The "What did you accomplish in 2016?" Thread

[bigW]

2016 a good biking year.

What did not go as planned:

Near zero MTB miles.

11 months of poor diet.

Kinda easy to find the one month of the year that I ate correctly.

Now the good stuff.

-Did not get injured.

-That is worth repeating, did not get injured.

100 days bike commuting to work

11,250 ish miles

New longest ride 208 FAST miles

Sub 8 hour hillier than thou

New most painful thing ever, putting the hammer down on HillyBilly on a scorching hot day. Awesomeness.

Hell of Hunterdon, FoolsClassic and FletcheBaffoon all on SingleSpeed.

Much fun was had biking 2016, I expect to look back on it fondly for quite some time.

Reopening Watchung will get me to fix the MTB next year. Yesssssss.

Thanks y'all
W

 

[rustynuts]

2016
2,165 Mountain Bike Miles.
No racing. Always intrigued, probably never will. Chasing KOM's/PR's seems enough for me.
Did a 35 mile ride, my longest to date. Tried to keep consistent 20 mile rides.
Rode Allaire and Six Mile a bit more. Usually tend to stick to Hart and Huber as it is my backyard.

Hopefully do more 35+ mile rides, and a couple 50 mile rides. Need time as I just started my own business 12 weeks ago.

 

[wonderturtle]

Hopefully do more 35+ mile rides, and a couple 50 mile rides. Need time as I just started my own business 12 weeks ago.

Hit me up for such ride(s)

Congrats on biz

 

[Steve Vai]

I rode the most miles in a long time. Just north of 12K. 4,300 on the Fat Bike, a new high for me. Biggest achievement for 2016 was finally getting to race in Alaska. Hopefully I can continue to plug away at qualifiers to get into the big race.

 

[The Squirrel]

2016 was an interesting year in the saddle. I rode 3,846 miles, 99 miles less than last year. Climbed 64,882 feet, 48,182 feet less than last year. Yet I rode 229 rides, which was 24 more rides than I did last year. I know I rode a lot more on the trainer this year trying to get faster. I don’t think it worked well.

I totally fell for CX this year. I was originally going to start in 2013, but a serious health issue derailed my plans. CX was my main goal during recovery (besides not dying), and even though recovery is a long road that I'll be on for some time, my Cardio cleared me to race this year. My bar was set low with two goals; 1) not finishing DFL and 2) finishing every race. Out of the six races, I finished 4, pulled myself out of one (Marty's) and DNS on one (Supercross). In case you missed it (http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/threads/post-your-booboos.2559/page-13#post-692434 post#256). I never finished DFL, even though I flirted with it all year.

Next year, I think I'm going to get a coach and see what I can do. I'm raising the bar a bit for 2017. I want to be in the thick of it every race I'm in. I'm also fighting the urge to get an MTB. I know if I go down that road it only means trouble in other parts of my life. I'm surprised I didn't get fired this year for all the time I spent at work on the web on this site as well as so many others reading about CX. And Youtube.

Talking about work, it was a banner year. I'm truly one of the luckiest MF'er on the face of the earth.

Happy New Year and many safe miles in 2017!

it iikhoarntsje

 

[rick81721]

I missed the frozen trails op today so no ride - taking a break. With 3 months of no work, no surprise my riding went up significantly from last year by all measures:

224 rides (2015: 195)
4349 miles (2015: 3886)
261,000 ft elev (2015: 208,300)
49 runs/168 miles (2015: 32/122)
400.5 total hrs moving ride + run (2015: 300)

Should easily pass 5000 miles in 2017, hopefully more mtb than road. 4 runs a month seems to be a sweet spot for me, plan the same for 2017.

 

[RSAmerica]

2016
Rides (all MTB) 159
Distance 2,340 mi
Time 303:10:43 hrs
Elev Gain 233,878 ft

Plus
55 Rowing Workouts ~ 50 minites each on Concept II Rower

 

[hotsauce]

I started 2016 with heaps of road miles and trainer time with no real goals. Did a few road races and Kermesse gravel rides then just intended to smash some group rides in the summer. After @The Squirrel decided to get into cyclocross this year, I figured it might be a good activity to get involved in and I picked up a cross bike.

