Monday, November 9, 2009

Mission Accomplished!

I didn't think I'd make it. With less than 100km to go to my goal back in mid-September, I came down with a nasty head cold that turned into a lung infection. That was followed by no less than a month of feeling like...well...you know and the worst cough I've ever had in my life. By the time it cleared up to a point where I felt like I could ride more than 5km, it was late October and the weather had turned past the point where I enjoy riding. It was of course cold and wet, and with a bazillion leaves on the roads, more slippery than I dare to risk. I could have gotten the last 100 in with small rides here and there I suppose, but honestly, I'm just not a fan of cold weather riding.

So going into November, it looked pretty bleak for me to reach my goal of 2100km. Then, out of nowhere, we were hit with this past weekend. The weather was absolutely amazing and perfect for riding. Saturday was sunny and 16*C and yesterday was even nicer. While Saturday was a little breezy, there was almost no wind to speak of on Sunday and the temps got as high as 18*C. What they call Indian Summer I believe if that isn't a politically incorrect term these days.

On Saturday, I set out to do 30k and ended up doing 44, mostly because I felt really good. I wasn't in tip-top shape after the long layoff, but I was surprised that I was in as good a shape as I was. That left me with 50k to go and a great forecast for Sunday.

The weather on Sunday morning didn't disappoint, so I took advantage to try for the last bit of mileage that I needed. I felt OK at the start, but didn't have much after about 30k or so. The layoff combined with lack of recovery from Saturday didn't leave much in my legs. Still I managed to finish out a slow 61k, only averaging 24 kmh, to push me over the top and hit 2111km for 2009... exactly double my mileage of 2008 with 3 extra kilometers to spare.

Believe it or not, today is supposed to be even nicer still, but I think I'll pass on a ride. My legs need a rest day and my mission of 2100 for the year has been accomplished. Barring another stretch of great weather, I think it's time to hang the bike up for the winter and start planning for 2010!

Cheers to all who've followed my blog and tweets and gave me words of encouragement in your comments. I hope you found it somewhat entertaining and worth the time to read.

Doug

5 comments:

  1. Bring on 2010! Congratulations on reaching your goal!

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  2. Fantastic! Happy to hear you pushed through on Sunday and killed the goal.

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  3. Good for you. Nothing beats achieving a goal, especially one that you thought was way ouy there. Imagine what you'll achieve next year.

    Question - did you design the little progress bar on your page, or did you find it elsewhere? I'm setting myself a mileage goal for 2010, and would love to use a bar like yours.

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  4. Thanks Chris. I actually created that mileage bar myself with Photoshop.After each ride I just updated the pst file by changing the numbers and moving the little cyclist icon along. If you have Photoshop, it's pretty easy to create one yourself, or I can just send you my pst file that you can edit yourself. Will need your email address for that though. feel free to contact me directly at roadrashcycling@gmail.com.

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