Saturday's group ride was pretty entertaining, I ended the day with 80 miles by riding more on my own, the Derby today was painful and awesome at the same time, and…okay that's enough of that.
To keep my motivation up with an upcoming [pending] race in February, I decided to have some kind of stepping stone goal. I remember last year when local cyclists were talking about the Festive 500/Rapha500. Basically, you're aiming to complete 500 kilometers between the 23rd and 31st of December.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but we actually had "winter" weather in the Lehigh Valley at this time last year. So, I probably brushed it off for that reason, or I had no motivation to rack that many miles. Mother Nature must be in good spirits because we've been blessed with a fantastic "winter"…so far. Looking ahead to the upcoming weeks, it looks like we could potentially have a relatively dry 9 days.
After doing the math and thinking to myself, I realized again that it's over 9 days. 310 miles in 9 days. I rode 270 miles within 5 days a couple weeks ago, so technically, I can easily ride 500km within 6 days. It seems to be out of reach right now, but I thought of challenging myself a smidgen more. Instead of riding 500km within 9 days, I'd like to shoot for 500…miles. The only real challenge I will face is the weather. If Mother Nature all of a sudden decides to give us a nor'easter, I'm screwed because trainer miles don't count…as they shouldn't (I'm already thinking ahead--I'll make sure to set my Garmin, Strava, and Cyclemeter simultaneously for my rides. I'd hate to have an 80+ mile day and not have any proof…that would suck).
And then I realized that I am on Christmas break from the 2nd half of the 23rd until after New Year's…SWEET! I know I can do it…it's just a matter of having nice weather (I don't have a cross or mountain bike) and staying motivated. I'll be mixing in some running and swimming, as well…so it'll definitely be a challenge. Bring it! Also, if you have any extra Christmas cookies that you want to get rid of, you know who to give 'em to :)
Daily posts during the Festive500 are sure to come (it's part of the rules)!
To keep my motivation up with an upcoming [pending] race in February, I decided to have some kind of stepping stone goal. I remember last year when local cyclists were talking about the Festive 500/Rapha500. Basically, you're aiming to complete 500 kilometers between the 23rd and 31st of December.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but we actually had "winter" weather in the Lehigh Valley at this time last year. So, I probably brushed it off for that reason, or I had no motivation to rack that many miles. Mother Nature must be in good spirits because we've been blessed with a fantastic "winter"…so far. Looking ahead to the upcoming weeks, it looks like we could potentially have a relatively dry 9 days.
After doing the math and thinking to myself, I realized again that it's over 9 days. 310 miles in 9 days. I rode 270 miles within 5 days a couple weeks ago, so technically, I can easily ride 500km within 6 days. It seems to be out of reach right now, but I thought of challenging myself a smidgen more. Instead of riding 500km within 9 days, I'd like to shoot for 500…miles. The only real challenge I will face is the weather. If Mother Nature all of a sudden decides to give us a nor'easter, I'm screwed because trainer miles don't count…as they shouldn't (I'm already thinking ahead--I'll make sure to set my Garmin, Strava, and Cyclemeter simultaneously for my rides. I'd hate to have an 80+ mile day and not have any proof…that would suck).
And then I realized that I am on Christmas break from the 2nd half of the 23rd until after New Year's…SWEET! I know I can do it…it's just a matter of having nice weather (I don't have a cross or mountain bike) and staying motivated. I'll be mixing in some running and swimming, as well…so it'll definitely be a challenge. Bring it! Also, if you have any extra Christmas cookies that you want to get rid of, you know who to give 'em to :)
Daily posts during the Festive500 are sure to come (it's part of the rules)!
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