Happy New Year everyone. It's a time of new beginnings. No more resting on our past laurels or lamenting our shortcomings. The slate is clean. We start anew. When you have as many shortcomings as I do, well, the New Year is a welcomed thing.
This year my bike specific resolutions are as follows:
1. Increase my practical bike use - This is becoming an ongoing resolution of mine. I already ride my bike to work regularly. I occasionally use it for other errands, but not near as much as I could. I want to change that.
2. Lose weight - this resolution as well appears to becoming an annual one, a fact that I am none too pleased with. Hopefully this year will be the final time this one appears on my list.
3. Ride more centuries - last year I may have ridden one century (not even sure about that). This year, I want to change that. I like long distance cycling and I want to make that a staple of my riding once again.
4. Start riding across the country - I've been wanting to ride across the country for some time now. Due to work responsibilities and financial constraints, I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that taking two months off to ride across the country simply isn't feasible. While this is a tough pill for me to swallow, all is not lost. While, at this point in my life, I can't ride across the country all at once, I can at least start.
5. Increase my frequency of blogging - over the last two years, I've been posting on average of between once and twice a week. I'm gonna try to beat that this year. However, I'm not going to sacrifice the quality of what I say, just to beat some quota. If faced with a choice between the two, I will blog less.
You may have noticed that my resolutions do not have measurable targets. This is by design. I don't want to be a slave to my resolutions. I want them to serve as a guiding light to keep me focused on improving. Trust me, regardless of whether I have concrete goals or not, in the end, I will grade myself harshly.
Showing posts with label New Year Resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year Resolutions. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Friday, January 1, 2010
2010 - New Year Resolutions
Well, it is the start of a New Year, a new beginning, time to let go of our failures and shortcomings of the past and start afresh. I enjoy making New Year resolutions. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of being too aggressive in my resolutions and as a result fail to achieve them all. I hope to remedy that this year by establishing resolutions that will stretch me, but at the same time are realistically achievable. So here we go:
Expand the practical use of my bicycle – I already use me bike for riding regularly to work. I want to keep that going, but now expand it to include other activities such as riding more to church, the gym and when running errands.
Go “car free” for one month – living in the area that I do, I won’t say that it is impossible to live “car free”, but it would be extremely inconvenient. That being said, I would be interested to see what it is like to go without a car for one month. Who knows, I may even try to post daily blogs chronicling the experience.
Complete an unsupported bicycle tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway – for my bike tour this year, I would really like to stretch myself and ride the entire length (469 miles) of the Blue Ridge Parkway. In order to accomplish this goal I will have to lose weight, train hard and be meticulous in my gear and packing.
Reduce my weight to 155 lbs – right now I am hovering around 170 lbs. I plan to improve my eating habits, reduce my beer consumption and increase my exercise in order to trim down to the 155 lb mark. To reward myself, I plan to purchase a brand new set (front and back) of Ortlieb panniers upon achieving this goal.
Build a “City Bike” – similar to what I did last year with my “Light Roadster”, I would like to expand my harem of bikes by building my own “City Bike”. The preliminary plans for such a bike are already bouncing around in my head. I will use this blog to bring you along on the entire design and build process.
Post to this blog at least once per week – I am already posting at this regularity and was tempted to establish this goal at two per week, but I am trying to be realistic here. I have a regular life and I do not want to put myself in a position where I compromise on the quality of my posts in order to achieve some arbitrary quota. Therefore, I am going to keep the goal at one and really focus on content and quality.
OK - So there you have it - my New Year Resolutions. On reviewing them, it would appear that I have once again, either overstepped or stretched the bounds of achievable. I'll keep them where they are keep you posted on my progress.
Expand the practical use of my bicycle – I already use me bike for riding regularly to work. I want to keep that going, but now expand it to include other activities such as riding more to church, the gym and when running errands.
Go “car free” for one month – living in the area that I do, I won’t say that it is impossible to live “car free”, but it would be extremely inconvenient. That being said, I would be interested to see what it is like to go without a car for one month. Who knows, I may even try to post daily blogs chronicling the experience.
