Goals 2.0

I realize, less than two weeks into the new year, that there there is a fatal flaw in my plan for 2011. It's not that I'll be unable to achieve any of my stated goals individually (who knows at this point) but rather that two of them are mutually exclusive.

• Pay back my wife for all of the sacrifices she's made and support she's provided. 
• Participate in PBP 2011. 

It's easy for me to be pretty self-involved when it comes to riding and especially when it comes to setting goals of what I plan to achieve on the bicycle. After the accident, though, I realize that I can no longer make decisions so flippantly or unilaterally. While I have no symptoms of PTSD, I'm not sure the same is true of my wife, kids and other close family members who had to imagine all too vividly a world without me. Getting a phone call at 6:30 in the morning from a hospital two states away has a way of leaving an impression.I think it's going to take more than a year to get my team to feel good about all that goes into completing a 1200K.

Some things are a lot more important than riding 1200 kilometers on a bicycle. Even though PBP has been my dream ever since I began randonnuering in 2007, it's not going anywhere. While London-Edinburgh-London is a longer, more physically challenging and intimate event, PBP is a ride to do at least once in one's life. Perhaps it's a ride to do every four years. It is certainly a life goal of mine. It's just a goal I won't accomplish this summer.

So here's another pass at the season with more thought about the impact my riding will have on my family. 

Goals 2.0

1. Treat everyone in my life as well as I have been treated by others this past year.
2. Pay back my wife for all of the sacrifices she's made and support she's provided.
3. Complete a full SR series.

New Year, New Goals: 2011

2010 was something! The season began well, but the ending I could have lived without. On the positive side, I achieved personal best times on each of my SR series rides this year. Unfortunately, I was unable to attain the Cyclos Montagnards R60 award I was chasing when I fell and broke my humerus at mile 310 on the NJ 600K. I had successfully logged R60 times on the 200K, 300K, and 400K, but the late start after a full day's work in June's 600K was my undoing. I finished the event in 25 hours and 50 minutes, which was pretty close to my 24 hour goal, but not close enough. As a result, I achieved a CM R70 designation this year and felt that I would avenge that 600K finish during the 2011 season. The accident kept me out of the Lap of the Lake 1000K in early July but did not ruin our family vacation to Europe nor my ability to ride in the Endless Mountains 1000K in August.

Needles to say, the EM1000K did not turn out as I had hoped. 1 hour and 45 minutes into the ride, I was hit from behind by a distracted driver and suffered 24 broken bones. A six week hospital stay and four surgeries later, I am riding again (on a stationary bike) and looking forward to a full recovery and getting out onto the roads again this spring. Speed is not part of the equation for me in the coming year. I simply hope to rebuild my endurance and strength on the bike, ride with friends and complete my first PBP which I been eying for the past four years. Thanks to everyone who supported me either directly or in your thoughts this past year. Safe travels and be sure to keep the rubber side down.

Goals for 2011

Personal:

1. Treat everyone in my life as well as I have been treated by others this past year.
2. Pay back my wife for all of the sacrifices she's made and support she's provided.

Cycling:

1. Complete a full SR series.
2. Participate in PBP 2011!