I've now finished my 1,000 mile challenge, and like any self-respecting geek, I ran a few numbers about my ride. I've posted them here, as well as some thoughts about the experience.

Stats

Start Date: 15 May 2009
Days: 100 Calendar Days
Time: 66.5 riding hours
Final Mileage: 1,003 miles
Miles from Commuting: 830
Miles in organized rides: 79 (Tour de Donut, ULCER 60 mile option)
Number of tire rotations: 792,300
Flats: 0* (After a small celebration at the park, I got a flat on the way home....)
Weight lost: ~10lbs.
Average length of ride: 10 miles
Average Moving Speed: 15 mph
Riding Hours: 66.5
Miles I didn't drive in my car: ~400
Time I didn't spend in my car: 16 hours

Random Facts

Many of my commuting miles were spent on the Jordan River Pathway in Utah County.
I did not listen to music (or anything else) at all.
My legs are now in the best shape they have ever been.
Because there is always a breeze, temperature didn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

Thoughts

When I started this challenge, I felt like 1,000 miles was a huge goal. After having completed it, I still feel like it was a huge goal, but in a different way then expected. Pedaling 1,000 miles was not really that difficult. More difficult was my willingness to sacrifice the time it took to ride each day. I cheated to make it work. By trading 10 minutes of drive time for ~45min of riding, I got 45 min of riding in while only sacrificing 35 minutes of time. Added up cumulatively, 16 hours not spent in a car is quite a lot of time recovered and put to better use exercising.

Part of the reason I enjoyed this challenge so much is the route I take to work. I only travel through one major intersection, and most of my riding is on low traffic country roads or paved pathways. My route allows for many variations I can take for various distances. Having a variety of routes breaks things up, and I didn't get too bored of any one route.

With my route and the fact that I was on a bike, I rarely dealt with traffic. After driving more this last week, I have begun to remember how bad commuting traffic can be while driving home. On a bike, I experience almost none of it.

I accomplished my goal in just over three months. Utah has plenty of weather not conducive to cycling, so part of the year it is very painful to ride. Even so, I feel like almost anyone willing to make a consistent effort can accomplish this same goal. I'll write about my gear in another post, but my bike is a simple mountain bike, and I spent very little on gear, especially when you consider comparable gym fees. How much time did you spend exercising in a gym this year? 66 hours? How much did you spend on membership fees? Yeah, my gear was pretty cheap.

So, will I do it again next year? Definitely. I do hope to be on a road bike though...