The Year in Miles
After Thursday’s aborted attempt — I’d just made a run to the office when Nana messaged me to come home to help her — I was just a few miles short of my goal of 2,024 miles for the year. I set out Saturday morning hoping for an easy 60 kilometers to Haneda and back, which would put me well past the goal. Unfortunately I was short of breath and spent the ride wondering if my life of whisky and bad women was finally catching up with me.
The ride down the Tamagawa was pleasant enough, but the wind grew stronger the closer I got to the mouth of the bay. Nana hadn’t made any of her world-famous onigiri for the ride, so I stopped at a convenience store for something to eat when I arrived at Haneda. Between the wind and my poor condition, I considered eating the goodies on the spot and turning back for home, but I told myself not to be silly and continued onward towards the goal.
While I sat down to eat, I contemplated my new shoe covers. I’d thrown out the cheap pair I’d had previously when I noticed during the Yamanote ride that they were falling apart.
The new covers are Shimano, the same brand as my shoes, so I wasn’t expecting such a difficult fit. It was a struggle to get the covers over the shoes, and then I couldn’t get the zippers all the way up. Granted I have large calves, but I don’t think I have particularly fat ankles. In the end I decided the issue was the width of my shoes, and I gave up and rode with the zippers halfway up. I could feel the uppers flapping against my calves in the wind, but it didn’t really bother me and they didn’t rub against the bike.
I also spent some time thinking about my condition, and whether my days of ignoring the doctor (and common sense) were catching up with me. Is it time to Get Right with the Lard? I haven’t had any success in previous years, so no reason 2025 can’t be the year!
Slow ride home
I set off back home about 11:45. I’d told Nana I’d be home about 1-2 p.m., so I was still on target — so long as I could keep going against the shortness of breath. At first the going was quite a bit easier as I was now working with a tailwind, and I was soon back at my usual resting spot.
I could definitely feel I didn’t have my usual power when I neared Futako, and I wondered if I’d make the climb out of the river valley. When it came I shifted down much earlier than usual, and then as soon as I’d got up the steeper portion, about one-third of the way, I stopped to catch my breath. After that I was able to make it to the top without further incident.
It was just before 1 when I reached the park at the top of the climb, and I noticed that no one had dressed the Dogseal for the holiday season.
Nana had told me she’d be going out at 2, so I messaged her I might not make it home by that time, but to go ahead without waiting.
The ride back home through traffic went without incident. I continued to suffer a lack of power on the few brief rises along the way. At one point a younger guy on his crap bicycle started dogging my heals and trying to force his way past at the worst possible moments. I was about to say something to him (roughly, “Fuck off!”) when I decided just to let him go and not overtake him again (we’d been playing cat-and-mouse for a couple of kilometers by this point), and then he finally turned off on a different street — cutting off a delivery driver in the process.
I took the least challenging route home, not trying to beat the lights, and I kept my eye off the clock. I did put some spin into the final descent, and I arrived home at 1:53 p.m. (Nana had already gone out.)
I’d reached my goal of riding 2,024 miles in 2024, in the end racking up 3,303.49km, or 2,052 miles. This was the first year I’d even considered this as a goal, so out of curiosity I’ve had a look at previous years.
| Kilometers | Miles | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017* | 1,081.72 | 672 |
| 2018 | 2,168.55 | 1,347 |
| 2019 | 3,464.54 | 2,152 |
| 2020 | 2,731.95 | 1,697 |
| 2021 | 4,054.48 | 2,519 |
| 2022 | 3,539.53 | 2,199 |
| 2023 | 3,681.56 | 2,287 |
| 2024 | 3,303.49 | 2,052 |
* I started recording in June 2017
Without actually setting a goal, I’ve ridden the Year in Miles every year since 2019, with the exception of 2020. (I wonder what happened then?)
Having the peak in 2021 is kind of a surprise. Looking back at my riding record, it was mostly the result of just really consistently getting on the bike, including a lot of commuting. Here are some highlights of rides in 2021:
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- October
- November
More recently, 2024 was notable for several new routes, a week of riding in Ohio, several rides with José and Fearless Leader Joe, and the demise of my Brooks Titanium saddle. Here are some highlights:
- January
- Tamagawa Sky Bridge (at last!)
- February
- March
- April
- Cloudy Cherry Kawagoe
- Edogawa again, and further
- May
- June
- October
- December
Breathing easier
I went out to dinner with Nana and her mother last night, and found I was short of breath even walking the very flat pavement. I didn’t have much appetite although it was our No. 2 favorite sushi restaurant. When we got home I took my temperature and I had a fever of 38C (100F), and the oxymeter said I was low on oxygen.
Nana spent some time calling the Shinjuku health office and then a hospital they recommended to us, but she didn’t get anywhere in the end. I went to bed early and slept fitfully. I woke up a 2 a.m. and took my temperature: 36C (normal). I was also breathing much easier. I got another couple of hours of sleep and now here I am, blogging while Nana continues to get her beauty rest.
Other accomplishments
I haven’t done an exceptional amount of riding in December, so I’ve just got the two badges to show for it: 400 minutes and 200km (total 210.24km for the month).
On a whim I checked my Gear stats on Garmin and discovered I’ve just topped 18,000km since I’ve had the bike. That’s cheerful news.
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