Looking Back ... and Looking Ahead

Looking Back: Goal check for Feb.
So, two of my goals for the year are to a) spend some time in the saddle on 250 days in 2012; and b) to bikecommute at least 175 days. The latter includes days of park-n-bike, where I drive into Madison and bike from the north side to the office.

In January, I rode 17 days, including 9 bikecommutes. In February, it was 16 and 11. So far, then, I've ridden 33 of 60 days and bikecommuted 20. Both are below a rate to get me to my goal, but there's plenty of time to correct that.

Speaking of which...

Looking Ahead: 30 Days of Biking
... looking ahead to April, it's #30DaysOfBiking again. A couple guys in Minneapolis started this in 2010. Every April and September, people register for the event (free), commit to riding every day that month (even if just around the block at 11:30 pm!), and share their stories on social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter). If you're interested, check them out at www.30daysofbiking.com. Last year over 2,000 bicyclists across the globe took part.

January Draws to an End

Well it is now January 30th. I am happy to report that I have not let the weather put the kibosh on my riding. And while I wish I had more time in the saddle, except for a couple of days, it hasn't been because of the weather.

As of today, I have been in the saddle 16 days, with today and tomorrow to go. Eight days of commuting between work and home; eight days on the trainer in the basement; and one day where I drove part of the way to work and rode the rest of the way. I "lost" some days when I was out of town at a conference, a couple to snowy weather, and a few to being sick. My guess is I rode at least 250 miles this month. Not bad for the middle of winter.

The weather, for the most part, has been very cooperative with bike-commuting. While the morning low temp that I rode in was about 10°F, there were a few afternoons when the temps were in the 40°s and once it was 53°! Is this Wisconsin in January?!?

A great thing about the end of January, in addition to temps getting ever so slightly warmer, is that the RAGBRAI route for the year get announced at the Iowa Bicyle Expo in Des Moines. This year's route is 471 miles from Sioux Center, in the NW corner of the state, to Clinton, just north of the Quad Cities. There are three days (Tue, Wed, Thu) that are each over 75 miles. It's a pretty flat route (11th flattest in the 40 years), with 16,125 feet of climbing over the week.

I would love to be able to ride the full week again. And encourage my readers (both of you) to consider checking it out as well.

Keep your eyes on the prize, your mind on your goals, and the rubber side down!

Goals for 2012

Well, it's been a few months since I last wrote here Things have been pretty quiet on the bicycle front since September. Olivia kept riding into the fall and will still occasionally pull her bike out to ride to a friend's house.

The winter has been very mild so far (*knock on wood*) with very little snow. With a few layers, commuting on my bike has not been a problem. I was averaging probably 3 days/week in Nov and Dec. Days I didn't ride was usually because of appointments or meetings out of the office that necessitated taking the car.

This is the last day of the first week of the year. While it started out nasty (cold and very windy), I made up for it by mounting my road bike on the trainer in the basement and riding that on the 1st and 2nd.

The wind died down and the temps started climbing for the four-day work week. I commuted by bike all four days. Tuesday morning it was 10°F out. The only thing that got cold were my toes for the last couple miles. (It's about a 10.5 mi commute.) Yesterday riding home, it was over 50°! And today is supposed to get into the upper 40s. Hard to believe it's January in Wisconsin.

My cycling goals for the year:
> Ride at least 250 days, either commute rides, road rides, or on the trainer;
> Commute by bike at least 175 days (that's only 2 of every 3 work days, not accounting for days off);
> I would like to complete my second Centruy (100 mi) ride;
> I would LOVE to ride RAGBRAI again this year with Team Livestrong. Hope to make that work;
> Ride a few other organized rides:
>>> "Feed the Need" Ride (late April),
>>> Minnesota Gran Fondo (early May),
>>> Milwaukee Ride for the Arts (Early June),
>>> Ride for Boys & Girls Club of Dane Co (July), and/or
>>> Centurion Ride WI (early August).
(Note: these are rides I am interested in, but don't think I can fit them all into my schedule, especially if I ride RAGBRAI in late July.)

There you have it. My cycle goals for 2012.

I do have goals for Olivia too. She is outgrowing her 20" single speed bike. Looking for a road bike for her. My LBS (local bike store) has a kids road bike by Schwinn that would be a great starter.

Then perhaps she can graduate to this women's GT road bike (it comes in size XS).

If we get her a road bike, we can start doing longer rides together. Then, maybe, be ready to ride RAGBRAI together in 2013!

So, there you have it. What are your goals for the new year?