2013 Cycling Goals

[Crankin]

I don't know what my goals are. The only one I am sure of is to ride more than I did in 2012. In 2010 and 2011 I rode 3,300 and 3,100 miles. In 2012 I made my "minimum" of 2,500 miles, but my total was around 2,700 (not sure of exact amount, as both of my bike computers got messed up near the end). Most of this was due to my work schedule, but some was due to laziness. On the other hand, I am consistently going to boot camp 2X a week and I lost 5-6 lbs. and I am much stronger.
I probably will have more riding time next fall, as I plan to quit my job and find something with less hours, closer to home once I get my licensing requirements finished up. Hopefully, that will make the difference.
I really don't know what else to add. It seems if I make goals, it's a sure way for me to start having a bad attitude and hating riding. If I have more free time, I'd like to add in more of the utility rides I used to do. And, find a job where I can ride to work at least some of the time.
Every year I say I am going to improve my skills on the bike, but so far, that hasn't happened. As far as speed goes, I reached my peak in 2006. Then I went backwards when I got sick in 2007. 2008 and 2009 were building back up years, which I did, but now I need more recovery time and I tend to have some rides that are OK/average for me, some that are slow because I am riding with slower riders, and a few that are fast for me. I know I should ride with faster riders, but I haven't made too many of the group rides I used to do (only one this year, in addition to the 2 I led).
I think I've learned enough about myself from riding the last 12 years to say that a goal of riding more is enough for me, and I will see what happens.

[Becky]

I've tracked mileage for the past 3 years and am disappointed in myself every year. (My low mileages may have something to do with the amount of mountain biking I do.) This year, I'm not tracking mileage. Instead, I'm going to:

1. Focus on tracking time (days per week, and hours on any bike).
2. Complete my first XC race season (probably 3-4 races, and maybe a relay or enduro race), with absolutely no pressure to win anything.
3. Focus on the social side of riding more than the quantitative side, and do more road and mountain group rides.
4. Finish building my new mountain bike and sell my old one to defray the cost.

[Catrin]

Still thinking about my 2013 goals - but they will include the following:

Ride more than in 2012 (and avoid injury) - at least 4,000 miles
At least one charity ride, possibly 2 (at least the Hope ride)
Shoot for at least one group ride a month - I tend to ride solo most of the time
Death March (gravel event) in March IF I can get enough gravel time in between now and then...
Gravel Grovel (gravel race) on Thanksgiving weekend
get better at hill climbing
Learn how to do unassisted pull-ups
Continue to learn basics of Olympic lifting
Continue with my group training 2-3 times a week

I can be overly goal-driven, which is why my list isn't as detailed as in past years. As odd as this might sound, I've found that I seem to enjoy "training for an event" better than participating in the actual event. That is probably weird but that is me. I've also found that I enjoy lifting heavy things and doing wild metabolic conditioning things far better than I would have ever dreamed. Would love to do a little trail running, but I don't know if that will ever be an option for me, we shall see.

[Giulianna23]

*. Lose 20 lbs or more if possible by the end of Summer by eating healthy . I haven’t been doing that in the last 3 months... shame on me!..
*. Do the POLAR BEAR RIDE II this Saturday with my boys and some other family members and friends.(10 mile recreational ride)
*. Do indoor cycling sessions (with the indoor bike trainer) at least 3 times a week during winter with the meetup group (FREE). I like that!. ..Starting next week! Yay!!...
*. Start to commute sometime in April until sometime in October/Nov if weather permits…and do at least 100 miles a week in addition to the 80 I will be doing during my commutes. This will be combining road and mountain biking.
*. Work on my speed so by the end of the year I would like to be at at least 18+mph average if possible ( now I am at 15-16mph)
*. Work on climbing because I suck…..but I know if I lose some weight that will improve Big Time.
*. Attend the Womens Mountain Bike Clinic.
*. Learn all I can about bike maintenance /tune ups etc etc ( I already know how to change a tire an tube. I also know how to install fenders… I did on my commuter getting her ready for Spring )
*. Ride all I can with my two boys.
*. Encourage family members and friends to use their bikes more often and ride with them in a group whenever is possible. I already started with the POLAR BEAR RIDE . I am taking 3 family members besides my 2 boys this Saturday.

[shootingstar]

It seems if I make goals, it's a sure way for me to start having a bad attitude and hating riding.

Hey, Crankin I know I'm like that. Already I have to set annual (and more frequent!) goals for my job, for larger projects with other people, as well as for personal financial management, etc. I consider cycling definitely a personal activity and since I'm a non-racer/don't enter any time-based rides, I'd rather cycle with an attitude that helps me STAY on the bike, not hate cycling as another chore where I end up feeling lousy because I didn't make a cumulative mileage goal, etc.

In some vague way, yes I would like to do 2,500 km or 3,500 km. minimum annually but my cumulative mileage is based on known route total distance. I eliminated my cyclometer about 10 yrs. ago. The way how I gauge my fitness improvement each year is my daily cycling distance endurance and how I can climb hills.

Without really aiming for a pre-set goal at the beginning, some years I have racked up 5,000 - 7,000 km. annually --especially when I was unemployed or did some multi-wk. long trips. I focus more on each day as it comes and just cycle happily away.

[indysteel]

When I first started riding, I was pretty goal-oriented, but a series of injuries and life changes made me dial back quite a bit. Now, I'm more interested in just staying injury free and sticking with my weekly fitness routine. I haven't had an computer on my bike in several years, so I have only a vague idea of how far I've gone on any given ride or how fast (DH has one and sometimes I ask, while sometimes I don't). Plus, as Becky suggested in her own response, mileage doesn't mean quite the same thing when it comes to mountainbiking. So, with that said, my goals are pretty general. I'd like to continue improving on my mountain bike. I would love to tackle all but the hardest trails at my favorite park--hopefully injury/crash free. Knock on wood. I'd like to do a few more club road rides. I still miss riding with friends in various parts of the state. No offense to my husband, but riding only with him straight from our house bores me to tears. I miss the variety of riding with other people and doing a diverse set of routes.

More than anything, I'd like to continue to run year round instead of stopping in the spring and picking it back up in the fall. I'm really enjoying it this time around and, again with no offense to my husband, I enjoy that I do it on my own and don't have to wait for both his and my stars to align, as I so often have to do with cycling.

Yoga is ever present in my life. I'd like to continue to take 2-3 classes a week if my schedule allows. And I plan to continue meeting with my trainer twice a week--once in a group setting and once individually. I've started to see some progress. It was really slow going for a while--I think because my Graves' Disease was leading to some muscle weakness--but I'm starting to feel really good of late, and I hope that trend continues.

[nscrbug]

Generally speaking, I typically have only 1 cycling goal at the start of each season...and that is to try and match my mileage from the previous year. That might be a "tall" order for me, though...considering that 2012 was my biggest riding year ever at 8,642 miles. THAT will be difficult to do, 2 years in a row...but I'll try my best. Other than that, my other goals are:

Try to keep riding throughout the winter...whenever possible.
Try to resolve my ongoing hand issues...with surgery or if possible, without.
Try to keep the injuries to a minimum.
Take an overnight trip on the bike.
Ride at least 4 centuries (the same amount I did last year).

Linda