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Getting to 3,000

08.16.2012 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

Since I posted on Twitter the other day that I’ve now passed the 3,000 mile mark for 2012, I’ve had some inquiries from Bike Noob readers about my mileage goals. Had I planned at the beginning of the year to ride 3,000, 4,000, or 5,000 miles?

Actually, no. My high mileage year is just happening. I just ride.

Now, it’s not quite that simple. I was helped by the fact that as an academic, I get the first 2 1/2 weeks of January off. That let me rack up well over 400 miles in a month when lots of folks are cocooned in front of their fireplaces with steaming cups of hot chocolate.

In May, spring semester ends, and I could start riding more often for the next four weeks. I pedaled more than 550 miles that month — my highest monthly total ever.

But I think the main thing that helped me get as many miles as I have is following a more or less regular riding schedule. here’s how mine usually shakes out:

I ride Tuesday evening, for the shortest mileage of the week. Often, I’ll do fast laps around the Veloway. Sometimes, I’ll opt for easy laps instead. In either case, I’ll wind up with only 15-18 miles. I don’t often ride on Wednesdays or Thursdays, because I’m on campus later those days. Friday, I usually ride 20 miles; Saturday, 27-29 miles; and on Sunday, it’s the club ride. That could mean a distance of anywhere from 30-60 miles, most often 35-45. That routine gets me in the neighborhood of 100 miles a week on a regular basis. Heck, I should be riding 5,200 miles a year at that rate.

Of course, that won’t happen. Shorter days and colder weather in the winter months means I cut back on my weekly totals. I’ve ridden a 4,000-mile year only once, in 2010. It looks like I’ll do it again this year.

That pales next to the mileage totals some of my fellow club members post. Several are over 5,000 miles for the year already. Of course, they ride 30-40 miles on weekday evenings, and both of their weekend rides are long — anywhere from 60-100 miles.

Well, I don’t even have any desire to churn out that many miles. If anything, rather than piling up my mileage totals, I should concentrate on getting better. There’s lots of room for improvement. I could be faster; I need to build my endurance; I ought to spend more time riding hills than I do.

What I’ll probably be doing is the same old thing I’ve been doing all along. Just riding.

But I did some figuring the other day, and calculated that if I keep up my 100-mile weeks for the rest of the year, I have a good shot at reaching 5,000. Hmmmmm……

 

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Categories // Records & stats, training Tags // mileage

Highlights of 2011

12.29.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

Well, here we are again — at the end of another year. I suppose it’s as good a time as any to take stock of my biking, where it is, and where I want it to go from here.

It looks like I’ll finish the year with about 3,750 miles. I thought I would fall well short of the 4,000 I rode last year, but it turns out that if you ride a lot, even if the rides aren’t all that long, the miles do pile up. And since I hadn’t set a mileage goal at the beginning of the year, I have to be satisfied with what I’ve done.

Today was a good example. Nice day, 67 degrees (19C), sunny, moderate wind from the south. My wife wanted to go for a ride, and suggested a Mopac loop. That’s a tad over 13 miles round trip from our house — a good ride for her, but not enough for me. (Funny story about today’s ride: Before we left the house, she noted it was 66 outside, and was anxious to get going. I was a little surprised when she wore her new long sleeved jersey with the windstopper panels and the brushed insides. Then, about five miles into the ride, she asked to stop so she could shed her neck gaiter and her full-fingered gloves. I suggested that when temps are in the 60s, she can get by with a short-sleeved jersey and arm warmers, and maybe shed the arm warmers halfway through the ride.)

However, as we were wrapping up, we got into an involved conversation about her work, and the next thing you know, I’m pulling into our garage and putting the bike away. I hadn’t even realized that I was supposed to take off and do another 10 miles or so. Okay, today will be my easy day, and I’ll ride a little stronger Friday and maybe Saturday.

I’ve already blogged about my relatively short rides this year compared to 2010. And looking back, it seems I had planned to ride longer this year. One resolution by the wayside.

