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Now retired but busy still living..

Wednesday 3 October 2012

My Mileage Target....

A five minute break at the golf course
As today's ride was sandwiched between the morning rain and the rain that was promised for later in the afternoon I had to make a decision....which bike to ride. 
Should I go for the Felt or the Tifosi which has the the added benefit of mudguards just in case I got caught in a heavy downpour. 
As it was I elected to ride the Felt and luck must have been on my side because I got away with it, no rain and no streaky line up my back. 

On the route I rode today, one of my favourite places to stop is at a golf course, just where a small stile takes a footpath across the links. 
I stood by the gap in the hedge chewing on an energy bar and watching a couple of golfers chipping in on the nearest green. 
As I did so it crossed my mind that I must be fairly close to the 9,000 mile mark for the year. 
I checked the Garmin, did a quick mental calculation and yes...I had just passed the 9k for the year so far. 

It was only a few months ago that I posted on this blog how I was getting a bit fed up with all the bad weather and the effect it was having on my silly attempt to reach 10,000 miles total for 2012. 
I told you how I was fed up with riding in the rain and was seriously considering if I should continue with the commitment, to what is after all only a number. 
Well I am really glad that I managed to stick with it. 
It's now just under three months to go till the end of the year and I now have less than one thousand miles to ride in order to achieve the magic 10k. 

When I was ill and undergoing radiotherapy treatment I made a list of things that I would like to do if I managed to get over the cancer....
A ride back from Gibraltar was one of the things on the list and I achieved that last year. 
I had hoped that I would have achieved the ten thousand miles in the same year but unfortunately I missed it by about six hundred and fifty miles. 
This year with a bit of luck I hope to tick this one off too. 

After the two golfers had tapped their little white balls down the hole I climbed back on my bike and continued with my ride. 
My brain was still in calculation mode because I couldn't help but keep thinking about the three months left and my average mileage so far this year. 
I kept calculating on the possibility of reaching an additional 2,000 miles making 12,000 miles by the year end...

Why am I like this?....Why can't I just be satisfied?...Why do I have to keep thinking of resetting the target?... I really was getting annoyed with myself....

I got back home, put the Felt away and had a shower. 
I made myself a cup of coffee and looked out of my window across to the Isle of Wight and as I did so the heavens opened...
The rain came down hard and I do mean hard!! 
As I looked at the rain I was reminded in no uncertain terms why 10,000 miles will be a perfectly good enough figure for my mileage target...........Who needs the extra 2,000 miles?....
In this rain I don't!

(NB:My mileage counter will be updated as usual at the weekend)

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Well Done Trevor.
I think everyone needs goals to aim for in life. its what makes life interesting!

Steve A said...

Be careful about not leaving a few goals unachieved. I'd hate to hear you have done them all!

Paul said...

Trevor, 9K is amazing in itself! I don't think I could ever ride that much in a year, maybe after I'm retired. I think you'll easily reach 10K.

TrevorW�� said...

*Mike McEnnerney*
Thanks Mike...I agree, it's good to keep on pushing the boundaries in our lives.

*Steve A*
Not much chance of that Steve...As soon as one is achieved I seem to come up with something else to have a go at..!!

*Paul*
Thanks Paul. That's my secret of course, being retired. There is no way I could have managed to do the mileage if I had to work each day, unless of course work was as a Pro cyclist!!LOL

jeff said...

Even being retired would not assure me of 10k in a year. That is amazing commitment and quite an achievement. And besides sounding like a nice ride, you had me intrigued with the links course, and the Isle of Wight.

rlove2bike said...

Congratulations!! That is an awesome achievement. It's great for you (and us) that you have the opportunity to do these things.

Thanks for the post!
RL

KatieCake said...

I am glad to hear that you are still well on track for your super mileage target despite the unpredictable and miserable weather.

What's your secret? How do you convince yourself to keep riding in this grim weather? My mileage is well down compared to last year.

Anyway, good luck with reaching the magical 10k.

Tracy W said...

9K with three months to go is amazing. I consider that quite a feat that would be impossible for me to match. Good work!

TrevorW�� said...

*jeff*
Thanks Jeff. It has certainly been a pretty big commitment of time....

*rlove2bike*
Thanks for the comments...I appreciate your visits to the blog.

TrevorW�� said...

*KatieCake*
No real secret Katie.
I don't allow anything to interfere with the time I allocate to my riding..that includes other interests...people...or even the way I feel on any particular day...

I try to tell myself that failure to reach my targets just isn't an option.

*Tracy W*
I must admit that I have surprised myself with this goal Tracy...

I suppose it all boils down to how much you really want to reach the goal and how much you are prepared to put up with in order to achieve it...

Mark Shaw said...

Well done trevor on reaching 9k and looks like you will easoly do 10k.
I am seriously lacking mileage this year due to the weather and currently a chest infection I cant get rid of.

Maybe you may even make 15k ?? ha ha

GreenComotion said...

Very cool statistic, Trevor!
Peace :)

Unknown said...

9k mate holy Mary mother of god... I'm impressed that I've done 194miles since getting my own cheapy road bike a carrera TDF cos i can't afford a goodun and to see if i take to it. Good drills though.

Six weeks off.

 The visit to see the Consultant went quite well really ...   My ' numbers' have started to creep up again so I am going to be given...