Goals for 2005?

[Veronica]

Brown is elevation, blue is heart rate, pink is speed.


Here's a picture from Sunday. It was some wild weather up there.

V.

[jobob]

hey waitaminute! You said you averaged under the speed limit on the descent the last time down. Isn't the speed limit 15 mph????

( all together everyone: busss-ted!!! )

- jo "mother hen" bob

[SnappyPix]

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.

And you only teetered around your max heart rate for the majority of the ride, shame on you! That's amazing, one stonker of a hill - well done to everyone!
Surprised you didn't do it Lance style, and hop back up and down for good measure?!!

I really enjoyed reading the reports and looking at the photos - you ladies put me to shame and make me want to whip out my lycra and head for those hills!
I've very jealous that you've been able to meet via the forum and go ride together - must be great fun!
It's fun for all of us to read about your exploits, thanks for keeping us involved!

[LBTC]

this is a cool thread. Very inspiring to read all of your goals....and even the non-goals are goals! yay, zen!

my goals all have to do with mountain biking and fitness in general:

1. find a winter sport that I love
check. kickboxing 3 nights a week does it. bum is even a bit smaller and higher already! and I've even made new friends!

2. compete in three races.
Merritt (mid May) is fun fun fun, but I'll be doing the two lap course, so it will be harder than last year was. I should be able to win my category, though...it's a very small race

Test of Metal (mid June) scares the bejeezuz out of me. I'm on the wait list, but likely to get into the race. My friend and riding partner did it in 6 hours last year. I hope to do sub 5.

Barking Spider year end race (late September) too much fun race with all the ride regulars. with any luck there will be another girl racing this year so I don't have to be first AND last.

3. develop a ladies racing team....with the goal of a ladies 24 hour team at Whistler in 2006. My husband is on a champion team from last year that will compete again this year. He and his bike shop buddy from Barking Spider are talking about doing the team captaining, organizing and bike mechanic-ing for the all-girl's team next year. I want us to be strong contenders which ought to put us on or near the podium. the more we ride and train, the stronger we'll be, the better we'll do and still have fun. yahoo! I've got my girls together, we just need to get our 3 rides a week organized.

4. keep kickboxing during biking season. one night a week. woah

5. ride with the guys without it being a big deal. I accomplished this last year and hope they haven't out-improved me this year!!

6. to accomplish all of that, ride way more road rides! at least one a week early in the season - and way more hill climbing on the road

The tough part is balancing this against my other passion....photography. Since I love taking pics of flowers and bugs and birds and critters, I take tons of pictures in the summer, so I usually miss out on commuting rides as I opt to walk in order to take pictures. It's handy that there are 2 border collies to walk daily. They don't seem to mind much when I stop and take pictures along the way, thankfully! And then there's all that darned adult stuff....paying bills, doing laundry, food preparation, and we've got to completely redo our back yard to prevent flooding again during the next super fast crazy thaw! Can you say many many dollars and lots of time? Oh, right and add to that support for the men's 24 hour team, support for the sister-in-law at one marathon, and creating photo cards to sell at a local shop. hmmmmmmmmmmm Could I opt for independent wealth so I don't have to work full time? If I didn't give up that 45 hours of work and commuting a week, I could get WAY more riding in!!

Here's to us all achieving the goals we really need to!! Have fun, everybody. Enjoy the journey!

Namaste,
~T~

[DirtDiva]

I think what is in order is a few more hours in the day (that can only be used for fun stuff and sleeping)! Would make my life a lot simpler at the moment, that's for sure! Am insanely busy. I leave for the UK in 17 days and between now and then I have to fit in 6 more days at work, getting two wisdom teeth out, selling my car, sorting out some financial bits and pieces, not to mention seven rehearsals and a concert (St. Matthew Passion, if anyone was interested)! I get the feeling the fun stuff and the sleeping are really going to suffer over the next couple of weeks....

Hmm, I need to add a more imediate goal:

Just get out and ride! I mean, I won't even have a bike once I get to the UK...

[nuthatch]

I leave for the UK in 17 days

Now wait a minute, tlkiwi, you are moving to the UK and snappypix is moving to NZ? Are you guys trading houses? Maybe snappy would leave a bike behind for you! BTW, are you a vocalist or do you play an instrument?

LBTC, you are speaking for most, if not all, of us! All those nagging chores really get in the way of the important things in life. My other outdoor pursuit is the garden and it's going to start calling me just when the weather gets right for taking my bike outside! Of course, hungry children, whining dogs, dirty floors are all waiting like a Greek chorus in the background! The ladies racing team sounds very exciting - good luck!

[mtnbikenmama]

It's hard to not get too ambisious and not keep it simple. But I'll try.

#1 Finish loosing the weight. This requires finding what works for me. I loose weight really easily on a high protein diet, but I bonk almost every ride . And long consistant rides & hitting the gym 3xw.

