Goals, especially public ones that you share on social networking sites like Facebook & Twitter, are great. They set a clear target and are constantly staring back at you to keep you moving. They also constantly hold you accountable for an end result. You also get the encouragement of friends and family that can really make the difference when the going gets tough.
In May, I successfully pedaled 406 miles to just barely achieve my goal of 400 miles in May as a celebration of Bike Month. It was a true challenge since a few days of inclement weather left me with three days to go and almost 100 miles to complete. My last few miles were great – a nice rideon my Trek Soho S at McAllister Park and a newly opened segment of the Leon Creek Greenway.
Tracking progress against this goal was greatly facilitated by using two online resources – Garmin Connect and MapMyRide. Both web sites support goal creation and tracking. Each time I uploaded my ride from my Garmin 705, I’d get an instant update on Garmin Connect about my progress. This was easy to track since it not only displayed my mileage goal and current mileage but also showed me where I was supposed to be at that specific day of the month (for example, each day the “ticker” moves about 12-13 miles forward which is about the average number of miles you have to ride daily to do 400 miles in 30-31 days).
I encourage you to set your own goals. Be reasonable. Start with goals you know you can achieve and then begin to stretch them (e.g., I had previously completed a “300 miles in 30 days” goal a year ago). Make sure you create or utilize a method that allows you to keep a detailed log of your progress. Depending on your goal, consider sharing it with family and friends – their support can be instrumental to your success (I had several cyclists volunteer to share some rides with me to help me reach my 400 mile goal – it was awesome!).
Best of luck to you on blasting through your own goals and milestones – you can do it!!
Just a few miles away from my goal…at McAllister Park
