2013 Riding Goals

Well, I did meet part of my 2013 goals..to ride several times per wk. during the winter. Short rides, some super cold rides in Alberta, but all good and ..now I'm reminded how helpful it is for today's longer ride..in Vancouver for 42 kms. up several hills and in such fine weather with cherry blossoms. And I didn't die. I haven't done a ride this distance since last November.

As for rest of this year, ah heck. For me, just ride longer every day when I can and wherever I go/visit. At least 1-2 touring trips 2-3 days long. I haven't figured out the total target annual mileage. I just want to keep on enjoying cycling as much as I can. Not sure, I guess last year I did probably under 3,000 km. So if I do that this year, great or more, that'll be great. But I'm not keeping accurate count and haven't been for past decade. I just know the trips where we've done 80-100 km. in 1 day vs. other trips 15-45 km. around town during the day.

I set these up in late winter while dreaming about spring time and a new riding season.

• Ride 5 new trails or paths
• Do at least 2 urban rides in a city
• Take my bike on at least one vacation
• Rent a bike on one vacation in a style different than what I normally ride
• Take on one bicycle advocacy initiative
• Go on a bike ride with one kid under 10 yrs old who is not a relative
• Test ride some different bikes than what I normally ride
• Ride a tandem
• Do at least one charity ride
• Do at least 2 group rides
• Train to ride a trip of 40 miles
• Ride 1,000 miles
• Increase my riding average speed to 10 mph
• Ride a real mountain bike trail

I ride slow and want to increase my mph so that I can cover more miles on an outing. My goal for annual mileage for the year is considerably lower than my best year but after all the interruptions from last year I'll be very glad to make 1K this year.

Oh yes, here's one.
I want to do a century, self-supported. I want to ride the entire length of the Little Miami trail and back. I promised myself I'd do this before I left Ohio and this summer's my last chance.

And another two:
Explore some more of the bike trails around Xenia.
Ride to school at least once. Possibly ride to work. That one's going to be harder.

If there's one thing I've regretted about the last few years, it's that I wish I had ridden more.

So my goal is to just start riding again. I will be happy with 5-10 miles RT.

But first I have to go shopping! And I need to handle this delicately with DH because I just plunked down a bunch of money on a DSLR.

My bikes are all in storage back in the US .... we didn't have space in our air freight allowance to bring any over.

I wanna test ride some bikes this month. Might be a challenge with a baby in tow. Or maybe shops will hook up a trailer so baby can come along for a ride, and I can see what it's like to have a trailer! Or a child seat. I'm really not sure what to get, but that's probably a whole 'nother thread.

I want to do a ride that is more than a century, maybe something like a 150. I want to do more, longer flats as climbing is just always part of any ride in the Wasatch. I like to climb but I hate hate hate descending and I don't really know how to do anything about that. I still do it but I take it slow and stop on long descents whenever I can to recuperate LOL. I look at people riding up my local climb with total envy as I am weenying my way down. I do sing, I do try to breathe. It is dumb as I want to improve my avg speed and this is where I can make it better LOL. My garmin is just rolling it's eyes at me.

Last year my goal was to ride 5000 miles. I upped the goal to 6000 when I was getting in extra miles, and didn't quite make it, but was at about 5700. That's an "A" in my book- over 90%.

This year I'm doing a little more music, and the weather hasn't been as nice and my DH has been injured and not riding, so I'm not quite as focused on a mileage goal. Not sure what my cycling goals are, but I'm riding with a women's "team"- and we are trying to improve our road skills. It's not a race team, and still having some growing pains and a bit of an identity crisis, but working/riding with them is part of my goal this year as well.

My goal this year is balance. I want to emphasize on balancing out my body and training routine.

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Originally Posted by WindingRoad

My goal this year is balance. I want to emphasize on balancing out my body and training routine.

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Me and you, this is so important! I've a couple of significant cycling goals this year, but not at the cost of returning to limited flexibility and mobility due to riding too much. Balance is important for all of us, but as we get older it becomes even more important.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

Me and you, this is so important! I've a couple of significant cycling goals this year, but not at the cost of returning to limited flexibility and mobility due to riding too much. Balance is important for all of us, but as we get older it becomes even more important.