#2 I'd like to do my 1st race. Hopefully at WOW in Big Bear if they have the event this year.

#3 Get my kids out on the trails 3xw. The boys live to mtb. We have a nice beginner trail close and I have been taking them when the weather co-operates.

#4 KEEP IT FUN

Good luck everybody!
donna

[DirtDiva]

Now wait a minute, tlkiwi, you are moving to the UK and snappypix is moving to NZ? Are you guys trading houses? Maybe snappy would leave a bike behind for you! BTW, are you a vocalist or do you play an instrument?

Heh - I'm living with Mum and Dad again at the moment to make the saving for travel easier, and I bet her bikes are better than my solitary entry-level machine. Would hardly be a fair trade.

I'm a member of a chamber choir made up of mostly 18-30 year olds. I used to play the oboe, but I haven't for four or five years now. Sometimes I miss it, but I'd got to that point where you have to commit to doing a lot of practice and becoming genuinely good, so, although I continued for a couple more years just for fun, I eventually gave it away. I played the piano when I was a kid, but I gave it up when I got to high school. I was never that great, most likely because I hardly ever practiced. Oh, and I taught myself to play the recorder when I was about seven (my brother had a book).

And now to get vaguely back on topic, I did go out for a ride today, and I reckon I can get another in on Tuesday evening. That, however, will be it (aside from the getting from A to B type rides) for the forseeable future.

[SnappyPix]

My baby's going with me, I'm afraid - already fretting about it arriving safe and sound! Might have to ship it soon though, so parting's gonna be such sweet sorrow!

[Susan126]

This winter (October through present) has not been a good one for me. Unbelievable that it will be March this week! So time to get off my duff and start riding! Road . . . Mountain! 2005 here I come!

[LBTC]

Go, Susan, go!! 2005 is the woman's year of cycling. or so I have dubbed thee. heehee

Namaste,
~T~

[jobob]

My first big goal for this year is to start commuting to & from work, a couple of days a week for starters. It's 15 miles each way, eminently do-able. I've run out of excuses so I promised myself I would start next Tuesday, March 1st. Have to admit I'm kind of nervous about the concept of competing with harried distracted commuters for road space. Wish me luck!

I did it!!

I set out from home around 6:45 and made it into work at 7:50, a very good pace for me, it's a bit over 15 miles. The early part of the ride just before the Dumbarton bridge was into a bit of a headwind and I felt like cr*p, I've discovered it takes me about 5-10 miles to warm up and get into my stride, and I think I sapped a lot of my energy early on simply from the anxiety & excitement of finally doing the commute. So, heading towards the bridge on the bumpy access road I felt like I was crawling and I was seriously questioning my sanity for doing this. Then, once I got over the bridge and onto the smoothly-paved bike route on the other side, a conveniently located wait at a stoplight (which gave me a chance to relax and recharge) and an even more conveniently located direction change which got me out of the brunt of the wind, my energy came back, my speed nearly doubled and I felt like I was flying along the bay. The last couple of miles through an industrial area really wasn't bad at all, that was a part I was dreading. All through a hectic day at work I had this little self-satisfied smile on my face ...

It was a mad dash for me to head out for home before 5, I wasn't too keen on riding too much past sunset (although I do have lights), and heavy rain was predicted for the evening and it was already looking mighty threatening out. Lee had offered to come pick me up but I wanted to see if I could go the distance. So off I went, smack into the the gusty wind, but once again that same conveniently located direction change (this time just before the bridge) was my best friend, and I rode over the bridge and most of the way home with the wind at my back, yee-hah. I got home a bit before 6, just as it was getting dark, and the rain came down in buckets about 20 minutes later (whew).

I had almost bailed out on this because for one reason or another I'll need to drive into work for the remainder of the week, and I'm away on a business trip for most of next week, so I was wondering what was the point of starting this now if I can't resume for at least another week? ... but I promised myself I'd start on March 1, so dagnabit, I did.

It'll be a lot easier for me as the days get longer, I'll have less of the mad dash at the end of the day, that was the only really difficult part.

Just thought I'd share my little personal victory

- Jo.

[Veronica]

Yay! Good job Jo. Sometimes I envy those of you with real bike commutes and a place to shower. Although when it's pouring I'm mighty glad my ride is short.

So when are you doing it again?

V.

[Susan126]

Go, Susan, go!! 2005 is the woman's year of cycling. or so I have dubbed thee. heehee

Namaste,
~T~

Thank you! My body is protesting a bit too much but I am sticking with it. I am off to a good start too. My husband and I rode last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday and Sunday mountain biking and Saturday a nice road ride! Oh it feels so wonderful being back on my bikes again after a long long long winter without them! Ain't spring grand?!!!

[cruziegirl]

[QUOTE=jobob]I did it!!

Good on you, Jo! Sounds like you've made a great start to commuting...the hardest part is the first ride. And that little self-satisfied smile we get to wear all day long helps a lot