Jumped in head first and lucked into a local cross practice with the Jalapeno Cycling gang which was invaluable. I struggled with starts and consistency at first, but 5-6 races in I started to put everything together with the help of MTBNJ critiquing my GoPro videos. Finished the year with 18 races across 6 states with 3 podiums and one wide angle podium. My reach goal starting out was to make cat 3 by the end of the year which I ended up getting by the middle of November. Finished off the year with some NECX races at Supercross and NBX and got my teeth kicked in (figuratively) but it showed me what I need to do to get competitive in the future.

Overall a banner year after having no real goals a year ago. Hoping for more structured training and getting competitive in the MAC 3/4 fields in 2017. Maybe dabble in some mountain biking to hone my cross skills too!

2016:
3,823 miles
254h 46m
211 rides

2015:
3,168 miles
192h 31m
190 rides

 

[thegock]

In 2016, there were four parks that I wanted to ride more. Did two rides at Ringwood, which I hadn’t hit before, one ride at Jungle (Jam), one ride at Mooch and about five or six rides at Sourlands.


Rode 4,300 miles with a lot of new people in 2016, some of whom I was introducing to MTB, so that was good.


Did about six trail maintenance sessions, including three at parks I hadn’t dug before. Helped move Watchung along, in my own small way.


One of my goals was to podium in a MTB race (thanks, Alan, for suggesting that this was even possible). The first MTB race that I was in a few years ago, was an inspiration, when some dude basically told me to GTFOOTW in front of a ledge that I had to walk up. I put 11 minutes into him in a separate flight in 2015 accomplishing 2015’s goal.


Took first place in the Bulldog Rump CAT 3 over 50 race in June. After the podium, one of the other nine racers came over and gave me a five-minute blow by blow of the last eight minutes of the race, while his wingman listened intently. At the end of his account, he told me he was only 51 and asked how old I was. When I told him that I was only 61, the wingman kind of took a half step away from the racer.


Also, got a first in the Lewis Morris CAT 2 over 60 (upgrade! Kind of…) a couple of weeks later in a closer finish.

 

[Leadman]

2016 was surprisingly good for me. I had a good CX season moving up to cat 3 with 4 podiums and 2 wins. I am an ultra runner by trade, but I am going to focus on cycling and MTBing for the first time this year and see what happens. Hoping to get into LT100 MTB. Signing up for White Face.

 

[JimN]

This year I joined a mountain bike team which I never really thought would happen, since I'm not really into racing and I figured that was the only point in a team. Fortunately I was wrong, and I was able to take part in a lot of great events. I also did some endurance races, in a fun and not very competitive sort of way. I did some awesome dirt epics, including one that ended up being my first ever century. I definitely rode my bike more than ever this year, with my final stats compared to last year:

2015 - 435 hours, 2664 miles, 288k elevation
2016 - 554 hours, 3697 miles, 392k elevation

For 2016 that includes three short runs and one time out on the xc skis. By comparison, 2015 had a lot more skiing and running. I also had to use the elliptical for a few weeks in 2015 due to a skiing injury. For 2016, all of these hours/miles were outside. This is the first year I was able to 100% avoid the elliptical, treadmill, and trainer. The only bike I rode this year was my fatty, mostly on dirt/rocks with some pavement miles as well to connect parks together. I've been doing some exploring around town lately, finding shortcuts to stay off main roads and ride from park to park.

I also went climbing 90 times, mostly in the gym, but I was outside top roping twice, and following @gtluke up in the Gunks twice. I took a class on anchor building, and now have everything we need for that, so I'm hoping to get my wife and some of our gym buddies outside a lot more.

I'll be happy if I can even come close to matching these stats in 2017, as this was a very solid year for me.

 

[choop]

2016 was a pretty good year for me. Got more volume than ever before, raced more then ever as well. I learned a lot about what I can handle and hopefully be able to better tune myself for the 2017 season.

I hit my distance and elevation goals for the year. Also accomplished one of my time trial goals. I raced MTB and CX for the first time this year and enjoyed them a lot. The race results were occassionally good, sometimes mid-pack. I still haven't figured out how I want to plan this season.

Distance: 7,144.3 mi
Time:487h 36m
Elev Gain:204,613 ft
Rides 314

 

[a.s.]

Hmmm my worst riding season to date. Less than 200 total miles in 2016. A bit depressing when I think about it but I did get a new knee.

Look out 2017!

 

[MadisonDan]

Quite an eventful year for me, both on and off the bike.

