It’s official: 54 year old Paul Krebsbach (Cucina Fresca Cycling Team) finished the 2013 season with these amazing stats:
18,216.4 miles
1117 hours
811,112′ climbed
297 days on the bike
55 rides over 100 miles
1,095,210 calories burned (which according to Paul is equivalent to 7300 beers)
What inspired this crazy goal?
Toward the end of 2012 I saw that Woodinville Bicycle started a Facebook group called the Woodinville Bicycle Mileage Challenge. Then I saw that Rick Benson had posted that he had over 12,000 miles, which I thought was crazy. Then Rick mentioned that Mick Walsh was going to finish the year with over 15,000 miles. I was headed toward 8,000 so I thought maybe with a little effort I would shoot for 12,000 miles in 2013. The miles started to add up quickly. I had 4,000 in the first 3 months so I reset my goal to 16,000. By June I was up to 9,000 miles so the I reset my goal to finish the year at 18,000+. I think Rick will be close to 16,000 miles for the year.
Break down the mileage for us. How did you do it?
None of my miles were commuting miles. I am lucky enough to live close to work, plus I start early and get off early, so I was usually home and on the bike by 2:45 every day. During the winter I was usually able to do half of a 3-hour ride in daylight. By spring I could ride 3 hours all in the daylight. By late spring and summer I was doing a couple mid-week 4-5 hour rides. Most of my mid-week rides were 2 1/2 to 4 hours. During the summer I was doing at least one 100 mile ride per weekend, but most weekends I would do two. Both Memorial weekend and Labor Day weekend I did 100 milers all three days. I finished the year with 55 rides over 100 miles.
The longest ride was in July with my teammates from Cucina Fresca when we rode a reverse RAMROD with a little side trip up to Chinook Pass. I wound up with 160 miles.
The most fun ride was in March from Borrego Springs, CA to the Polomar Mtn Observatory. That ride was only 118 miles, but I rode both the East and South Grades, and wound up with 13,000′ of climbing for the day.
I can’t really recall a totally miserable ride. The more I rode the more tolerant I became of our weather. As long as my feet stay warm, I am good to go.
How did you stay motivated?
I will blame that on Strava. Once people start tracking you on Strava you feel guilty if you take a day off. I set a 250 mile a week goal, but I usually tried to exceed 300 miles per week. The only time I started to get a little worn down was when things started to get busy at work in December and I was having to put in a lot of overtime. It was a little harder to push myself out the door. I did find that as long as I got out the door, I was good for at least a 2 – 3 hour ride. So I would just tell myself “get out the door.” I would say I rode over half of the miles by myself, but weekends were usually with friend or teammates. Team ride days were usually a fairly easy 100 miles because I would ride 50+ miles on the team ride then ride home.
On the other weekend day, I would usually meet my friend Robbin in Renton, do a long ride, ride back toward his house in Maple Valley, then ride home from there, which would also tend to be a 100 miler. Not all the rides were all business. There were many times we would ride to breakfast in Seattle (Voula’s Offshore Cafe), Enumclaw (Charlie’s Cafe), or even to Sultan (The Sultan Bakery). Some of the rides would have a mid-ride stop at the Pumphose in Bellevue or World of Beer in Renton.
Overall I had a good time putting in the miles. I do tend to forget how many miles that 18000 miles turned out to be, but when I looked at some of the averages, it is a lot of miles. I only missed 67 days of riding this year and I think the daily average was about 60 miles. If I had ridden every day it would have been 50 miles per day. I guess that is a lot of miles.
What is your goal for 2014?
My goal for 2014 will be at least 10 to 12,000 miles.
*****
Looking for some inspiration for your 2014 season? I am hosting a 3-part series at Cycle University West Seattle to help get you psyched:
Small Adventures, Big Goals with Brian Ecker
Brian will recap his 2013 1,000,000′ climbing project and highlight a few of the smaller rides that comprised the bigger objective. While climbing 1 million feet in a year might not be on your cycling wish list, one of Brian’s smaller projects could very well end up being your “big” objective for 2014:
When: Sat. Jan 11, 2014 4:00pm
The Monster Climbs of the Owens Valley with David Longdon and Tom Meloy
Join David and Tom as they relive their 2010 adventure in the spectacular Owens Valley, California. David and Tom spent a week cycling “the best” of the climbs in this sagebrush dominated landscape, which can dish up over 6,000′ of climbing on climbs up to 22 miles long.
When: Sat. Jan 25, 2014 4:00pm
Racing Around Oregon, and from Oceanside to Annapolis with Chris Ragsdale and David Longdon
David has two 4-man Race Across Oregon victories in his legs and will discuss the fun and camaraderie that are inherent to ultra racing in a team format. Although doing an ultra race might seem out of reach, it is perfectly doable in a team format by anyone who can ride a one-day STP.
Chris will talk through his successful rookie attempt in the 2013 Race Across America (RAAM) in which he was the top-finishing American. Chris will share the trials and tribulations of this annual epic, and what it takes to complete “the world’s toughest bicycle race.”
When: Sat. Feb 22, 2014 4:00pm
