A Bootacular Month!

Yes, that’s right, I’m getting my monthly update out early this month. Reason being is a went for a ride today (10/30) and I know I will not be riding tomorrow since I’ll be out with the kids begging for candy.

Let me clarify. They will be begging for candy, I’m just tagging along for the Daddy Tax later. 🙂

October was another strong month for me. The cooler temperatures were magic to ride in. A few days even a bit chilly like today was. Also figured I needed to take advantage of after work miles since Day Light Savings is coming up next weekend. When are we ever going to get rid of this stupidity?

So, for the month I ended up with 10 rides and 148.58 miles. Not bad considering I spent a week in the Smokey Mountains drinking moonshine.

My annual goal of 1,400 miles would put my pace year-to-date at 1,166.67 miles. I just ran the calculator and BOOM! I’m at 1,173.28 miles for the year. Finally a surplus of 6.61 miles! I’ll take it!! I just need to average 113.36 miles the next two months to reach that magical 1,400 mile milestone.

I know it’s going to be a strectch getting those miles. In 2019 I only managed 162.75 miles combined and 2020 was only 140.35 miles combined. I’ve got my work cut out to hit 226.72 miles. I know I’ve got some time off schedule coming up and if the weather is nice I’ll be out there chunking out some of those miles.

This is what a goal is all about. Working hard to achieve but obtainable. I’m going to give it all I’ve got.

Happy Pedaling Everybody!

Goodbye Summer

I am so glad that the oppressive heat and humidity of Summer is finally starting to fade. Got in some great after work rides this month with temps in the low 80’s and even a couple in the 70’s!! Needless to say, those are the times you wish you weren’t up against a sun set time stop, lol.

So, with the slightly cooler weather I did get in a few good rides this month. Nine rides to be exact. Fewer than I really planned on riding, was hoping for eleven, but I did make the best of each and every ride averaging just over 16 miles a ride. September saw 144.19 miles to be exact. This puts me at 1,024.70 miles for the year.

To put that into context against my annual goal of 1,400 miles, I should be at 1,050 miles at the end of September. Made up a nice 27.52 mile gain on the month against my deficit coming into the month. I’ll take that as a win any day!

I’m excited for October. Despite the earlier sunsets, I should still be able to get out for a few nice after work rides and the weekend mornings should be cool and pleasant. I can’t wait. In fact, I already started October with a nice 18 mile ride yesterday after work. I had planned on doing 16 miles, but the weather was so nice I headed up a short connecting trail to tack on those extra 2 miles.

Happy Pedaling Everybody and here’s to being ahead of schedule at the end of October!!

One Hot Month

Coming off a a near record July I had really high hopes for the month of August. I had been slowly regaining some of my lost year-to-date miles and was hoping to take another large chunk out of the deficit.

Well, that didn’t quite happen.

For August I only ended up with a total of 8 rides and 107.98 miles. So, 8.69 miles short of my minimum 116.67 monthly miles. My year-to-date mileage totals up to 880.51 miles which is surprisingly only 7.28 miles behind my year-to-date mileage for 2020. Ok, I can live with that.

So, for the year I still need 519.49 miles to reach my annual goal of 1,400 miles. With four months left in the year, that’s only 129.87 miles per month. A stretch, but doable. YES I CAN!

This month ride totals was cut a bit short by having to spend a week in Florida for my 98 year old Grandmother’s funeral. She was fiesty till the end I’m happy to report, but was also ready to go. The past year being bed ridden and in a nursing home were not sitting to well with her. She will be dearly missed, but I’m happy she is finally at peace.

The rest of the month was plagued by extreme temps and heat indexes. I tried a couple of rides after work but, even at 5pm the heat index was over 100 degrees. Even in the shade of the greenway, that’s just a bit too much for me to be out in too often.

The shoulder is still there. Still some pain and another round of steriod shots and physical therapy, hoping for a breakthrough. One more month and if the pain hasn’t continued its decline off to the MRI machine and hopefully not to the surgery table after that. I have mixed feelings as I really want to hit my annual goal and I have a long term goal of riding 50 miles on my 50th birthday. Both of those goals would be shelved if surgery is the outcome.

Time will tell I suppose and I’d rather endure a couple months of discomfort now than a lifetime of pain. Keep those wheels turning and Happy Pedaling!

Scorching Hot July

Boy was it ever a HOT JULY!! Weather in North Carolina this time of year can bring on some serious heat and humidity, even in the mornings. Gets to the point that you either have to get out very early in the morning or time your rides for just after a rain shower before the sun comes out. Luckily for me, there were several after work opportunities to get out and enjoy some cooler afternoon rides.