Complete an unsupported bicycle tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway – for my bike tour this year, I would really like to stretch myself and ride the entire length (469 miles) of the Blue Ridge Parkway. In order to accomplish this goal I will have to lose weight, train hard and be meticulous in my gear and packing.
Reduce my weight to 155 lbs – right now I am hovering around 170 lbs. I plan to improve my eating habits, reduce my beer consumption and increase my exercise in order to trim down to the 155 lb mark. To reward myself, I plan to purchase a brand new set (front and back) of Ortlieb panniers upon achieving this goal.
Build a “City Bike” – similar to what I did last year with my “Light Roadster”, I would like to expand my harem of bikes by building my own “City Bike”. The preliminary plans for such a bike are already bouncing around in my head. I will use this blog to bring you along on the entire design and build process.
Post to this blog at least once per week – I am already posting at this regularity and was tempted to establish this goal at two per week, but I am trying to be realistic here. I have a regular life and I do not want to put myself in a position where I compromise on the quality of my posts in order to achieve some arbitrary quota. Therefore, I am going to keep the goal at one and really focus on content and quality.
OK - So there you have it - my New Year Resolutions. On reviewing them, it would appear that I have once again, either overstepped or stretched the bounds of achievable. I'll keep them where they are keep you posted on my progress.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009 Recap - New Year Resolutions
Well, here we are on the last day of 2009. Time to review how I did with my New Year Resolutions.
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A+)
Year end totals:
Bike = 202
Bus = 18
Truck = 22
Truck driven to work 10% of the time. I have to admit, I am pretty proud of this achievement. Riding to work this often was no walk in the park. I had to endure some pretty nasty weather and overcome my own laziness on many mornings. Never the less, I endured. Reach hand over shoulder and pat myself on the back:-)
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = DNF)
Dropped in April. I found that as the weather got better, I wanted to ride more and run/swim less. Oh well- it was a decision that I did not regret. Riding more is a good thing - right?
3. Ride at least 6 centuries. (GRADE = D)
I rode centuries in May and June. All was on track and I was looking good. Then Summer peaked and I was so busy, I never could seem to find the time to ride 100 miles at a time. No excuse - I got lazy!
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
I was able to average 2.25 blogs a week during my first year at this thing. I really tried to focus on the quality of the content versus the quantity. I feel like I accomplished that goal. As far as the web site thing is concerned, I decided to put that on hold indefinitely. The Blog itself takes up quite a bit of time and to be honest, I'm not sure that I really need a web page.
Well - there you have it. When I step back and look at this past year, overall I am very pleased with my accomplishments. it was a good year and I believe 2010 will be even better.
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A+)
Year end totals:
Bike = 202
Bus = 18
Truck = 22
Truck driven to work 10% of the time. I have to admit, I am pretty proud of this achievement. Riding to work this often was no walk in the park. I had to endure some pretty nasty weather and overcome my own laziness on many mornings. Never the less, I endured. Reach hand over shoulder and pat myself on the back:-)
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = DNF)
Dropped in April. I found that as the weather got better, I wanted to ride more and run/swim less. Oh well- it was a decision that I did not regret. Riding more is a good thing - right?
3. Ride at least 6 centuries. (GRADE = D)
I rode centuries in May and June. All was on track and I was looking good. Then Summer peaked and I was so busy, I never could seem to find the time to ride 100 miles at a time. No excuse - I got lazy!
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
I was able to average 2.25 blogs a week during my first year at this thing. I really tried to focus on the quality of the content versus the quantity. I feel like I accomplished that goal. As far as the web site thing is concerned, I decided to put that on hold indefinitely. The Blog itself takes up quite a bit of time and to be honest, I'm not sure that I really need a web page.
Well - there you have it. When I step back and look at this past year, overall I am very pleased with my accomplishments. it was a good year and I believe 2010 will be even better.
Friday, July 3, 2009
June Recap - New Year's Resolutions
June is fast fading in the past. Time to review my New Year Resolutions:
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A)
Year to Date:
Bike = 87
Bus = 18
Truck = 8
Truck driven to work 7% of the time. While I am still under my goal, I lowered my grade from an A+ to an A. That's because I drove my truck to work 3 times in June. Mind you, I have some pretty good excuses for all 3 instances, but that's just what they are - excuses. Hopefully I can get back on track in July and leave the truck at home.
