The "What did you accomplish in 2016?" Thread

wonderturtle

wonderturtle

Well-Known Member
bike-related of course :)

me:

Distance: 2,657
Time: 251h 51m
Elev Gain: 129,154
Rides: 133
Longest Ride: 64 mi (Gravel Fondo)

Didn't do any races. Only "organized" event that I did was Gravel Fondo (which was great). wanna do more stuff like that in 2017.

Since I wasn't "training" for any particular races, my rides were a bit less focused than years past. Just basically got on bike and rode the distance/ intensity that my body allowed that day (whereas in years past I would sometimes do some "interval" training). 2017 - more of the same. at 45, just gotta listen to the body. I can always ride for a long time, its the intensity that seems day-by-day. some days I feel fresh and can ride hard and fast, other days I just have to be happy be on the bike :)

got the most miles ever! and with Garmin/Strava, since most of my miles are on twisty mtb trails, I am almost certain that I actually did 5-10% more (compared to what it would have been with an old skool Cateye bike computer). last few years I have been right at 2,400 miles. beat that by a few hundred miles while taking most of May off for health reasons. if it wasn't for that I'd be over 2,800.

didn't get around to nearly as many parks as I would like. schedule dictated that 90% of my rides were local (Huber/ Hartshorne/ roads connecting them). didn't get to Allaire nearly as often as I used to and would like to. and don't think I got to Clayton at all or Lewis Morris (and I really like those places). but did 6MR a little more than usual. gotta mix that up more in 2017.

still didn't get a gravel bike...another 2017 goal.

2017 - also want to do more "Iron Turtle" rides (50+ mile rides where I do all of the local parks - Huber, Hartshorne, Tatum, Holmdel, Thompson - and the roads that connect them). did 2? all year. want to up that number in 2017 - see gravel bike goal above.
 
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Frank

Frank

Sasquatch
By the time Saturday roles around I should have passed the 3100 mile mark, which is an all time high for me and mostly on an mtb!
At least 3 of the rides were over 50 miles!


Distance 3,072.0 mi
Time 349h 9m
Elev Gain 74,380 ft
Rides 289
 
jimf

jimf

Active Member
I set a goal in 2015 to get 600 miles in and achieved that, this year I thought I would double the goal and go for 1200, 98% or so on dirt. I thought I would make it easy after July but the second half of the year has been a struggle with work, injures to me and the bike and the weather getting in the way. Unless I have a new years eve miracle and get 32 miles in I will fall short of that goal(I have to visit relatives tomorrow so no ride tomorrow) I am going to try for a big ride on Saturday, I hope I get close.

2015

Distance 616.6 mi
Time 113h 16m
Elev Gain 62,838 ft
Rides 69

2016

Distance 1,168.1 mi
Time 195h 24m
Elev Gain 105,131 ft
Rides 124
 
Patrick

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
it was a good year!

Met/rode with more of the people from the board -
Hopefully some useful things came from my primordial-soup writing style.

Made some commitments that i didn't attack for JORBA, but they are on the radar, and on my mind.
Looks like i have some time coming up, so will work on that.

Drank great beer.

I appreciate the mtbnj team allowing me a long leash on dealing with some of the contentious issue on the board.
since i overthink everything, then overthink it again, hopefully the resolutions were fair, and more healing than divisive.
 
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Kaleidopete

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
I had a great year biking. Not so great medically, but that's another story.
I started riding a bike in the last half of 2014.
2014 I rode 132 miles
2015 I rode 485 miles
2016 so far 1,222 miles
98% off road
This year
I Rode from Wildwood to Cape May lighthouse to meet up with Jim Vreeland and Dave Taylor on their Longest Day ride from High Point to Cape May.
I had a great time riding the beach down and then heading inland to the lighthouse. Had a nice chat and greeting with Jim and Dave and families

I also rode the Pedal For Preservation on the Columbia Trail in Chester, NJ. 30 mile ride

And I rode in Johnny Utah's September challenge and getting first place by riding 29 days straight.
It would have been 30, but I had surgery on the 30th. :D
 
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Patrick

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Kaleidopete said:
I had a great year biking. Not so great medically, but that's another story.
I started riding a bike in the last half of 2014.
2014 I rode 132 miles
2015 I rode 485 miles
2016 so far 1,222 miles

This year
I Rode from Wildwood to Cape May lighthouse to meet up with Jim Vreeland and Dave Taylor on their Longest Day ride from High Point to Cape May.
I had a great time riding the beach down and then heading inland to the lighthouse. Had a nice chat and greeting with Jim and Dave and families

I also rode the Pedal For Preservation on the Columbia Trail in Chester, NJ. 30 mile ride

And I rode in Johnny Utah's September challenge and getting first place by riding 29 days straight.
It would have been 30, but I had surgery on the 30th. :D
Click to expand...

you cut me up. :D

nice job.
 
1speed

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I'll play...

The stats: 7038 miles (5200 MTB) There were more non-STRAVA miles, but they don't count now, do they?

