2013: Year in Review

Time to face the music. 2013 was a down year for me. Here are the goals I set at the beginning of the year:

"My bike goals for 2013 are simple. (My life goals are a little more difficult to achieve.)

• Ride a century per week.
• Complete the California Triple Crown Stage Race and finish in the top 10.
• Ride a century in 3 new states.
• Ride a century in a new country."

I was only 1 for 4. I did ride a century per week. As for the second goal, it ended in April when I didn't finish the Devil Mountain double (Week 17). I only rode a century in two new states (Montana and Idaho), so I failed on the third goal. I didn't even make it out of the country this year, so the 4th goal wasn't even close. It was just a bad year for me, plain and simple. The funny thing is that I had a better year off the bike than on the bike. Usually it's the other way around.

The Lows

The biggest disappointment for me in 2013 was the Triple Crown. I DNFed DMD and the Alta Alpina Challenge (Week 26). The DNF at the AAC was probably the low point of the year for me. The only double I completed was the Terrible Two (Week 24), but my time was very slow on that one. I did finish the AAC route solo (Week 28), but I don't really count that one.

The Highs

August was the best month for me. I took a week off and did some spectating at the Tour of Utah; did a 5-day, 500-mile ride from Bozeman to Salt Lake City; then got back to Reno just in time for the Jens & Schleck Brothers ride. I sacrificed riding in a few new states to do the BZN to SLC ride, but it was worth it. I ride a lot and I love my bike, but after averaging 100 miles per day for 5 days I felt more at one with my bike than ever. I can joke that my life revolves around cycling, but for 5 days it was actually true and I loved every minute.

The Most popular Posts of 2013

Spectator reports:

• 2013 Amgen Tour of California, Stage 4
• 2013 Amgen Tour of California, Stage 5
• 2013 Tour of Utah, Stage 1
• 2013 Tour of Utah, Stage 2

Other Posts:

• I got dropped by the Schleck brothers and Jens Voigt
• Soleus Draft GPS Cycling Computer Review

2014

2013 wasn't my best year, but 2014 has the potential to be a big year for me, both off the bike and on. I'm still trying to narrow down my goals, which I hope to have posted by this time next week at the latest.

Week 52

Date
December 28th, 2013

Distance
104 Miles

Time
6:02:22

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Ride Report
That's the last century of the year. I got food poisoning two days ago (The symptoms didn't appear until the middle of a 3-hour ride, which turned into a 4-hour ride.), but I was over it today and my stomach didn't give me any issues. I didn't eat that much just to be on the safe side. I think I had a little over 500 calories for the day.

I got the Feed Zone Portables book for Christmas, so I'm going to start trying some of those recipes in 2014 and I'll see how they work out. I just made some apple cinnamon rice cakes last night and I'll try them out on next week's ride.

Meanwhile, I'm working on a recap of 2013 that I should have posted later today. I do plan on continuing doing a century per week in 2014, so I'll have a list of goals posted sometime in early January.

Happy riding and good luck to all in 2014!

Strava Link

Week 51

Date
December 21st, 2013

Distance
103 Miles

Time
6:34:24

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Ride Report
The roads were icy this morning and when I started at 9:00 AM that ice was melting and the roads were a mixture of icy and wet. However, it turned out to be a great day. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to almost 50 degrees.

One week to go. Have fun out there.

Strava Link

Week 50

Date
December 15th, 2013

Distance
101 Miles

Time
6:10:22

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Ride Report
I drove south to Smith Valley, NV for a loop of US 395, NV 208, NV 338, CA 132 and US 395 again. This is a perfect loop and it adds up to almost exactly 100 miles. It was sunny & warm (compared to earlier this week, at least) and the scenery offered a little bit of everything: lakes, a river, snow-covered mountains, bare mountains, and flat roads in the valley. 5,000 feet of climbing is enough to keep the ride interesting, but almost none of it is steep. It's an ideal winter ride.

I need to go back in the summer of 2014 and climb Sonora Pass. I don't know why, but I didn't make my way down there in 2013.

Strava Link

Week 49

Date
December 6th, 2013

Distance
105 Miles

Time
7:05:21

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Ride Report
We had a storm roll through on Tuesday that brought an end to that warm weather I've been enjoying for the last few weeks. It dumped quite a bit of snow, which made for an interesting day of commutes where I was passing long lines of cars stuck on a hill. The rest of the week was OK- cold but not snowy. The roads were fine except that the ice and dirt ends up in the bike lanes, making them difficult to use. I've been spoiled by the bike lanes and shoulders here in Reno. I forgot how much easier they make things. I had to be very aggressive with my positioning without them.

More snow was coming Saturday, so I decided to squeeze in my ride on Friday after work (I've been working 11pm-7:30am lately.). I rode home from work, changed, ate, and hit the road again. I was a little worried that I'd feel tired and be extra slow, but none of that was an issue compared to the temperatures. However, the wind didn't kick in until late in the ride, so it could have been much worse.

I was reluctant to squeeze in the ride on Friday, but it turned out to be the right decision. Saturday's snow was heavier (at least in my part of town) and it's been sticking on the roads longer. It's also been colder, with the overnight lows getting close to 0°F. I thought Friday's ride was tough, but a Saturday or Sunday ride would have been worse.

Strava Links: 1 2 3

Week 48

Date
November 29th, 2013

Distance
101 Miles

Time
6:18:16

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Ride Report
It's the day after Thanksgiving, which means I really needed a long ride today to make up for eating too much pie yesterday. It also means that it's time to be thankful, so here goes.

I am thankful for my health. I live to ride and I don't know what I'd do with myself if I weren't healthy enough to ride.

I am thankful that I have a job. I recently switched jobs and the new job has its pros and cons, but at least I can afford food and a place to live. My bike is getting old and it isn't the greatest, but at least I can afford to keep it going with new tires, chains, cables, etc. I'm not to the point where I love my job yet, but I'm on the right path and hopefully 3 years from now I'll be there.

I am thankful to live in Reno. There's so much great riding here. I have two great climbs (Mt. Rose, Geiger Grade) within 10 minutes of my house. Lake Tahoe is only a 30-mile ride away. There are a ton of other great times that I can drive to in an hour or less. The Bay Area is about 4 hours away and I can go ride great events like the Devil Mountain Double, Terrible Two, etc. Summers are beautiful- sunny and not too hot. Winters aren't really that bad. Most of the snow stays in the mountains.

Stay thankful out there, everybody. We're lucky to have found the most beautiful sport in the world and we're lucky to be healthy enough to enjoy it.

Strava Link