into one of my colleagues! I had a true insight into Harrogate life, I went along to a shop ride on the Wednesday...expecting a bunch of retired peeps, but finding 40+ people of all ages. I don't think anyone works here!
The House
Not too much was done over summer...spending too much time enjoying the weather! The main thing we've done is try and maintain the garden, and have the guttering, fascias and soffits replaced (they were the original wooden ones, and were failing in places. Now UVPC all round, with actually correctly fitted gutters). We've had to put some extra protection on the lower rear one, as it gets a lot of leaves from the trees at the rear, and we are soon going to get several tonnes of leaves! The house has been extended a couple of times, which turns out to make the roof quite complex...45 metres of guttering!
Finances
We are still waiting on the car crash payout, but in the meantme Gill is speaking to her cousin (who is an architect) to have a look at what is possible, and a ballpark on costings. We are watching the mortgage rates carefully, and should soon be jumping onto a 5-year fixed to clear the mortgage.
Wow, those cycling stats are eye watering! Bravo!
What's your winter game/trainer setup?
Well...well.
It's all set-up to be self-servicable, which is important in winter as wet, road salt and grit mean components wear out quickly, especially bearings. The summer bike will be benched in the next couple of weeks, and serviced/prepped for the 2025 season.
I have a vast array of winter cycle clothing. This is probably the hardest thing to do...dress correctly for the conditions. Going from the head down;
If it's too wet, too cold or too windy (I've always said I can deal with cold, wet and wind, but combinations make life harder), then I'll be on the Wattbike. This is the default option during the week, and my training will move to more interval-based stuff. The main upgrades over last winter (which was just after we moved house) are;
indoor training can be a little soul-destroying, but it's highly effective (and it allows the most important part of training, consistency), and with the modern technology of virtual worlds filled with other riders (and in very poor conditions, club rides can be done on there), alongside films/TV it can pass the time. I have a pair of noise-cancelling headphones that live with the Wattbike
Bloody love that bike, mate! The thickness of the rims looks weird but I get why. This is your winter road bike, will the gravel one see much action?
What in the world of Italian Job fuckery is that descent about. Did you know it was coming or was it a surprise?
With your list of clothing, I am imaging that you wear it all at once. I know it's about choice but you're up north now, you might need it all. And a duvet.
I looked at Wattbikes but sadly we've not quite got the room and I would rather spend money on a better bike!
I had been warned about the descent. That particular bit of road is fairly famous/notorious (it's called Park Rash and rates as one of the 100 hardest cycling climbs in the UK...we have a couple of other locally too). Glad it was dry...now I've done it if it's wet I'll not risk that bit of road...even at full lock I was getting rear wheel slide in places today.
The gravel bike needs drier conditions ideally...most of the off-road here is dirt/earth rather than true gravel, and even with MTB tyres it's not going to cope with mud. That said, there are plenty of lanes that it's well suited for that I probably wouldn't put the winter bike down. If it snows (highly probable) then the gravel bike is probably the only thing that is rideable.
Honestly, a Wattbike would be overkill for you right now. You're paying a lot of money for some lab-grade sensors, which are really only useful if you're on a structured training plan. Better off getting a gym membership (which may well have a Wattbike in there already) and spend winter doing some all round conditioning work. That's what I'm doing this winter...my shoulder is getting to a point where it's becoming a liability. I was planning to join up last week, but (almost proving my point) I borked it cleaning the gutters. The plan is 4-5 months of core and shoulder strengthening alongside a winter bike plan, hopefully reducing some of the niggly little pains I'm getting in the arm over longer distances.