Bill - that is amazing what you've already done in the first two months of the year! Happy 55th! My favourite of your goals is summiting Mount Diablo 5x on 5 different bikes. I watch a lot of YouTube cycling videos, some from California, and it looks amazing (I'm in Ontario, an hour outside Toronto; I love where I live and ride, but often envious of what you have there in California).
I work for a large company where it's all about goals; I get it, and S.M.A.R.T. is the way to go. That said, when I ride a bike I'm not just disconnecting from technology, day-to-day problems, work, and anything else that needs disconnecting from, but when I ride it's like I'm a different version of myself. This is where I get to go with the flow, not have a plan (or I have one, deviate from it, and often!), pause or take a break for any old reason, get really deep at times (in my mind), and at other times just be present with little thoughts other than observing what's around me. I smile a lot when I ride. I stress about nothing (99% of the time). As this feeling (state) started to evolve over years of riding, I've done away with goals, for the most part. I may have a goal of a multi-day ride to a destination, and I really enjoy planning for such rides; however, that is where my work-mind kicks in and I have lists, plans, a calculated mindset. I do enjoy the pre-work aspect, though on those rides I let my other self lose control (not take control!). Like I said, this has evolved over a long time and I didn't realize it was starting to happen until I looked back after a few years and realized it did. I wonder if when I retire, will I enjoy employing some of that big-corporation thinking into cycling again? On Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 11:22:02 AM UTC-4 Bill Lindsay wrote: > At the beginning of the year I listed several S.M.A.R.T. goals: > > 10,000km ridden. (on-pace, over 500 miles/month in rainy Jan and Feb) > Summit Mount Diablo 5 times on 5 different bikes (on pace, 2 done, one > more next Saturday) > Put myself in the position to attempt my first 400k brevet (DONE! I > finished two 200s and the 300k yesterday) > Complete the Marin Mountains 200k brevet (It's in June) > Complete 25% of every city in Contra Costa County on Wandrer (on pace, I > knock out 100 new miles each month) > Complete 25% of Marin County on Wandrer. (I'm picking this up in earnest > after Contra Costa is in order, but I snuck in a few wander miles while > doing the 300k yesterday) > Ride 55 miles on my 55th birthday and kick off riding my age on my > birthday as a regular event (done!) > > Hopefully yours are going well also. > > BL in EC > > > On Friday, January 5, 2024 at 10:42:01 AM UTC-8 Bill Lindsay wrote: > >> "I think you meant "timely" instead of "timply" in your SMART acronym?" >> >> Indeed I did. S.M.A.R.T. goals are a regular thing. I didn't make up >> the acronym. It's a common technique to ward off gloom and depression. >> Therapists, life coaches, etc frequently recommend these things. The >> great thing about it is that it's kind of self-customized. You can line up >> your goals to meet the realities of your life. >> >> Simple (sometimes people use Specific). It just means it's something >> very clear and not ambiguous. "Have more fun" doesn't fit. "Be healthier" >> doesn't fit. "Go to the gym twice each week" is specific and easy to know >> whether you did it or not. That kind of thing >> >> Measurable just means it's objectively certain whether you did it or not. >> There's no judgment in an objective measurement. "lose 5 pounds" is a >> measurement. >> >> Achievable means it'll take a little effort but if you try you'll do it. >> 10,000km this year is achievable for me in my current life set-up, but it >> does mean I'm going to have to try. In comparison, for 2023 I barely made >> 3000 miles, under 5000km. >> >> Relevant means it's something to build towards some other larger >> objective that is important to me. My fitness goals are all aimed at >> extending my life and maximizing my quality of life. >> >> Timely means it can happen in a reasonable amount of time. "Ride 200,000 >> miles in my life" is not timely. "Live to be 90" is not timely, but it may >> be an outcome that is helped along. I'm knocking out tiny smart-goals >> almost weekly. >> >> Bill Lindsay >> El Cerrito, CA >> On Friday, January 5, 2024 at 9:39:22 AM UTC-8 George Schick wrote: >> >>> The trouble is that too