Looking Ahead: Goals

The end of the year. many of us already have some goals set, and I have been giving some thought to this as well. They say that if you write your goals down, you are more likely to achieve them. So, to that end, I have physically written down goals on a sheet of paper, but this will reflect that here.

I have two lists, actually. One is personal, and I won't share everything here that is on that list. Some of it I will. The list concerning cycling I will share completely here. Okay, in no particular order.....

Centuries: 2019 saw me riding a total of "0" century length rides. I had some planned, but failed. That MUST change for 2020. I know I didn't put in the work, and that is another goal here. To that end, I have already made some personal changes in my lifestyle and eating habits. There is much more work to do there though. The other stress I had was my old job, and that was a year-long dance of not knowing what was going to happen, and that affected me negatively in terms of riding. That part is gone, thankfully. Then the third thing was weather. We had a bad Spring here which set the tone for the rest of the year for me. So, if we have bad weather again, I have to find a way around that.

Finish Gravel Worlds Again: Pretty much related to the above, just a more specific goal. I know I can do it, I did it once in 2016, but I've a feeling this may be my last go-round with this event, so I want to cap it off with a finish.

Ride In Some Different Places: I didn't get very far from home in 2019. I would like to venture out back to Eastern Iowa, Northeastern Iowa, go see my friends in Northfield and ride there, and who knows where else. I just am a bit worn out with the local roads.

Shrink The Fleet- Clear Some Space: It's time to clear out a bunch of stuff, old bicycles, parts, and junk that I have accumulated over the last 15 years. I have already started on this, but I am going to thin out things more in 2020.

Solstice 100: I already signed up for this event again which will be held in a new area of Nebraska. Again- I'd like to finish a century. 

Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational: This will be the 15th GTDRI. First- I'd like to finish this as well!  

So, on a personal level I have a few things to share which are obvious. First, I need to get a job. I've been working on this, but I need to finalize details and get onboard somewhere soon. I cannot just be floating here with no job for long.

Secondly is my health, and that's related to riding, which I've already touched upon. Beyond this I want to also get a few things squared away at the house, and be present for my family.

On the blog-front, social media front, and beyond, I have some goals as well. Podcasting is something that has to be tried, at least. And it cannot hinge upon other folks or technical issues. As for the blog, well I've been doing a lot of thinking.

I have posted everyday, sometimes twice a day, for years now. I didn't always do that. In the last ten years I have posted every day, or more, for 6 years, two other years were within 4 posts of every day. That's something I've considered for the future, a thing that I may not do so often. It's hard to say though, as I like writing here, and as long as I have relevant, interesting things to share, I don't see the post count going down. Let's just say I am mulling things over, but don't expect me to post any less. I probably will post like crazy anyway. Oh well......

So, as for goals, I want to continue the "Trans Iowa Stories", maybe introduce some "other than bicycle related" content here and there, and just keep refining my writing. I am also going to go for showing more of my art here, and we will see where that leads. In 2019 I was thrilled to have had a couple drawings I did sell. So, obviously people appreciate my art, and it is bicycle related, so..... why not? 

That's a good list. So, I'll leave it at that for now. Here's to a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2020 for one and all!