# Riding goals for 2015



## Guest (Dec 31, 2014)

Ok lad-ees.. it's that time of year!

What's your 3 riding goals for this year? I'm sure we can all have 20-30, but let's just start on what's possible 

I'll start:


Ride more technical downhills and get more comfortable with drops. I'm not quite there yet. 
Ride faster on the DH, which means more time on my DH bike and more time on trails that involve more climbing. 
Get over my fear of steep downhills. Not sure where this came from, but I feel like I'm looking over a cliff and need to get over this. 
 I've given up on climbing goals. I'm comfortable with my place in the climbing world (sucking), and it'll slowly get better as I get closer to my goal weight.

Yer turn


----------



## MtbRN (Jun 8, 2006)

1. Ride more during the work week. This year I found it difficult to get out for after-work rides during the summer months. Having a 10-hour work day and a young, high-energy pup who needs an evening walk factored into that some. But I don't need excuses, I need to ride my bike 
2. Work on getting the dog trail-trained. Right now, she is happy to run with the bikes but barks continuously and wants to nip our feet as we pedal! Now that she is maturing she is scary fast, though, and I think she has the makings of a great trail dog.
3. Sign up for a Trek Dirt Series camp. I want to get more confident on tech terrain, but I need someone to push me to try the scary-looking stuff. A friend who has attended this clinic at Winter Park raved about how much she has learned, so I am going to give it a try.

That's my top 3. Have a happy, healthy and safe New Year, all!


----------



## skarin (Jun 2, 2006)

1. Learn to jump. I never learned how and have some fear of landing badly. Planning to go to the Trek Dirt Series as well, they definitely cover jumping.

2. Get back to pre- baby #2 climbing speed/shape. Working toward this goal should help me lose some stubborn leftover baby weight too.

3. Have more fun. I've spent too much time looking and thinking about Strava. This year I want to stop and session fun stuff, enjoy beautiful views, and take lots of pictures.


----------



## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

1) Ride more! Before the Fall and drastic decline in daylight, I was riding around 4x/week. I don't enjoy night riding mostly because even with lights I don't seem to see and judge that well. 
2) Continue to work on slow-speed tech. I've been working on track stands and slow-speed maneuvers which have given me a lot more confidence, especially when at risk of stalling out.
3) Continue to work on jumping obstacles and taking advantage of kickers. FUN!


----------



## supersedona (Dec 17, 2012)

Get enough of a routine to get more miles in, in spite of variable work schedules.

Ride a few XC races. Related to goal 1. 

Get back to ideal riding weight. Also related to goal 1


----------



## stacers (Oct 29, 2012)

Hmmm.... 

1) Try bikepacking - get in at least one backcountry trip.

2) Take a weekend skills clinic to build on what I learned this year - I came a LONG way with technical skills, and want to keep the momentum going. I would especially like to work on technical climbing.

3) Do at least four XC races, with at least one fatbike race.

4) MOST IMPORTANT: Get out lots and ride my bike to awesome places!!


----------



## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Some good nuggets here...
'Exercise shouldn't be torture' Olympic cyclist Joanna Rowsell pedals her top tips for staying motivated | Harlow Star


----------



## gabrielle (Jan 2, 2005)

Hmm well I completely failed at last year's goal - I didn't even re-ride the trail I wanted to conquer. 

Goal for this year:
Ride at least six new trails.

gabrielle


----------



## the other Anne (Feb 14, 2014)

My goals suit my pathetic lack of ability:

1) Master the switchbacks on the trails I usually ride. They're easy switchbacks that everyone else can do, but I'm gutless.

2) Do the Oregon Outback ride.

3) Ride the entire Great Divide route.


----------



## gabrielle (Jan 2, 2005)

the other Anne said:


> My goals suit my pathetic lack of ability:
> 
> 1) Master the switchbacks on the trails I usually ride. They're easy switchbacks that everyone else can do, but I'm gutless.
> 
> ...


"Lack of ability" + "gutless" and then "Oregon Outback" + "Great Divide"? Does not compute! 

