What made and ruined your 2009

[craig1985]

Pretty obvious really, what made and ruined your 2009.

Made:

* Made some progress on the bike and actually have gone up another grade when it comes to racing. Apparently I'm now a Cat 2 racer! As well as that, I'm perfect for 50km/h lead outs and dropping people on mountains, even when they wheel suck.
* Awesome holiday in Japan and Vietnam this year. No bike riding though, but I met a lot of awesome people and I now I can travel to a few countries and have free accommodation when I get there. And to make Scott Socal proud, I spent half the time in Japan drunk. Vietnam is a great place once you get over the culture shock. Got to fire an AK47.
* Got to go away for a week in the Queensland Outback to do some work on a mine. I really was in the middle of nowhere, and I earnt some good money.

Ruined:

* Didn't win a race even though I got close a few times. In one crit I did, a break went, so I had to attack into the wind and ended up a 6 lap TT trying to catch the break, but I never did. I got within 10 seconds of the break, but one last surge at the front widened the gap and I couldn't bridge across. Just as well as they did, because I probably would have won if I did catch them.
* Got laid off from my job. They probably did me a favour by laying me off, but the cash was alright though. Plus, I wanted to buy a new bike.
* Still suffer from fatigue if I train/race too hard, exceptthat I'm for at least two weeks.

 

[gregod]

hmmm...

made:
another satisfying year professionally.
finally bought my dream car.

ruined:
didn't get a long vacation this year.

 

[Anonymous]

ruined..
+spending 9 months of it sick and battling anxiety after 37 years of being the most in control person i know
+every other peice of ****e the world could throw at us, threatened redundancies in the wifes work, etc etc etc

made..
+another week in Paris.. everytime we go there I dont want to come home
+spending 9 months of it sick and realising that i need to calm down, chill out and start enjoying what is important in life. Its not all about work
+a sparkly new kona sat in the dining room
+coming through a ****e year with a marriage thats probably stronger because of it, and not ruined by it.
+the fact that the wife has just used the C word

 

[mr. tibbs]

Ruined:

-Front door was kicked in on Christmas Eve while my wife and I were visiting family for the holidays, lost my TV and region-free DVD player
-New soul-sucking desk job = no time for proper riding and my form has gone to hell
-Wife is using the break-in to finally get a dog, which she has been pushing for ever since we bought a house
-Miserable luck with the Pro3 Race; I have four carcasses hanging in the garage from this year, none of which were over a month old with light riding time

Made:

+The f*ckers that broke into my house only took my cheap TV and DVD player; the cats and the Fondriest are safe
+I was able to find a well-paying job w/ room for advancement just months after graduating despite the unfortunate economy
+The next people who break into my house will be greeted by a Doberman (read: organic rocket that barks bullets). And we're going through a rescue, so it's kind of a humane thing, too.
+My new Gatorskins look sharp

 

[Oldman]

Good:
Another year above ground.
Some decent rides, scenery and results
My wife still loves me and thinks I'm attractive (I know how precious this is)

Bad:
Another year above ground.
The economy has not helped many of my friends, or me.

Ugly:
The economy is going to take some time to come around.

 

[NapoleonD]

Ruined -

Broke my leg in 3 places on a training ride, two weeks before my first ever race.


Made -

Made a great new mate as a result of above

Appreciated riding even more, doing a PB club 10 14 weeks after I shattered my leg and appeared in local paper as a result.

Moved to a great new position at work

Passed my Inspector's exams

Kids and wife are fine

3 new bikes!

 

[mherm79]

made
- wife and I bought and moved into our first home,
- finally completed a masters in organisational leadership 6yrs after starting,
- brother finally tightened his belt, grew up and bought him and the family a house,
- picked up a Fuji Toyota United for 50% of RRP,
- ended the year in good health and back on the bike with 90km ride today,
- marriage is stronger for surviving the 'ruined' list

ruined
- spent 5months interstate for work and away from the wife,
- dad passed away from old age (just got back into the state),
- was diagnosed with testicular cancer just after dad passed away.


Glad that 2009 is over and looking forward to 2010!