Off the bike, the big deal this year has been the house renovation. Planning took over a year, and construction began in May and should finish up late this month/early next month. So stressful.

On the bike...
-Started the year off with BIYF, which was great because it forced my hand into getting some lights and trying out some night riding. Very fun. Spooky in the woods doe.

-Three MTBNJ Short Track races. Two mid pack finishes on my '02 26'er aka "little wheels", and a 2nd place on @Harry Hamilton 's borrowed carbon 29'er HT. That basically ended any racing on my old bike.

-Did zero H2H races. see above...

-One new event, Hell of Hunterdon. Very fun ride. May do again.

-Gran Fondo NY and Gran Fondo NJ. Have done both before. Did almost as well as the year before. Very close.

-NICA!!!! Started a composite team as an assistant coach for Madison, Chatham, and Summit with James Miller as the Head Coach, and we're lucky enough to have Nikki Ragonese assigned to us as part of the NJ Girls Rock initiative. She's a great road/TT cyclist, and will be invaluable to the team. We have 14 kids registered or in the process of registering, four girls, ten boys. Five 6th graders, four 7th graders, one 8th grader, one 10th grader, and three 11th graders. More than half the team on the young end of the range is great for the future of the team/program. 5 races scheduled for this spring!!

-CX... Great season. 15 races total. Five podiums in the Cat 4 40+ NJBA races. One top step, three middle steps, and one lower step. Won the NJBA CX Cup for the Cat 4 40+ group. Upgraded to Cat 3. Racing (participating in) Nationals on Friday in the M40-44 race.

-Equipment... New CX bike at the end of the season, Boone 9 Disc. New MTB yesterday, XTC Advanced 27.5+ 2.

2016 Stats
2,934 miles
396 rides (lots of CitiBike 1.5 mile commutes)
210 hours
219 PR's

 

[Mountain Bike Mike]

2016 Stats

464 Hours
6504 miles
135 miles Longest Ride
287628' Elevation

Events:
Hell of Hunderton - blew up at mile 50 and limped to the finish
Brandywine Roubaix - stuck with and finished with the lead group
STB's Covered Bridges Epic - did not blow up or die

Racing:
First place Cat 2 Ramseys Revenge
Upgraded to CAT1 and finished mostly mid-pack for the rest of the year.
Blew up in early May and suffered through May and June
Regrouped in July and finished strong in August
Finished 4th at the D&Q Summer Sizzler
Figured out (the hard way) how to pace a CAt1 race and found myself on the podium for a 3rd place at the MASS Finals
Mid Atlantic Super Series 4th place overall for the series, just shy of 3rd...

Other stuff:
Didn't beat up @stb222
Broke two fingers
Fixed a few bike handling bad habits
Rode a shit ton of flat miles on vacation in Florida
Finished the year riding mostly MTB with people at some good parks
Had a shit ton of fun riding bikes!
Learned and Improved

 

[MissJR]

I got a nice ego boost with picking up some bling at the H2H cat 3 races, Riverrock Urban Assault race and the Mountain Man and Girls Guts Glory Duathlons... plus i discovered how much fun downhilling is

i plan on continuing my bling collecting in 2017

 

[stb222]

2016 Goals:

• √ Ride the Fuck Out of My Bike
• √ Ride More Than 2013, 9,200 miles?, flirting with 10k
• NO: 50-60 hours in January. Not sure why this didn’t happen but it will this year.

Actual:

10,204 miles (previous high was 9,153)
585 hours
441 activities (more than 100 days with two separate rides)
325 days

Highlights:
68 mtb rides for 948 miles, which includes rides with the family. This is much more than the last few years. Many mercer rides with @Mountain Bike Mike

Due to unique circumstances with traveling for work I rode in PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, CA, TX, UT, D.C. and NC. My travelling seemed to always be during the full moon and I saw the full moon set on the pacific and saw the sun rise every other place with D.C. and NC being the highlights. Utah was a highlight even though only two rides and I am pretty sure I had hypothermia coming back down Big Cottonwood Canyon at 6:30am where it was in the teens on the turn around (due to time couldnt summit) .

The majority of my rides happen before 7am and starting in the dark in places you don't know can be nerve wracking but damn if i was going to be in those places and not try.

I rode the sun up on at least 300 days.

