Got a plan for this year? If you don’t, you need one.

If you vowed to be better this year, you need to start planning. You need goals to move you along. You need a carrot to get you out of bed and ride on a morning when it’s 25 degrees out. You need incentive to lace up your Asics and do your weekly track workout when your body is saying it would rather stay on the couch and watch the second half.

If you’re a road cylclist, for instance, you need an event to spur you on. The MS 150 in September, perhaps. Maybe Cycle North Carolina in October. Or perhaps one of the numerous centuries and half centuries that will test your endurance. (If you really want to test yourself, shoot for a mountain century; the Roan Moan in July is a good place to start.)

And mountain biking certainly isn’t without its share of interesting races. From the local TORC cross-country series, to 24-hour races such as Memorial Day weekend’s Burn 24-Hour Challenge, to quirky races such as Pisgah Mountain Adventure Bike Race that marry distance riding with thinking.

Are you a runner? Maybe you need those weekly 5Ks to string you along. Perhaps you’re in to distance running — or would like to be. I know of at least one, no, two, training programs ideal for folks interested in running their first marathon. Maybe you prefer trail running. Now’s the time to start upping the miles for April 1’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail 12M and 50K Challenge, among others.

Into the new breed of adventure 5K? There are more and more of ‘em out there.

Triathlete? You have to plan ahead because triathlons are so popular they fill up in an instant. Still, you may be able to find a good tri, sprint to ironman, with openings left.

If you’re into team sports, check with your local parks & rec to see what options they have coming up.

And if you’re like me and live for a good backcountry adventure, well, I had a little planning session myself the other day and came up with five must-do trips for this year: the Snowbird Mountains of western North Carolina, a section of the Great Smoky Mountains I’ve yet to explore, the little-known west flank of the Black Mountains, the Black Mountain Crest Trail — much of it above 6,000 feet — in winter, and the 73-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail between US 19E and Damascus, Va. You can read more about those adventures here.

Stop reading. Start planning.

The post Got a plan for 2012? appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

The light changed, we crossed NC 55, then shortly dismounted to cross the railroad tracks before Carpenter Upchurch Road. As we did, Stan and Jan Cox were crossing from the opposite direction. We struck up a conversation — the father/son tandem continued on — that continued a few days later with an email exchange. From those conversations I learned this about the couple that, had it not been for the dismounting disturbance of the railroad tracks (there is no crossing and concrete barricades actively discourage cyclists from hiking over the tracks), I would otherwise simply have passed with a wave and a hello.

• Both commute by bike to work, Jan as a teacher at Green Hope High School (which we happened to be across the street from), Stan to N.C. State’s Centennial Campus. Said Stan: “My commute is 11 miles one way and I cycle commute around 3 times a week.  Jan commutes 4 miles one way and she commutes around 2 times a week.  Commuting is my favorite riding because I feel like I’m accomplishing something and weekend riding is not what it was now that the roads west of Cary have become more and more crowded.  We are both fortunate in that we have routes that take us off main roads; not easy in this cul-de-sac road planning area.  I put a lot of thought into finding a good route.”
• About dealing with motorists: “Most drivers are courteous to me and I try to be courteous in return,” says Stan. “I never run lights, stay to the far right side of the lane.” Cyclists are common on Centennial Campus, so it tends to be more bike friendly. As for Jan, Stan says she sticks to the back roads. “She tries to avoid the high school drivers; I cannot say that I blame her!”
• On how they got into cycling: “I’ve ridden road bikes pretty much all my life but mostly just casual riding,” says Stan. “I started cycling more seriously to do triathlons. Jan got a road bike a few years ago figuring if I was going to go out cycling then she might as well join me!  It has been a nice hobby for the two of us.”
• On living a well-rounded active life: “My preferred sport is swimming; unfortunately I cannot swim to work. (Ever see the Burt Lancaster movie ‘The Swimmer’?) … “I do the FS Series swims.  Jan swims and runs so she can do an occasional triathlon.”
• On goals: “We also ride with an MS team that cycles year round,” says Stan. “This year we would like to ride double centuries — 100 miles on Saturday and Sunday, something we’ve never done before.  The MS ride is a different experience from the swimming/triathlon events I normally do as you aren’t racing a clock so it is more relaxed.”

After 10 minutes or so, our respective lures — mine of finishing up, the Cox’s of getting a ride in before the afternoon heat hit — ended our conversation.

The entry in my workout log book for May 31 reads “strong ride,” but I can’t recall what made it so (climbed the hills with ease? Smoked on the flats?). But I still remember my stoplight exchange with the father/son tandem — they get ice cream at McDonald’s — and my crossing paths with the Cox’s.

Good workout, better conversations.

The post Cycling: It’s not all about the workout appeared first on GetGoing NC!.