At
the end of every year, I sit down, relax and take a look back at how
my year went. I analyze the highs, the lows, and everything I achieved
over the course of the year. 2017 proved to be an amazing year for me.I achieved much more then I imagined.
Every new year I set targets for myself and they can be normally divided into three categories. Coaster trips, new countries and personal goals.
This year there was a difference in the personal goal department but more on that later but let's start with the coasters first.
Coaster trips:
I rode 223 new coaster in 2017. A lot more then I expected. I need to slow down next year but wither I do, only time will tell.After neglecting UK coasters for a few years, I decided it's time to hit them hard . Every weekend I would be visiting parks or fairs all over. My friends got worried that I had turned into a massive coaster whore (a term used to describe an obsessive coaster counter). Seeing how I was going through the UK coasters, it was apt that my #1700 coaster would be Reed & Nathan Holland's "Crazy Chase".
My first foreign credits of the year were ridden in Tanzania in March. The Water Coaster at Fun City was the best of the four coasters I rode. I had to hang around for a couple of hours for them to clean the water before they allowed me to ride.
"Heidi the ride" was my first wooden coaster of the year. An enjoyable ride at a park that has come leaps & bounds in recent times.
End of April I managed to track down one of my traveling coaster targets for the year. The credit wasn't anything to shout about but the name was certainly a mouthful. "Bellychurninrailroadmountainclimbinfunlovinmadness" is the longest named coaster in the world. If anyone knows a longer named coaster then I would love to hear from them.
The month of May saw me return to Spain after many years. I'd been holding out for a club trip that would cover all the main parks in Spain but it didn't happen, so finally, I said to myself that I will have to visit Spain. "Montaña Suiza" at Parque de Atracciones, Monte Igueldo was a humongous bucket list coaster. When I rode it after all these years, my happiness couldn't be contained. I'm a huge fan of historical rides. I value them over modern day thrill machines and this being the oldest operating steel coaster in the world meant so much to me.
The Spain trip also saw me visit the brand new Ferrari Land park with a solid Intamin coaster and not much else of significant. Moving over next door to Port Aventura Park, I rode "Shambhala". This is a top coaster that I really liked. On this trip, I also visited Andorra to ride Tobotronc" the longest alpine coaster in the world. I also ventured into France and found a previously unknown coaster at Bid'A Parc called "Pomme".
My favorite coaster trip took place in July. The trip again involved three countries with one being completely new. My friend Thomas joined me on this trip. The first stop was Istanbul in Turkey. The highlight of the Istanbul segment were the two Intamin coasters at Viasea and Vialand parks. The people of Istanbul are blessed to have two of the finest Intamin coaster on their doorstep.
Next up was Sochi in Russia and getting to visit Sochi Park Adventureland. This was a park that I had been eyeing up for ages. - "Roller Coaster" a Schwarzkopf coaster at Lazarevskoye Park was another trip highlight. The Russian leg of the trip ended in Krasnodar as I wanted to ride the two Pax coasters there. "Tsar Hill" was a delightful coaster and well worth including it on the trip.
The final portion of the trip saw us venture further off the beaten track onto Kazakhstan. This country had been bugging me for a few years now and was the primary reason for this trip, as I wanted to ride the Schwarzkopf Wildcat. We covered all coasters in Astana, Karaganda and Almaty.
Late July saw me reunite with the "Roller Coaster" at Great Yarmouth. I'm very fond of this coaster. It still rides like a dream even though it was built in 1932. I also visited Pleasurewood Hills on the same day to ride "Cannonball Express"
End of August saw me return to China after four years for a huge trip The trip was cut short due to family issues but I still managed to visit/ride coasters in Tianjin, Jinan, Shenyang, Beijing. Shijiazhuang, and Zhengzhou. I got my #1800 on "Jungle Trailblazer" at Oriental Heritage Park in Jinan.
After a quiet November, December saw me ride the Antelope at Gulliver's Warrington. I also grabbed a couple of Wacky Worm credits at Christmas events in the Liverpool area. My coastering year finished in style by Riding Olympia Lopping at Winter Wonderland in London.
In a nutshell, my biggest coaster highlights of 2017 can be narrowed down to two coasters, Montaña Suiza at Monte Igueldo and "Roller
Coaster" in Karaganda.
New countries
Along with riding roller coasters, my other passion is visiting new countries. I try to visit three new countries every year. This year I managed to visit four. They are Tanzania, Andorra, Kazakhstan and Morocco.
I visited Tanzania in March to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. This trip was booked with G Adventures, who organized all the logistics. I also visited the capital Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. The trip was very enjoyable as I achieved some personal targets but more on those later. I liked Tanzania.
The second new country was the tiny nation of Andorra, a country squeezed in between Spain and France. I only spent one night in the capital, but it still gave me a good flavor of the country.
Kazakhstan was my third new country. Capital Astana held the EXPO in the summer of 2017. The new capital is well laid out with a lot of wacky buildings. Karaganda on the other hand is a working city. Almaty was the busiest city of the three. All three cities were different from each other. I enjoyed visiting all three.
My final new country was Morocco. There are a few countries that I figure would make good family holidays and Morocco is one of them. Morocco was hard work as we covered a lot of ground. Marrakesh is a tourist trip with people haggling you in the main square. Outside of Marrakesh, I saw the real Morocco where people were friendlier. We visited Casablanca, Fez Rabat and The Sahara Desert.
Personal Goals
You've most likely heard the cliche, "I want to do this sometime in the future". More then likely that time in the future never comes. This year I changed my thinking process. I said to myself, no more putting things off. Live the moment and don't worry about the future. With that in mind, I booked a trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Something I've been wanting to do for ages. Along with Kilimanjaro another bucket list of mine has been to visit the Serengeti national park. This trip would would kill two birds with one stone.
This year I also ran the London Marathon. I was doing great till half way point and then I hit the wall. I did not give up. I battled on and completed the marathon in around ten hours. When I told people of my two goals (Kilimanjaro climb and Marathon) I was laughed upon by many. This actually motivated me even more. I guess I had the last laugh when I told them I had accomplished both.
Another personal goal was to visit The Sahara desert. I read about the Sahara desert as a kid but only now did I have the opportunity to visit it. It took three days to reach from Marrakesh. We rode the camel into the sand dunes of the Sahara and camped overnight there. It was an amazing experience laying there in the sand and viewing the stars. I never seen so many shooting stars in my life.
This year I also ran the London Marathon. I was doing great till half way point and then I hit the wall. I did not give up. I battled on and completed the marathon in around ten hours. When I told people of my two goals (Kilimanjaro climb and Marathon) I was laughed upon by many. This actually motivated me even more. I guess I had the last laugh when I told them I had accomplished both.
Another personal goal was to visit The Sahara desert. I read about the Sahara desert as a kid but only now did I have the opportunity to visit it. It took three days to reach from Marrakesh. We rode the camel into the sand dunes of the Sahara and camped overnight there. It was an amazing experience laying there in the sand and viewing the stars. I never seen so many shooting stars in my life.
So looking back I had an amazing year.
Nothing can compete reaching the summit of the highest mountain in Africa. That was the most difficult experience of my life but I made it to the top. The satisfaction is unbelievable once I reached the highest point.
I have a few ideas for next years personal goal, but we shall see....
I have a few ideas for next years personal goal, but we shall see....
Till next time.