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = DNF)
Dropped in April. Upped the number of centuries from 3 to 6.
3. Ride at least 6 centuries. (GRADE = A+)
I procrastinated until the last possible moment to ride a century in June. It wasn't an organized ride, but a solo affair. I dubbed it the "All Alone 100". I'm preparing a blog to describe it, it will be out later today. Since I possessed the will power and discipline to ride 100 miles all by my lonesome, I decided to up my grade to an A+.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
I was able to average a little over 1.5 blogs a week in June. That's a little down from April and May, but I was out of town for a week and didn't have internet access. Still not too shabby.
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A)
Year to Date:
Bike = 87
Bus = 18
Truck = 8
Truck driven to work 7% of the time. While I am still under my goal, I lowered my grade from an A+ to an A. That's because I drove my truck to work 3 times in June. Mind you, I have some pretty good excuses for all 3 instances, but that's just what they are - excuses. Hopefully I can get back on track in July and leave the truck at home.
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = DNF)
Dropped in April. Upped the number of centuries from 3 to 6.
3. Ride at least 6 centuries. (GRADE = A+)
I procrastinated until the last possible moment to ride a century in June. It wasn't an organized ride, but a solo affair. I dubbed it the "All Alone 100". I'm preparing a blog to describe it, it will be out later today. Since I possessed the will power and discipline to ride 100 miles all by my lonesome, I decided to up my grade to an A+.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
I was able to average a little over 1.5 blogs a week in June. That's a little down from April and May, but I was out of town for a week and didn't have internet access. Still not too shabby.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
May Recap - New Year's Resolutions
May is behind me. Time to review my New Year Resolutions:
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A+)
Year to Date:
Bike = 74
Bus = 17
Truck = 5
Truck driven to work only 5% of the time. The astute reader will notice that the only number that changed above from April was the number of times I rode my bike. That's right - I rode my bike to work every day in May. I never drove the truck. I never rode the bus. I am bad to the bone.
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = DNF)
Dropped in April. Upped the number of centuries from 3 to 6.
3. Ride at least 6 centuries. (GRADE = A)
I completed my first century of the year on my 47th birthday on May 9. I rode the Cap2Cap ride from Williamsburg to Richmond and back to Williamsburg. It was a good ride. I am working on a post describing it that I hope to have out later this week.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
I was able to average a little over 2 blogs a week in May. I am happy with that.
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A+)
Year to Date:
Bike = 74
Bus = 17
Truck = 5
Truck driven to work only 5% of the time. The astute reader will notice that the only number that changed above from April was the number of times I rode my bike. That's right - I rode my bike to work every day in May. I never drove the truck. I never rode the bus. I am bad to the bone.
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = DNF)
Dropped in April. Upped the number of centuries from 3 to 6.
3. Ride at least 6 centuries. (GRADE = A)
I completed my first century of the year on my 47th birthday on May 9. I rode the Cap2Cap ride from Williamsburg to Richmond and back to Williamsburg. It was a good ride. I am working on a post describing it that I hope to have out later this week.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
I was able to average a little over 2 blogs a week in May. I am happy with that.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
April Recap - New Year's Resolutions
April is fading into a distant memory. Time to review my New Year Resolutions:
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A+)
Year to Date:
Bike = 56
Bus = 17
Truck = 5
Truck driven to work only 6% of the time. I've started to drive that number back down. Kickin butt!
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = DNF)
April drove the nail in the triathlon ambitions coffin. I'm back into cycling full swing and have neither the time nor inclination to devote to running. I will keep swimming, because I like it, but it's time to drop this resolution. However, I can't get off scott free. There is a price to pay. In lieu of completing a triathlon, I am going to double the number of centuries that I planned to ride. Instead of riding 3 centuries, I'm gonna shoot for 6. 3 additional centuries is approximately 18 to 20 hours of riding. I've exchanged a 3 hour triathlon for 20 hours of centuries. I think I've gotten the short end of the stick. Oh well - I must be punished.
3. Ride at least 3 centuries. (GRADE = A)
My first century will be May 9 when I will participate in the CaptoCap ride from Williamsburg to Richmond and back to Williamsburg.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
The blogging again went very well in April. I published 9 posts during the month. I still have some work to do to get the quality of my blog site up to par and then I am ready to start exploring ways to increase its visibility.
