What are your mtb goals for 2019?

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    • #254093

      I hope you all had an awesome 2018 on the mtb.  Mine went nowhere close to what I had hope.  Life, changes, new responsibilities took over as never before, and my biking suffered severely.  My wife and I moved back to the US after 22 years of living in Mongolia.  Handing off work responsibilities well, preparing teams, preparing and selling a home, unloading personal things, travels, searching for a new home, starting a new work, family needs, … … on and on it went, and my riding suffered.  Therefore, this year for 2019 I am more determined than ever to ride, grow, and explore on my old friend – an Ibis HD.

      Personally, I do not have all my goals in place yet, but my first goal is to ride 2000 miles on trail.  If I reach 1500 miles, I will be quite content, but 2000 is a goal I have never reach.  If I do this, then I know I have been consistently AND substantially on trail, and that seems a great place to start.

      So what mtb-specific goals are you setting for this year?  And is there a backstory of those goals you could share?  Maybe your goals and your story will be an inspiration to the rest of us, even if they seem rather human and are not at the superhero status.  Ride on in 2019 !!!

       

    • #254096

      I am shooting for 1000 trail miles and improve my manual and wheelie duration to 50 feet.

    • #254107

      <p>This year i am going to send it and get better at single track. I also what to get better at jumping and drops.</p>

    • #254110

      I am retooling and re-purposing (common term: retiring) in 2019 so  I am still working my goals out.   I returned to biking near the end of 2017 after a 14 year “recovery” from a severe accident and illness, so 2018 was my first full year back on the bike and it was measured in miles. In 2017 I only managed 87 miles but I dropped nearly 20 pounds.  For 2018 I set a goal of 200 miles and changed it to 300 in June and then made 515.  This year, I am making the goal in hours, not miles,  and looking for more endurance and elevation than distance.  I haven’t settled on the numbers yet, but the #1 requirement is that they will be MORE than last year’s numbers.  Here’s what I’m starting with:

      • My total time last year was only 64 hours, so this year I’m doubling that (and rounding up); so the goal will be 150 hours.
      • My total climbing last year was only 17,618 feet; so the goal this year 36,000 feet

      These goals will be adjusted as I progress (hopefully UP)

      Outside of just getting better on the bike, I also have the following goals:

      • Attend at least 3 MTB festivals (already on deck for the PA Dirt Fest and NEMBFest 2019).
      • Ride the annual Vermont 50 mile MTB event
      • Ride in my first ever MTB race
    • #254130

      No specific goals (yet) other than the usual annual MTBing trips and a couple one off MTB trips.  But in general, ride, ride, ride.  Used to be pretty consistent with riding 5+ times a week.  That’s suffered greatly with the unusual amount of rain here in North Texas in 2018 (70″ instead of the usual 30″).  Most trails have been closed since August.  If this keeps up, I may need to add moving to a drier climate in 2019!

    • #254162

      Wow, Fred. 70″ of rain and trails closed since August. Unbelievable. You need to move to Colorado. =)  And I thought I had a bad year in 2018.

      • #254207

        Wow, Fred. 70? of rain and trails closed since August. Unbelievable. You need to move to Colorado.

        It’s crossed my mind.  🙂  I’m usually in Vail in July, and spend time in Frisco.  I could probably be happy there (Frisco).  Until it gets cold… 🙁

        Bentonville (AR) has been on my mind as well.  Year ’round riding, cheap, really great MTB culture.  But I sure do like Texas…

    • #254167

      Well FredCook, don’t move to Ohio because we had record rainfall this year too.  Lots of closed trail days in 2018. Good for farmers, not for MTB.

      My goal for 2019 is to complete a 100k.  I signed up for one in June. If the weather is as bad as 2018, I’ll be using gravel roads and paved bike rails to get ready. Hopefully it won’t come to that.

    • #254206

      Ohhh man TexMex, I had to travel back through the Midwest in Nov and Dec, and I was hoping to ride some.  The forecast looked so bad, I didn’t bring my bike.  Right choice.  It just rained and rained.  The old Midwest dark and dreary was at its finest you might say.  I saw the sun like twice over 15 days.  I grew up in Ohio and left when I was 20 to move out West and  continue in school.  It has been a choice I have never regretted.  I love the charm of the southern Ohio landscape, but for me it is a great place to visit.

