From memory, 2023 seems to have been a year of windy weather, lower volume and higher intensity. It feels like I’ve ridden a lot less outdoor than previously and done a lot more Zwift racing. It was also a year of interruptions. I had four unavoidable “can’t take a bike with you” trips with multi-day down-time messing with my CTL. I did manage some walks and runs on those trips, but it’s just not the same. There was also one short period of illness where I had to step away from riding/racing for a few days. All the little red dots on the chart represent a race day.
I started the year at 52 CTL and peaked in June at 65, briefly touching 66 in September before trips 3 & 4 and ending the year at 57. Weight is largely unchanged starting the year around 68kg and ending around 67kg, but it fluctuates +/- 1kg anyway.
So What Was New in 2023?
- I managed to do the Alpe in under 1-hour
- I did 146 races (16 Gold, 17 Silver, 14 Bronze)
- Dirt Racing Series (DRS) captaining the Sprocketeers
- A short duathlon
- Trying to get a run in most weeks for the sake of bone density
- New longest distance of 175km
- Live Streaming Zwift races
- Active involvement in ZwiftRacing.app
- First try of IndieVelo
- Elimination race
- Organised my first Zwift races (Cyclopathy Friday Smash)
- New all-time high indoor power PRs from: 1s to 1hr 6 minutes
Here’s my VeloViewer summary of the year…
Tweaks for Next Year
I don’t do resolutions or distance goals. I tend to set the goal as “enjoying my cycling as much as possible”.
In 2024 I’d like to do more Zone 2 rides and hopefully a lot more outdoor. Much as I enjoy Zwift, there is no escaping the fact that long indoor sessions are boring unless you’re racing. And you can’t race every time. So I’ve installed a music system in the garage to help with that.
Fewer “off-weeks” if possible. 4 “no bike” trips is at least 2 too many in any given year.
I’ll be carrying on with the Cyclopathy Friday Smash and have another race series planned.