Missed my goal by 19 miles; A reminder about life

[drewellison]

My 2016 goal was 5,000 miles. My previous high was a little over 4,000 miles. So I was stoked because I was going to hit my goal on my next commute (55 miles RT).

So off I went on my commute last week. Instead of hitting my goal, I hit the pavement. It was a cold morning and it hadn't rained in a couple of days, so dry pavement, right? Well, there was enough fog that it must have frozen some on the pavement and down I went in a corner, about 7 miles into my commute. Landed hard on my left hip (nice bruise and burn), shoulder, and a little head bump. :mad:

After a minute of assessing possible damage, I called wife and she picked me up and into the walk in clinic I went. After X-rays, doc said I was lucky to have not broken anything, but strained (probably/hopefully not torn) a particular little ligament in my shoulder. Left arm is in a sling for a while.

I'm not going to make my goal this year. And that's okay.

I'm grateful that I can look forward to a full recovery.
I'm grateful that I will be getting back on my bike(s).
I'm reminded about how things can happen quickly to us.
I'm reminded how precious life is.

Wear your helmet, be cautious on cold frosty mornings. Smile when you ride.

Next year is 6,000 miles. :banana:

[OtayBW]

I checked with the referrees, and I believe they are going to award you the 5000 mi for 2016 with a commendation valued at 19.1 miles. Well done!

[CMiller]

Round up the count!

You did right by getting picked up and going to clinic, a few miles or the pride of a painful finish just isn't worth it. Glad to hear you are doing fine and cheers for more miles in 2017!

[AngryScientist]

well within the cumulative error of your distance measurement devices i say.

congrats on hitting 5k!

[jr59]

well within the cumulative error of your distance measurement devices i say.

congrats on hitting 5k!

Not sure what this means. After all o one said there would be math!

Glad you are safe, don't worry about small things, you were plenty close enough.

[makoti]

Didn't you have that ride in May that the computer freaked out & lost about 25 miles? I remember that, so I think you made it!

[Peter P.]

And you can't reach that goal by climbing on the trainer for the last 19 miles?!

NO EXCUSES-NOW DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY! ;)

[dlui]

the year ain't over yet, until...............

[Miller76]

And you can't reach that goal by climbing on the trainer for the last 19 miles?!



NO EXCUSES-NOW DROP AND GIVE ME TWENTY! ;)



This.... this for the [emoji482][emoji481] and [emoji966]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dan Le foot]

If you're like me there were a couple of rides with dead batteries.:crap:
I put the Garmin in the car yesterday to make up about 60 lost miles.:D

[Steve in SLO]

I am glad you are (relatively) well.
Your Christmas gift from me is 20 miles: 19 miles for this year and one to start off the new year.

[marciero]

well within the cumulative error of your distance measurement devices i say.

congrats on hitting 5k!

Indeed-this would be less than half of one percent error (0.4%) though it would assume mostly underestimates, so that the device is biased.

Another take- You DID do 5000 miles in base 6,7,8 or 9. In fact, you did more than 6000 miles in base 9, or 4374 base 10 miles. Our use of base 10 is really pretty arbitrary. But then, so is the mile as a unit of length.

[oldpotatoe]

My 2016 goal was 5,000 miles. My previous high was a little over 4,000 miles. So I was stoked because I was going to hit my goal on my next commute (55 miles RT).

So off I went on my commute last week. Instead of hitting my goal, I hit the pavement. It was a cold morning and it hadn't rained in a couple of days, so dry pavement, right? Well, there was enough fog that it must have frozen some on the pavement and down I went in a corner, about 7 miles into my commute. Landed hard on my left hip (nice bruise and burn), shoulder, and a little head bump. :mad:

After a minute of assessing possible damage, I called wife and she picked me up and into the walk in clinic I went. After X-rays, doc said I was lucky to have not broken anything, but strained (probably/hopefully not torn) a particular little ligament in my shoulder. Left arm is in a sling for a while.

I'm not going to make my goal this year. And that's okay.

I'm grateful that I can look forward to a full recovery.
I'm grateful that I will be getting back on my bike(s).
I'm reminded about how things can happen quickly to us.
I'm reminded how precious life is.

Wear your helmet, be cautious on cold frosty mornings. Smile when you ride.

Next year is 6,000 miles. :banana:

And..get a new one, helmet that is.

[palincss]

Not sure what this means. After all o one said there would be math!


It's not unusual to see a 1% error in recording mileage. In fact, it may not even be possible to eliminate all such error: wheel circumference settings on bike computers are integers. Over the course of 5,000 miles a 1% error would amount to 50 miles; even a 0.5% error would be greater than the amount by which the OP missed his target. (Of course, that assumes under-reporting; most of the time in my experience such errors go the other way, giving you slightly too high mileage readings.)

[jghall]

Glad to hear your reasonably safe and sound. People get credit for "intent", so congrats on 5k.

[fignon's barber]

Did you turn your computer off when you put the bike in the car for the trip to the hospital? if not, you may have hit your goal?

If that's not the case, you still have 15 hours to ride 19 miles. hop on the bike and get it done, even if just n the local MUT or around the neighborhood.
What is it that a great 7 time Tour winner once said? "pain is short lasting. quitting lasts forever".

