Goals for 2009

I've never been a big believer in New Year's resolutions. They always seem to start with the best intentions, but typically fall on the floor by the end of January (often by the end of January 1st).

That said, I am a big fan of goals. As a survivor of many (possibly too many) semi-annual performance reviews at work, I've come to see the wisdom of S.M.A.R.T. goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.

My only real cycling goal for 2008 was to complete 2008 miles total distance. Despite many prolonged periods of inactivity, I managed to eek out about 2188 miles. Not bad, but I know I can do much better.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Here are my S.M.A.R.T. goals for 2009, in various (and often overlapping) categories:

Cycling

• 3650 total miles for 2009 (average 10 miles/day)
  
• Complete at least 1 century ride per month
• Complete at least one 1000 mile month
• Commute to work by bike (more on this later)
  
• Complete the following organized bike rides:
• RSVP
• Flying Wheels Century (from house)
  
• Livestrong Seattle
• Reach the Beach
• Worst Day of the Year
• McClinchy Mile
• Tulip Pedal
• Daffodil Classic
• May Day Metric
• Skagit Spring Classic
• Ride of Silence
  

Other Activities

• Complete 52 hikes in 2009 (average 1 hike/week -- we need to come up with a definition of "a hike")

Health and Fitness

• Get at or below 220 pounds (100 kilograms) by July 31
• Get at or below 200 pounds (91 kilograms) by December 31
• Do 100 push-ups in a row

Other Goals

I have a few other goals that are somewhat nebulous and therefore do not meet the S.M.A.R.T. criteria. These include:

Car Lite

• Start grocery shopping by bike
• Take at least one car-free vacation:
  
• Cle Elum via Sammamish River Trail and Iron Horse Trial
• Abbotsford, BC mostly via WA Highway 9
• Anacortes and the San Juan Islands
• Port Townsend, maybe even Port Angeles
  

Bike Mechanics

• Build a usable home bike workshop
  
• Learn to perform all routine bicycle maintenance
• Learn to build wheels
• Build a bike (probably a single-speed 29er) from a frame and individual components

Diet and Nutrition

• More home cooking, less restaurants
• More raw/less-processed foods, less over-processed crap

Outdoor Activities

• Camping:
• Car camping
• Plane camping
  
• Bikepacking
  
• Backpacking
  
• Learn to swim well enough to be comfortable in the water
• Learn to kayak
• Buy (a) kayak(s)
  

Livestrong Challenge Seattle

Next June 21st, Kasia and I will participate in the Seattle Livestrong Challenge, a multi-sport charity event raising money for Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation in support of cancer treatment and research. We'll be riding as part of Team Fatty, a team organized by The Fat Cyclist. We'll be cycling in the 100 mile "century" ride.

The current economic situation sucks badly, but please consider donating to either Kasia's donation page, my donation page, or both if possible.