Goals for 2005?

[jobob]

Thanks for the encouragement, cruziegirl !

A 100+ pound woman...

LOL !! You're my new best friend.

Looking forward to meeting you & your sister at the Top Hat, assuming of course you'd want to be seen in the company of our motley crew.

[SnappyPix]

No way, where abouts are you planning on living in NZ? Are you staying for good, or just till you get sick of us

I'll be in your neck of the woods - North Shore, currently looking at properties to rent around Takapuna Beach.
Would love to hear what the cycling is like around Auckland/North Shore/North Island?!

Oh - and welcome to TE!

[DirtDiva]

Hmmmm...

1) Get fit enough to ride up more hills so that I can ride down them, fast.
2) Don't fall off.
3) Consider investing in better breaks.

Yeah, that's it for now.

[SnappyPix]

Ride to the top of Diablo (better be cookies there)

And the size of a rear penny farthing wheel!
So many people have mentioned Mt Diablo - it seems like everyone's Nemesis! How much of a ride is it?
And Veronica wants to do it twice a month - crazy lady!

[paintgirl]

Got to have a goal. My goal is to commute to work all the way, 4 out of the 5 days. I live 22 miles from work, and last year I would drive to the start of the bike path and commute from there (10 miles) so it was a good 20 miles a day. I have to have a vehicle available at work, tho in the years i have been there haven't needed it. We get a travel allowance, and new manager is being sticky about it. My plan is to drive to work on Monday am with my clothes and cleaning products for the week, and commute all week driving home on Friday. Even talking about riding my bike seems far fetched, snow and cold here for so long. Realistically, mid to end of April before I can start, and will be some pretty chilly mornings in Northern Ontario even then. I am in major bike longing now, looking at new catalogues, reading lots of forums, visiting my bike, talking to it in the garage, trying to stay in shape on trainer, snoshoeing, shovelling snow etc. Hurry spring

[skibum]

Let's see... some of my goals for the year are:

Ride 4000 miles. I can usually do about 100 miles per week April thru Oct. I'm a pretty big wimp other times of the year. Even though it doesn't get that cold in GA, it's too cold for me. I've been trying to get out on nice days on the weekends to do 25-40 miles. Then I get on the trainer a couple of days a week just to stay fit (trainer miles don't count towards my goal though)

Get stronger on the hills. My BF tells me it's just mental, that I am strong, I just approach a hill with the wrong attitude... sort of tense up and think oh no, not another hill instead of relaxing and thinking oh cool, another hill to power up. Gotta work on that.

There's a whole bunch of centuries in easy driving distance around here. I'd like to pick 5-6 to do this year. Also, find a fun one to travel to so I can see another part of the country from the bike.

I took a vacation last year that included bike riding. That was fun! I want one of my vacations this year to be a cycling related trip.

Last, but not least, follow cruziegirl's advice and make sure cycling remains fun. I don't want to become so obsessed with reaching my goals that I forget why I ride in the first place... because there's so much joy in being out on the roads, seeing the sights around you, sometimes enjoying the solitude of a solo ride, sometimes enjoying the company of fellow cyclists.

[Crankin]

Seeing this thread has forced me to actually write down my goals. Well, here in snowy Massachusetts my immediate goal is to be out on the road at least a couple of times before the end of March. After that, I want to ride at least 2500 miles this season. I rode about 1900 last year and i have the summer off, so that's probably do-able. Let's see... learn to change a flat (finally), get better at descending (I'm a wimp), and do at least one or two 75 mile rides. I am going on a six day cycling trip from Prague to Vienna for my 25th anniversary. I want to enjoy this and be able to ride each day without injuries or having to ride in the van! Plus, I want to keep feeling that cycling is fun!!! After a couple of years of working on speed, hills, etc., I feel that I am OK, but I don't want to get to the point that this becomes a job. Plus, I need to find someone to ride with during the day, this summer. My riding partner has a new job and won't be able to ride all the time this year.

