Gosh, another year already! Those calendar pages sure flip over quickly, don\’t they?

Now that it\’s 2019, I can start plugging away at the year\’s mileage goal: 6000, between my two bicycles. I\’m even thinking of working up to a 100-mile day; perhaps in April or May.

I\’ve done self-supported centuries before. In a way they\’re a drag, because I must carry everything with me; including a cable lock so I can secure my bicycle during stops. I can always arrange my route so that I can make a stop at home to replenish my supplies; but stopping at home during a century ride feels like cheating.

On the other hand, an organized century will probably have a cut-off time. That means I\’m likely to have difficulty in completing the ride on time.

It\’s another year already, and I still have not met a goal that I\’ve had every year for at least five years: to increase my cruising pace to 15 mph. It\’s true that I\’m a little better at riding for 15 mph for more than a few seconds — sometimes for 10-11 miles! — but I can\’t yet do it for hour after hour.

Where am I falling short? Too little \”force\” work? Do I need to get out there and push it to 18 mph for five-minute intervals twice a week? Are my \”recovery\” rides too hard? Am I too afraid of the discomfort of pushing my effort level into my max heart rate zone?

The local Tour de Cure for 2019 doesn\’t seem to have been arranged yet. I might have to give it a miss this year, for a number of reasons. But maybe next year!