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A+)
Year to Date:
Bike = 56
Bus = 17
Truck = 5
Truck driven to work only 6% of the time. I've started to drive that number back down. Kickin butt!
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = DNF)
April drove the nail in the triathlon ambitions coffin. I'm back into cycling full swing and have neither the time nor inclination to devote to running. I will keep swimming, because I like it, but it's time to drop this resolution. However, I can't get off scott free. There is a price to pay. In lieu of completing a triathlon, I am going to double the number of centuries that I planned to ride. Instead of riding 3 centuries, I'm gonna shoot for 6. 3 additional centuries is approximately 18 to 20 hours of riding. I've exchanged a 3 hour triathlon for 20 hours of centuries. I think I've gotten the short end of the stick. Oh well - I must be punished.
3. Ride at least 3 centuries. (GRADE = A)
My first century will be May 9 when I will participate in the CaptoCap ride from Williamsburg to Richmond and back to Williamsburg.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
The blogging again went very well in April. I published 9 posts during the month. I still have some work to do to get the quality of my blog site up to par and then I am ready to start exploring ways to increase its visibility.
Friday, April 3, 2009
March Recap - New Year's Resolutions
OK - March is in the books. Time to review my New Year Resolutions:
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A)
Year to Date:
Bike = 41
Bus = 14
Truck = 5
Truck driven to work only 8% of the time. That's gone up a little bit since February, for reasons I've discussed in previous posts, but I'm still on track.
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = D-)
If life got in the way of my triathlon training in February, then in March, life pretty much stomped the living tar out of it. With the cycling season cranking up, I don't think I am going to be able to devote the time to running and swimming that I need to. I'll see how April goes, but I am leaning toward dropping this resolution.
3. Ride at least 3 centuries. (GRADE = TBD)
Still waiting for warmer weather. Targeting first century in May. I start my serious training regimen on Monday.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
The blogging went very well in March. I was able to average 2 posts per week. On top of that, I got a digital camera and starting incorporating pictures. I'm becoming a blogging machine. I didn't work on the Web Page and will probably hold off on that for a while. I mainly want to focus on my blog and get it the best that it can be.
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A)
Year to Date:
Bike = 41
Bus = 14
Truck = 5
Truck driven to work only 8% of the time. That's gone up a little bit since February, for reasons I've discussed in previous posts, but I'm still on track.
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = D-)
If life got in the way of my triathlon training in February, then in March, life pretty much stomped the living tar out of it. With the cycling season cranking up, I don't think I am going to be able to devote the time to running and swimming that I need to. I'll see how April goes, but I am leaning toward dropping this resolution.
3. Ride at least 3 centuries. (GRADE = TBD)
Still waiting for warmer weather. Targeting first century in May. I start my serious training regimen on Monday.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = A)
The blogging went very well in March. I was able to average 2 posts per week. On top of that, I got a digital camera and starting incorporating pictures. I'm becoming a blogging machine. I didn't work on the Web Page and will probably hold off on that for a while. I mainly want to focus on my blog and get it the best that it can be.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
February Recap - New Years Resolutions
OK - month number 2 is behind me. Time to review my New Year Resolutions:
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A+)
Year to Date:
Bike = 30
Bus = 6
Truck = 2
Truck driven to work only 5% of the time. I'm still da man!!!!
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = C)
Still waiting for warmer weather. Although I have to admit - my training suffered a bit in February. I still did some swimming and running, but nothing like January. Life has been kinda getting in the way.
3. Ride at least 3 centuries. (GRADE = N/A)
Still waiting for warmer weather. Targeting first century in May. Time to start getting serious. The month of March will be dedicated to base miles.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = B)
The blogging has been going pretty good. I averaged 1 post per week during February. I made quite a bit of progress with the website earlier in February, but haven't looked at it in weeks. Again - its that life thing getting in the way.
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time. (GRADE = A+)
Year to Date:
Bike = 30
Bus = 6
Truck = 2
Truck driven to work only 5% of the time. I'm still da man!!!!
