2014: Goals, etc.

Herein lies the tale of my cycling life for 2014. Let me preface this with a disclaimer, "Yes, I know this is self-serving, narcissistic, ego-boosting drivel, but I had a fantastic (for me) year on the bike (and nobody's forcing you to read this)." Is anybody still reading? You are? Really? Okay then, I'll continue... As I set out to write this the year is but 2/3 over, but many goals and challenges have already been met, so I want to save these memories while they're still fresh in this old mind.

As do many cyclists, I annually set some goals, generally based on past years' performances, hoping to maintain or even improve on those. These improvements can become increasingly difficult as the bar is raised year after year, until I find my peak potential (or due to advancing age, performance begins to wane). In addition to my goals, I have a list of what you could call achievements, or performances of which I am particularly proud. These can be similar to goals, but without the hopeful January First predictions. I'll start with my goals.

2014 Goals

On January First I had made five goals for this year:

1) Ride my age in miles on or about my birthday. This was an annual goal that has proved impossible year after year, due to my advancing age, and the uncertain weather of mid-January. 2&3) These paired TT (Time Trial, a bicycle race against the clock) goals were within my grasp this year I'd hoped, the first being to race the local time trial in under 30 minutes, and then doing the same at the Decatur TT, where they award you a visor for the feat.

4) This goal seemed simple enough, although I'd never accomplished it before: riding a century on my fixed gear.

5) Double century. That's 200 miles in one day. That's a big one, one I've often considered, but to date have never even attempted...

...and here are the results of my chasing these targets:

1) This year one of my goals (a goal I'd made every year and not yet met) was to ride my age in miles on or near my birthday. For the first time ever: Mission Accomplished! See details HERE.

2) Sub-30, aka racing the local Time Trial 20k (12.43 miles) in less than 30 minutes. Sub-30 is what the big guys (and gals) ride. It's not easy, and only about 10-12 people each year achieve it. I'm happy to say I finally joined that elite group! See details HERE.

3) The coveted visor. Essentially the same honor as the sub-30 at our TT, but in Decatur you're given a nifty visor with a "20\30" embroidered on it. Their race course is flatter than ours, and in theory should be faster, so once I broke the 30 minute barrier on my turf, I should be able to do this. Life however, had different plans apparently. Late in the season I felt I was up to the challenge, so on a Wednesday evening I loaded the race bike up and drove south. The sky was threatening rain, but I periodically checked the radar and it looked like it would pass quickly so I continued on my way. (Yes, I was checking the radar while driving...do as I say, not as I do!) I received a text as I was two miles away saying the TT was cancelled. What? I was close so I went anyway. It was drizzling lightly, but the sun was shining, and six other riders were there. The race was officially off, but the rain soon stopped, so four others and I decided to do an unofficial TT. Without competition to drive me I knew I wouldn't have my best race, but I'd driven an hour and I was not about to just turn around and go home. I timed myself at 30:50, definitely not what I was aiming for, but I suppose acceptable. The quest for a visor would have to wait til next year.

4) Fixed century. In the past I'd logged over 90 miles on my fixed gear on several occasions, but never got to that third digit to signify a century without shifting or coasting. Why not? So, on August 3 I set out with Ironman-in-training Julie Sibley for a long ride, one thing led to another, and by the day's end I had done it. 100.11 miles. Oh, and since I'd now done one, why stop there? Three weeks later, same bike, 102.44 miles. Never in previous years had I done a fixed century, and now I'd done two.

5) Double century. Hmmmm, never even made an attempt. I'll have to shelve this until another time.

2014 Achievements

Overall I'd have to say it was a good year on the bike. Between my heavy work schedule and some personal issues, it could have been easy for me to make excuses, but somehow I managed.

I'll start with my triathlons: Early in the year I took a relay team down to Sullivan for an early season test of fitness. Results: I posted the third fastest bike split behind teammate Tom Keller, and our team finished second. Next up was Tri-Shark, our local triathlon. I had a good race, helping the team to another second place, while battling it out on the bike with local fast guy Doug Rosen. See more HERE. Then, in July, a couple of teams went south to compete in the Rodney T Miller triathlon. While our team did well, there was some very tough competition and we finished third, while our other team finished first in its category. More about that HERE. My last race of the year was at Oak Run, a nice venue for a triathlon. I brought a talented team, and we crushed the relay competition. Once again I logged the second fastest bike leg of the day. I have to say, I'm quite pleased with my triathlon results for the year.

On a related note, at our local Time Trial series I set a personal lifetime best, joining the coveted Sub-30 club. (See link above.) But, not only did I join the fast guys' club, I also beat two fellow racers whom I'd been trailing for many years. Curt White and I had been dueling it out at the 20k for the last three or more years, with him beating me every time, but finally in a head to head battle, I topped him. At the longer 40k distance flyin' Brian Nelsen had handily been beating me for years, but late this season, I had a great ride at the longer race and defeated him by nearly 30 seconds.

