2013 Cycling Goals

[raffy]

my goal is to weigh 10 ounces.

By then we can divide you in ounce bags and smoke some Jacob goodness

Edited December 29, 2012 by raffy

[c12mech]

Funny that I just saw this thread.  My wife and I had a long talk on New years days about our goals for the year.  We are both very overweight and have committed to working on that as a priority.  I want to be less than 300lbs by the end of the year which means i have to lose at least 70lbs over the year.  It's doable as I've done it before.  I'm waiting for my bike now and would like to get in at least 1500 miles for the year.  I can ride almost every day of the year here so it should not be hard.  Also as the weight comes off it should make the riding easier.  I also set some professional goals to get a couple of more IT certs.  It is going to be a busy year.

[mrarroyo]

Ok, here it goes … I plan on starting to cycle after a 16 year absence. To do so I am starting by re-habilitating a Circa 1989 GT Karakoram for which I have ordered a bunch of parts from Performance Bike. Besides enjoying cycling a lot I hope it helps me get of this weight plateau I am in, have been stuck at about 235 lbs (down from 298) for a while and walking 22 - 25 miles a week while dieting is not doing it. So my goal beside starting to cycle again is to do 1,500 - 2,000 miles in 2013, a far cry of the 5,000 miles I used to ride while living in Chattanooga but a lot of fun should be had.

[boomana]

Sounds great, Miguel!  

[MexicanDragon]

Long post accidentally deleted. I get to start over.

 

2013 Goals

Weight: I'm way too big, and I'm wanting to drop about 40-50 pounds by the end of 2013.  Should I do more? Yes. But I think this is actually doable.  If I shot for 100 (which would be great), I don't think I could commit to what it would take.  40-50? I think I can do it.

 

Miles: I'm going to be slow, and I don't have a computer/good phone app yet, but I want to try to do 750-1000 this year. I figure 1.5-2 hours/wk at my probable old-man pace (not Mike old-man, but normal old-man) will be enough to get in that number, if it's on the road.  I'll do some mtn biking too, which I love, but it beats me up a good bit, and I'm hoping road miles are gonna be easier.

 

Group rides: I've got to get out and meet people to ride with, or I just won't do it enough. I used to know some people from the local bike club, and I was at my LBS today and they have a Sunday group ride, fast and slow groups. I need to get on that.  I also want to do either a charity ride, or something like that, by the end of the year. There was one that looked good that happened last year, later in the year, so I'll be on the lookout for that.

 

HC Bike Meet: It needs to happen, and I wanna do it.  Hopefully I'll be in decent enough shape that I won't hold everyone up like last time.

 

I hurt my back a couple years ago, and had surgery about 18 months ago.  I still have a ton of nerve damage and my right ankle is still really weak. Not that I was ever a runner, but I can't run more than 15-20 seconds at a slow pace before I have to stop. Cycling is something I've been really into in the past, and I'm really looking forward to giving road riding another shot, for both health reasons and to build up strength/endurance for mtn biking, which I've been into since 98, on and off.

The kids are at their grandmother's this week for spring break, so I'll have a bit more time to kick things off for the year. It's shit weather + supposed to be snowing, but I'll get out at least a little while this week. I'm looking forward to this.

**BRENT**

[boomana]

Nice, Brent!

 

With your bad back, please get one of your lbs buddies to give you a couple good fits.  I know mine fit changed as I lost weight, got more flexible, got a stronger core, etc.  

[n_maher]

I forgot about this thread.   I'm off to a decent start with 100+ miles logged in March, a month that I essentially wrote off to bad weather.  I'm hoping to get one more decent ~20mi ride in this coming weekend to cap things off.  Turns out that with a little layering riding in the 30's isn't much different than skiing and at this point it's worth it just to be back out on the bike.  Here's to April being a 200+mi month.

[Dreadhead]

Good luck with the goals Brent! They all look totally achievable but one thing I would add is "Have Fun!" because every time I "fall off the bike" (i.e. stop riding as much) it's because it's causing me more stress to try and meet whatever goal is on the horizon than it's worth to me.

[MexicanDragon]

Fun will be had. I already have a buddy with a flat bar bike who is wanting someone to ride with. Maybe I'll find a good route to eventually ride out to meet him.

Hoping to get get Zoë riding too. She's been kinda scared, but hoping this is the year.

**BRENT**

[boomana]

So, I just took a look at my goals, and they still don't seem unreasonable, except maybe the hills, depending on my ankle, though I'm already three months behind on the riding goal.  I think I'm going to stick to goals for the month.  Since tomorrow starts a new month, here's April.

