I didn’t start off well last year, and the end of the year was not exactly ideal considering the trajectory I wanted to set. So rather than doing the quarterly reviews, the new plan is to set goals to either improve myself or at least fix things I didn’t like last year. It is not imperative to accomplish each of the goals, but it is always nice to achieve them, and then maybe set new ones to keep going.

Physical #1: Climb-khana

Rather than setting a goal of riding at a certain location or a timed goal, I would like to aim for a long/tall climb. Whether it is on a road/gravel bike, on a mountain bike, or even on Kaiju with a climbing ratio, the aim will be to do some form of a significant climb. I would like to climb up from Wangaratta to Beechworth, or even from lower ticket gate to summit at Falls Creek, as long as I push myself in terms of strength and stamina unlike previous years the climbing goal will be achieved.

Physical #2: Going the Distance

Last year, my longest ride since being on Strava was 50km (my Magellan account had a 75km ride which took me a day and two bags of Starburst chews). For this year, I am aiming to either ride further on the singlespeeder along the rail trail that I set the 50km ride on, or achieve my first 50km+ in a single MTB ride. While in the past I have ridden >50km in a single day, that was made up of multiple rides and extended food breaks. So with two ways to accomplish this first, and then a second goal as well, this will be a goal worth striving for.

Mental #1: Project Resilience

The last Riders Files had a comment from a friend of mine where he told me that my disorganised mental state could be helped by something called Project Resilience. This is an Australian mental program, an audiobook, and a real book. So at least there are different ways I can access this mental health tool? With everything that has happened since the pandemic started in 2020, and the potential for this to keep on effecting me for years to come, it will be a good idea to get onto this as soon as I can.

Mental #2: A Spirited Drive

Driving a diesel hatchback is great, insurance is cheap, fuel economy on long drives is good, and it has a good resale probability. And then you are left with a diesel hatchback which is as exciting to drive as a dishwasher… So for once in my life, I would like to drive one of my dream cars. A Lotus Exige, Lamborghini Huracan/Aventador, or Nissan 240Z, each of them mean different things to mean in terms of my love for cars and being a racer. Ultimately, my love of customising cars and racing them did lead to mountain biking, but I would like to drive at least one of the cars that I aspire towards. With the past two years of being stuck inside playing racing games and not travelling much, I would like to drive something spirited.

When I have achieved any of the goals, there will either be a blog post documenting it, or a video on the YouTube channel. But until next time, keep safe and stay awesome!