2024 Biking Year in Review (1 Viewer)

[OGBeno]

Well friends, the year is over and 2024 was my first real year being a middle-aged man who rides bikes and spends all his time outside of work thinking about bikes, planning bike trips and hanging out with cool bike folks.

I’m grateful to my fellow two-wheeled travelers— I’ve learned a lot from the collective bicycle wisdom of the folks here. As a newbie bike rider, I’m humbled by what I don’t know and how much I have to learn in terms of the mechanicals as well as continuing to train my body for long-ass bike rides. It’s nice being a newbie at something at my age…. Turn 50 in 3 days! Joined MUD when I was 30.

Stoked I have a great bike fleet:

27.5 ATB
27.5 SS
29 MTB

Hoping to get my custom Falconer ATB built this year and hoping to build a fixed gear as well. If funds allow, would love to get a full-suspension carbon unit but I doubt that will happen this year considering there is nothing around me that really requires full-sus.

I’m looking forward to more bike adventures in 2025 and hoping I can continue to meet cool bike riding folks who are also Land Cruiser/Toyota homies as well.

Quick recap:

Not bad considering I busted my scapula and had a concussion at the beginning of February that kept me off a bike for a month…. I’m hoping to shoot for 3000-3500 miles next year. The totals below don’t include any indoor trainer time as well as a bunch of rides where I forgot to turn on the tracker.

Some pictorial highlights:

Almost daily sunset chasing runs:

Forest road exploring:

Long border runs:

At the hospital after concussion….

Steamboat Gravel:

Some great Santa Fe single track riding:

Single Speed USA in Salida:

Death Valley:

 

[OGBeno]

Great rides in The vast San Rafael Valley:

Good friends, great rides:

Lots of Purgatory Rides:

Spirit World 100 Race in November:

Great desert runs:

Good friendships with the dudes who know bikes….

Bikes are cool as ****….

 

[cruisermatt]

have you been taking cardio metrics as you progress? I've been thinking of getting into biking as cardio is my weakest area by far but I have some foot/ankle issues that make running/walking far from ideal for me. Looks like a lot of fun, wish we had that much open terrain out here

 

[little_joe]

@OGBeno you make it really difficult for others to recap 2024 - your mileage, and especially the photos of your amazing terrain, wow! Makes me feel I didn't do crap this year.

As it is:

• Over 1500miles, this included virtually no riding in February (prepping to get laid off / retiring in my 50's) or Thanksgiving until just before Christmas (surgery). Hope to get in over 2000mi this year, 2500 if I'm lucky.
• Lost more weight (another 12-15lbs). Lowest weight since college. Hope to shave off another 10lbs which would put me at ideal weight. I still need to drink beer, though, so this is a stretch goal.
• Got my average cadence above 80rpm this year. Considering I started as a masher (60-70rpm), I never thought I'd see this. Pedaling at 85rpm now feels so natural and good.
• Bikes are dialed in for fit and comfort. Comfortable bike == need to ride moar. The only upgrade remaining is to find a deal on some new-to-me hydraulic disk brakes / 180mm rotors on my Dr. Dew, as the Altus / 160mm rotors work ok around town, but aren't as good as the brakes on my Vado.

My Concepts of Goals for 2025:

• Take some damn pictures! I rarely do, yet we have so much natural beauty around here + remnants of the Old South I find fascinating (for example, family burial plots in yards, tobacco fields).
• Get a trailer hitch on my 90 asap so I can resume use of my 1Up rack and take either bike on road trips.
• Camp + bike; take at least 1 tour.
• Should someone give me money, get a drop-bar "gravelly" bike.
• Again, do at least 2k miles.

Pretty modest stuff. But I too have become obsessed and bicycling - actual riding, planning where to go, maintaining the bikes, etc - has become my primary retirement hobby.

 

[stayalert]

Onur, Happy F-ing birthday in advance! Great summary. I love seeing your pictures etc. As for turning 50? I think when I saw you in NY several years ago you were over 50. Since then you have turned the clock back (Bikes were/are a big but not sole part) Now I think you're like 40 and still going backwards. I'm 59 and working to slow the speed of the aging clock. (bikes have been and will be an important piece for me) If we stood next to each other today 9 out of 10 people would say you are 35 and I am 65. Keep it up!

 

[stayalert]

PS I just asked Allison....."How old do you think Onur is"....she said ....42......

 

[OGBeno]

Onur, Happy F-ing birthday in advance! Great summary. I love seeing your pictures etc. As for turning 50? I think when I saw you in NY several years ago you were over 50. Since then you have turned the clock back (Bikes were/are a big but not sole part) Now I think you're like 40 and still going backwards. I'm 59 and working to slow the speed of the aging clock. (bikes have been and will be an important piece for me) If we stood next to each other today 9 out of 10 people would say you are 35 and I am 65. Keep it up!

When you guys coming back down to ride?

Trust me, I felt 94 years old when I lived in NY.

Happy new year dude!

