It's the beginning of a new year and like most people I normally set myself some goals for the year. In the past I've been guilty of setting myself goals that were completely unrealistic. Was I really ever going to run 2000km in 2018 when I was barely running 5-10k a week in the months prior? Was 35km+ a week realistic? Not in a million years. I quickly fell behind and the feeling of chasing a goal always out of reach was not fun. Ultimatly it really took the enjoyment out of running for me. Thats not the kind of negativity I need during a global pandemic.

Last year I recognised this and set myself a more reasonable cycling goal based on my mileage over the previous 3 months. I set a target of 5000km on the bike in 2020, and even with a month off to move from one side of the world to the other, I smashed it. By the end of the Festive 500 in December 2020 I'd racked up 6,689.9km, climbed 62,750m and spent 287 hours in the saddle. I couldn't have been happier and had great fun doing it. That is what is important. It isn't the distance covered (though it's nice to see the numbers ticking up) but the memories gathered on the way, the lessons I've learned and the improvement in health and fitness.

My passion is cycling and I want to reflect that in my goals again for 2021. It is important that they are realistic, but remind me to keep pursuing my passion when times are tough. These goals should bring positivity to my life and so here they are. Hopefully you've got some exciting plans for the year as well. Good luck with them!

Ride 7500km

I know, I've just spoken about how the number isn't important, but having a target really works for me. It gets me out on the bike and cycling with others. After a year living on the other side of the world, I'm looking forward to living back with friends and family nearby that I can socialise with on rides. In the COVID era where meeting others indoors is restricted, I think this will be even more important. I want to get out and explore the riding that Scotland has to offer and chasing an achievable number as a means to get me off the couch will help me do that.

Share my experiences

I've been thinking about building whereiride.com for many months now. I've had a bit of time off work between jobs this January giving me the time and motivation to finally get on with building the site. To begin with, I just want to share my experiences through this blog. Being a first time blogger, I'd like to produce content for the website consistently throughout the year. I also see this as a reason to get out there and explore Scotland by bike. It'll be hard work out there exploring this beautiful country to share with you, but someone has to do it!

Go bikepacking

The North Coast 500 (or Route 500) has been on my bucket list for a while now. Unfortunately it looks unlikely that I'll have two weeks of holiday to spare this summer in which to tick it off. I'm getting married, hoping to buy a house, and would love to get away for a proper holiday should the world start to open back up again. Instead, I want to make sure to fit in a 2-3 day bike packing trip once the weather improved during the summer as a practice for some of the longer routes on my to ride list. This will be my first time bikepacking and will be an adventure of its own.