This year's mileage and resolutions...

[gurp13]

So, it's the last day of the year. I proposed this idea in another thread and got a good response so, here it is...

How many miles did you do this year? For me, I did...

2,420 miles total

1169 were commuting
861 were on the mountain bike
390 were on the road bike

That's about 46 miles a week. It's barely 7 miles a day. (For reference, I bought the mtn bike January 17th, 2006, I started commuting in summer school, July, and I bought my road bike October 20, 2006. That lends perspective, I think.)

Now that I'm done bragging... Last year I made a resolution that I would ride my bike 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time. I kept and exceeded that resolution, most weeks (I got sick for about a month, that didn't help). I have found that it's important for me to choose a goal that is reasonable yet challenging. It would be reasonable for me to say I will ride 3K miles this year. However, that's not a good goal because I am riding my bike 14 miles each work day. Plus, if I ride a few centuries and stuff on my road bike I'll easily get 3 times the amount of road miles I got this year.

So, looking at my projections, I'm going to say that I will ride 3000 miles on my commuter, 1000 on my road bike and 1500 on my mountain bike. So, I will resolve to ride at least 5,000 miles total this year. (Actually, I guess that's more of a prediction than a resolution, but whatever.)

I have noticed that mountain biking requires some upper-body strength. My core is not as strong as I'd like. So, my new resolution is to do upper body conditioning (sit-ups, push-ups, arm reps) three times a week for 30 minutes. It worked for my bike so it should work for my upper-body. I might look into some kind of exercise stuff. I heard about this series of core workouts designed for cyclists but I'm not going to wait for that. I know I can do sit-ups, push-ups and arm reps now. So, I'm going to start there.

The one thing I notice last year about keeping my resolution was to a) make it realistic, b) make it something worthwhile and enjoyable and c) don't give up if I miss my mark. I could have thrown out the whole bike riding thing last year when I got sick. I missed a few days because it was cold as hell, too. But, for me, the key was to just start over. If I only rode twice one week, I just shrugged it off and went to trying to ride three times the next week. That worked for me.

So, how many miles did you ride? What's your resolution for the new year? How many miles will you ride this new year?

Happy New Year, everybody! (STR was a big part of my keeping my resolution because I met so many kewl peeps!)

[Pain Freak]

After todays ride (not sure of exact mileage, but I've done it many times before) so after riding Chantry I've now got 3982. I got close to 5900 last year, but I did 6 double centuries and a lot of single centuries just training for it. After I finished my last double last year I resolved not to do that again as it took way to much time away from mtb'ing and my family. You almost couldn't miss a single weekend without at least 100 miles for one of the weekend days. I didn't try to log miles just for the sense of mileage and this year I came to the realization that this is a lot more fun.I know some guys who hit 10K in a year and if you have the time, more power to you. I'll settle for lower mileage and have more funner.

[gurp13]

Well, I'm not making a resolution to hit 5,000 as much as I'm saying I will continue to commute and ride my mtn and road bikes for fun. I think that if I do what I've been doing then I will hit 5K easily. Probably pass it. The first five months I had my mtn bike I couldn't ride more than 5-8 miles at a time.

[LBmtb]

Good job on the goals and accomplishments, Glenn. I used to have a computer on the bike but have since taken it off. I don't like being distracted by the numbers. I would rather listen to my body and challenge myself with rides. My goals for next year are to finish the counting coupe and keep getting stronger going up and smoother going down.

[dstepper]

After breaking, losing and forgetting to restart computers, I have given up on them. My goal is to spend more hours pedaling than working. I may have come close this year.

Happy New Year

Dean

[RidetheRAAM4]

Originally Posted by gurp13

So, it's the last day of the year. I proposed this idea in another thread and got a good response so, here it is...

How many miles did you do this year? For me, I did...

2,420 miles total

1169 were commuting
861 were on the mountain bike
390 were on the road bike

That's about 46 miles a week. It's barely 7 miles a day. (For reference, I bought the mtn bike January 17th, 2006, I started commuting in summer school, July, and I bought my road bike October 20, 2006. That lends perspective, I think.)

Now that I'm done bragging... Last year I made a resolution that I would ride my bike 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time. I kept and exceeded that resolution, most weeks (I got sick for about a month, that didn't help). I have found that it's important for me to choose a goal that is reasonable yet challenging. It would be reasonable for me to say I will ride 3K miles this year. However, that's not a good goal because I am riding my bike 14 miles each work day. Plus, if I ride a few centuries and stuff on my road bike I'll easily get 3 times the amount of road miles I got this year.

So, looking at my projections, I'm going to say that I will ride 3000 miles on my commuter, 1000 on my road bike and 1500 on my mountain bike. So, I will resolve to ride at least 5,000 miles total this year. (Actually, I guess that's more of a prediction than a resolution, but whatever.)

I have noticed that mountain biking requires some upper-body strength. My core is not as strong as I'd like. So, my new resolution is to do upper body conditioning (sit-ups, push-ups, arm reps) three times a week for 30 minutes. It worked for my bike so it should work for my upper-body. I might look into some kind of exercise stuff. I heard about this series of core workouts designed for cyclists but I'm not going to wait for that. I know I can do sit-ups, push-ups and arm reps now. So, I'm going to start there.

The one thing I notice last year about keeping my resolution was to a) make it realistic, b) make it something worthwhile and enjoyable and c) don't give up if I miss my mark. I could have thrown out the whole bike riding thing last year when I got sick. I missed a few days because it was cold as hell, too. But, for me, the key was to just start over. If I only rode twice one week, I just shrugged it off and went to trying to ride three times the next week. That worked for me.

So, how many miles did you ride? What's your resolution for the new year? How many miles will you ride this new year?

Happy New Year, everybody! (STR was a big part of my keeping my resolution because I met so many kewl peeps!)

great resolution, but do some pull ups too

[Schecky]

Try some stand-up rows for your arms - Helped me quite a bit with hucks and launching over ruts, etc.


My resolution is to ride with my kids and brother more.
Mileage will depend on soccer season, etc.

[Keith B]

Nearly all of my rides were Geoladders rides so I'm pretty accurate on my annual mileage and amount of ascent:

Mountain bike: 1671miles and 241,595ft of ascent !!!

Road bike: 26.4miles 295ft of ascent! LOL!

[mp3]

One-armed inclined pushups are great for the upper body thing. They'll never get fatigued when riding.

A strong core is key to being able to transfer power to the pedals; a belly will absorb some of the power.

Miles: over 7000, but I train based on time not miles. Quality time in the saddle is more important than miles IMO.

2007 miles? I don't know; ask me on 12/31/07

[PacMan]

Here's my stats--courtesy of my GPS and SporTraks software:

Total Rides: 178
Miles Ridden: 1,579.28
Elevation, In Verticle Feet: +78,597 / -96,874

Not bad for a hectic work schedule and 3 kids.

I hope for at least 200 rides, 2,000 miles and 100,000 feet of climbing for 2007.