Your 2010 Cycling New-Year's Resolution?

to get as fit as humanly possible while still having fun.

Of course, striking the balance between getting really fit and having fun is the trick. I think it’s a make-or-break year for racing for me. If I can get in good enough shape soon enough to catch the spring road season, I might stick with it. If not, then I may turn more toward distance goals, which are later and don’t require the same techniques. The sole limiting factor, of course, is time — namely, time spent away from family. I should be fit for Belgium, but after that I’ll be deep in the time-away deficit, so staying fit after April is to be determined.

Another possibility is where I get fit enough but just don’t enjoy racing anyway. Too many of the races are hours away, which kind of kills the experience. In that scenario I could do like last year and race close to Seattle — handful of events — and throw in a long ride. If we don’t do the RAMROD I could substitute RSVP instead: Seattle to Vancouver. I could sell that to the family in about 15 seconds, as long as I do the one-day version so we have more time in Vancouver.

When I think back I can’t remember doing a 100+ km ride in one go all year. That is just sad. I used to do that every week on Curaçao. So my resolution is to do at least one this year. Might be hard because time away from family is a big limitation here too.

I waste riding time by sleeping too much. Perhaps to that end I should learn to go to bed earlier. Also, I will get up the Koppenberg, even if you lot have to hold me upright!

But if (and only if) I have beers in my hand again, it may include doing La Marmotte again

-See how far I can ride this year…I don’t want to put out a number so I feel obligated to reach it but just see how far I can ride without breaking my schedule
-Be competitive at the races and don’t crash
-On the summer solstice or close to it, try to ride from sunrise to sunset.

As usual, compete in as many events as possible, but either place better or finish quicker than 2009, plus complete London-Paris in June.

Be stronger than last year.
Upgrade a category, finally win a race.
Make at least two trips to ride in the mountains.
Ride at least 10 days outside each winter month. Might be hard in N Indiana but I’m determined
Do more 4-hr rides with friends. Hardly a better way to pass a morning.

And most importantly, just have fun. It’s the real reason for getting on the bike.

Rode the Koppenberg without unclipping, raced my first road race and crit, and ended the year with well over my goal of riding 5,000 kilometers. This year with a two month old and no saddle time in the last 6 weeks, i am being more conservative. Five centuries, with two being solo, and a 150 miler.

Endeavor to enjoy the bike come September as much as I am enjoying riding right now. I want to keep my goals simple: Make it fun, set goals but don’t be afraid to ditch them for a chance to ride somewhere new or with someone new or even do something different, like actually go climbing?

Age has taught me to leave as many outs as I can think of just to be on the safe side.

Cycle 3,000 miles
Race – and score at least one BC point
Do at least one stupid cycle event (Etape du Tour, a UK sportive, that kinda thing)
Go on holiday on my bike at least once

1) To proof read my spelling and sentence organization before hitting post so that I never confuse Frinking again !

2) To try not to make the staff mad at me, if I can help it. It will be hard but you can do anything as long as you start with Baby Steps.

1) Recover from my broken Tib/Fib
2) Ride the Seattle to Portland in one day
3) Race the Ring of Fire 24 Hour TT and finish with more than 300 miles.

Commit
Get fit
Do well in a crit

Train smart
Have heart
Race like Mariokart

Improve
Find a groove
Get in a winning move

And also not to rhyme any more posts on Podium Cafe. I love what I’ve read on this blog – keep it up!

I just have to point out that some of these resolutions concern me. Especially this one:

3) Race the Ring of Fire 24 Hour TT and finish with more than 300 miles.

Sorry to pick on a delurker, but there are many more of you 24hr freaks out there I’m sure. I have friends that do 24hr RR events and MtB events, but TT, OMG and ouch. My feeling on this is that some of you might want to ask yourselves if you’re as much or more into S&M as you are cycling. Hey, whatever goes on behind closed doors is your business, but these 24hr events are starting to take your issues out on the street for everyone else to see and that makes it everyone’s business. To each his/her own, but don’t go around trying to convert others into your ranks, and if you have or get chronic issues going on with your body, you might not need look any further. Just sayin.

