2023: A Statistical Review

I’m calling 2023 a successful season. How could I not? I wanted to reach 90,000 lifetime miles, and I did. I wanted to race more, and I did. It doesn’t matter that I beat my mileage goal by the narrowest margin, or that I didn’t race as much as I had hoped. When I look back on 2023 in the years to come, I will remember it for the time I spent in Pennsylvania helping my mother after she had surgery to fix her broken hip. That was the really important work this year. Cycling, as much as I love it, is only a hobby.

I rode 4,423 outdoor miles this year, 1 more than I needed to reach 90,000 lifetime miles. So, I will look for 4,999 miles in 2024 and 5,000 in 2025 to reach 100,000 lifetime miles during the season of my 60th birthday. It’s a worthy goal. I have not had back-to-back 5,000-mile seasons since 2015-2016. With 4,423 miles this year, I beat last year’s total of 4,190. This season ranked 13th out of 20 for mileage and 9th for ride frequency. I did 164 rides this year, up from 143 last year, but my per-ride total of 26.97 miles was my lowest since 2017. I set only one personal record this year: 177 miles is now my record for December. My longest ride of 2023 was only 50 miles. My 6 cyclocross races were 5 more than I did in 2022, but short of what I would have done if not for staffing issues at work that required many changes to my schedule and many overtime hours.

In 2023, I spent 1,581 minutes on the turbo trainer, mostly while hooked up to Zwift. That’s my 9th highest total, all-time. I could have and should have done more. That’s also true of strength training workouts, which I missed during those 16 weeks in Pennsylvania. And I failed to hit my 260-mile fitness walking target, but only narrowly. I walked 238 miles in 2023 and I will keep my 2024 target at 260. But with my new treadmill, scheduled to arrive on Saturday, I think I will exceed that target easily.

In my 2022 season recap, I wrote that in 2023 I wanted to get down to my high school weight of 185 pounds. That didn’t happen. I spent the year between 195 and 204 … usually closer to 204. In 2024, I will do a weigh-in at the start of every week instead of just at the start of every month, on the assumption that it will be easier to correct for a 1- or 2-pound gain than for a 5- or 6-pound gain! Losing weight would be so valuable to me as a cyclist, and it remains the beast I cannot slay. But there’s every reason to keep trying.

Some Changes Coming In 2024

This post is going to read like a list of New Year’s resolutions. It’s not. It’s an intersection of obligation and opportunity. It’s an action plan that straddles January 1 only because it contains items that depend on medical and dental insurance plans which, of course, reset with the new year.

I have known for a long time that my blood pressure is too high. In 2016, I got on medication to address that issue. Medication was working for me. I was happy. My doctor was happy. Then the COVID-19 pandemic came along and I almost completely stopped interacting with the world outside of my own home. I stopped seeing my doctor, so my doctor stopped renewing my prescription. On Tuesday morning, I had my first physical examination since September 2019. I am back on hydrochlorothiazide. I think I will be from now on. And I have resumed tracking my blood pressure at home. I had not been doing that regularly since 2016, and I was foolish to stop.

It’s probably true that my high blood pressure and my high cholesterol, which also requires medication, have a genetic component. I will never know. I was adopted as an infant and I have no information about the medical histories of my biological parents. But I should be controlling what I can control. I never touch tobacco and almost never touch alcohol. Exercise isn’t a problem, as this blog should make obvious. Diet is the problem, carbohydrates in particular. My doctor is urging me to cut out carbs as much as I can. She understands their value to me as a cyclist who trains and races, but she wants me to find other sources of calories off the bike. Bread, pasta, and cereal have been huge components of my diet. I already have begun to reduce my consumption. Soda, which I love so well, has to go away completely. Starting on January 1, I will track my water intake via Garmin Connect. If I drink as much as my doctor recommends, then I won’t have room for soda anyway!

On January 4, I will get up to date with my vaccinations. On January 26, I will have a carotid artery ultrasound to determine whether arterial plaque is contributing to my high blood pressure. If it is, then there’s a simple surgical fix. Left untreated, carotid artery plaque is a serious stroke risk. On January 30, I will have my first dental appointment of the new year, and at that time my dentist and I will decide how to complete the process that began late this summer. Sometime in the next 3 months, I will have the colonoscopy that I should have had by the time I was 50 years old. I’m 58 now.

This is all really important, foundational stuff. What will it matter if I’m working to improve my fitness on the bike but simultaneously leaving myself open to preventable disease?

I don’t expect big changes in my approach to cycling in the new year, however I will change my approach to walking. On January 6, I will take delivery of a new treadmill for my home gym. (I ordered it back on December 21 before my doctor even had a chance to tell me what a disgusting tub of lard I am.) I expect to use it a lot. On days when I do not plan to ride the bike—whether that means riding outdoors or on the smart trainer—I can take an extended walk with intervals governed by the treadmill’s preset workouts and its automatic incline adjustment. On days when I will be riding the bike later, I can do a short walk in a fasted state soon after I get out of bed. Those 30-60 minutes in prime fat-burning mode should pay dividends. A smarter and more consistent approach to walking will add to my overall health and fitness without adding significantly to my training stress and fatigue.

So, you can see that these are not New Year’s resolutions. They are not vague hopes and fleeting commitments. This is a time-bound list with very specific and achievable objectives. Progressing through this list will make me stronger on the bike and off.

