Halftime 2023

Halfway through 2023, I am ahead of last year’s pace for both miles and ride frequency. I have ridden 1,568 outdoor miles this year, up slightly from last year’s first-half total of 1,455. And I have ridden on 59 occasions in 2023, up from 48 by this date in 2022.

So, why I am dissatisfied with my progress? There are two reasons. First, I haven’t done any really special rides this year: no races, no centuries … not even a metric century. My longest ride to date is just 40 miles! Second, I had a really unproductive June. This month’s 483-mile effort compares very unfavorably to recent years and is my lowest June total since 2006.

I have done 140 miles of walking for fitness. That’s slightly more than halfway to my goal of 260 miles this year.

I plan to remain in Pennsylvania until the end of July, and I will need a big month on the bike to get my cycling season back on the right track. May was uncommonly dry here, but June was uncommonly wet. I lost a lot of days to bad weather this month. When I came here, I couldn’t have imagined that West Bend would literally have better summer weather! July will begin tomorrow under warm sunshine in the Philadelphia area, but rain is expected to return on Sunday and then to continue on-and-off for much of the following week. That’s not good for me. I need to string together some of those 6-ride, 200-mile weeks that you have come to expect from me.

I came to Pennsylvania with a list of things to accomplish for my mother. Most of those things are done now. And Mom is 6 weeks farther along in her recovery from surgery on her fractured hip, so she can take care of many things she couldn’t handle before. In the 4 weeks that remain on this visit, I need to look out for myself a little more and crank up the saddle time.