 

[badboyberty]

Best things of 2009:
My almost two year old son mastering his balance bike.
The builders pouring the slab for our house two days before Christmas.
My business being still in business.
My loving partner not going crazy after her second year of being a full time Mum.
Getting informed that thanks to the "grandfather clause" I've qualified for the 2010 24-Hour MTB Worlds.


Worst things of 2009:
I've wasted too much time on stupid internet forums.
And I'm a lot less fit than I really should be.

 

[David Suro]

Made 2009 Great:

Got to be the event chiropractor for the 24 hours of Moab, worked on an endurance off-road unicycle guru

Got to be an event chiropractor for Ride the Rockies Bike Tour

Turned 40 and still love cycling

Met my soul mate, finally


Made 2009 a Bummer:

Can't think of anything

 

[brianf7]

My Dr droped one of my my testosterone implants on the floor while opperating so my form went from very poor to none existant in 2 weeks.

The good side was the government stimulus $1,000 to all old age pensioners so we could go out and buy a new plasma.

Didnt need a new bike already had one so had to settle for a 46" plasma.

My excuse for the big screen was I cant see the old one the reply was pull the chair closer

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

The good:

Some great vacations, including the first one alone with my husband in 16 years



The bad:

Getting bronchitis four times

 

[Tangled Tango]

Made:

Family was/is healthy.
Obama was elected.
My wife and I bought an apartment in NYC.
Visited the Tour for the first time.
Discovered Mallorca as a cyclists heaven
Road more in 09 than in many years.
Slowly improved my fitness, shedded some weight after many years off the bike.

ruined


Crashed in Mallorca, nothing broken but my right shoulder and arm seem to be permantly injured.
Disapointment that La Vuelta didn´t come to Asturias.
Gained some of the weight back.

 

[El Imbatido]

Ruined -

Broke my leg in 3 places on a training ride, two weeks before my first ever race.


Made -

Made a great new mate as a result of above

Appreciated riding even more, doing a PB club 10 14 weeks after I shattered my leg and appeared in local paper as a result.

Moved to a great new position at work

Passed my Inspector's exams

Kids and wife are fine

3 new bikes!

You talking about Dave Harmon NapD?? Heard a few callouts to you during the season.

For me:

Good
+ Got into cycling after being a July only fan for many years
+ Am getting healthy again after some pretty bad health problems
+ Spending good amount of time on the bike
+ Playing Water polo again

Bad
- Not completely over health problems
- Lost Apprenticeship because of health problems and wasn't able to get it back cos the world is screwed over by the GFC
- Took nearly 12 months to recover from problems

 

[TheNJDevil]

Great:
Lance is back racing. (Cycling can continue to grow in the USA)
Still have a good paying job when many friends don't.
Wife's business is still growing, not the 20% this year, but any growth in 09 would be considered a success.

Sucked:
Dad diagnosed with cancer in May.
Dad died 5 months later.
Almost no time on the bike.
Spent tons of money flying back and forth for dad.

 

[tubularglue]

waking up every morning: made
chemo/auto drip: ruined

2.0.0.9

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

Made:
landed a good job
riding improved significantly
got in the best shape of my life

Ruined:
left the town in which I attended college, and all my friends
ended a long and loving relationship
three loved ones diagnosed with varying types of cancer (lost 2 of them before years end)

 

[pedaling squares]

Ruined my 2009:
- a family member got cancer
- moved away from mtn bike heaven
- moved away from mtn bike buddies
- those young bodies coming back from Afghanistan
- wife never used the c word


Made my 2009:
- a family member beat cancer, although not without cost
- moved to road bike heaven
- met a couple of road bike buddies
- a little girl joined our family (made my 2009-2059)
- Stanley Cup playoffs were very good this year
- wife used some pretty funny french lingo when I misbehaved


Just damn lucky in 2009
- my profession is recession proof, and believe me I'm thankful for that.


Just plain weird in 2009
- joined my 1st internet forum group. People getting together under pseudonyms to call each other douchebags... what a weird psych experiment.

