2014: The Preview

I wouldn't say 2013 was a bad year, but I didn't reach all of my goals. I want to get back on track in 2014, but not by setting my goals so low that they are easy to reach. I want to take care of some unfinished business from 2013 and also try something new in 2014.

1. Ride a century every week.
2. Complete the California Triple Crown.
3. Ride a century in 3 new states.
4. Ride across Nevada in 30 hours.

#1 is self-explanatory. It's a simple goal, but it's not easy.

#2 is unfinished business from last year. I can break this goal down into smaller goals. First, I want to finish the Devil Mountain Double, which was a lousy DNF for me in 2013. That ride is usually in late April (probably the 26th in 2014). Second, I want to finish the Alta Alpina Challenge, another lousy DNF for me in 2013. That ride will be on June 28th this year. Unfortunately, the AAC will not be part of the Triple Crown this year. However, I love the ride, it's close to home, and I want to make up for last year.

I'm not sure yet which other 2 doubles I want to do. The Terrible Two is one of my favorites. It's scheduled for June 21st, which may be too close to the AAC for me. I might want to try 2 doubles that I haven't done before. The Eastern Sierra double on May 31st is a good candidate. The Davis Double on May 17th is another good candidate. It looks like a different experience than the climbing doubles I usually like to do.

#3 is another goal I didn't reach last year. It doesn't look like I'll have as much time to travel in 2014 as I had in 2013. I may have to settle for a few 3-4 day weekends instead of taking a whole week off. The good news is that there are 2 relatively close states that I haven't done yet: Oregon and Washington. I've been wanting to ride around Crater Lake in Oregon for a while now, so Oregon's route is mostly decided. I'll probably save the 3rd state for late summer/early fall. I usually need a good pick-me-up around that time of year.

#4 has been on my mind for a while, but I've never committed to it. The time is right to finally give it a try. I'm sure I'll be posting more about the preparation as the year goes on. Route design is easy: straight across the state on US 50. The rest is more difficult: training, support, etc.

I hope for better success in 2014. I wish you all the same!


UPDATE (1/2/14)

The California Triple Crown schedule is up and it turns out that the Alta Alpina Challenge will be included this year. That means I will for sure be doing DMD on  4/26 and the AAC on 6/28. For the 3rd double, I'm thinking about the Eastern Sierra Double (5/31) or White Mountain Double (9/13).