[Surlygirl]

Hey Robyn where do you live? There are a bunch of us from Mass. and check the Northeast posts. There was a movement to all meet at some point. Another 6-12 inches of snow tonight. Its hard to set goals when the white stuff never goes away. My goal is 1000 this year, depending on weather, kids, and everything else.

[SadieKate]

And the size of a rear penny farthing wheel!
So many people have mentioned Mt Diablo - it seems like everyone's Nemesis! How much of a ride is it?
And Veronica wants to do it twice a month - crazy lady!

Weellll, I'm doing this from memory. V can correct me. We started a mile or so outside the north entrance at about 200 ft elevation. The summit is over 3,800 ft and the climb is fairly unremitting. Our route was about a 24 mile round trip. You can read this person's ride report for a pretty good description. Just look for the references to riding the North Gate road to the junction (ranger station) and then on up to the summit. There are some terrific pictures on this site. I think Mt. Diablo and Mt Hamilton (see Jo's reports) are the two biggest road climbs in the Bay Area of northern California. Both V and Jo have posted some beautiful pictures.

Ride Report from Someone

Here's the link to the state park. There is a brochure with a good map. You ever come out this way I suspect you'll have some volunteers to take you up it. Just don't do it during our miserably hot summers.
Mt Diablo State Park

[yellow]

OK, so maybe I'll need to revise my lofty goals. Seems I wasn't quite thinking clearly. Detail:

A. I have all kinds of other things that I want to do, such as backpacking, etc. I need to fit that in as well and I have a limited amount of vacation time available.

B. Will the spouse support this century-a-month habit? Possibly for a couple of months. Especially problematic if we run in to the dog babysitting issue ("who will stay with the dog?? Who gets to ride??").

So, my revised goals are:

1. Ride as much as possible but still maintain balance in other areas of life (for example, if I don't have clean underwear but I really want to ride, I should stay home and do laundry and maybe do a longer ride next time).

2. Remember that Brian loves to ride as much as I do and sometimes we won't be able to ride together (see "dog babysitting issue" under B above), which means that sometimes he'll be the lucky rider and I'll be the lucky ball thrower and dog snuggler.

3. If I'm tired, I will rest.

I think item 3 may be the hardest!!!

y

[pedalfaster]

3. If I'm tired, I will rest.

I think item 3 may be the hardest!!!

So true!

I didn't mean to make light of the subject when I stated my goal to pet a dog on a certain route. I really don't have any *serious* cycling goals this year.

What you said about balance hit home with me. I've been very fortunate in that I've been able to accomplish many of my athletic goals in the past....and I have to say other areas of my life (hellllo careeeeer) have suffered.

So, this year my goals are all pretty much NBR (not bike related).

I'm taking the Zen approach: I ride my bike to ride my bike.

[Crankin]

Hey Robyn where do you live? There are a bunch of us from Mass. and check the Northeast posts. There was a movement to all meet at some point. Another 6-12 inches of snow tonight. Its hard to set goals when the white stuff never goes away. My goal is 1000 this year, depending on weather, kids, and everything else.

I live in Boxborough, near Acton/Harvard. Yea, more snow, but it's the last chance to cross country ski. I am going to Vermont tomorrow.

[snapdragen]

B. Will the spouse support this century-a-month habit? Possibly for a couple of months. Especially problematic if we run in to the dog babysitting issue ("who will stay with the dog?? Who gets to ride??").

You could get a trailer and bring the dog with you......

Signed,

The Dog

[Veronica]

So many people have mentioned Mt Diablo - it seems like everyone's Nemesis! How much of a ride is it?
And Veronica wants to do it twice a month - crazy lady!

This is my HRM data from my last ride. You can see it's essentially straight up for 10 miles. The flat parts on the graph are places we stopped. I forget what the average grade is. I think it's 5% on the lower half, with at least one section that kicks up to 9%. The upper half is a 7% average I think, with the last one tenth of a mile 17%. It's a pretty ride. When you've finished it, you feel like you've really accomplished something.

I'm hoping this will be the year I talk myself into doing it twice in one day.

V.

[SadieKate]

V, it looks like there are 3 lines on this graph. Can you give us a legend? I was reading the brown line as the elevation gain/loss. Wrong?