 

[craig1985]

Some people on here are having the worst luck with family members getting cancer

 

[NapoleonD]

You talking about Dave Harmon NapD?? Heard a few callouts to you during the season.

For me:

Good
+ Got into cycling after being a July only fan for many years
+ Am getting healthy again after some pretty bad health problems
+ Spending good amount of time on the bike
+ Playing Water polo again

Bad
- Not completely over health problems
- Lost Apprenticeship because of health problems and wasn't able to get it back cos the world is screwed over by the GFC
- Took nearly 12 months to recover from problems

It weas great to get a few shouts out from DH while I was sat at home watching the classics and the Giro!

But no, it was a lad I went out riding with the day I broke my leg whom I hardly knew beforehand...

 

[NapoleonD]

Some people on here are having the worst luck with family members getting cancer

+1

Thoughts of strength go out to everyone...

 

[Bike Boy]

Made my 2009:
-Armstrong coming out of retirement.
-I bought a Trek Madone 5.5 Pro.
-I visited the "Tour" for the first time in my life (14 days through central europe in a motor caravan).
-I climbed Mount Ventoux, Alpe D'Huez and Verbier on my new bike (awesome!!!).
-I got back into decent shape again.

Ruined my 2009:
-I still don't have a full-time job.
-I bought a Trek Madone 5.5 Pro. the only problem is I couldn't afford it.
-Armstrong didn't prove to be the best teammate in the world, to say at least.
-The company from whom we leased the motor caravan totally ****ed us. we never saw any of the deposit after returning it (deposit 7500 DKK. = 1450 USD). We will be allright though (save the encouregement for those who truly need it).


For me 2009 was indeed a very good year.

 

[BigBoat]

Pretty obvious really, what made and ruined your 2009.

Made:

* Made some progress on the bike and actually have gone up another grade when it comes to racing. Apparently I'm now a Cat 2 racer! As well as that, I'm perfect for 50km/h lead outs and dropping people on mountains, even when they wheel suck.
* Awesome holiday in Japan and Vietnam this year. No bike riding though, but I met a lot of awesome people and I now I can travel to a few countries and have free accommodation when I get there. And to make Scott Socal proud, I spent half the time in Japan drunk. Vietnam is a great place once you get over the culture shock. Got to fire an AK47.
* Got to go away for a week in the Queensland Outback to do some work on a mine. I really was in the middle of nowhere, and I earnt some good money.

Ruined:

* Didn't win a race even though I got close a few times. In one crit I did, a break went, so I had to attack into the wind and ended up a 6 lap TT trying to catch the break, but I never did. I got within 10 seconds of the break, but one last surge at the front widened the gap and I couldn't bridge across. Just as well as they did, because I probably would have won if I did catch them.
* Got laid off from my job. They probably did me a favour by laying me off, but the cash was alright though. Plus, I wanted to buy a new bike.
* Still suffer from fatigue if I train/race too hard, exceptthat I'm for at least two weeks.

I remember my first year as a 2, I won one race and that was it! The next year I FLEW, he he he.

 

[fatandfast]

1 thing that ruined my 2009 was that Tiger's wife did not seek me out to cry to, I could have comforted her in her time of need. Also I did not enjoy people ripping me a new one because McRobbie was afraid to race the fastest sprinters in the world on his home turf. Tuck it under Robbie.Maybe there is room for you in the "All the Single Ladys" skit. Griepel you are more than welcome here in the US. You won last year at 50mph I hope to see a repeat. Things that made 2009 was lots of children being born to everybody I know. I am also very happy with Nerf as a whole. You guys make lots of toys that allow people to run around inside during bad weather and shoot each other without serious injury.. Those pneumatic dart guns for @8 bucks are great! Also on the best of 2009 list,the guy(?) that drove half way(@60 miles) to deliver the Terry bicycle I bought from him. I could not figure a way to get a small child on bike that would allow him to race without his parents shelling out 1500. Santa takes a back seat to you and your wife. In 3 or 4 months when he outgrows it I will pay it forward.

 

[craig1985]

Yeah but I'm clean!