"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination." - Fitzhugh DodsonMy first cycling goal is to complete a century ride. A century ride is a 100 mile bike ride. Riding 100 miles would be a huge accomplishment for me, and I know I can do it with adequate training and preparation.
I want to give myself enough time to train for this though, and I have no idea how long that will take (especially given the winter months). However, after researching organized century rides, I have decided that my goal will be to complete the NYC Century Bike Tour in September 2010. This ride brings together over 6000 cyclists from all over the world, and travels across 4 NYC boroughs. Proceeds from the tour benefit the bicycling advocacy of Transportation Alternatives, which is an organization that helps to make cycling and other public transportation more accessible and wide spread in NYC. As an urban cyclist, I can think of no better place to ride my first 100 miles than in The Big Apple.
Given the far out date, this will give me adequate time to set up a sufficient and realistic training schedule. I recently purchased a couple cycling training books, which I plan to read in the next couple weeks. As soon as I do, I will set up a training schedule over the next year (to be published on this blog), in preparation for the NYC Century Bike Tour '10. As I get further into the training, I will be able to figure out if my goal will be to merely complete the 100 mile ride, or if I am going for a specific timed goal.
I must admit, I am excited to actually have a goal. I cant tell you how many times I've started a new hobby, got really into it, but never clearly defined any goals, and thus, have no accomplishments to show for it (save the painting I just hung up in my dining room!). Training for the century ride will be tough, but I know I'll be a better person on the other side of it. With commitment and dedication I'll make it. Let the journey begin! :)
2 comments:
Question: how do you plan to get your bike there? Because if I can figure out a way to get my bike there, I'd totally be up for doing this. And then we can pretend like our marathon efforts weren't a waste :)
Well I read that Amtrak allows bikes on certain trains! I'd just have to plan enough in advance to make sure I was on a train that allowed it. I've seen people take their bikes on planes, too, I'm just not sure how it works. It would be so fun if we did it together!!
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