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Same here. I think too much riding contributed to a lot of problems with my back body (my glutes and hamstrings), which get underused in flat Central Indiana. Plus, it really did nothing for my core or upper body. Mountain biking is a bit more of a full body workout, but I don't do it enough to rely on it to actually keep me in shape. So, I'm going to try to keep up with my workout classes and weight lifting.

1. Winter Cycling classes (About 4 months 3 times a week. Completed about 2 weeks ago). best decision ever made!.. I have improved soo much!
2. Do The Hilly Hundred and a couple more events
3. Climb in one shot Fox Hill and Centenary Hill ... Did Fox Hill on the first try!... climbed Centenary Hill all the way up yesterday on my third try and I couldnt believe it!...So excited about it!.
4. Conquer before the end of the season the Observatory Hill. (Cat5)
5. Keep attending the weekly rides with the Indiana Cure Chasers JDRF group (Tuesdays Riding Hills : get stronger and better at climbing. This ride covers Fox Hill, Centenary Hill and Observatory Hill.. about 32miles total. And Thursdays Ride of the Rollers to improve speed and fitness 25-35 Miles through Johnson and Morgan Counties).
6. Mountain Bike at least 2 times a week (weather permiting).
7. Attend the Women Mountain Bike Clinic in Brown County.(Already Registered).
8. Go to Brown County Trails once a Month.
9. Lose 25 pounds by the end of the year (hopefully) :(
10. Commute to work every day if possible. (until winter)

I have gotten into road cycling this year. We are planning to train for a century in October. We have a long way to go! I am also working on speeds. Starting next week, I am commuting to the farm to pick up our CSA. I think those are my goals for the year.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Yeah, we relented and just made our hotel reservations and signed up for the Horsey. There's a lot to like about the weekend, so we decided to stick with tradition after all.

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Well, we have another Horsey Hundred behind us. We had planned to ride Saturday and Sunday, but DH ended up getting called into work at 3 a.m. on Friday morning and working through the night and well into Friday. By the time he got home, we had decided to skip Saturday's ride. So, we drove down to Kentucky Saturday afternoon and started early on Sunday. The weather was great; cool and overcast. The horses were out in droves, which was fun.

We ended up with 55 miles and a 15 mph pace over rolling terrain. Prior to the ride, I'd ridden a grand total of 20 miles since sometime in mid-October. So, while it didn't always feel good, I'll take it. But I need to figure out how to get more motivated to road ride. I've felt pretty blah about it for awhile. But that's a subject for a separate thread.

This is a great thread. It's cool to see all of the goals on here.

I have two main ones:
1. to ride a century by the end of the summer/early fall
2. to try out cross before the end of the year.

I also have been trying to bike commute pretty regularly but, unfortunately, it's been kind of a PITA thanks to the awful weather. I never thought I'd rather see heat!

I don't have very many miles this year, even though I've been riding regularly since March 24th. However, I feel like I'm meeting my goals of doing longer rides this year. Last weekend I rode 90 miles in 2 days. I've also ridden twice with the faster riders of my group. Today, we're doing a 30 mile ride which is hilly, mostly at the end and we are thinking of riding to the start, although I have a feeling that if I do this, I won't be happy at the end. That will turn it into a 50-55 mile ride. On June 9 I am doing a hilly metric and at the end of June we are going to the Berkshires and (finally) doing what our friends call the "Taconic Challenge." Apparently, it's a 7 mile climb with a steady 4% grade, that goes into NY and back to Williamstown.

Great that you were able to get down there for at least one day Indy, good for you!

I've few miles this year so far compared with the last couple of years, the weather and my increasing dislike of riding in cold temps being the culprit. I also find that I want to maintain much of my current gym work, so I cannot ride every day of the week like I used to. I do want to do a very long ride in September (the Hope ride), and possibly the Hilly Hundred. I've a couple of friends who want me to do it with them. If I can manage the train well enough to face those hills (the ride has that name for a reason), then I will do it.

This year I am intent on making riding fun again, and if that means shorter rides then so be it! I am also determined to make 2013 the year of no cycling related injuries...most of which have been from over-doing things (outside of the mtb accident - that was different)