December 2013 and Annual Mileage Totals

That's it, my 2013 mileage came to an end today with a ride this morning, back to work tomorrow, so time to compile the annual statistics.


2013 has been a good year, I'd set a target of around 4,000 miles for the year, given that all my riding is done at weekends and the Garmin is reporting 4,092 miles, so it went to the wire or I'm very good at forecasting (perhaps some crossover from the day job).  

The mileage across the year has been spread below: -

Q1 - 911 miles/1,457km
Q2 - 1,429 miles/2,286km
Q3 - 1,063 miles/1,700km
Q4  - 689 miles/1,102km

Lower miles in Q4 were linked to a number of personal and professional commitments which meant quite a few missing weekends for rides.  Higher mileage in Q2 is attributed to the London to Paris ride of around 300 miles (480km).

Taking the annual mileage as an average across the number of rides completed (105), it means an average of around 39 miles (62km), which generally speaking is about where I'm at during the weekends.

Comparing to last year, my annual mileage was +32% up (2012 - 3,082), average speed was up 10% (2012 - 14.7mph), ascent was +80% up (2012 - 82,963), RAR was up +23% (2012 - 26.8).

So, this basically means I've ridden 10% faster, with route profiles being on average 23% harder, which I'm pretty happy with.  Fastest recorded long distance ride over the year was the Manchester 100 sportive over a distance of 100 miles (160km) which finished with an average speed of 18.6mph (29.8km/h).  I think that was my best ride of the year as I rode the event alone.

Most importantly, I've been in the saddle for 250 hours of quality thinking time.  You may not know this but when you are cycling your brain frequency steps into a state called 'alpha' thinking.  When you are in the grind of life with lights flashing, buzzers going, e-mails dinging and constant things demanding your attention, you only use around 15% of your brains frequency for thinking.  Jump on a bike and it leaps to around 60%.

So, not only does riding a bike make you fitter, allow you to ride great roads, visit new places and meet new people, it also the place to de-stress, creatively think and come up with your next big idea.  

I hope that 2013 has been a good year for you on the bike and you have achieved your goals.  We're all different in what we want to achieve as cyclists, primarily dictated by the time we can devote and what we do it for.  For me, it remains to stay physically fit, having dedicated thinking time and a passion for something away from the workplace.

2014 is now knocking, so for all readers, I wish you an amazing 2014, safe miles and a great tailwind.  Happy New Year!

Month  to Date

Mileage-  262 miles
Ride Time - 16hrs 32mins
Climbing - 8,606ft
Avg. Speed - 15.9mph
Avg. HR - 151bpm
Calories (estimate) -11,798
Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) - 32.8 (Flat)

Year to Date

Mileage- 4,092 miles/6,547km
Ride Time - 250hrs 12mins
Climbing - 149,999ft
Avg. Speed - 16.3 mph/26km/h
Avg. HR - 146bpm
Calories (estimate) -147,346
Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) - 33.1 (Flat/Undulating)