Half the year is gone and I am on pace for yet another annual mileage record, which is crazy. It would be the eighth straight year my mileage has increased.
There are two obvious reasons for this. One is moving down from the foothills. Riding on flatter terrain is simply easier. You can see the mileage ramp up in June of last year after the move. In fact, in the last 10 months I have set five monthly records (in red).
The other obvious reason is retirement. What's not so obvious is my retirement didn't increase the mileage that much. After all, I retired in 2021. No, it's Jennifer's retirement that caused the major increase.
Basically, I am now two cyclists in one. I am now the guy who rides about 80 miles a week with his retirement partner, which is great. However, I am also still the guy who likes to ride his mountain and gravel bikes. I do these rides on the days that Jenn goes to yoga.
Consequently, I typically average six rides per week, and I often ride 8-10 days in a row.
As a result, I can sometimes get tired. There are days when I am very excited to get out on the mountain bike, but I find that I have dead legs out on the trails. I am also suffering from some periodic overuse issues, like sore hips, which can happen if you perform the same exercise too often. There are also days when I simply don't enjoy myself that much (which isn't completely unheard of when you have been riding for over 40 years).
In the grand scheme of things, 6000 miles a year isn't that much. I am sure back in the 1980s, before I started keeping track of stats, I was riding well over 10,000 miles a year. Of course, there are some obvious physiological differences between a young, aspiring racer and a cyclist retiree. In other words, I am old.
Anyway, I am trying to mix in more walking and weight training, and I am on the hunt for another hobby that uses more upper body, like kayaking or paddle boarding. I do live right by a lake now . . .
Later.
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