    • #254209

      My two goals for 2018 where to go to a downhill park 5 times over the summer to increase my descending skills and no stitches. A broken collar bone from a truck running a red light in April killed my downhill park time and a dumb camping accident in October killed my “No Stitches 2018.”

      For 2019 I will resurrect both of those goals and add a goal of at least 3 solo bikepacking trips. When I go with other people it is a lot of fun, but being out by myself for a few days is really invigorating and confidence inspiring.

    • #254216

      Improve my descending.

      Learn to ride steep slopers and drops.

      I did a few XC and CX races in 2017, and only road races for 2018 – I want to get away to more MTB races.

      Improve in rock gardens.

      No stitches.

    • #254233

      Great to see that many have set measurable goals… you can’t monitor what you can’t measure.    These are my MTB goals for 2019:

      • Ride at least 1250 (MTB) miles (1750 miles cycling overall)
      • Ride at least 3 new trails ranked in the top 100 by Singletracks members
      • Participate in at least two races
      • Ride the 75 miler Epic Ride in MD
      • Ride at least one mountain bike park
      • Set new Strava PRs for a number of segments at trails I ride routinely
    • #254287

      I’m not very goal oriented but 2018 was an especially uninspired year, so I shooting for 2019 miles on singletrack this year.  Additionally, I want to ride at least 7 new trails so I get my Trekker 200 merit badge from Singletracks. com.   Oh, and avoid painful injuries.

    • #254312

      200 trails is awesome. I have that as a goal as well but it will take a few years. The cool thing about a “pins in the map” goal is that they are goals you can start at any level of riding skill or fitness.  Quite frankly when I started riding two years ago I was so out of shape that was the only goal I could set. Getting out somewhere new was an achievable goal.

    • #254328

      Hap, I like the 2019 miles in 2019. Great idea.  And next year it can be 2020 miles in 2020. Very nice.

    • #254445

      1. More bugs in my teeth – “How can u tell a happy biker? – bug’s in the teeth”
      2. Friendly meetings on trail with hikers and bikers
      3. Replace that 2 yr old front tire – cracks but still holding 🙂
      4. Bleed brakes without cussing a blue streak
      5. Get espresso listed as a health food
      6. Develop a cheap, screw-in spoke hole cover for tubeless setups
      7. Savor the tasty moments of life as they pass.

      Cheers,

      Framebreaker

    • #255041

      Ok, I’m finally settling on my goals for 2019.  Here’s to great weather and good health for all this year.
      1.)  Ride 2000 miles.
      2.)  Do several rides 40-60 miles long, and one 100 km ride (62 miles).  With my old back this is as much a health goal as it is an endurance goal.
      3.)  Break the 5000′ and 6000′ ascent barriers for single rides.
      4.)  Ride 15+ new trails.
      5.)  Ride several destination areas/trails: Taos area (South Boundary and Winsor Trails), Sedona, Monarch (Crest & Agate), Kenosha-Breck ride, and MN.
      6.)  Start working the CT, and ride several sections north of Monarch. Try to complete all segments in a few years.
      7.)  Work on bigger drops and jumps.
      8.)  Buy a new bike at the end of the year.

    • #255049

      JD

      Mongwolf: Welcome back to the US of A!  ‘ve always wondered what you did in Mongolia. Able to share that?  Cheers……Ride On!!!!

    • #255050

      <p style=”text-align: left;”>Ride more????</p>

    • #255065

      The amount of miles isn’t as important as just getting out there and specifically riding SINGLETRACK trails. All dirt is not created equal.

      For me, my immediate goals are to get in as many rides as possible and at least two rides a week, if not three. Last year I got in 102 days on the bike. I’d love to get in 150 this year but 120 seems more realistic. We’ll see how that works out.

      What I enjoy most is getting off my “normal/local” trails and hope to try some new stuff this year. First up is some new stuff in AZ (Gold Canyon, Picketpost) next month, Post Canyon & Sandy Ridge on a July trip to Oregon and lastly, a week in Tahoe in September where I’ve been many times to ski & snowboard but never on a bike.

       

    • #255074

      Mtnryder,  there is lots of good stuff on the east side of Mt. Hood between Post Canyon and Sandy Ridge if you have the time.

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