 

1.  80 miles average a week.  I've been getting in anywhere from 20-60 during the week on the trainer, so that goal seems realistic, even if I have a bad week.

 

2.  Get to 135.  That's five pounds from where I'm at now, so hopefully doable.

 

That's it for now.  If I can get that mileage in at whatever speed I can handle, I'm going to start intervals in May.

[n_maher]

Please take it easy Boo, I just want you to have fun this year without any major setbacks.

[boomana]

Thanks, Nate.  If I need to, I'll pull back or take a break.  I've been working on the computrainer 2-3 days a week for a couple months now, and doing short 10-20-mile rides, so upping that slightly doesn't seem like too much of a stretch.  I'm signing up for a metric century charity ride on May 11th, so.......

[VPI]

I would put number one on my list to attend a HC Cycling meet, MTB or Road. California MTB Ride, Virginia HC Ride in August, hopefully December ride in Florida.

With my schedule I would like to get 1200 miles between MTB and Road. 746 Miles so far

I would like to ride some distance in the Tour de Cure in June Probably 25 -50 miles. 62 Miles ridden in the TdC

I would also try to ride to the train station a couple of times a week. Fail

Time for a mid year update.

[n_maher]

 Great idea on the update, Jeff.  Here's where I'm at.

 

Agreed, great thread and a good place for us to keep each other motivated and on track.  For me:

 

1. 2,000 road miles.  This is going to be tough since I'm not going to count anything ridden on the trainer this winter, just actually ass-on-pavement miles.  I have, in a good year, 7 months of productive riding (April - October). 1,000 so far.  Given that May was a washout (60 miles total) it seems highly unlikely that I'll reach 2k.  I'd be pretty happy with 1500.

 

2. 12-18 good MTB rides.  I'm hoping to get 1 a week in but that's unrealistic if I'm going to meet goal #1 and not end up divorced.  3 so far, more will come in the fall.

 

3. End this season a little faster over longer distances than I did this year.  The record this year was essentially 20mph for 20miles.  I don't have a target figure in mind.  I'm on target here based on a few recent rides.

 

4. I want to participate in at least one full century, would like to find a metric century for earlier in the season and maybe ride one day of the Trek Across Maine with a coworker.  I'd love to do the whole ride but I don't think I'll have the time to commit to something like that this year.  The 3-Notch ride will meet the century requirement and I've done multiple 50+ mile rides but no Metrics yet.  I may try to hit one this weekend or next, depending on family stuff. 

 

5. Get 5+ pounds under 200.  I cracked the 200lb barrier briefly last year, I'd like to do better this time around.  I've had a really hard time finding time and energy to work out lately (been sick off and on since early November and so has most of the family) but I seem to be turning the corner on that front and will hopefully be able to get back on the trainer shortly to not lose every bit of strength/endurance I gained last year.  I'm just under 200 right now and hope to shave a pound or two a month for the remainder of the season.  I probably need to look at diet at this point which gives me sadface.

[tyrion]

I have so missed my goals it is embarrassing.

[Dreadhead]

Not sure what if anything I said but I hope to ride as much as possible and get below 190 and that's about it. If I can fit in a crazy gran Gran Fondo like the Jeremiah Bishop Gran Fondo that would be cool but not essential. Edit: Well JBGF is out because I will be out of town. This looks suitably crazy: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1363618

Edited July 24, 2013 by Dreadhead

[raffy]

1. Get below 140 from 157. - No much progress, I'm around 155-157 but I've built more muscle since the start of the year.

2. Log 3,000 miles - 1,483 miles so far this year. It's gonna be close.

3.Spend time on trainer when the weather is shitty or if lack of daylight prevents me from riding. - Didn't happen as much as I wanted to this past winter.

4. Average 20+ on solo rides for at least 20 miles. - Still working on it but getting closer and closer.

5. Do a least 1 full century - Probably not gonna happen this year, see number 9.

6. Find more hills to ride.....I've learned to like hills but never really dedicated the effort to look for hilly rides. - Need more hill time but I've really learned to like hills and I'm starting to develop better techniques in tackling hills.

7. Take longer and harder pulls - I can easily do this, if only my HC riding partners don't constantly break my balls for going .3 mph over or under their desired pace. Also, if I'm pulling too hard or unevenly, use this wonderful gift called a voice and speak up - I'm not a fricking mindreader nor do I have eyes on the back of my head! I've never had issues with my local shop rides/Tour de Cure training rides, OTOH.