Go get 'em! I want to do the Outback someday, too.

gabrielle


----------



## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

1) Plan more adventures and explore new dh and trail. Plan a trip to the mountains. 

2) Build and help maintain more trail. I participated in 10 full volunteer trail days in 2014 . My goal for 2015 is to participate in one full volunteer day per month.

3) Ride harder and faster; jump higher and land bigger drops. Continue with current training program, and increase lift loads. More strength and stamina for 2015. 

4) Mentor new riders. I've learned so much over a short period of time and my goal is to take the opportunity to share the stoke


----------



## FrdSHOx3 (Sep 10, 2009)

1. Ride more during the week in the summer months. 
2. Keep my eyes up and look further down the trail.
3. Ride more, ride more, ride more.


----------



## Rae6503 (Jun 30, 2009)

1. As always get better. Increase endurance/fitness and technical skills.

2. Do more races I guess. I 'um "accidentally" joined a race team and they have a 5 race minimum, although I'm sure I can haggle a bit in exchange for some website work.

3. I'd also like to learn to take some MTB action photos with the new DSLR I got for Christmas.

4. Get my daughters (6,8) more into biking. The hit their first single track last summer on basic kids bikes and both got geared MTBs for Christmas as well. We're going to sign the older one up for the Little Bellas camp. Super excited.


----------



## LadyDi (Apr 17, 2005)

To ride, period. Anywhere. I had left total knee replacement October 17th, 2014. My formerly ruined knee is now titanium & plastic.. Recovery was (still is!) tough and my flexion is coming back slower than I'd hoped, though still within the so-called "acceptable" timeframe. I tried to ride my 29er six weeks ago, before I was ready, and didn't make it off the front lawn, oops. But it's a new year! So I just finished lugging an old 26er down from the eaves and getting her ready to go- swapped to flats, pumped up the old tubes, and accomplished a stationary backpedal in the security of my kitchen. This particular bike has shorter crank arms, which helps. I'm taking a break then out the door. Today is my big day, fingers crossed!!!


----------



## the other Anne (Feb 14, 2014)

Go LadyDi!


----------



## LadyDi (Apr 17, 2005)

I did it!!!!


----------



## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Woohoo! Congrats! New Years resolution met just 6 days in - pedal on!


----------



## miatagal96 (Jul 5, 2005)

Here's what I wrote in my blog (2015 Races | rubberonmud) for 2015 riding goals. It's in print for the world, so I have to do it!

In 2015, I'm going to focus on the cross-country ski season and the cyclocross season. Ski season will be about getting a lot of hours on the snow and improving my technique - both classic and skate. Summer is going to be about having fun on my mountain bike - more rides and fewer races. I am going to do the Hardcore 24 race again, but this time I'm going to do it as part of a 'for-fun' team, where spear-heading bacon and beer hand-ups will be my priority. For cyclocross season, I have my eye on the nationals in January 2016. My cyclocross season will be designed to improve my skills and combine racing with resting to keep me in good mental and physical shape for nationals.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

My turn:
1. Keep progressing. You never stop learning/improving and growing. Pumping and jumping.
2. Seven Summits. This is the year.
3. Momentum moves for down, up, over.

Edited to three, so anything quoted is old stuff.


----------



## oldbroad (Mar 19, 2004)

My #1 goal for 2015 is to do the VT 50. 
So that means my two other goals will be.... 
2. not die trying to finish the VT 50
So that means I need....
3. to ride a whole lot more than I did in 2014


----------



## Asterope (Mar 11, 2014)

Only three? well - I guess I can narrow it down...

#1 - most important! get coaching to learn to deal with obstacles and terrain more efficiently... i.e. getting over logs, drops, rocky steep sections. 
#2 - i'm buying myself a DH bike for my b'day - so develop that skill set! (will probably help a lot with some of #1!)
#3 - enter a gravity enduro competition later in the year, social category (#1 and #2 will help with my confidence for this!) and also enter a few more XC races, aiming to ride faster and place better than the previous race each time. 

(and a sneaky #4 - not directly bike related - finish my doctorate and graduate whilst remaining relatively sane... I think #1, 2 and 3 will be of great help in achieving this!)