Over 1,000 miles in March, September and October

60 hours in September, damn close in Feb, Mar and Oct

Won BIYF Mortals

New Longest Miles day of 140 miles, I dragged along MBM who didn’t die on this one

Hell of Hunterdon and Covered Bridges

Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen Loop (not on the actual day)

Rode the steepest paved road in the world: Canton Ave, Pittsburgh: And COBBLED too! Triple B!

I moved back to PA in June, painted the entire inside by myself before moving in.

This is a year that will not be topped anytime soon. Everything came together and being able to ride so many different places was surely unexpected. On the professional side I knocked it out of the park too. I am thankful for every rotation I turned and being able to ride the fuck out of bikes.

I think this year I up’ed my picture game too.

Laguna Beach

Socal

Moon over pacific

Texas Roads

Pointy Thing to the Sky

Outer Banks

Moonlight Ride with Son

Mill Creek Canyon, Salt Lake City

Last Sunrise of 2016

 

[w_b]

For a song and a lil cash I picked up the remnants of an old Enduro from @jimvreeland that he had picked up for the fork. Both of my other FSRs are older, so it was an upgrade. I was rocking the Iron Horse SGS DH in my avatar on the trails, but definitely not the optimum trailbike. My body was feeling it.

No, I am NOT an early adopter. Or even a late adopter.

Added a fork, built up, took a few rides on the Enduro in the woods, feeling good, joined the mtbnj group ride @Kaleidopete put together at Wayway (thanks Pete.) Gotta get back there, so fun. Also thanks to @huffster for showing us around on the ride. Also on the thanks menu was my ride with @Glenn (fun Monday on a Wednesday) at CR, where, not surprisingly, he waited for me more than he pedaled.

Finally stopped the hemming and hawing about whether or not to slip Ya Sista'z A$$ (da boat) this year, thought YOLO, and just went for it. Not much riding from that point (6/10) until she came out of the water for the season on 11/1. Plenty of nautical nonsense in its place tho.

Back at it on the trails, doing research on this new (to me) 29+/29/27.5+/27.5/Icantkeepupwithit craze for my potential n+1+1 and just may pull the trigger on something a lil more trail fasterer for me in 2017.

Ventured out to Nassau Trails for some goodness. Watched BIYF from the sidelines the past few years, looked fun, and figured I'd jump in this year. Finished up the year with a couple 100+mile weeks riding every day to keep you'allz honest.

Still pumped to ride and somehow still rising erryday at 4:45am for pedaling mayhem. We'll see how long that lasts.

2017 goals are to not finish in the bottom 5 in BIYF, meet/ride with a few moreayou mtbnj peeps, and hit some new MTB trails.

 

[DownhillR3]

Started biking again. Start road riding and rode the most I ever have in my life so far, 2100 miles in 7 months.

 

[adogg]

Started the year without any real goals besides trying to fit in as much biking (mtn. and road) as my schedule and body would allow. Ended up riding several memorable events. The few that stick out:
1. 6 Gap ride in Georgia (103 miles - 11,300 feet) - Kinda silly to drive 700 miles each way to ride a century in the hills but I loved it
2. Vermont Challenge (4 days in Vermont - 298 miles - 18,200 feet) - Fun rides, great people, awesome rest stops - I think I was the only person on a rigid mtn. bike, everybody else on road bikes
3. French Creek Iron Tour (101 miles - 7,600 feet) - This one is always tough for me - In 2015, it was so hot I almost took the SAG ride back and this year the winds were so strong, we were riding down hills at 10 mph.
4. Harlem Valley Rail Ride (105 miles - 7,100 feet)
5. Sourlands Spectacular (116 miles - 5,500 feet) - I rode this one to start line from home, hence few extra miles. I remember it was a nice and warm day (about 100 degrees)
6. Philadelphia ( 127 miles - 4,500 feet) - Took train into Trenton then rode to Pat's for a Philly cheesesteak, followed Schuylkill river trail and rode back home
7. D2R2 - Third time doing this event. Each time I signed up for the 160k but ended up doing 115k, 100k, and 40 miles. This year there was some summer cold going around at work, I got it, and did a nice and easy 40 miles while coughing along the way. I have already singed up for the D2R2 2017 - 160k offcourse - hopefully I'll finally actually do the 160k

All in all, 2016 was my best biking year at (summary from ridewithgps):

Hoping 2017 will be similar or a little better