8. Join the local shop ride - Done but gotta do more.

9. Hydrate better and take more electrolytes to prevent rampant cramping - Hah, I have a better chance of banging a Victoria's Secret model than eliminating cramps!

 

[VPI]

Raffy, I have been trying a combination of Sportslegs and Osmo pre-ride Hydration to eliminate cramps.  I found the first time I did this my legs never even burned on the climbs for the ride Chris and I did last weekend. No cramping at all.

Edited July 25, 2013 by VPI

[raffy]

Jeff, I have some Sportslegs but I don't use them as much as I really should. I'm very tolerant to leg burning but once I cramp up, I'm willing to club a baby seal just to get it to stop. I also just got Osmo hydration packets but not the Pre-ride version. Where did you get that one? I didn't see it available on Competitive Cyclist.

 

Did you cramp a lot prior to this combination? I've had 2 rides where I've had to lay down at the side of the street as if someone shot me in the leg. Embarrassing but true.

[VPI]

I cramped a whole lot before whenever climbing was 500 or more feet elevation gain really.  I could limit that a bit by downing a lot of Vitamin D before a ride.  I was told I am low on Vitamin D naturally and that leads to cramping.  The Sportslegs really seemed to keep the acid build up from affecting me and I felt great at the end of the ride, which is not all that normal for me.  I got my Osmo stuff at the shop.  It is this stuff http://www.probikesupply.com/osmo-nutrition-preload-hydration-servings-20-eight-ounce-servings/?gclid=CKuF34LHy7gCFUOd4Aod4CcA_Q#

Edited July 25, 2013 by VPI

[Nebby]

The preload mix is essentially a salt preload so you could try adding salt to your favorite sports drink to match the salt content instead as a cheap way to see if that'll help.
 

[boomana]

I'd forgotten about this thread.  Thanks for the reminder, Jeff. 

 

I'm starting a new thread so it doesn't get lost in the main one.  If others think this should be more appropriately placed in the off-topic forum, I'll move it, but I was just thinking to keep the two threads somewhat together.

 

Anyway, I like goals.  Without them, I do nothing but talk about doing things.  I'm going to keep mine simple and, barring more injuries, do-able.

 

1.  4000 miles.  That's about 83 mile a week.  Highly do-able.

 

No idea where I'm at with this since I killed one Garmin, and I have no idea how many miles I had on it when it got run over.   I have 698 miles on this one.  For the past few months, I've been doing anything from 40 to 160 miles with 100-ish being about normal.

 

EDIT:  So, I've had the new Garmin for 10 weeks, so about 70 miles a week.   Definitely time to up the miles.   I know I took a couple weeks off, but I'd really thought I was doing a bit more than that.  Numbers don't lie.

 

2. I want to increase my speed to be able to hang with a paceline for more than 10 miles at 20+ mph.

 

I've actually done this a few times now.  Had forgotten I'd written that as a goal.  I still can't do that on my own, so maybe that's a goal by the end of the year.  

 

3.  I want to learn how to ride hills. I still can't stand and pedal, and descending, however much I like it, scares me.

 

Hasn't happened.  I, in truth, haven't even been doing bridge repeats, which I really need to start doing.  Ugh.

 

4.  I want to complete the Smart Ride I trained for this year and missed.

 

 I'm signed up.   It's in three months.  I haven't been doing the long rides I need to handle Miami to Key West.  Time to start upping the mileage. 

[aerius]

Since everyone else is giving updates, here's how it's going for me:

 

1) Commit on corners better, I need to trust the tires more and just lean the bike way the fuck over.  I couldn't do this consistently this year and lost too much speed from being a wuss.

 

Definitely succeeded here, but I kinda cheated a bit.  I bought bigger more aggressive tires for my bike, the new tires stick to the ground at pretty absurd speeds & lean angles so I now have complete confidence to just commit and rip the corners hard & fast.

 

2) Take a trip to Quebec and spend  a week riding the world cup DH course and other trails at Mont Sainte Anne.

 

Doesn't look like it's happening, damnit.

 

3) Get more airtime on jumps & drops.  Do bigger jumps and drops.

 

Making progress.  I'm definitely more comfortable getting airtime but I haven't really stepped it up yet.  I'm far more consistent in getting a good launch & landing off jumps & drops but I'm not going all that much bigger.  I need to spend more time sessioning jumps at the bike parks.

 

And a new goal: Don't put myself in the hospital.  I've had way too many close calls this year from riding over my limits.