It was another year without racing, but Season 18 was good to me nonetheless. I finished 2021 with a total of 4,704 miles spread over 148 rides. Both numbers were down from last year, but 4,704 miles is my 10th highest total all-time. Here’s how 2021 broke down, month-by-month:
Personal records in June and August, combined with a very solid July, positioned me for a run at a 5,000-mile season. I would have made it if not for the crash on October 7 that put me out of action for three weeks. But my “official” goal coming into 2021 was only 3,316 miles, so I beat that by a wide margin. And even though I rode less frequently this year, I rode longer, averaging 31.8 miles per ride.
My per-ride average could take a hit in 2022 as I return to mountain biking. However, I still expect to exceed my mileage goal: 3,612. That’s what I need to reach 85,000 lifetime miles.
Do I have to mention that my cycling numbers are outdoor cycling numbers? Riding in the real world and riding on the turbo trainer are two different things, no matter how good the simulations are becoming.
I did a lot of walking/hiking for fitness in 2021, covering 463 miles. Much of that effort was motivated by my late 2020 acquisition of a Garmin GPS-enabled sports watch, without which I wouldn’t have such an easy way to track those activities. My late 2021 acquisition of a smart trainer will drive me to produce a whole new set of statistics for indoor cycling, an activity that until now I have tracked only by the number of minutes spent going nowhere. I’m really counting on Zwift to get me through the winter and leave me in better shape than I have shown historically at the beginning of spring.
Off the bike, 2021 was good to me in many ways. My home got a lot of attention. I addressed plumbing problems in the kitchen and all three bathrooms, I repainted the living room, dining room, and upstairs hallway, and I had new carpet installed throughout the upper level. I enjoyed my first real vacation since 2014—I had to work from my mother’s kitchen table when I visited her last year—and I even attended my first Pirates game at PNC Park in my native Pittsburgh. That stadium opened in 2001, but until this year something always got in my way whenever I wanted to visit. A couple of weeks ago I paid off my car loan, three years early. It’s a great feeling to be debt-free … except for the mortgage on my house. And I read another 20 books this year, which was down from last year’s total but still a solid effort.
What’s the plan for 2022? The pandemic continues to jeopardize any plan that relies on other people, so I will remain focused on myself. I can compete against my old mileage numbers on the bike and, now, on foot. But aside from the year-long goal of 3,612 cycling miles and the new challenge of 500 walking miles, all other mileage records will be targets of opportunity. If I find myself getting close to one, then I will go after it. I’m thinking about, but not yet committed to, walking a marathon. That’s 26.2 miles and would be my longest walk ever. I think I could do it in about 7 hours. And I want to read at least 16 more books. That would finish my run through the complete works of T.C. Bridges, author of many early 20th Century adventure stories … entertaining enough in his way but not the talent Robert Louis Stevenson was.
There’s no big objective for 2022. I continue to work on the multi-year goal of 100,000 cycling miles by the time I turn 60, but that’s the closest thing to a big goal that I have … not just in cycling, but in life. When I was 13 years old someone asked me what I wanted to be in 10 years. I said 23. That was me being a smart aleck. But it’s not nearly as cute to be aimless at 56. Without a clear direction, an accumulation of little achievements has brought me to a comfortable place that many people never reach and some people might even envy. Still, it doesn’t completely satisfy and it certainly doesn’t inspire. Maybe my biggest objective for 2022 is to identify what I really want.
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