2. Complete a Triathlon. (GRADE = C)
Still waiting for warmer weather. Although I have to admit - my training suffered a bit in February. I still did some swimming and running, but nothing like January. Life has been kinda getting in the way.
3. Ride at least 3 centuries. (GRADE = N/A)
Still waiting for warmer weather. Targeting first century in May. Time to start getting serious. The month of March will be dedicated to base miles.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com". (GRADE = B)
The blogging has been going pretty good. I averaged 1 post per week during February. I made quite a bit of progress with the website earlier in February, but haven't looked at it in weeks. Again - its that life thing getting in the way.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
January Recap - New Year Resolutions
OK - I started out the year with several New Year resolutions. It's time to update where I stand:
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time.
Well check out the stats for yourself:
Bike: 14
Bus: 3
Truck: 2
Truck driven to work 11 % of the time!! Oh yea - I'm da man!!!
2. Complete a Triathlon.
Well this one won't happen until sometime this summer. I have been a busy beaver training though, see for yourself:
Swimming: 9900 meters
Running: 29.7 miles
Biking: The only riding I did was commuting 195 miles (That's a shame)
The impact that the other training is having on my cycling is starting to bother me. I am considering throwing out this resolution and getting back to that which I love and makes me who I am (CYCLING).
3. Ride at least 3 centuries.
Well - it's too dang cold to give this one any serious consideration right now.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com".
Well - I have posted 10 blogs counting this one. The website thing I haven't even begun.
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time.
Well check out the stats for yourself:
Bike: 14
Bus: 3
Truck: 2
Truck driven to work 11 % of the time!! Oh yea - I'm da man!!!
2. Complete a Triathlon.
Well this one won't happen until sometime this summer. I have been a busy beaver training though, see for yourself:
Swimming: 9900 meters
Running: 29.7 miles
Biking: The only riding I did was commuting 195 miles (That's a shame)
The impact that the other training is having on my cycling is starting to bother me. I am considering throwing out this resolution and getting back to that which I love and makes me who I am (CYCLING).
3. Ride at least 3 centuries.
Well - it's too dang cold to give this one any serious consideration right now.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for "cyclingaffair.com".
Well - I have posted 10 blogs counting this one. The website thing I haven't even begun.
Monday, January 5, 2009
New Year Resolutions
I'm big on New Year Resolutions. The New Year brings new beginnings. No more dwelling on my failures of the past or resting on my laurels of success. Time to set our sights on new goals. I have more resolutions than are penned here, but since this blog is about cycling - I figured I would stick to the cycling specific ones:
2009 Cycling Related Resolutions:
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time - I already commute by bicycle and have been doing so for more than 15 years. However, due to inclement weather coupled with commitments at work and home, I still drive to work 40% - 50% of the time. Coupling cycling and public transportation, I want to trim those numbers in half.
2. Complete a triathlon (international or olympic distance) - I know this isn't entirely cycling - some may argue it isn't cycling at all. Well - I can assure you, I am not a triathlete. I am a cyclist wanting to do a triathlon.
3. Ride at least 3 centuries - riding 100 miles is not all that big a deal physically. However, finding the time is another question all together. That's why I'm limiting myself to 3.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for 'cyclingaffair.com". As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I am new to this thing and have a lot to learn.
Well there you go. My 2009 resolutions. They are out there for the world to see. Hold me accountable.
2009 Cycling Related Resolutions:
1. Drive my truck to work less than 25% of the time - I already commute by bicycle and have been doing so for more than 15 years. However, due to inclement weather coupled with commitments at work and home, I still drive to work 40% - 50% of the time. Coupling cycling and public transportation, I want to trim those numbers in half.
2. Complete a triathlon (international or olympic distance) - I know this isn't entirely cycling - some may argue it isn't cycling at all. Well - I can assure you, I am not a triathlete. I am a cyclist wanting to do a triathlon.
3. Ride at least 3 centuries - riding 100 miles is not all that big a deal physically. However, finding the time is another question all together. That's why I'm limiting myself to 3.
4. Start blogging and create a web site for 'cyclingaffair.com". As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I am new to this thing and have a lot to learn.
Well there you go. My 2009 resolutions. They are out there for the world to see. Hold me accountable.
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