Happy New Year?! …I never thought I’d miss the awkwardness of repeating that over and over again until some point in February when I would finally decide enough was enough.
I hope 2021 has gotten off to as decent a start as it could for you. Mine started well with consecutive days riding indoors with Zwift friends then I fell victim to covo.
Just before I became unwell, I’d been down to Giant Loughton to pick up my new bike – a 2021 Liv Langma – the road bike I’ve been coveting for the last couple of years. So she barely got to spin around the block for the start of 2021.
And although I seemingly had plenty of time to think about my 2021 cycling goals, I just wasn’t in the mood. I did look back on what I had planned for 2020 though and all things considered, I didn’t do too badly.
But now, I’ve had some time to think and have pretty much chosen goals that won’t be hampered by factors outside of my control.
2021 As A Liv Cycling UK Ambassador
I’m excited to share that I will be continuing as a Liv Cycling UK Ambassador for my third year. Things will be a little different this year (as per last) due to restrictions on outdoor rides, but we’ll do the best we can to continue to support women’s cycling.
Once restrictions are lifted, I’ll be back to leading Breeze / Liv group rides from Giant Loughton. Until then, the majority of my content will be digital – either on Instagram or here on the blog.
I will try to add some Zwift meet ups in the diary too – I did a couple around New Years and they were so much fun – especially with the Discord chat.
My Zwift Journey & Stats
I officially joined Zwift back in March 2020 after I got my indoor smart trainer. I wasn’t a huge fan of Zwift when I had tried it previously, but having the smart trainer, along with more of a community and learning as quickly as I could, helped.
I just reached level 15 on Zwift (start of Feb ’21) and completed the California Challenge (riding 1284km) so it’s been a good month. I’ve now “enrolled” in the Climb Mt Everest Challenge to start working towards the “shiny tron bike”.
Indoor cycling is a good way to get some consistent and structured training in especially when the weather is unpredictable.
Back To Fitness – Zwift Training Plan
I’ve been really struggling to find consistency in my training. I even purchased a 3 month plan from a cycling coach last year but life took over, the workouts never saved so if I could never catch up and eventually just gave up.
My issue has always been finding a plan that still leaves me time and energy for everything else I enjoy doing – teaching classes and running. After starting the year unwell, I’ve chosen the Back To Fitness plan on Zwift – over 10 weeks – with ~1 hour of riding each week.
This leaves me time to also ride outdoors, join meet ups and do Zwift group rides or events. The Zwift Academy at the back end of 2020 was a similar commitment and I managed to successfully complete that over the 8 weeks.
Completing All The Zwift Routes
Whilst I’m using Zwift, I figured I might as well work towards completing the challenge of riding all the routes – there are 80 currently. On Zwift Insider, they created a checklist of the routes grouped by difficulty.
I used that checklist to create my own (with nicer colours, more spacing etc) so I could keep track of my progress. You can download my version below – print which every pages you need or print 2 pages per sheet so it’s just 3 pages.
I’m not putting a deadline on this – I’m just gonna do as many of them in 2021 as I can, around everything else. Feel free to jump in and keep me updated on your progress if you’re gonna take this on too!
Start My Coaching Journey
This was a goal for 2020 and I did book my Level 1 but it was rescheduled to the same weekend as Red Bull timelaps so I pulled out. It turns out that I potentially can skip Level 1 anyway and start at Level 2.
However, British Cycling recently introduced a £75 admin fee to get prior learning approved which in my opinion is yet another barrier to accessing coaching.
So now I’m in this weird limbo of finding funding to help me do the Level 2 whilst wondering if it’s even worth it as it’s such a low level course. I’d still be 2-4 courses away from being able to offer 1-1 cycling coaching and training plans. Even though that’s what I do as a Personal Trainer and is a lower level qualification than my BSc in Sport & Exercise Science.
Joining a Cycling Club
In the midst of trying to understand this whole coaching landscape, I got chatting to Biola who is a member of Velociposse Cycling Club and I thought sod it – why not finally join a club.
Velociposse embody everything I believe in for cycling and I can’t wait to ride with them in real life. So far, I’ve immersed myself in the community chat and will be jumping into book club later this month. We’re reading Where There’s A Will by Emily Chappell.
Get A Bike Fit
With the new bike being a much more ‘aggressive’ position than my previous ones, I’m keen to get a bike fit and learn what works for me and my body. I’m particularly interested to get my saddle height, cleat position and reach looked at.
Once restrictions lift, I’ll get this booked in so hoping to have this done by the end of March.
Everything Else Is A Bonus
There are so many other things I would love to do this year – time and world situation permitting.
I’d love to:
- take part in a duathlon again
- ride somewhere warm, like Mallorca
- complete the women’s 100(km) in September
- improve my cyclocross bike skills
- take part in a few cyclocross races
- give Red Bull Timelaps another go in a team
Given that we don’t have a clue how this year will pan out, I’m pretty open to any adventures that may arise too!
Have you got any cycling goals for 2021?! Or managed to tick any off already?!
Elle
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