New year's revolutions

Early January ride near Christchurch (Spencer Park beach)

Like many people, I find the end of year break a good time to look forward to the year ahead and consider how I want it to be. As well as the usual vague intentions to enjoy life more, not worry so much and eat less sugar, that means thinking about my cycling.

What trips do I want to make in 2024? Which cycle trails would I like to ride? What challenges do I want to set myself? And what level of day-to-day cycling do I want to commit to?

The best resolutions involve a setting a few specific goals (ideally, SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound). There's no point having a big long list because I will never get around to doing them all (and it can seem a bit overwhelming). And, while a certain amount of ambition is a good thing, I need to be realistic about what I can actually hope to achieve. As much as I like the idea of cycling around the world, it just isn't going to happen (not this year anyway).

I find writing down my goals and telling other people about them is a good starting point (hence this post). While I am fairly determined once I have an idea in my head, the knowledge that other people will be expecting me to follow through is an extra motivator. I don't like to fail, but even more so, I don't like being seen to fail.

Once I’ve set my goals, I start to identify the actions I need to take to make them a reality, and plan when and how I am going to do them. With cycling trips, that inevitably involves a whole lot of research followed by booking transport and accommodation and possibly extra equipment or training. When I signed up to cycle the North Island leg of the Tour Aotearoa, I developed a training plan to build up my fitness for cycling hills, gravel and long distances.

More recently, Chris and I invested in waterproof panniers to enable us to do more cycle touring without having to rely on someone to transport our bags (or wear a backpack). Our Hurunui Heartland Ride was our first time using them and we were really impressed with how easy they were to use (notwithstanding the shock of finding the hills a whole lot harder). We will definitely use them again.

Which brings me to this year's goals.

Last year was a big step up in my cycling, with highlights being the Tour Aotearoa, a week’s cycling in the Queenstown area and our bike tour of eastern Taiwan. We also enjoyed cycling while catching up with friends in Cairns and the West Coast Wilderness Trail.

I’d love to maintain a similar level of cycling this year but I am mindful that it means a lot of time off work. So, here’s a relatively modest set of goals for 2024:

• Keep up my bike fitness by doing three recreational rides every week, plus one Spin class.

  This one should be easy to achieve because last year I established a habit of riding two 1-2 hour rides on weekdays (depending on work commitments) and a longer ride on Sundays. Plus, I’ve found a Spin class I like and have been going for several weeks now. I’m not going to be too rigid about my goal - sometimes I might do a walking track instead, in winter I might swap a ride for an extra Spin class, and some weeks I might just need to rest.

• Take part in the Aotearoa Bike Challenge in February, cycling at least 700 kilometres over 24 days of the month.

  I’ve written about the Aotearoa Bike Challenge before. In brief, it’s a New Zealand-wide challenge to get more people cycling more often. You get points awarded for every ride, every day cycled and every person you encourage to cycle in the month of February. Most people register as part of a workplace, which fosters support within organisations and competition between them. It’s a great way to get started if you want to cycle more, or create a habit of commuting to work.

  There’s a bit of stretch in my goal for this year. Last year I managed 909 kilometres over 22 days - but last year I was training for the Tour Aotearoa and doing some very long rides. In earlier years I’ve cycled 500 to 550 kilometres, so I think 700 kilometres would be a good outcome for 2024. And with 29 days in the month, I figure I can manage at least a short ride on most of them.

• Have a week’s cycling somewhere in the South Island (in March or April) on one or more off-road cycle trail.

  I haven't yet decided where this trip will be but am looking at either the Nelson-Marlborough area (Tasman’s Great Taste Trail, Queen Charlotte Track and/or the new Link Pathway between Picton and Havelock) or returning to central Otago to cycle some of the many fantastic trails down there. Watch this space.

• Do at least one self-supported bike trip over several days (like the Hurunui Heartland Ride) that involves starting and ending at home.

  I still have a bit of research to do to identify a suitable route that keeps us off the main roads, but I suspect it will involve either Banks Peninsula (with lots of hills) or inland Canterbury. Maybe both, if we can do them over a couple of long weekends. I thought about adding a camping component but I don't really want to carry extra gear (which we don't have) and I much prefer to have a hot shower and comfortable bed each night.

• Go to Japan for a cycling trip in October.

  Japan was one of the options we considered last year instead of Taiwan. We have only ever heard great things about it - from cyclists and non-cyclists alike. As with Taiwan, we will do an organised tour with Grasshopper Adventures (or similar) and plan some extra time by ourselves. I already have travel books on reserve at the library and will be watching out for flights to go on sale.

I did have one more goal - a BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) - but I have put that on hold for now.

I am keen to complete the Tour Aotearoa by cycling the South Island from Picton to Bluff - this time as an unsupported trip (making use of those panniers). Late summer or autumn would be the ideal time to do this but Chris is just too busy with work to spare the three weeks it would require.

So, for a brief while, I determined to do it as a solo trip, with Chris joining me for some of the time if he could. I went so far as to plan out the day-to-day itinerary, and check out available accommodation (even booking the first few nights).

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised I would enjoy it a whole lot more if Chris was there with me. Plus I was cutting it a bit fine to get my bike fitness back in time and improve my mechanical skills if something went wrong. So, for now, this one’s on hold until another time.

Maybe I’ll do a shorter solo trip somewhere else. I’d like to cycle the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail again, or perhaps the Catlins. But I’m not committing to this as a goal just yet. And I’m still quietly mulling over that around the world trip as a longer term goal (well, maybe just Europe). Let's see.