In addition to not riding long, I realized that except for a metric century way back in March, I never really pushed myself on the bike this year. I never felt really done in after a ride. The rationale for that is that I’m a recreational rider, and I’m not out to kill myself by training hard. But no training means no improvement. I do enjoy riding for riding’s sake, and not pushing really hard, but it’s obvious I have to do more.

So, what are my resolutions for the New Year? I don’t do formal resolutions as a rule, but I think we all have to have some idea of accomplishments we’d like to pursue during the year. So here’s what I’m thinking:

  • Some century rides. At least two. I did none this year. Targeting a goal like that will force me to train more.
  • Randonneuring? The shortest brevet is 200 kilometers (about 125 miles). I’d like to try one once, to see if it’s something I’d like to do regularly.
  • New routes. My riding is predictable. I need to get out and ride in areas I haven’t been to before. I can do that and still stay reasonably close to home.
  • More organized rides. There’s a 180 for you. I decided I’d do fewer this year, and I did. But I found that I missed them. I always enjoy myself on these things, and they often provide the exposure to routes I haven’t ridden before. My wife and I will be doing one on New Year’s Day.
My weight is exactly where it was last year at this time, and two years ago at this time, and…you get the idea. So is weight loss a goal for the coming year? Nah. If I say it is, then don’t do it, it will be another unachieved goal. If, by some stroke of good fortune, I do lose some weight — well, then I’m ahead of the game.
So, that’s where I’m headed in 2012 — more time in the saddle. I hope you’re able to ride a lot, too. Have a happy and prosperous new year.

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Categories // Odds 'n ends, Records & stats Tags // long distance, mileage

The Mileage Obsession

11.13.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 9 Comments

Barbara on a ride earlier this year.

On an almost summer-like Hill Country ride this morning, I caught up to my friend Barbara with several miles to go.

“I want to do 100 miles this weekend,” she said. “I’m at 91 right now. It’ll be close.”

I knew she had done a 60-mile organized ride the previous day. I thought our ride today would finish at something less than 40 miles.

With about a mile to go, I was in front of the group. I turned into the circle drive in a park where we start our rides, and stopped at my parked car. Our ride leader, Debra, was right behind me.

As I loaded the bike into the back, it occurred to me that something was odd.

“Where’s Barbara?” I asked Debra. Then I saw her.

She had ridden past the circle drive entrance and headed out to the highway. Then she turned around and headed back. Once again, I watched her ride past the circle drive.

“She’s trying to get her 100 miles,” said Debra.

Barbara came back to our circle drive, but rode past our cars and did another lap. Then, with thumbs up and a smile on her face, she pulled up to her car and dismounted.

“Got it,” she said.

She showed me her computer. It read 40.6 miles for the day’s ride. My computer showed 39.6. She squeezed one more mile out of the ride to reach her goal.

“I wanted to ride 5,200 miles this year,” she said, “but I’m out of town several weeks, so that’s not realistic. I’ve got 2,500. I want to see if I can get to 4,000 by March 1st. I think I can do it.”

I looked at Debra. “She’s mileage obsessed,” I said.

We all went out to lunch together after the ride. Barbara and Jerry, another member of the day’s group, compared ride data from their smart phones. She uses an app called My Tracks. Both were upset that they had forgotten to turn off the app at the end of the ride, and it was still registering data during their drive to the restaurant.

“Top speed, 51 mph,” Barbara said with a grimace. “That’s no help.”

I asked if they log their mileage apart from their phone apps.

“Well, it’s on the cyclocomputer,” she said. “That’s how I know what I rode this weekend, and how I’m doing at reaching my yearly goal.”

“I enter my ride data on Bike Journal,” I said.

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” she replied. “Then, if my cyclocomputer goes haywire, I still have the data.”

“And then I enter it into a separate Excel spreadsheet,” I added, “because Bike Journal doesn’t record everything I want.”

Everyone around the table looked at me.

“Who’s mileage obsessed?” Barbara asked.

 

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Categories // Records & stats Tags // mileage, stats

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