I hit two milestones in 2020 on my bicycle: 1) First year¹ with over 6,000 miles ridden and 2) first year¹ with over 200 rides–specifically 6,053 miles in 201 rides–both of which are significant increases over my prior highs:
Previous records were 4,380 miles (140 rides) in 2016 and 143 rides (4,121 miles) in 2019. Thus, this year I shot right through milestones of 5,000 mi./150 rides straight to 6000/200. Furthermore, my average total mileage from 2001-2019 was 2,485 miles in 91 rides, so my 2020 totals are over double for each.
Also, while there’s an upward slope in the graph, the years prior to 2001 were probably flatter, more resembling 2002-2005, 2009-2011, and 2015: Hovering around 50-100 rides and 1,500-2,500 miles. 2001 was a particularly low year as I took a job with long hours in a year when we had two toddlers and moved twice.²
I don’t have my average speed in my personal cycling log database, but Strava says I averaged 15mph. My Strava statistics (see gallery below) also say I had 368,000 cumulative feet of climbing. For reference, riding around Chapel Hill, I usually have 50′ of climbing per mile; in the NC mountains, it’s closer to 100’/mi. In the flat coastal plain in SC where I grew up, it’s 10’/mi. With a mix of mostly riding in Chapel Hill and some mountain rides, I averaged 61’/mile.
On my hilliest ride of 2020–the 3 Mountain Madness (“3MM”) route near Mt Airy and going up Hanging Rock (twice), Sauratown Mtn, and Pilot Mtn in 73 miles–I met a guy whose 2020 goal was 7,000 miles with an average of 100’/mile, which sounded far-fetched at the time. Given where I ended up, I can see maybe if I (a) lived in the or near the mountains and (b) had a lot more free time to ride (e.g. retired), that goal might be achievable–especially in a year like 2020, when there was hardly anything else to do to get out of the house–whence my own records came, of course.
Back when my kids were smaller and there were more activities competing for my time–maybe 2012 or 2013–I was feeling good to get 3,000 miles in, including 2-3 100-mile rides, or centuries. Around that time I a met a (retired) lady who said she usually rode around 5000 miles a year, including 4-5 centuries. Since then, I thought to myself, “Well, maybe when I’m retired…”, but here I am with 6,000 miles this year. However, 3MM was also my longest ride of the year, with all my other rides being 65 miles or less, which is the farthest I could go with four water bottles while avoiding stopping in stores for refills, as I would in a normal year for 80-mile rides. I also would have done 2-3 organized century rides this year, where there are designated rest stops to refuel. For 2020, I bought another water bottle holder that goes behind my seat so that I could carry two water bottles³ there rather than in my jersey pockets, where two full bottles felt quite heavy, tugging down my jersey. My average ride for the year was 30.1 miles, which is probably pretty close to the mean, since there aren’t any very long rides (or very short rides) pulling on the average.
Here is my Strava 2020 summary. I missed recording at least one full and two partial rides by failing to start my Garmin watch, hence the discrepancy between the mileage I recorded in my log and Strava’s numbers. Also, I have a few hikes/walks recorded in Strava, including at least two on days that I did not ride my bike.
¹”First” year since I started keeping digital records in 2001. Probably also first year ever for over 6,000 miles and possibly for over 200 rides. I was in high school when I first started riding seriously, and my rough estimate was that I was doing 4-5 rides per week at 20 miles/ride my senior year, and so around 5,000 miles total and also 200 or so rides per year. However, I was probably overestimating my consistency.
²Moved once to an apartment for a gap between selling our old house and buying another one.
³Plus two on the bike frame, for four total.
