An Unexpected Journey

The road goes ever on and on ...

As this year began I didn’t think I had a realistic chance to reach 5,000 miles of cycling.  With 5,113 miles in 2011, I had crossed that threshold for the first time ever.  But here I am again: riding this afternoon on my lunch break I reached 5,005 miles, year-to-date.  Am I done?  I don’t know.  Certainly I won’t be as motivated to ride now that the milestone is behind me, but surpassing 5,113 isn’t out of the question.

2012 wasn’t supposed to play out like this.  I knew I would be racing more this year.  I knew I would be spending more time on mountain biking.  Having another high mileage year happened organically, a function of riding often instead of riding far.  My average ride this year is just 24.5 miles, but I’ve done 204 rides!

I didn’t have any mileage goals coming into 2012 and I won’t set any for 2013.  But I wouldn’t be caught off-guard by a third consecutive 5,000-mile year.  I’m looking at some endurance events for my 2013 calendar, preparation for which could take me to new levels.  I keep telling myself not to try to repeat in 2013 the sequence of events that made 2012 so special.  Some of my friends and teammates have hinted at their plans for the new year and the theme seems to be a desire to keep things fresh by not simply following the same schedule again.