Everybody has 'em. They come in all shapes and sizes. They give us pride and purpose. They weigh us down with shame and guilt. They are the self-imposed demons we chase and drag and beat ourselves with - throughout the entirety of our lives.
However, I've got some pretty simple goals. I just want to go to interesting places on my bike, photograph them, come home and then write about them. I need to remember this.
Looking at My Goals
I've learned something this year... be careful of your goals. I set myself some pretty high achievements and though I haven't reached all of them, of those few I have achieved - I now question their importance because what I've shown above is far more interesting that what I have below.
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| A quick snapshot from my list of goals from 2018 |
>> Read more: "2018 Goals"
It's a love/hate relationship. I started worrying with cycling goals the day I began scribbling the details of my rides in dirty little notebooks back in 2007. It went up a full-notch when I made them computerised with spreadsheets. Then I went completely overboard with this damn blog. It is without a doubt - an addiction.
Now I spend most of my leisure time working in Google Sheets, Blogger, and Photoshop - all for the sake of recording, documenting, and measuring my goals. Urgh! Does any of this really matter to anyone?!?!
Solitaires
These are the core of my rides now (2018). I generally try to make all my rides at least 62.14 miles in length (100 kms; a metric century). Anything shorter, I just consider a warm up ride.
>> Read more: "About Solitaires" or see the addiction: "Solitaires by Year".
100 Mile Club
Cycling 100 miles or more has taken hold of me. I try to ride 100 miles (or more) at least twice a month. It's a little crazy, actually.
>> Read more: "About 100 Mile Club" or witness the sickness: "100 Mile Club".
The take away from all of this is; that most often the better part of my cycling life comes not from numbers in a spreadsheet, but from exploring. Setting out with a destination and letting the day just happen.