Cycling Goals for 2011

I've thought long (okay, for like ten minutes) and hard about what I want my goals for this year to be, and I think I've arrived at a few.

Here we go:

1. Don't get annoyed at people who do dumb stuff in their cars. Try to keep realizing that a driver who does something that seems aggressive is very likely just a regular, decent person who made a mistake. Remember that I make mistakes, too.
   
2. Enjoy riding more, and worry about stuff less. (Should that be two goals?)
   
3. Make cycling a more social part of my life. Ride with people whenever possible — which is to say, create opportunities to ride with people.
   
4. Build up the new road frame ... somehow.
   
5. Don't obsess about stats, mileage, hills, or weight (okay, maybe a little about hills) — let those things take care of themselves. Focus more on the soul of riding: the way it feels.
   
6. Relish the rides.
   
7. Also relish the rest days.
   

I will state for the record that not setting a mileage goal largely has to do with realizing it's kind of a moot point right now. At the moment, I'm generally spending four to seven hours a day on the bike, five days a week, often making an effort to actually be fast, and I'm sure I'm racking up plenty of miles.

Starting next week, I'll be at the desk three mornings a week, but I'll still be putting in plenty of time on the bike. School will be back in session, and I'm hoping to ride in more often than I did last semester. I'm not shooting for any particular longest-long-ride goal for 2011, and I'm not sure I'll race at all (that will largely depend on scheduling and cash flow).

2010, for me, was largely about proving something to myself — though, honestly, I'm not sure what. Thus far, in 2011, spending a bazillion hours on the bike, in all kinds of traffic and weather conditions, whether or not I've slept well, etc., has relieved a certain strain of self-doubt. I guess it's also provided me with a lot of time for reflection (at least, when I'm not looking for an unfamiliar address), and in that time I've found that I've become more okay with not being a world-beater. I am a reasonably fast, reasonably strong rider, but there are probably like a thousand people in the Louisville metro alone who could ride the pants off of me (another good reason, I say, not to have hair shorts) in one way or another.

I do think I will also try to get over my allergy to crit racing in 2011. While I embraced the idea of taking part in the Five-Spot Crit series back in ... uhhh ... whenever that was; in all honestly, 2010 is kind of a blur ... I have always maintained a certain reserve of distaste for crits — for riding them, that is, rather than watching or reading about them.

However, a metric crap-ton of extremely-enjoyable fast riding in traffic has enlightened me to the notion that crit racing might actually be fun, insofar as crit racing rather resembles the kind of riding one does when riding really fast in traffic, except the traffic in the races is entirely made up of bikes (yeay!) and there are no stoplights (yeay!). Also, when riding in regular traffic, there is no bell lap that allows you to win nifty prizes (boo!).

Actually, come to think of it ... at this point, just about any form of stoplight-free riding sounds like the stuff of sheer delight. I want a set of rollers in part so I can ride indoors while watching movies (yes, pathetic, I know), but also because there are no stoplights on the rollers.

Hm. Has anyone ever wiped out while watching a movie on rollers when a stoplight in the movie turned red?

Okay, that's it. This isn't my most thoughtful, best, or most organized post ever, but it will have to do.  

Also, I have pictures of my recycled sweater; now I just have to transfer them from phone to computer and upload. w00t!

In other news, here I am in my 'wooly ninja' outfit:

From CyclingStuff

Please note that I usually wear my helmet straight, with the buckle buckled, while riding — not slightly crooked, unbuckled, and sitting just atop my head. D'oh.