Coach’s Corner — NY Goals

Get Creative With Your Cycling Goals for the New Year

Our Coach’s Corner series is your chance to have your biggest cycling questions answered— right from longtime cycling coach Darryl MacKenzie. In these short Q&As, Coach Darryl speaks from his 35+ years of cycling and coaching experience to help you become a stronger, smarter cyclist.

Motivated Cyclist:
Coach, I want to start off right with some cycling goals for the New Year. But I’m not sure a specific number of miles is a good method for me. What else can I set as a goal?

Coach Darryl:
As the old saying goes, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. Cycling is like that: Without goals, you end up pedaling fewer days and fewer miles, and you make less progress than you’d like. In the end, this means less enjoyment of riding.

The problem is that many cyclists are not very creative when it comes to setting goals for their sport. They simply identify the number of miles pedaled the previous year, add a few more, and consider it done for next year’s goal. But this doesn’t do much to motivate most cyclists.

If you’re going to focus on miles, it’s much better to emphasize miles per month. You can even aim for fewer miles for colder winter months and more for warmer months.

But, for many cyclists, a set number of miles just isn’t the best motivator. The good news is that there are practically infinite approaches to setting targets for the New Year. Consider a few ways I and other riders have gotten creative over the years:
• One cyclist found it difficult to make time for cycling, so he set a goal of X number of rides each month. This kept him focused on completing his ride days rather than aiming for specific mile targets. Alternatively, you could focus on number of rides over ride intensity.
• Another rider set a goal for finding a compatible cycling club to ride with and make those rides his cycling goal.
• One cyclist joined a fast-riding club and set a goal to keep up with them for half the ride by a certain date and the entire ride by another date later in the year.
• Another set a goal for completing her first century event.
• Another for completing a 100-mile ride every month.
• Yet another cyclist set a target to increase her climbing by tracking the amount of feet or meters climbed per month or year.
• And still another for completing a series of three 200-mile rides.

Those are just a few examples. You can approach it in plenty of other ways.

Is it a year to pedal faster? Finish that long flat course in record time? Climb that big hill a little quicker than you have before? Or maybe you could focus on power — buy a power meter to dial in your training instead of merely relying on your heart rate monitor.

Perhaps it’s a good year to drop a few pounds to improve your overall pedaling performance.

Or it may be a good time to get a family member or friend into cycling. A spouse or significant other may relish the chance to ride with you rather than sitting at home resenting the hours you spend pedaling!

Finally, you could consider a totally different approach: Maybe it’s the year to upgrade your bike to give yourself more motivation to ride. A new road or mountain bike might be just the push you need to get back out there or try a new style of riding! Or you could just upgrade your drive train for more power.

Even better? Get more comfortable on a new Selle Anatomica saddle so you can enjoy longer rides.

Whatever it is, identify the measuring stick that makes the most sense for your cycling needs and personality. And get out there.

From all your supporters at Selle Anatomica — Happy riding in 2025!