[witcombusa]

Life is what happens while you are busy making plans...

[Tony T]

If that's not the case, you still have 15 hours to ride 19 miles. hop on the bike and get it done, even if just n the local MUT or around the neighborhood.

I'm sure if he could, he would (his arm is in a sling).
(although if he has an indoor trainer…….).

Anyway, flag on the play, interference by ice, +20 miles to cyclist.

[soulspinner]

Im just going to say congrads.

[2metalhips]

Great job, round up.

[avalonracing]

And goals with numbers like this are arbitrary. Why not 4871? Or 5003? You rode a lot, enjoyed it, and are better for it. 2016 was a good riding year for you! Feel better!

[drewellison]

I just wanted to follow up with y'all and say thanks for all the great responses. They were fun to read.

Counting up all the extra miles from you guys noted in the posts (rounding, errors, gifts, missed rides), they total to 192.2 miles. Therefore, I declare I made 5,173.2 miles. Yay!

Being a math-head, I really enjoyed the base-X post. You know, some of those miles were on 9 speed bikes, so those miles should be counted in base-9, right?!?!?

Blessings to you all for a great 2017!

:beer:

[azrider]

55 RT mile commute? :eek:

About how many times (on avg) would you say you do this?

Very impressive numbers for year. Congrats and best of luck in '17!

[chiasticon]

So off I went on my commute last week. Instead of hitting my goal, I hit the pavement. It was a cold morning and it hadn't rained in a couple of days, so dry pavement, right? Well, there was enough fog that it must have frozen some on the pavement and down I went in a corner, about 7 miles into my commute. Landed hard on my left hip (nice bruise and burn), shoulder, and a little head bump. :mad:black ice. I learned recently that it can form in situations you wouldn't think of. for example, if the ground has been below freezing for days, but then the air warms up and there's a light mist coming down. if the ground temp is still below freezing, you can get black ice. especially if it's a road/path not widely traveled (friction from the car tires and the heat from their exhaust would otherwise warm up the ground surface). this happened to me recently when the air temp was around 45 degrees! would have never thought to watch out for ice in those temps, but since it had been below 20 for almost a week and there was a light mist coming down, very thin black ice formed on the more remote roads. I crashed in some and had to walk a couple miles uphill in road cleats, because it was simply impossible to get enough traction to ride it. scary stuff. you can never be too sure of what's out there lurking for you.

anyway, glad you're OK and congrats on the 5k!

[Lewis Moon]

I was headed toward my yearly goal (8500) and the first race of the season in mid January, but took a rain check up at 8471 when my wife had surgery for thyroid cancer.
In the hierarchy of all things, riding and racing are a bit farther down the list. She's home and recovering well, but gearing up for the requisite radioactive iodine. Riding can wait, but will always be there.

[drewellison]

55 RT mile commute? :eek:

About how many times (on avg) would you say you do this?



I did 66 commutes last year. That's about 72% of my mileage. I also do a few weekend fundraiser rides, a couple little family rides, and destination rides (we're going someplace, so I leave a couple hours early and ride there and a change of clothes travel in the car). My wife is not a cyclist and my kids are just now fully getting out of the house, so I have focused my weekends on family and home and such. I have discussed with my wife and she's on board with me doing a bit more weekend riding this year. :)

black ice. I learned recently that it can form in situations you wouldn't think of. for example, if the ground has been below freezing for days, but then the air warms up and there's a light mist coming down. if the ground temp is still below freezing, you can get black ice.

It had to have been something like this. My fall was on the road, but I did notice that riding down the trail earlier in the ride, that I could see little crystal reflections on the trail from my headlight, and this should have been a warning to me.

I was headed toward my yearly goal (8500) and the first race of the season in mid January, but took a rain check up at 8471 when my wife had surgery for thyroid cancer.
In the hierarchy of all things, riding and racing are a bit farther down the list. She's home and recovering well, but gearing up for the requisite radioactive iodine. Riding can wait, but will always be there.

Ah, one of those "put everything in perspective" events. Prays for her for a speedy and full recovery!

[soulspinner]

I was headed toward my yearly goal (8500) and the first race of the season in mid January, but took a rain check up at 8471 when my wife had surgery for thyroid cancer.
In the hierarchy of all things, riding and racing are a bit farther down the list. She's home and recovering well, but gearing up for the requisite radioactive iodine. Riding can wait, but will always be there.

Thoughts and prayers for her and for you to cope.

[bitpuddle]

I had a similar fall last year. Lots of hip and shoulder pain for a while. I'm happy to hear that nothing was broken; it is remarkably easy to fracture a hip or pelvis with a fall like that.

Heal up quickly.

[shovelhd]

I was headed toward my yearly goal (8500) and the first race of the season in mid January, but took a rain check up at 8471 when my wife had surgery for thyroid cancer.
In the hierarchy of all things, riding and racing are a bit farther down the list. She's home and recovering well, but gearing up for the requisite radioactive iodine. Riding can wait, but will always be there.

Best to your wife. My SIL had it ten years ago, full remission.

You can find time to ride, it just may be Zwift at night.

[redir]

Let's just call it 5,019 miles. I promise I won't tell anyone.