Except for the last week of July, UGH! A week of heat indexes well over 100 degrees and many close to 105 degrees. Sorry, I just can’t ride in that kind of heat, even with proper hydration.

Even with the missing days from the end of the month I ended up with 11 rides and a total of 165.21 miles!! By far my best month ever!! And of course, knowing me, I have to dwell on the fact that had the end of the month been a little more tolerable, I may have actually topped 200 miles. Grrrr…..Arrrgh!

I am very happy with this month though and I am really looking forward to building on this month as the weather eventually cools down.

A big reason for the mileage is the lack of overtime this year. Last year was a killer and I was getting out later and having to do shorter rides. Last year I had the same number of rides, 11, but only 134 miles!

So, year to date I should be at 816.67 miles to be on target for my 1,400 mile annual goal. I was running a deficit over 90 miles at the end of June but this July took a big chunk of that out and I’m currently sitting at 772.53 miles. My deficit is down to just over 44 miles, a very obtainable number to make up in the next 2 months easily and get back on track.

As long as the shoulder holds in there. Been dealing with some right shoulder pain for a little over a month and had some inflamation. Luckily, it doesn’t hurt when I’m riding. The doc says Frozen Shoulder and a little arthritis. A steriod shot and some upcoming physical therapy should hopefully get it back into proper working order. Fingers crossed!

Here’s to sunny skies and cooler temps – Happy Pedaling Everybody!

A Tale of Two Months

So, it’s been just a little while since I lasted posted an update on my monthly/annual progress. Well, it’s been a couple months for sure…

To begin with, my trusty steed Frankenstein had a rear hub issue that flared it’s ugly head and finally got to the point that I could not ignore it any longer. My back wheel felt like it was just going to wobble itself right off. A trip to the local bike shop told me more or less what I had already gathered, a couple hundred bucks at least to repair. I love my bike, it’s been a great Schwinn but, to hear that number confirmed made it a little tough to swallow. Especially given that I only paid $200 for the bike to begin with.

So, figuring that since I had owned Frankenstein for about 6-years, I figured I had gotten my monies worth and decided to put the repair funds toward the purchase of a new bike and keep the Schwinn and try to fix it myself. Figured it would be good practice for me to build up some repair confidence and maybe still be able to ride the ole boy especially during the winters down here.

This all happened in May which explains my horrible total of only 6 rides and 73.50 miles, a far cry from my 116 mile monthly goal.

Enter Odyessus!! A Marin Kentwood hybrid that I have fallen in love with. Odyessus because of the epic adventures I expect to have on him! June saw 8 total rides and 98.19 miles of riding. This takes into account 9 days of vacation in June otherwise those miles would be on par with April I’m sure.

Based on my annual goal of 1,400 miles I should be right at 700 miles year to date. I am actually at 607.31 miles and (SURPRISING TO ME) only 92.69 miles off my pace. I really thought I would be in worse shape and so far this July….lets just say with the new bike and a few cool morning, I’ve picked up the mileage pace just a bit. And, having just finding out from the doctor that I don’t have any tears in my right shoulder, just some inflamation, I should be able to keep up my current pace and get back on track!

Happy Pedaling Everybody!!

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April Fools!

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Wow! What an April I had on the ole bike. 148.06 miles!! Woot! Woot! Flipping through my ride journal and this has by far been my best April EVER! And, from a quick glance, one of my most productive months on record. Rivaled only by my 176.66 mile (Staycation helped) June last year. Man I feel good!

I really needed a good month to start closing the gap on my year to date milage gap. Coming into April I was down 62.44 miles for the year. With my monthly goal of 116.67 miles, I basically cut that in half this month with a surplus of 31.39 miles. Now, only 31.05 miles.

April was a crazy month with a few 40 degree days thrown in and lots of wind. Oh the wind… Seemed like every day I didn’t ride was calm and the wind gods decided to have a party every time I decided to go out. Hoping that May has calmer winds and rain only in the mornings during the week while I’m working, lol. Then beautiful mid-70’s with low humidity on the weeknds.

Wouldn’t that be just peach? One can dream. Happy Pedaling Everybody!

March Madness

Well, one third of the year is complete!! Where have the days gone?

March started off on a very bad foot. Lots of rain at the end of Feburary and beginning of March meant lots of river flooding and shortened rides. For the month I ended up with a total of 10 rides and 108.37 greenway miles! I was surprised to see that this was actually my first 100+ mile March!! Woot!

For the year I ‘should’ be at 350 miles to be on track for my 1,400 mile annual goal. My actual miles for the year are 287.56 miles 62.44 miles to make up. But, on the plus side I’m actually 42.57 miles ahead of where I was at the end of last March. I’ll take it.