90,000 Lifetime Miles

I reached 90,000 lifetime miles today, completing the goal I set for myself at the end of last season. I came into December needing 176 miles. That seemed like an almost impossible number to reach. My personal record for December was, coincidentally, 176 miles, set in 2018. Prior to this season, my average December output was only 57.5 miles. With 31 miles today, I established a new personal record:

Normally, I have reached my mileage goal for the season long before December. I’m already very disinclined to ride in cold weather, so I really can’t be bothered when there isn’t a statistical objective. West Bend hit 47° this afternoon, which hardly qualifies as cold on December 24, and I clearly have benefited from warmer than average temperatures this month. But I was content to stop on 31 miles today with my first new monthly mileage PR since August 2021.

With these objectives finally in hand, I am shutting down my outdoor season. There are no more personal records within reach, my job is still demanding a lot of extra time from me, and I’m mentally fatigued. Thursday should be my first night off since December 7. And what did I do with my “free” time on December 7? I drove the 900 miles back to West Bend from my mother’s house in eastern Pennsylvania ... no big deal. I will have worked 20 consecutive nights by Thursday. I need a break. Then I need to miss the bike so badly that riding inside seems like a good idea.

I’m A Pop-Tart At Heart

Today I deployed a new weapon in my war against cold: an ActionHeat battery-heated vest liner. This lightweight garment surrounds the body’s core with heating elements like those inside a kitchen toaster, and it fits much like a traditional cycling gilet. The V-neck is an obvious difference, but the vest is not intended to be an outer layer. For its maiden voyage, I wore mine over a thermal baselayer and under a winter cycling jacket, then finished with a wind layer. On this 43° afternoon I rode for almost 2 hours comfortably. I could tell that the vest was contributing something to that comfort. Was it as much as expected? No, but it was better than nothing. Was it worth the money? Only time will tell. Let’s see how long it lasts.

The vest retails for $119. I got mine second-hand, technically, but in an unopened box for $82. ActionHeat says the vest will crank out 90° for 4.5+ hours, 110° for 3+ hours, or 130° for 2+ hours:

My battery gave up a few minutes to the short side of 2 hours today. As you might expect, I used only the highest setting. And 2-hour rides are not normal for me in the winter, so battery life probably isn’t too much of a concern. I plan to use the vest again tomorrow while riding in very similar conditions. If we hit 51° on Sunday—yes, that’s in the current forecast—then I won’t be worrying about battery life at all: the vest will stay home!

It’s Over, Over There

I hope they enjoyed this while it lasted.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a cycling boom as people looked for socially-distanced alternatives to things like public transportation and health club memberships. Retailers quickly ran out of bikes, parts, and accessories. Then, demonstrating the mismanagement we expect from the bicycle industry, retailers assumed historically high demand was the “new normal” and manufacturers increased production to meet an influx of orders. The supply chain broke down while demand was still high, leading many shoppers to buy overpriced used bikes instead of the new bikes they couldn’t get. But as the pandemic lost momentum, so did the cycling boom. And as the supply chain got fixed, shops were flooded with bikes, parts, and accessories that they couldn’t move without deep discounts.

In October, British cycling retailer Wiggle Chain Reaction lost the financial backing of its biggest investor, Signa Sports United, and almost immediately thereafter entered administration, the UK equivalent of our bankruptcy reorganization. Unfortunately, but predictably, this led to a big layoff of Wiggle Chain Reaction employees. The only good news was for consumers: more of the aforementioned deep discounts. But even that good news was muted. Wiggle Chain Reaction now has eliminated international sales, so its deals are available only in the UK.

I was able to place one final order, and I received it today: a nice torque wrench set, a merino wool long-sleeve baselayer, and a pair of arm warmers. The total cost of $91, including tax, is what you might expect to pay for a torque wrench set or a merino wool baselayer by itself.

Every bolt on every bike has a recommended torque limit, and with carbon fiber frames and parts it is especially important not to over-tighten. Prior to today I had one torque wrench that I could use only on one size bolt for one specific torque limit. Now I can ensure every bolt is tightened correctly. At $39, the merino wool baselayer was the most expensive part of my Chain Reaction order. It’s equal to this $100 offering from Aero Tech Designs that I bought in 2020 and absolutely live in during the winter. But like its predecessor, I expect the new baselayer to serve me off the bike, not on. It will be great for loungewear and for cool weather hiking or yard chores. The arm warmers will be pressed into service on the bike soon enough. My only other black arm warmers are from Pearl Izumi and they are pretty worn out after many years of good performance. The old ones now fit too loosely except after a fresh laundering.

I contented myself with purchases I could actually use … this time. Now I will keep an eye on domestic bike retailers to see if their prices plunge into fire sale territory. If they do, then I could talk myself into a few things that wouldn’t pass the “do I really need this?” test.

Back Home Before Winter Really Begins

Today was nice, but that thin layer of ice on Barton Pond is a sign of things to come.

Wow, it was 56° this afternoon in West Bend—historically, the average high for December 8 is only 35°—and I was here to take advantage of it! I got back from Pennsylvania this morning at 3:30. By mid-afternoon I was ready to ride, but my start was delayed by a broken cable lock that had secured my Framed Gravier to my car’s hitch rack during the trip. Before leaving PA, I noticed that the lock was a little sticky. Somewhere along the way, it froze up, and that had nothing to do with the temperature. This afternoon I snapped the key inside the lock, and that was the final insult. Half an hour later, after much work with a hacksaw and even more swearing, my bike was free. There’s nothing in the forecast to match today. We’ll see whether today’s ride proves to be the last outdoor ride of 2023.