1. Practice riding those hills that I normally ride around (thinking there may be a few in july i’ll have to ride)
2. Get up earlier on the weekends to ride (that means less wine/beer on sat nights)

umm probably have a few more come Jan 1st…

1.)Do a better job of bicycle maintenance, I hate missing riding time because I didn’t take care of a small problem.
2.)Get on my bike more often, I always feel better once I have started a ride.
3.)Longer rides are better, although any ride is good.
4.)Ride the Horrible Hundred, I must ride more hills, I heard it’s fun riding back down. :-)

My cycling-related resolutions:

1) Keep riding outdoors at least twice a week, even in the middle of winter (layering is the secret, lots and lots of layering :-)
2) Commute by bike at least twice a week, every week (except for the two that I plan to be back downunder, I’ll give myself a pass for those days)
3) Get into what I used to recognize as race shape, though I doubt that I’ll actually do much if any racing in 2010
4) Go for a 30 minute ride with my 7yr old daughter; who has vowed to ride to school next year
5) Help my 4 yr old son get rid of his training wheels, because in his words “they slow me down too much!”
6) Have more rides that are not rushed – given that a lot of my miles are built around commuting, I tend to add onto my commute as time permits, this can be a challenge, and a rushed ride is no where near as enjoyable as an unhurried ride.
7) in Contrast to #6, break 1 hr for my 18 mile ride home from work. I’m down to 1:03, but am at the mercy of the traffic light gods a little. Oh and it is far from a flat ride, honest!

My target for 2010 is to do at least one each of 200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k brevets — and finish each one feeling like I made good decisions (largely pacin decisions!) for each event.

I also want to complete my R-12 award in September — one official timed 200k or longer event each calendar month for twelve months in a row. I’m three months into it, so far so goid!

(Yeah, I know—I don’t belong on the same page as the rest of you.)

but it’s never happened. I’ve had a panic as i’m falling and the pedal is stuck, but I always seem to pull out just in time.

I am pretty happy with 2009. Back in shape. Doing some really nice events/races.

My goals/resolutions are:

- Ride more with friends/colleagues.
- Do more long/epic rides, specially in sightseeing places. Use the rides to know the places instead of visiting then by car or not going at all. In summary: be deliberate about where I ride instead of always doing the same loop.
- Do a MTB stage race (and finish it!)
- Do only well organized and fun events
- Improve my time and or my tactics if I run the same event and specially eating the right amount of calories for the size of the race/event.

As you can see from my last comment….I still have a lot to learn.(couldn help it, sorry :) )

As I find myself spending less time in the water and more time on the road…
1. Do my first century ride
2. Do regular group rides
3. Become more mechanically sound w/ keeping my bike in shape

I resolve to push myself harder, earlier, this winter, and to do more group rides. I’ve become very adept at training solo, but I’ve noticed one big thing; The only real substitute for lack of racing days is at least one good weekly smackdown ride with a group.

I’ve gone about as far as I can by myself, so now it’s time to do at least one weekly worlds ride to make up for the races I miss during the height of the summer (stupid work). Once the fall rolls around then cross races usually take care of it, but I need to be stronger heading into September. And it’s not like there aren’t rides around Boston on weeknights that are real ass kickers. It’s just a matter of me getting there consistently. Which Van P has now guilted me into.

so I can watch the classics as God intended them to be watched. My other goal is to get back into my regular Sunday morning shop-ride routine which I stopped doing and I miss. A lot. And my pants are feeling kind of tight, so I need to either ride more and eat less, or buy larger pants.

a long list of cycling goals and i think it’s the first time i stuck with something like that all year and accomplished everything on the list (except one trainer goal which i dropped because i stopped riding the trainer).

The main idea behind it all was to just get more consistent about getting out and riding and hopefully in the process getting a little better and stronger. There was a list of climbs around here, 5000 km for the year (not including little commute rides), and to do a certain climb in under 50 minutes. I managed them all, Yay!

So this year i’ve thought of a way that i think i can manage to up my riding again by doing hour and a half long rides in the morning instead of the usual short commute. I’d like to go for 10,000 km but i think there’d be too many weeks when i didn’t keep up that pace and would fall short, so:
1. 8000 kms for the year.
2. Mont Revere in 45 minutes.
3. This summer go do a bunch of famous climbs in the alps or pyrenees.

If i ever move back to the u.s. or have to quit cycling i will really regret it if i didn’t do these famous climbs that are so close. I’ve done a few and they have all been a blast, so this summer i need to make it a priority to do a bunch more.

… putting my knee down.