many other things interfere with my biking - >>> yard work, home repairs and routine maintenance, auto repair and >>> maintenance, and of course, the weather which can be unpredictable, >>> especially in these latitudes. IIRC the last 100 miler I rode was >>> something like 2007, the last 100K was maybe a year or two later. During >>> those years I managed to squeeze around 1,500 miles out of the biking >>> season (Spring, Summer, & Fall). Not any more. I'm lucky to get 500miles >>> a year on both road bikes. I just can't seem to get the time and weather >>> to rack up any more than that plus I'm just physically slower than I used >>> to be - my 75th is coming up soon. And, though I hate to bring it up, with >>> the advancing age comes a plethora of new medical problems whether physical >>> (muscular, joint, or arthritic) or systemic (cardiac, decreasing lung >>> function, or just plain fatigue). >>> >>> Good luck with your goals, I hope you make them. When I was 55 I was >>> far more able to do similar things than I am now. BTW, I think you meant >>> "timely" instead of "timply" in your SMART acronym? >>> >>> >>> On Friday, January 5, 2024 at 11:22:56 AM UTC-6 Bill Lindsay wrote: >>> >>>> Jock said "but beware the ‘ride your age’ program. I embarked on this >>>> years ago and found we too quickly reach the point where the math just >>>> doesn’t look so good…i.e. it’s all backwards." >>>> >>>> At what age did you start? How long did it go? and when did you >>>> decide for yourself that you can no longer do it? I definitely see riding >>>> 100 miles on my 100th birthday would be worthy of national news. 80 miles >>>> on my 80th also seems a stretch. 70 miles on my 70th I absolutely won't >>>> concede unless something bad happens to me, health-wise. There are TONS >>>> of >>>> SFRandonneurs riders well into their 70s doing 200k brevets like nothing >>>> more than an honest-day's-work. I want to be like them. >>>> >>>> Bill Lindsay >>>> El Cerrito, CA >>>> >>>> On Friday, January 5, 2024 at 9:08:36 AM UTC-8 John Dewey wrote: >>>> >>>>> All worthy goals…but beware the ‘ride your age’ program. I embarked on >>>>> this years ago and found we too quickly reach the point where the math >>>>> just >>>>> doesn’t look so good…i.e. it’s all backwards. >>>>> >>>>> My grandfather, who taught me all I ever needed to know about bicycle >>>>> mechanics, had a goofy plaque over his workbench: ‘Vee get too soon oldt >>>>> und too late schmart’. >>>>> >>>>> Jock >>>>> >>>>> On Fri, Jan 5, 2024 at 6:48 AM Bill Lindsay <tape...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Often we do a goals thread, and there seems to me that there's a >>>>>> schism on how to approach goals. Some folks have very specific goals: >>>>>> i.e. >>>>>> "average 10 miles a day over the year". Others enjoy eschewing the >>>>>> specificity: i.e. "have more fun on the bike". >>>>>> >>>>>> I'm a devotee of S.M.A.R.T. goals, which are (S)simple, (M)easurable, >>>>>> (A)chievable, (R)relevant, (T)imply. The notion of the S.M.A.R.T. goal >>>>>> has >>>>>> improved my life in several ways and maybe in a way has saved my life. >>>>>> I'm >>>>>> a compulsive person and I'm a numbers guy. I'm going to be compulsive >>>>>> about *something >>>>>> , *so if that something can be achievable and healthy, then that's a >>>>>> good thing. I've gotten into the habit of setting up tons of tiny >>>>>> S.M.A.R.T. goals, and it sets me up to have a regular pattern of taking >>>>>> W's. >>>>>> >>>>>> My big picture goals for 2024 include: >>>>>> >>>>>> 10,000km ridden >>>>>> Summit Mount Diablo 5 times on 5 different bikes >>>>>> Put myself in the position to attempt my first 400k brevet >>>>>> Complete the Marin Mountains 200k brevet >>>>>> Complete 25% of every city in Contra Costa County on Wandrer >>>>>> Complete 25% of Marin County on Wandrer >>>>>> Ride 55 miles on my 55th birthday and kick off riding my age on my >>>>>> birthday as a regular event >>>>>> >>>>>> Bill Lindsay >>>>>> El Cerrito, CA >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>> send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8a7e8cfc-b9fe-4990-876c-20c4211b6c44n%40googlegroups.com >>>>>> >>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8a7e8cfc-b9fe-4990-876c-20c4211b6c44n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>>> . >>>>>> >>>>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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