We had an excellent start to the bagging year in 2014 as 64 Marilyns were completed by the end of June, so reaching the Upper Hall by the end of the year looked achievable. The next six months proved more challenging as we only added 16 Marilyns. The most notable reason for this poor second-half bagging performance was stage 1 of Le Tour de France on the slopes of Yorkshire's Cote de Buttertubs. This event provided the impetus to reawaken cycling ambitions. By the end of the year I had amassed many more cycling days than hillwalking days, but there were many cracking days on the hills:
February - seven Marilyns in Yorkshire (while carrying out a Tour de France route reconnaissance).
May - An 18-Marilyn haul in south Wales and England, with a slight detour on the way to London for a Nigeria v Scotland football match.
June - Ardnamurchan, without a midge in sight.
August - Corbett completion on Harris.
September - day trips to Arran and Mull on Graham bagging duties.
November - short break, finishing the Skye Grahams in glorious weather.
Targets for 2015 - progress completion of Munros second round (28 to go) and Grahams first round (23 to go), plus sneak into the Upper Hall.
