2012 Goals & a Look Back

At the beginning of 2011, these were my goals:

1. Continue to lengthen my fuse with my kids
2. Be an even better husband to my wife
3. Get our office in the top 5 agencies in the country (currently we're at the bottom)
3. Better my time in the Tour de Scottsdale (4:26 in 2010)
4. Compete in a sprint triathlon
5. Compete in 1 running event (Warrior Dash - already scheduled 4-30-11)
6. Better my 2008 mileage number (2064miles)
7. Try to help people understand Autism and share our story more
8. Get rid of some clutter
9. Improve my overall well being through meditation and relaxation
10. Expand our home garden to grow more of our own food.
11. Have fun!

Here is the list of the ones I feel that I've accomplished: 1,2,5,7,8,9,10, & 11. I didn't even come close to my cycling goals. Part of that is due to our move to Flagstaff. The process started in the summer and really cranked up during fall break. What a crazy time. Didn't leave much time to ride :-(. Moving did, however, help me get rid of some clutter! It has also set the stage to expand our home garden. In Gilbert, we had about 60 square feet to garden. Up here, we have 4.25 acres! Once we get our home set up, we hope to grow most of our food. We will have a great garden. I plan to build a makeshift green house since we will be on our property late in the growing season.

The cycling miles will come. Nothing as ambitious as the 2000 miles as I've done in years past, but they will come. I just want to enjoy riding instead of focusing on only miles. From our property, I can leave the back gate and I'm in the forest. I plan to build some elevated tracks on or near our place to add some excitement. I think I might use some old pallets and raise them up a bit to go over certain obstacles I may encounter. I'll write about it once I build some. I'm sure there will be successes & failures. I'll write about them all.

One cool note about last year is that I started the year at 181lbs and cholesterol at 299. I started 2012 at 173lbs and the cholesterol was 249 last time I checked (mid January). Not bad. I look forward to seeing what these numbers are at the end of this year with the healthier lifestyle and riding.

I guess I need some goals for 2012. So here they are:

1. Ride at least 1500 miles

2. Continue to be the best husband I can to my wife

3. Continue to be the the best father I can to my kids

4. Spread the word about Autism & continue to share our story

5. Make our garden as productive as possible

6. Help Flagstaff establish a Ride of Silence

7. Continue to meditate & relax

8. Get our office out of the bottom % group

9. Explore the Northern Arizona area with the family

10. Have fun.

The Purple Pig

When I moved to Flagstaff, I discovered that there are TONS of trails to be ridden around here. I can literally leave my house and be on a kick-ass trail in 2 minutes! I found a guy on Craigslist who was looking to trade his mountain bike for an acoustic guitar. Perfect! I can only play 3 chords on the guitar (and rarely do) and I have a cycling dependency. The MTB is a GT something or other and is a lovely light purple. The frame is aluminum but heavy. Since this is such a heavy bike (a pig), it has earned the name The Purple Pig.

Cyclists are, by nature, very weight conscious. How many grams do my tubes weigh? If I use this seat post rather than that one, I can shave valuable seconds. My attitude is "who cares". At least for this bike. My road bike & fixit are light. I can haul ass on them (at least I used to). My thought process behind the pig is that if I push a heavier bike on the trails, the road riding when it warms up, should be a breeze. I'm notout to win any races on The Pig, just have some fun.

I have refallen in love with mountain biking riding this thing. Being out on the trails reminds me of when one of my best friends & I used to ride the canyons in Southern California. The riding up here is different than So. Cal, not so much brush to ride through, but lots of trees and hills to climb. I haven't explored all of the trails around here; but when the weather warms a little, I will be out there riding like I used to. I can't wait to explore all of the trails that Flagstaff has to offer.