I usually like to check in on my goals for the year at the end of June, but June was particularly busy this year, after we moved house, so I am a couple of months late with my update.

Spend more time with my friends

More effort needed! We had a great time karting earlier in the year, but we have all been super busy with new jobs/new houses/kids etc.

Make my blog more robust

Just this evening I have made a quick change to the AWS CDK stack I use for this blog, so the tiniest bit of progress…

Refresh my photography portfolio website

Not yet, but this is a good project for when the weather is rubbish.

Do something car/motorsport related every month

I think I can blame the house move for this. I had a good start to the year, karting with my friends, I also went again with Owen and his friends for his birthday party. Owen and I also went to the Dukeries Rally at Donington Park again. Next weekend I will be taking my dad to Wales for the British round of the European Rally Championship. I do not think I have been to any car shows this year though.

Get the MR2 to Wales

We have not chosen which car we will take next weekend, but this might factor in to my decision. The poor MR2 has barely been driven this year. On top of that, it has also been living outside for the last few months. I am hoping to drive it more, and get it inside the garage sooner rather than later.

Ride somewhere new with Owen

Earlier this week Owen and I rode the Lime Burner trail at Thetford Forest, which we have not ridden before, although we have previously ridden the blue graded trail there.

Do some bike trips just myself and Henry

It has been pretty difficult to get Henry out on his bike at all, he is less keen to ride than Owen. We had a breakthrough recently, where he rode the blue graded Perry’s trail at Cannock Chase, and even enjoyed it!

Get to the summer with three working bikes

I got to the summer with two working bikes. Although I barely rode my Orange Four, on the other hand I have ridden my Orange Speedwork loads. The third bike, my Orange Clockwork Evo is another victim of the house move. It is due a full rebuild, I have most of the parts, but they are in our lockup. As soon as my garage/workshop is sorted I will start rebuilding the Clockwork Evo – I want to be able to ride it on my birthday!

Ride at Bwlch Nant yr Arian

Not yet, I can blame this on the house move too, as I have not been able to get away for many riding trips this year.

Ride the “Ladybower Loop” with Partho

Another one that has probably been missed, as we have both had busy years, even getting to Cannock Chase for a few hours has been tricky. We also both have busy Septembers lined up and then we are running into the winter.

Tidy my garage

My old garage was very tidy when we moved. Unfortunately I have not been able to get my new garage fully sorted yet. The walls are half painted, the electrics are half done and new roller shutter doors are on order. Then I need to paint the floors, arrange some hanging bike storage and unpack my things. At least the new garage is bigger, so should be easier to keep tidy.

Take my niece Sienna to the zoo

We have spent a lot of time with Sienna this year, which has been great, but unfortunately we have not been to the zoo. It has been good spending more time with both of my nieces this year.

Get my weight down to 90kg

The graph is trending in the right direction for sure! I have had two or three weeks under my target weight too – just got to keep that going for a few more months!

Moving house was not at the front of my mind when writing these goals, so it is fair to say that the goalposts have moved somewhat… We did have a goal to get the upstairs of the house sorted by the end of the year, and the boys into separate bedrooms, but we have had a few setbacks, and are thinking about changing our plans, which will set us back somewhat. We may end up not redoing the rooms fully until next year, but will hopefully get the boys into separate rooms, at least temporarily.