By Rick Shultz
Well, 2021 is ending. Summer is over and fall is here, although it is still 90 deg in Southern California. Cyclists are beginning to think about moving back indoors for winter training.
Let’s hear from readers about how the year has gone for you.
- What are some cycling lessons learned this season? (Any topic.)
- Did you achieve what you wanted to this season?
For me, I learned to grind out the hills. When the mind wanted to quit, I knew the body still had 40 percent left.
And my goal was to reach 1,000,000 ft climbing, which I did by Oct 15!
Coach Rick Schultz is an avid cyclist who trains, races and coaches in Southern California. Rick is an engineer by trade, and in addition to being a coach, he’s a bike fitter and prolific product reviewer. He’s the author of Stretching & Core Strengthening for the Cyclist and Bike Fit 101: Your Toolset for a Great Bike Fit in the RBR eBookstore. Check his product reviews website, www.biketestreviews.com, and his coaching site, www.bikefitnesscoaching.com. Click to read Rick’s full bio.
I made my goal of riding across the country from Delaware to Oregon this summer. Decent accomplishment in and of itself, but I am especially proud of completing it because (unbeknownst to me) I came down with Type 1 diabetes during the ride. By the time I finished, I was in bad shape (my doctor’s eyes got really wide and I was sent to the emergency room). The diabetes is under control now, fortunately.
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing. Any rides planned in the future?
Goal of 6000 miles and I’m at 5800 so I’ll make it yet this month. November and December will be gravy miles.
Just over 8,000 miles for the year. I cycled from Bethel, Maine to Cherokee, NC in June with a great tour group! Over one hundred thousand feet of climbing and just under 1,400 miles on the “Epic Appalachians” tour. In spite of COVID it’s been a banner year of cycling for me. Can’t wait for COVID to be over so the world will open up! I’ve no time to waste at the tender young age of 74!
Keep turning those pedals over,
Mister Jim
Mileage down ~25% vs last year, and only got in two centuries.
Life sometimes gets in the way, especially as we (and our families) get older.
Always enjoy the good rides as they happen!
I’ll hit 4000 miles this week and want to pass 7000 km before I have to switch indoors.
I had a heart attack in July, but with a serious focus on ‘rehab’ I fully recovered with no damage. That ignited the drive to ramp up my cycling and to get more disciplined (eating, riding). I’m hiring a coach and investing in a smart trainer for the winter months, and I plan to make next year the best and most adventurous cycling year yet. So for me, 2021 is looking like a pivotal year as I ride in my sixties.
Yep! My season goal was to finally ride the 7 day Haute Route French Alps event in August (530 miles & 68,000 feet of climbing including the stage 4 ITT up Alp d’Huez) to complete all 4 of the Haute Route 7 day events over the last several years.
At 74 I was told I was the oldest rider, s0 my goals were to 1) enjoy the ride and locale while making each day’s time cut; and 2) not finish last any day or in the overall GC rankings. Success! I finished 337th of 409 who started stage 1 and had a wonderful ride through the Alps..
My goal for the year was 8400 miles and 600k feet of gain. As of today (21 October), I’m at just over 8700 miles and just under 550k feet of elevation gain. I’ve had some fun big days, at least one 1000-mile month, and a couple of big TSS weeks. Also dipped my toes into interval training for the first time this year. Retired late last year, so this has been a good one on the bike!
My 2021 cycling goal – ride at least 10,000 kms, preferably 12,ooo kms, went out the window with the first COVID-19 lockdown in March. Knee surgery in August slowed me down just as we were coming out of lockdowns.
I went from 66 riding days in Q1 to 29 riding days in Q2 to 24 riding days in Q3.
My revised 2021 goal is at least 7,000 kms and some semblance of fitness 😄
As usual, I failed miserably in my goal of no longer screwing around with my bike fit, which I do on nearly every ride, because it always feels like somethings not right. (Yes, I’ve had a “pro” fitting . . . FIVE, in fact! Everyone made me LESS comfortable and SLOWER! So I now know that’s not the answer.) Perhaps my goal should be to set an unbeatable Guinness record for bike fit changes/adjustments? (Since I began a detailed tracking of it in 2009, I’ve amassed over 1,600 changes, with a 1-year record of 189 changes.)