2013 Cycling Goals

[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

[happyscientist]

Do a better job of integrating other forms of exercise with cycling.
Not get dropped on the hammer ride, just once.
Do a race and not come in DFL.
Get better at descents.
Don't drool on the Cervelo tri-bike my LBS has on display.

[Veronica]

I posted here about my big goal for 2103.

Same minor goals - work up to jumping onto the 30 inch step. 24 inches is really pretty easy, but 6 more inches is a big jump.

Jump rope - "speedy" version - for 2 minutes straight. I have two jump rope speeds - medium and speedy. I can do speedy (275 - 300 jumps/minute) for about 75 seconds now.

Veronica

[Catrin]

I posted here about my big goal for 2103.

Same minor goals - work up to jumping onto the 30 inch step. 24 inches is really pretty easy, but 6 more inches is a big jump.

Jump rope - "speedy" version - for 2 minutes straight. I have two jump rope speeds - medium and speedy. I can do speedy (275 - 300 jumps/minute) for about 75 seconds now.

Veronica

Ooooh, double unders!!!??!! This sounds awesome! I hard you about the box jumping.The 24 inch box still gets me from time to time (and I fall), so far our coach won't let me attempt the 30 inch box. Yet. Your big goal sounds like a lot of fun and am looking forward to hearing about it!

I've a real problem with overhead lifting, so of course, my main lifting goal this year is to do really GOOD overhead squats at a reasonable weight - that would be a good start. I am seeing my PCP Friday to rule out any underlying spinal alignment issues that might be affecting my left arm - it just isn't responding to all of the hard work so I need to get it checked out just in case there is more going on than is meeting the eye. It helps to have an OD as my PCP

[Veronica]

I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough for double unders. I know they look really cool, but I wonder what benefit you get from being able to move the rope that quickly.

Veronica

[Catrin]

I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough for double unders. I know they look really cool, but I wonder what benefit you get from being able to move the rope that quickly.

Veronica

I know I can't do them myself, but I never really jumped rope in my life until recently - we don't do that very often. I just figured if your speed was that high that you were likely doing them Anyway, it is pretty cool your speed jumping is that high!

[Bike Writer]

I just want to have fun.

LOVE THIS! Thanks for the reminder that it should be at the top of every list.

Bike Writer, I love some of your goals - especially the one about riding with a kid under the age of 10!

I haven't been riding long, so mine are modest, but here they are:

• Conquer the clipless pedals
• Train for and ride a Team in Training century
• Get better on hills (I live in Flatsville too)
• Get dh a bike and ride a lot with him!
• Up my average speed to over 20 mph, so I can ride with the faster pace groups (and in some cases, ride with a group period)

I've started to tackle the first, and I think I'm going to plan on the Cross Timbers Classic Bike Rally in May for the second. The fourth will be money dependent, and I'll hopefully make good progress on the third and fifth just training for the century.

luvmyguys, I ride with my nephews, nieces often enough to help mentor them along in the sport and just share the love of outdoors but I started thinking of a couple of friends who don't ride and I know their kids ride bikes but don't get the opportunity to go out on a trail in parks and such so I thought it would be a good idea to spread the love of biking outside of my own family.

It's been an interesting read to see what things others want to work on. Mileage comes up often in this discussion and since we don't have crystal balls to see the future it's hard to predict or set a mileage number with any degree of certainty. Heck, last year with injuries, surgery in the fall prime riding season and with campaigning taking up my whole season I rode about a third of the mileage of the previous two years. This year I was lucky to get in a little over 500 miles, the previous two years it was nearly double then triple of that. None the less, I put a number up there to shoot at, we'll see what life brings.

[azfiddle]

I had goals last year- 5000 miles originally, then upped it to 6000, but finished at 5723. That's still an "A" by percentage.
This year- well, I might not worry about a mileage goal. I need to find more time for music and maybe some other stuff, but I am riding with a women's group now so I do have a commitment to ride regularly with them.

I like nybiker's goal to have fun, and I need to stay active to maintain my weight (which has actually crept up several pounds).

[emily_in_nc]

This year's only real goal is to get back into road riding when we move back to the US. I have no idea how many miles I'll be able to put in, or if I'll do any events, I just want to get back to the road and have fun with it!

[Jo-n-NY]

This year's only real goal is to get back into road riding when we move back to the US. I have no idea how many miles I'll be able to put in, or if I'll do any events, I just want to get back to the road and have fun with it!

Emily expect you will do very well on the roadbike with all the riding you have been doing in Belize on the cruiser along with the running on the beach.

I for one put a lot of miles on the bike in 2012, 4830miles. This year I just want to have fun riding and continue to lead the group rides. My 2013 goal will be to build up to run 5K. Right now I am doing the run/walk mix. After reading all your comments on the Couch to 5k I just downloaded the app.

[MojoGrrl]

Ride 5000 miles this year
Do at least another 200k this spring/summer, and try a 300k
*Maybe* try a double century

[LovelyGirl]

My goals are simple since I'm in that cherished stage of mothering little guys, and I always like to bring them along. Now that I've got my new Riv I can barely wait to see where we'll go together this year, and I've already planned some adventures I can have with my family.
1. Bike to my son's school each week.
2. Drive to my home state instead of fly, so that I can bring our bikes in the van. (1800 miles one way, yikes!)
3. Bike to church on Sundays.
4. Bike to the park with little guys every week.

[Owlie]

Goals for this year:
2000 miles. I surpassed 2012's goal (1000 miles), but didn't make the revised goal (to double 2011's mileage, so 1620-something).
Work on getting my knee better.
Perhaps a century?
New bike?