 

[OGBeno]

@OGBeno you make it really difficult for others to recap 2024 - your mileage, and especially the photos of your amazing terrain, wow! Makes me feel I didn't do crap this year.

As it is:

• Over 1500miles, this included virtually no riding in February (prepping to get laid off / retiring in my 50's) or Thanksgiving until just before Christmas (surgery). Hope to get in over 2000mi this year, 2500 if I'm lucky.
• Lost more weight (another 12-15lbs). Lowest weight since college. Hope to shave off another 10lbs which would put me at ideal weight. I still need to drink beer, though, so this is a stretch goal.
• Got my average cadence above 80rpm this year. Considering I started as a masher (60-70rpm), I never thought I'd see this. Pedaling at 85rpm now feels so natural and good.
• Bikes are dialed in for fit and comfort. Comfortable bike == need to ride moar. The only upgrade remaining is to find a deal on some new-to-me hydraulic disk brakes / 180mm rotors on my Dr. Dew, as the Altus / 160mm rotors work ok around town, but aren't as good as the brakes on my Vado.

My Concepts of Goals for 2025:

• Take some damn pictures! I rarely do, yet we have so much natural beauty around here + remnants of the Old South I find fascinating (for example, family burial plots in yards, tobacco fields).
• Get a trailer hitch on my 90 asap so I can resume use of my 1Up rack and take either bike on road trips.
• Camp + bike; take at least 1 tour.
• Should someone give me money, get a drop-bar "gravelly" bike.
• Again, do at least 2k miles.

Pretty modest stuff. But I too have become obsessed and bicycling - actual riding, planning where to go, maintaining the bikes, etc - has become my primary retirement hobby.

Great success and great goals, IMO! Thanks for sharing and looking forward to seeing you ride a lot in 2024.

 

[OGBeno]

have you been taking cardio metrics as you progress? I've been thinking of getting into biking as cardio is my weakest area by far but I have some foot/ankle issues that make running/walking far from ideal for me. Looks like a lot of fun, wish we had that much open terrain out here

Hi Matt:

I have only been tracking my distances for this past year.

I do not ride with a cockpit computer and basically have my phone "on" using Ride with GPS tracking my progress on any given ride (outside; don't use the app on my indoor training set-up). I do get some metrics from my rides that are trackable by GPS/land information (elevation gain, ascent time, descent time, time stopped, speed, etc.)t and my "speed" that RWGps can extrapolate, but have no idea how accurate that information is.

I do not have any plans to track heartrate or any cardio measures mainly because I'm not really "racing" or planning to race any time soon. Kinda more just out to ride as much as possible distance-wise. I like going out for a 60 mile ride and taking a 30 minute lunch break.

 

[jembourbe]

Beno, you ticked all the boxes in 2024. Your list of locales is beyond impressive. Re getting a full squish: even though your terrain may not demand it, you'll feel less beat-up after a ride (esp as you start your sixth decade on the planet ). Get a short travel XC whip and I bet you'll use it more than you think you will.

For me, it was a/another year of clocking desk hours so I won't have to clock them for too much longer. (Who am I kidding? I preach the gospel of knowing when enough is enough, but I'm a hypocrite) But I still managed 1,500 miles of singletrack and a few hundred miles of forgettable road cover not worth recording. On the down side this is the first year I feel like I'm starting to lose ground: a few 12,000+ mile years (and ramp up/down from them) in times past left a couple decades of wicked residual fitness, but it started feeling harder in '24. And that's beyond bonking way too often due to never eating or hydrating enough lol

Bring it on, '25!

 

[1FZj80]

@OGBeno impressive work!!! Keep it up. I like how the general fitness from cycling allows me to do so many other activities and kinda keep up with my kids. I turn 60 in 27 days. Every decade hurts my performance a lot.
I don't follow my stats too closely but you peaked my interest. Here is what I got from my Garmin in 2024. I don't ride much in the winter (skiing) and do forget the Garmin time to time or the battery is dead.

 

[jembourbe]

@OGBeno impressive work!!! Keep it up. I like how the general fitness from cycling allows me to do so many other activities and kinda keep up with my kids. I turn 60 in 27 days. Every decade hurts my performance a lot.
I don't follow my stats too closely but you peaked my interest. Here is what I got from my Garmin in 2024. I don't ride much in the winter (skiing) and do forget the Garmin time to time or the battery is dead.

View attachment 3807456

180 hr at 60 y.o.?

 

[DrRock]

Great stats gentlemen, congratulations! Looking forward to getting back on the bikes this year in earnest. Lots of other topics in 2024 but already got the 27.5/29er switched to winter trim for a ride tomorrow. Plan on bringing my bike with me to the SAS this summer to get in some rides along the way….

 

[1FZj80]

180 hr at 60 y.o.?

I'm not 60 yet, still have a few more weeks...

 

[NM Frontier]

Hell yea @OGBeno Love to see the stoke for bikes! Looks like it was great year on two wheels for ya! Keep on crushing it!

 

[SmoothLC]

Congratulations everyone - looks like a great year.

2025 should be even better!