Today I took my last ride outdoors of 2010 – grandchildren are coming tomorrow and I won’t be able to ride even if we are lucky enough to end up with as nice a day as we had today.
Granted it was windy, but when it is 70 degrees on December 30th, I don’t feel right about complaining that it’s windy. That would be serious whining.
Anyway, Mark and I just took a leisurely rolling stroll through the neighborhood. Nice to be on Rocket (my Scott CR1 Pro) instead of the spinner – wind and all.
I just uploaded today’s ride up to Garmin Connect and ran the report to see what my totals were for the year.
Drum roll please…Â
2,178.47 miles ridden on the road in 2010!
My goal that I set way back in December 2009 for 2010 was 2,000 miles so I exceeded that. I like it when I exceed my goals. I also rode 224.24 miles indoors on the spinner/trainer.
In 2009 I rode 1600 miles, 400 miles less than I had planned and considerably less than 2010.
The difference? A couple of things.
One being, we took two week long bike tours that between the two of them made up almost 600 of the miles.
The other was I crashed in September of 2009 and lost a month due to injury.
A lesser reason, I was highly motivated in 2010.Â
Fortunately, I stayed healthy and I had the opportunity to ride two fantastic tours – the Katy Trail in Missouri in May 2010 (240 miles) and a fantastic group tour starting in Burlington, VT and ending in Quebec City, QE,Canada (345 miles).
2010 has been good to me. Yes, I worked hard to complete those miles, but I was fortunate to stay healthy and safe while riding them. While I celebrate reaching my goal, I find myself thinking of three of my fellow cyclists in Oklahoma that were not so fortunate. I feel so sad, angry and hurt that their lives were taken from them because of inattentive drivers.  My heart goes out to them and their loved ones.
Alan Spencer
Clyde Riggs
Debra Miller