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

Oops was it supposed to be only three? Fixed my own post. :thumbsup:


----------



## 8valvegrowl (Mar 4, 2009)

Y'all have awesome goals, I hope everyone has some measure of success. But the most important one: Have fun!


----------



## Sunyata (Sep 16, 2009)

1) Get faster, I have a lot of technical skill when I do not psych myself out, but I need to get faster on the easy stuff. Speed is NOT the enemy... 
2) Conquer downhill switchbacks (I also suck at these and freak out at the apex)
3) Finish the Shenandoah Mountain 100 (100 miles of back country racing with ~14,000 feet of elevation gain) - This is the big one!


----------



## jewels (Mar 17, 2004)

1) log in more miles...I reset the bike odometer for the new year (road & mtn bike). Maybe do a road bike event, metric century this spring.
2) wear more protective gear, eye protection/FF helmet...makes me feel more confident. And more safety lights on road bike, be seen!
3) Get in shape before my bike trip in the summer...always struggling with fitness when I'm trying to ride many days in a row.


----------



## cleopatra999 (May 9, 2012)

1) bike guide or coach a weekend
2) clean all switchbacks on the two uphills (I am up to about 75% of them from 0 the year before!)
3) expand our women on wheels group to two nights, with someone else leading a second beginner night (recruit more leaders, not just followers....I need the help!)

I could think of a million others, but that is good for now!!


----------



## sooshee (Jun 16, 2012)

Hmm where to begin...

1)As of this morning since getting my "you're in" email, finish the Leadville 100 under 12 hours so I get that shiny belt buckle!

2)Continue improving my technical riding skills

3)Maybe have a good enough early season race season to submit for a pro upgrade (eek)

4) HAVE FUN! It's just riding bikes, for goodness sakes! Ride fast, fall softly, and keep on smiling.


----------



## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^Good luck at Leadville! A coworker got his buckle and I think it is still in a box - put that thing on a belt if you earn it!


----------



## VirtualJ (Mar 1, 2015)

My goals for 2015
1. similar # of rides (125) as 2014 with 25% more miles and elevation gain
2. continue to improve/gain new skills
-more comfortable on rocky, tech
-master switchbacks, both steep and tight
-small drops, jumping with confidence and purpose
3. more epic rides, crested butte 401, & Fun mtb trips 
-stay safe, no injuries
connect and have fun with other riders!


----------



## Andrea138 (Mar 25, 2009)

I'm moving to Colorado in two weeks and working at a shop (92Fifty) for the summer. My overall goal is to make the most of the time there, and include:

-All day mountaintop/backcountry adventures whenever possible
-Race the Big Mountain EnduroSeries Pro/Open Women category (from what I hear, some of the terrain will be outside my comfort zone, so it's going to be a huge challenge with tough competition)
-Finish the season by knocking a chunk off my 2014 19+hour finish time of the Vapor Trail 125 (I currently live at sea level, so the months of acclimatization/training should make a big difference over the week I had last year)

Go big or go home, right?


----------



## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Watch this and you may have to update your goals (sorry the embed is not working for me)
[video]https://www.facebook.com/SafeCyclingAustralia/videos/824849190895819/?fref=nf[/video]


----------



## snowgypsy (Jun 5, 2011)

Dudes...that is amazing! What...how... I can't even wheelie properly...:eekster:

1. Have fun. I've worried so much about racing, about getting faster, better, stronger, over the past few years that I've lost something precious - the joy of simply being on my bike. All that pressure has also led to 3 straight, serious injuries, and 3 straight seasons of recovery. So, this year? No races. No training plans. No training diets. No intervals. No races. Repeat - _no races_. Just riding (DH and trail) as much as possible and loving every second of it.

2. Exploring new trails - getting beyond the beaten path with awesome people. Drinking more beer after that beaten path ends.

3. Sharing what I love with others - by writing more, riding more, teaching more, and being a whole lot more fun to be around ("riding for fun" me is a lot more awesome than "grrrr...I'm racing" me).


----------



## petey15 (Sep 1, 2006)

^ now those sound like awesome goals!


----------