I never make a goal of total miles ridden for the year, because one can never predict what a given year will bring as far as weather, injuries, and numerous other factors that can affect that target. Having said that, I generally finish a year's riding with somewhere between 4 and 5,000 miles. This year I managed to finish the year with just over 5800 miles (see more below). Along my way of hitting that number I hit a few personal records. In the months of April through August I logged more miles for each of those months than I ever had previously, averaging about 800 miles per month. This means that for those five months I totalled 4000 miles, while for the remaining seven months I rode only about 1800.

Century(s): in the cycling community a century is something of a rite of passage, a symbol of being a serious cyclist, a level of endurance. 100 miles in one day. In the past I would generally do one of these per year, not for any particular reason, just to do it. This year I targeted Miles of Smiles, a local fundraiser for St Jude Children's hospital, for my long ride. Had a great ride with some great friends who were doing their first ever century. The following weekend I had some extra free time and thought to myself why not do another, so I did. That made two centuries on two consecutive weekends. A week later I had some free hours on the weekend, and you guessed it, another century. I was starting to see a pattern (or maybe an obsession). A young friend of mine had expressed interest in riding a century and asked my advice on which area ride she ought to do. My reply: "There's always a hundred miles of road out there, just go out and ride them." (Credit for that quote goes out to friend Paula, thanks.) A few weekends later, Melissa and I embarked on our hundred mile adventure. So, long story short, in eight weeks time I rode to the triple digit mark seven times. I feel it's worth noting that these were ridden on four different bicycles. Yes, I own multiple bikes, and yes, I ride them all. Also noteworthy, this streak was done in the midst of a heavy work schedule, with me working 11 hour days through the week, and additionally working two of every three Saturdays!

Goals and obsessions:

In early November as I logged a ride, I realized that I was close to beating my previous best total miles in a year (5317). Can I surpass that? Piece of cake I thought, not realizing the chain of never-ending goals this would trigger for me. By mid-month I had topped that mark, and feeling pleased with this achievement, thought my year a success. But wait, what if…

It seemed oddly appropriate that this year in which I began my cycling journey by riding my age in miles on (or near) my birthday, that I could finish my year with 100 miles for every year of age. Not really a goal I had set, but with 49 days left in the year, and lacking less than 200 miles, I just may shoot for 5500...

It's now Thanksgiving morn, and I'm 111.30 miles shy of the big 5500. Not riding today, but with 34 days remaining in the year, and only needing three decent days of riding the target is well within my sights. I'll update this as I continue...

Now in the first week of December and I've cut the needed mileage down to less than 30 miles. The current forecast is calling for temps near 40, so as long as the roads stay dry, this should be easy...

24 days remaining in the year, and I start the day lacking just under 30 miles (29.94 to be precise) for the 5500. I saddle up the fixed gear and go out for a couple hours with Brad. 34 miles by ride's end, so now I can just ride because I want to, not because I'm chasing some target...or am I?

I have 5500, why not add a few and end the year at 5555.55? Possible, but hard to hit exactly. Oh, and as long as I'm talking exact, why not end the year with exactly 100 miles for each year I am old? Let's see, 365 days in a year, my birthday is the 14th day of the year, means that at year's end I will be 55.9616 years old. I'll need 5596.16 miles for this goal...

There are now 16 days remaining in 2014 and I find myself within 30 miles of that final goal. (Side note: I hit the magic 5555.55 mile mark right outside the Killian Kickapoo Cabin, and stopped in for a celebratory beer.) Of the 16 days left I have to work 7, and there is a holiday there also, so 8 opportunities for me to finish my year on a high note, weather permitting... I suppose I'll keep shooting at those targets....

Dec. 20, and I just finished a nice, chilly ride (30 degrees), and completely overshot that last goal by some 30 miles. No more realistic targets to aim for, or is there perhaps another? My first ride of the year was 58 miles, if I manage to get 100 miles for every mile on that first ride...hmmmm. 170 miles away, and if the weather cooperates 7 possible days of riding. Sheesh, these goals are becoming something of an obsession...

It’s now Dec 28 and my year-to-date mileage sits at 5749. The light is clearly visible at the end of this particular tunnel, but while dry, the weather has gotten cooler. The highest temperature predicted through New Year’s is about 35. I may freeze a bit, but I now feel I can finish the year satisfied I met these final few goals. I’ll get back to you on this soon…Sooner than I’d thought. At the day’s start I was 51 miles short of my final (I promise) goal, by 2:30pm I was three miles beyond that target. Now I can relax, now I ride because I want, not because of some addled obsession.

5317, 5500, 5555.55, and 5800. All just numbers, yet they pushed me to log some 620 miles in the final two months of 2014. I’m traditionally not a cold weather rider, but this year, in the throes of an obsession, I kept riding as the temps plummeted, the wind howled, and the rain fell. (If you know me at all, you know I rarely will ride in rain, yet my next to last ride was fully wet and windy.)

What goals and achievements are in store for me in 2015? Who knows, but there are at least a couple unmet goals from this year! Stay tuned for further developments.