The good

Racing:
  • Second overall, first solo SS at 12 Hours of Santos
  • Second overall, first solo SS at Leesburg Bakers Dozen (winning the SS there has long been a goal and I've come close in the past but never stood on the top step until this year!)
  • First Overall, first solo SS at 24 Hours Round the Clock
  • Second solo SS at 6 Hrs of Cathedral Pines
  • Actually got to line up for SSAP for the first time in three years (move to May eliminated schedule conflicts)
Other:
  • Multiple 100 milers
  • Created the Solstice Brew Tour, a 150 mile ride on the weekend closest to the longest day of the year that hits multiple trail systems in the region with stops at several Philly-area breweries throughout the day. The ride included Conshohocken, Manayunk, Forrest and Main, Prism, and Round Guys Breweries
  • Gravel Fondo
  • Tour de Tech - in October, did a 4 day road trip that hit multiple sections of Rothrock & Michaux Forests, as well as French Creek to get the true PA Rocks experience
  • Got to witness my friend @joshhan murder the shit out of his first ever race at CP
  • Got to meet up with friends old and new at different events and rides throughout the year

The bad

Mostly just injuries and their effects ...
  • Lower back (ongoing)
  • Broken Elbow
  • Crashes destroyed both of my knees at different ties this year (one of them, at the Stewart 45, is still causing me issues today - blew my chain out about a dozen times and hit my knee on the stem so many times it was swelled to twice its normal size by the time I made it home.)
Missed out on Leadville 100 (because of elbow injury above)
Still tried to go for Leadville, which became in total the worst trip I've ever taken (just the Sisyphean effort to make it home soured me on traveling for the rest of the year.)
Missed out on my favorite race of the year (SM100) as I was still recovering from broken elbow

***

All in all, though, it was a great year. Plenty of riding, possibly my single best race performance ever out in Washington, and I did get to see a bunch of different areas of the country from the saddle.


For 2017, not too much is set in stone for me yet. I took a new position at work about a month ago and not sure how that will effect my ride time just yet. I'll definitely be going back to LBD and SM100 this year, and I'd love to do another 24 hour, but not sure what will/won't work out yet. Also, hoping to try some bikepacking this year.

I'll definitely be doing another solstice brew tour in '17, right around the middle of June. Hoping to add a couple of other stops. Of course, if anyone would care to join in, all are welcome. Just know that it's a real ride - it's a long day that includes three trail systems that are no joke (Green Lane, Wiss and Belmont) - but if there is interest, we might be able to work out something that allows those who need to bail before the end a way to get back without having to suffer a long ride in unfamiliar territory - maybe a sweeper wagon can meet up with us at each brewery for those who have had enough.

Other than that, just going to try to have fun with this whole bike thing - new bike coming early in 2017, fun with song lyrics for STRAVA names, and a few other goofy things to keep it interesting.
 
Supermoto

Supermoto

Well-Known Member
As my first year as a stay at home dad, while still keeping my job, I was happy for each one of the 2037 miles that I was able to ride. Whether alone or pulling the little man in the trailer, it was good to be able to get outside.

Goal for 2017 is to ride more outside of NJ, preferably by not living here anymore
 
chuprinko

chuprinko

Well-Known Member
Started riding a lot more on the road, and really improved. Participated in few cross practices, bought a used cross bike and even raced a couple cross races and had a blast - barely finished but finished. Met some nice people from MTBNJ this fall, and made looking at the site a regular occurrence.
Goal for 2017 - turning 50 soon, so that means more rides, actually get the mountain bike dusted off, and perhaps some mtn bike and cross races.
 
Johnny Utah

Johnny Utah

Well-Known Member
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This was a big year for me...

Miles: 4500 (will pass this tomorrow), 95% off road
Time: 450 hours (2.5 to go)
Longest Ride: 132 miles
246 rides
Took my first win at an XC race
Took my first second at an XC race
Finished the D&L Fat Epic (14th)
Finally cracked my Beargrease
Then my El Mariachi
Celebrated my one year aniversary
Built a team that raised $13k for MS
Made new friends
Started doing one handers again
Started a new position at work
Lots of shovel time at the trails
Finally saw Pearl Jam in concert
Redid my spare bedroom
Started my kitchen



And I had a lot of fun doing it!
 
clarkenstein

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
This was the lightest year I have had in a long time on the bike as far as mileage goes. Work in the first half of the year was INSANE and the second half I took August off for family time and then had pneumonia in November (still sorta recovering from that).

Totals landed at 22,887 feet climbed, 72 rides, 699.7 miles.

There's a little more mileage in that total but it's what Strava says so whatevs. Most of it was on the mountain bike this year.

I did a lot of riding with my son - he is 8 so when he asks to go, I'm there. It's the best rides I have had.

Looking to 2017, I'm hoping to up my consistency again and do some organized road rides (century for the cure, Sourlands spectacular, HoH), but mainly stay flexible and not put pressure on myself or family.
 
stilluf

stilluf

Well-Known Member
This years's biggest achievement for me was getting a plan approved for MTB access at Watchung. Still not sure when the trails will open, or how long it will take, but I am really proud of all the effort and advocacy put in (including by County folks) to make this a reality!

As far as my riding goes, I feel this year I've taken my riding to another level. Much more aggressive and willing to tackle features that I've shied away from in the past, especially at Chimney Rock (and have the bruises to prove it). Also, my uphill riding made a big improvement. I don't track my mileage, but I know I've ridden more this year than any prior year.

For 2017, my goal is to increase my MTB advocacy, both in Union County and state-wide. There are a number of other county parks which can be linked to Watchung so locals can ride right out their door and connect to the amazing trails we have planned there. (we were doing some scouting this week, and there are some VERY cool features that we can incorporate into the trails).
 
huffster

huffster

Well-Known Member
Strava says this at the top of the "Training Calendar" with 1 day to go. Not sure where you get the altitude stuff...
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I didn't set any goals and I only starting using Strava in 2016 for last years BIYF contest, so I have no idea if its better or worse. But, I will hit 2800 miles and I would say that is easily 95% on dirt. I sure can't complain about that.

The one thing I do like to track as sort of a goal is the list of different places I have MTB'd. I like to diversify as much as possible within the immediate tri-state area and try to hit new places in my travels. So, in 2016, I MTB'd in 54 different places. 16 of these venues were "first time ever" in 2016. I'm happy pretty happy with that, too. I hope to add some more new venues in 2017.
 
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