A New Personal Biking Record

In 2010 I rode my bike more miles than in any previous year since I began keeping track of my annual mileage in 1996. The final total was 2472 miles—170 more miles than the old mark of 2302 set in 2008. That’s not impressive if you are a serious cyclist like my nephew Eric, who trains for road races and entered (and finished!) the Hot 100 in Dallas last year. But for me averaging more than 200 miles per month was a major milestone.

My longest ride this year was around 15 miles. It was in September on the Foothills Trail in Pierce County, and the length was an exception. Most days I ride 7 or 8 miles. To hit 200 miles in a month means I need to ride almost every day. So I can’t let minor annoyances like Puget Sound rain or cold winter weather (it was 35 degrees F today) keep me from riding. In fact only three conditions preclude a daily ride: out-of-state travel, snow and ice on the roads, and sore knees. Fortunately the latter two conditions are rare. As for the first reason, I suppose I could take my bike with me on the airplane, but I don’t.

So will 2011 see a new record, say 2500 miles? Don’t know. The only way to make a goal like that is to increase the daily mileage on the days I do ride. And possibly switch to a road bike (I have a hybrid with wide tires). I don’t see how I can increase the number of days that I ride next year as I only missed four or five days tops per month this year. Maybe I should ride twice a day. ;)

I have one other goal for 2011—to find some new places to ride. But after taking thousands of daily rides all over the Kitsap-North Mason area in the past decade, that might be harder than riding 2500 miles. My criteria for a good safe place to ride are simple: low traffic, a good shoulder, pavement (not dirt), flat terrain to moderate hills, decent scenery. I listed my favorite places to ride in case some local riders have suggestions:

• Rocky Point Road/Marine Drive
• Chico Way to Silverdale
• Kitsap Lake to Chico Way
• Erland Point
• Beach Drive (Port Orchard)
• Old Belfair Highway
• North Shore Road
• Elfendahl Pass Road
• Panther Lake to Lake Tahuya along Gold Creek Road
• Grapeview Loop Road
• North Bay (Allyn)
• Skokomish Valley Road (infrequent—a long drive from Bremerton)