So, despite the slow start to the month I was able to take advantage of some really nice weekends (and extra hour thanks to Day Light Savings – oh and so far no overtime) to catch up the miles and keep the annual deficit to a minimum.

Forcast for the upcoming week shows upper 70’s and sunshine. Great time to take advantage and get outside!! I may need those miles as (lucky for me) I got a summons for jury duty and I’m on daily call to serve for two weeks starting April 12th 😦 Oh well.

Happy Pedaling Everybody!

Rainy February

Well, the month of February wasn’t nearly has kind as the month of January when it came to getting a few bike rides in. February proved to be an exceptionally wet month here in N.C. along with some ice, snow and cold temps.

I only managed to get out for 7 rides and totalled 77.02 miles for the month. This puts my year to date at 179.20 miles and 54.13 miles behind my pace of 233.33 miles to be on target for 1,400 miles on the year.

I’m not too worried about my year to date milage as of yet. The first three months in N.C. tend to be a bit of a crap shoot with weather with temps swinging from 36 one day to 75 the next. April and May should be solid/consistent weather months for me to regain any lagging miles and get myself back on pace for the year. (Looking over shoulder for Murphy and his Laws)

Every day I get the chance to ride my bike is a special day. I’m so happy when I get out into nature and just enjoy the solitude, and being out of the house. I’m praying for a speedy recovery for my wife’s Uncle who had a stroke a few days ago. He was an avid rider and was my inspiration to take up riding. His life is his bike and even though I haven’t been able to see/talk to him (he’s in Ohio), I know the thought of not being able to ride again is nagging him. On that I can relate. Riding is a release and is freedom.

So, hang in there Uncle Joe, I truly believe you will be out on your bike again soon and enjoying the wind in your hair again.

Happy Pedaling Everybody!

JANUARY!!

2021 has begun and we’re already through a full month, hard to believe. As I mentioned in my year end re-cap, my annual milage goal this year is 1,400 miles averaging just over 116 miles per month. Typically the winter months are a little light on the miles side given short days and cold temps.

Oh goody!

Well, here in N.C. we’ve had our fair share of cold days and even one brief snow storm. If you call a half inch of snow that was melted by 3pm a snow storm. Despite the short days I did manage a couple of quick after work rides before the sun went down that really helper bolster my monthly milage. And a good thing too as I ended up with 102.17 miles for the month!!

My first 100+ mile January!! I froze my butt off today on a 16.45 mile ride today to make sure I hit that milestone knowing that tomorrow we’re expecting some ice.

Oh goody!

I’m off to a great start for the month and even overcame a couple days of back spasms to boot. Keeping my fingers crossed for a decent Feburary to build up some more miles, last year I managed 79.77 miles and 2019 I actually did 101.23 miles (WOWSERS!!). All miles are good miles in my book 🙂

Happy Pedaling Everybody!

A Year in Review

First I want to say Happy New Year everybody.

Here’s to hoping that 2021 has some sense of ‘normal’ to it, lol.

For December I really took it easy. I finished with only 7 rides and 68.50 miles on the bike. Short days, overtime at work, cold, rain and flooded Greenways led to a decrease in production. But, that’s ok. As I mentioned in another post, I really wanted to just enjoying riding and being outside. I wanted to clear my head and feel relaxed.

And that exactly what I did!At the end of 2019 I set a milage goal for myself of 1,200 miles (100 miles per month) for 2020. Of course, I could never have guessed that 2020 would be the year that it was. As a re-cap, for 2019 I completed a total of 1,043.49 miles, so 1,200 was a good stretch goal I thought.

So, what did I end up with for 2020…….?

How about 1,250.35 miles!!! Woot! Woot!

While doing a 2019 to 2020 comparison I was surprised to see that my actual total number of rides for 2020 was less than 2019, 108 vs. 115. But, if you look at the average miles per ride, 11.58mi vs. 9.07mi, I made the most of the opportunties on the bike. The massive amount of overtime for the year and several Saturdays worked definitely impacted my annual ride number. I was pretty happy that I was able to really stretch out those rides.

For 2021 I’m shooting for an annual mileage goal of 1,400 (116.67 miles per month). The housing market appears to be staying strong, so I am expecting some overtime this year, so it appears I’m really going to have to focus on making the most of every single ride. Focus on having fun and not burning out are also a priority. Listen to my body and know when to take a break if needed.

A goal is just that, a goal. I would love to reach (and surpass) this goal, but I’m not going to beat myself up or sacrifice to reach it. I’m going to do my best and keep smiling every time rubber meets the trail!

Happy Pedaling everybody, and SAFE riding!