The closing of 2023 and a jabble of cycling planning thoughts for next year

As we close out 2023, I hope you have had some great riding, even some good riding, or any form of riding that takes your fancy and keeps you enjoying life. My spouse will certainly tell you that I am not a planner by any means, and knowing that reminds me that it’s this time when you are sat around on the settee eating all those quality streets to jot a few ride thoughts on paper for next year.

It doesn’t need to be an excel spreadsheet

I take a simple way and I start with a blank document. Because I’m not a planner, I like to bucket things into easy somewhat ambitious chunks to process. I generally think about three areas simultaneously.
1- type of riding 2-the time of year 3-what I have enjoyed
With this in mind, I make some chronological buckets such as Winter, Spring, Early Summer, Late Summer and Autumn . I then start plopping rides and events into those buckets, if it’s a specific race or organized event I will add a date, but generally I just keep it loose and make a bigger picture plan first

here are some planning thought starters

if you are into racing, maybe think about races you have done in the past, the ones you really enjoyed or a new series that you have heard of with similar qualities.

if you are into changing scenery or specific nature areas then maybe think about what you have seen, wether you loved it and roughly when in the year those visuals are the best. For me this also has a lot to do with sunrise and sunset and where I want to be on the bike. Dry dusty trails and falling leaves are also good though starters.

if you are into longer endurance type stuff, you may want to think about length of days and daylight hours and slot those key things in the right time of year so you can maximize your fun

if you are on a team, I’m sure there is someone on there that loves to plan or think about the year ahead. Find them and they will give you all you will need.

if you are into your gear, then maybe think about… that time I was riding and my bike was perfect for that trail or route. I know I do this with mountain bikes and particular trails, it then leads my mind to the time of year and overall if that’s something I want to add to my calendar

here are some of my Oregon / Washington routes to also get you going https://buckyrides.wordpress.com/category/routes/

other things to think about

now’s the time to reflect. For me I like to think about all the equipment that either drove me nutty or made me proper mad and plan not to do that again. It could be simple as a pump that failed you in the field and it’s not reliable, or some stupid tubeless setup that you really need to get rid of.
these types of thoughts can drive your motivation for fixing, modifying and being aware of it for the future year.
The big ones in my books are always tyres, portable tools, bar tape and navigation aids

Yeah yeah, we are not getting any younger

It’s important to consider things that can help you feel better as you get older, like nutrition, sleep, and recovery. One thing I tend to do wrong is not having good on-the-bike nutrition ready, so I end up buying something I don’t really like at the last minute. Another mistake is not having a good post-ride recovery plan. It’s important to think about what to eat and drink, and whether it’s easy to prepare at home or take with you for a remote ride. A pre-made recovery shake in a cooler bag can be a game-changer, and you can also fit in a cold beer in that cooler bag if you want..

here’s a link to some of my nutrition tips https://buckyrides.wordpress.com/category/nutrition/

Thanks for reading this year and I hope these words help and launch you into a great 2024.

jbucky

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