{"id":204466,"date":"2026-01-01T06:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T06:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=204466"},"modified":"2026-01-02T14:45:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T14:45:54","slug":"2025-ride-reflection-the-power-the-pain-the-pizza-stops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/01\/01\/2025-ride-reflection-the-power-the-pain-the-pizza-stops\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Ride Reflection: The Power, The Pain, The Pizza Stops"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spoiler: you didn\u2019t ride as much as you said. But your sock game was strong!<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that time again. Strava is quietly judging you. Your Garmin has 29 un-synced rides from March. Your friend just posted a year-end montage that includes drone footage and emotional piano music. And you? You\u2019re thinking, \u201cWas that one ride in April technically a gran fondo?\u201d Let\u2019s take a moment to look back \u2014 at the power, the pain, and the pepperoni-fuelled glory.<\/p>\n

The power: sometimes imaginary<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You did a couple FTP tests. You screamed into a towel during one of them. You bragged about your watts per kilo like it was your credit score. Were they good watts? Maybe. Were they accurate? No one really knows \u2014 but your ego grew two sizes.<\/p>\n

Also, let\u2019s not forget: your favourite training metric was \u201cvibes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pain: mostly your own fault<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There was the early spring ride where you wore summer gloves out of spite. The mid-summer death loop \u201cfor fun.\u201d The gravel ride that started as a gentle meander and ended in a swamp, questioning your life choices.<\/p>\n

You bonked. You cramped. You cried into a half-melted Stroopwafel. You googled \u201ccan you DNF a solo ride?\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet\u2026 you smiled. Later. Much later.<\/p>\n

The pizza stops: spiritual recovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some people ride for glory. You rode for garlic knots.<\/p>\n

You became a connoisseur of petrol station snacks and small-town bakeries. You planned entire routes around caf\u00e9s.<\/a> You know which hill pairs best with a flat white and which descent demands post-ride fries. This is peak performance.<\/p>\n

The kit: a masterpiece of delusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You layered. You colour-matched. You declared war on sock height norms. One time you wore arm warmers and leg warmers and still said \u201cI feel pretty aero today.\u201d<\/p>\n

You bought one jersey \u201cfor gravel\u201d that cost more than your bed. Worth it.<\/p>\n

The numbers: cooked<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You said you\u2019d ride 8,000km. You hit 5,374. You counted the grocery runs. You once turned on Strava after<\/em> your caf\u00e9 stop just to capture \u201cactive time.\u201d<\/p>\n

But hey, you did<\/em> 76 hours of strength training\u2026 if we include foam rolling and that one YouTube Pilates video you watched lying down.<\/p>\n

The friends, the fails, the finish lines<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You made memories. You dropped someone on a climb (accidentally). You got dropped two minutes later (deserved). You finished a century ride in headwind. You got a KOM on a descent you\u2019ll never do again.<\/p>\n

You repaired friendships over post-ride burritos. You forgave wheel-suckers. You healed \u2014 emotionally and quad-wise.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf89 Final thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

So no, you didn\u2019t ride as much<\/em> as you said. But you showed up. You rode through rain, sun, fog, and whatever that week in October was. You learned things. You ate things. You wore things you\u2019ll regret.<\/p>\n

And you\u2019re still here \u2014 dreaming about next year, new goals, and the ultimate sock setup.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to 2026: more rides, more snacks, more lies about elevation gain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spoiler: you didn\u2019t ride as much as you said. But your sock game was strong!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":194085,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[334],"tags":[2668,4755,8852],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-204466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-cycling-fun","tag-new-years","tag-ride-reflection","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\n2025 Ride Reflection: The Power, The Pain, The Pizza Stops - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spoiler: you didn\u2019t ride as much as you said. But your sock game was strong! It\u2019s that time again. Strava is quietly judging you. 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