3,000-mile Smile

Made it!

I had envisioned doing 47 miles again last weekend, and then I'd be 11 miles over my goal with two weeks of 2010 pedaling to go and Waterton Canyon re-opening for a month next weekend. Unfortunately, we literally ran out of daylight during our milestone ride, so all I got was exactly 26 miles, every single mile I needed, down to the last drop. I'm there. I did it.

This was my best year since surgery in 2004. I biked a total of 1,824.8 miles in 2008. Last year I got in only 1,167 miles because I let too many other commitments gobble up all my free time. The Lizard, on the other hand, hit 3,000 miles on the final weekend of 2009, and that after a training-related injury kept him off his bike for two months. Plus, we moved, which kept us off our bikes a couple more months. If he could do it, so could I. So I set my 2010 goal for 3,000. And now I've done it. I don't know that you'll be able to wipe this 3,000-mile Smile from my face!

My road bike definitely isn't going to take a break for the rest of the year, and it actually may be in service a lot longer than I anticipated after losing the derailleur during Ride the Rockies last June. We had planned to retire my road bike to the indoor winter trainer when we learned it would cost only a couple hundred dollars more to buy a new bike than it would cost to rebuild the old one. The economy being what it is, buying a new bike might not be a wise use of funds. And now I've grown accustomed to the rough shifting of the mountain bike derailleur currently powering my road bike. I can get by another year if needed.

Six years ago, I wasn't sure I'd be able to ride anymore, much less the distances I thrived upon and enjoyed. Recovery from life-changing emergency back surgery took a lot longer than I anticipated. In a way, I was just like my bike is now. Parts inside me didn't work as smoothly as they used to and the way I wanted them to, but I kept using those old parts. Didn't really have a choice! New parts were not available!

After losing running and continuously struggling with descents while hiking, thanks to my defective parts, I was determined not to lose riding, too.

My neurologist back then said I wouldn't be able to wear a fanny pack anymore, and I likely wouldn't be able to wear a backpack. Fanny packs are so yesteryear, I don't mind losing them. After years of forcing the issue, I finally carry my own backpack. On my back. (I used to carry it on my front or over just one shoulder if my back rebelled too much.)

I figure if my back can handle what I'm putting it through, the road bike can, too. This bike has a lot of emotional investment, and it's stuck with me through thick and thin, plus a couple of good wipe-outs. I've even joined the OTBSC on it. Don't ask, 'cuz I ain't tellin'!

So I'm going to follow The Lizard's 2010 lead... his goal this year was 4,000 miles, and he reached it in 10 months. So my goal in 2011 is 4,000 miles. But I'll take the whole year! No point in rushing things!

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