A new decade starts

Really, we’re into a new decade?  I guess so … 2020 … wow, it was just yesterday when they were concerned that the world would end due to Y2K.  Now really, did anyone really think the world would end?  Nature finds a way … hmm … sounds like a quote from a movie … Oh, because it is … Jurassic Park.

Anyhow, in past years, I would refrain from doing any type of new year’s resolutions, but this year, I wanted to do something different.  Last year, I didn’t have time to train for any events (being on call every other weekend).  That sucked.  So this year, I said to myself, screw it.  I’m going to sign up for an event, and no matter if I’m ready or not, I’m going to do it.  So I signed up for Solvang Double Century in March.  I’ll have to make sacrifices, like ride into the darkness after work (and have no relax time at night), just so that I can have training time.  Who knows … maybe I’ll ask to work consecutive on calls, so that I can have consecutive weekends to train.

We’ll see how that goes.  I miss my double century friends, and the feeling of doing a double century … I gotta do it.  Wish me luck.  It’ll be one way to start off the decade.

Oh, and I didn’t do quite as bad as I thought for the year, even though my weekend suffered.  I still got over 6,000 miles for the year.

Let’s see if we can improve upon this in 2020.

Probably the Lowest Mileage I’ve Had in a Month In a While

So February is over, and it is the shortest month of the year, with smaller number of days.  But that hasn’t stopped me in the past from piling up the miles.  Well, it’s odd, this time, I only got 369 miles in the month.  Looking back on that month, I really didn’t do any big rides on the weekend.  In fact, I had one weekend where I was on call, and another weekend where I visited dad.  Plus, there was another weekend where it rained, so that’s 3 weekends where I didn’t ride at all.

Now I still commuted almost every day, but that still didn’t accumulate the mileage.  This makes it extremely difficult if you are trying to go for a double century.  I’m starting to re-think my goals, and whether or not I should be concentrating on mileage.  With this said, my goal of Solvang may not come to fruition.  I’m also way out of shape for a double.

Time to Re-Evaluate My Goals For the Year

I first had a goal of completely DMD this year.  The year started out well, was on track, completing Solvang Double first, and was all prepared for DMD.  My thought was maybe if I finish that, I could do another Triple Crown.

I didn’t finish DMD this year … Bailed  on Sierra.  Oh well, maybe I could still do triple crown by doing Davis and Grand Tour.

However, I had a couple of personal setbacks after DMD.  First, my whole lost Drivers License and Debit Card ordeal.  That made me not in the mood for training.  Do I lost two weeks of fitness there, and was not ready for Davis at all.  In fact, I would be lucky if I completed 60 miles.  So I bailed on Davis.

Then, Memorial Day Weekend came around, and an opportunity to build up my climbing core.  On Memorial Day, I had just finished Page Mill to Woodside loop, and was ready for the ride home.  Then, without warning, I slammed right into the rear of a tandem.

Ouch, that hurt.  Luckily the couple on the tandem seemed OK.  I felt really awful about that.  There didn’t seem to be that much damage on my bike
(shredded tire, out of true wheel), but I still need to take it into the shop.  But I did suffer some bruised on my ribs, and that hurt.

The first few days after the accident, I’ve been having some challenges moving around.  Coughing and laughing made my sides hurt, and getting in and out of bed were a challenge.  Ok, this is a definite sign … This will force me to take some time off the bike.

Now the hard … Time off the bike.  I guess I have to now think of things normal people do when not on the bike.  That’s hard.  But I guess I can catch up on movies, catch up writing blogs, clean the house, and reevaluate my goals for the year.  I think I won’t be able to do this until I am completely healed.  This will most likely mean missing Santa Cruz Mountain Challenge, and that really pisses me off.  Oh well, what can I do.  Guess I’ll have to live life like a normal person … Nooooooo!

I envy everyone that is able to ride their bike this weekend.  Just be attentive, and be safe, ride defensive.  Beware if traffic around you, especially if you are looking down at your Garmin.  I’m not sure, but I think that’s what happened to me.  I feel really stupid after this.  😦

New Goal for 2013 … Randonneuring

Thanks to my friend Jenny Oh, I now know what I’ll be shooting for in the new year.  She’s been wanting to do the SF Randonneur series, and for that matter, I’ve been wanting to do it too (just didn’t happen last year, due to my silly idea of becoming a runner).

I figured this would be good training for the double century season, and will get me in shape for Solvang, and whatever other double I plan to do.  Don’t get any bright ideas though … I’m not training for PBP … but it’ll be fun to do this series.