Words by Angela Duckett

Happy New Year! I don’t know about you but I stepped into 2017 feeling like a COMPLETE cycling goddess! Why? Because, of course, smashing goals always makes one feel like a goddess! Hello!?

In January, 2016 I purchased a road bike and rode my first group ride. I had one goal in mind, to ride the 30 mile course at the Tour of Long Beach in May. Well, May and The Tour of Long Beach had come and gone and I DID IT! I rode the 30 miles and collected my first official cycling bling. Yay me! Now what? Um…ride my bike I guess. I casually joined in on Saturday group rides and an occasional training ride where I could fit it in. I tried to go fast. I climbed some hills. I took a stab at everything I saw the other cyclists doing. I was having fun. On December 7th I was noodling around with my Garmin and realized that all of this casual pedal pushing had actually totaled up to 808 miles on my bike! Wow! How did that happen!?! 808 miles! That’s only 192 away from 1,000. I quickly tapped open my calendar…..December 7th…..there’s 3 and a half weeks left in the year…..can I do it? Can I ride 192 miles before the end of the year? In that moment I fixed my mind to do just that. The official push to the goal had begun!

I posted my goal on social media and gained lots of support from friends. Posting it also made me accountable. There was no turning back. Although 192 miles in 3 weeks may not be much for some, for me, it was a stretch. I have mommy duties which often consume me. Combine that with the Christmas holiday, houses guests, and festivities and I had a million reasons to NOT get this done. I had to seriously plan and focus. I did 2 group rides, 1 solo and 2 date rides with friends and I DID IT! On December 29th, 2016 I rode my 1,000th mile!

Without turning this into a Lifetime movie, I’ll just say 2016 was a very tough year for me, personally. When I first jumped on my bike in January, I could not have imagined the life transitions that were headed my way. It was literally about to get crazy for me. I also did not anticipate the many benefits cycling would bring. The perfect respite for a difficult year. And these benefits are not only physical. Every time I hop on my bike I have to assume the mindset that I can accomplish whatever will be placed in front of me. No matter how difficult things get, just keep pedaling and the end will come. The climb ends. The difficult part will cease. And when it does, there is a sweet, breezy decent waiting for me on the other side. So is life.

I rode 1,000 miles on my bike in 2016 and I could not be more proud of myself. I’m setting new goals for 2017. Bigger goals. Goals for cycling. Goals for life. I plan to smash them all!

When I caught sight of Angela's goal in December. I was excited to see a very similar spark that made me decide to grab up the last few points towards my Cat 3 upgrade towards the end of my first season of racing. So pumped that she reached her goal, can't wait to see brown women crushing it in 2017! What are your goals? Let me know what you're up to!

Quick Brown Foxes: Angela Duckett | Push To The Goal