Hitting our 600 mile Biking and 600 mile walking challenge for 2022!

Back in 2021 we set a goal. We needed to be outside more. We need to get more fit. We set a goal to walk 500 miles and bike 500 miles as a family. And we crushed it! 
For 2022, we decided to step it up! This year, we're going to do 600 miles of walking and 600 miles of biking! Let's get started!

Being so close to Disney World offered lots of opportunities to get in miles. Our cousin Avery and her family came to visit. 

And the Van Fleet State Trail biking path is great for getting in a lot of miles. 

We tried to get there every week. 

Especially to see our trail friend Henry. He's got a farm with lots of animals that he lets the kids pet and feed. 

Walking the strand in Miami Beach. 

Before leaving for our long RV adventures across the US, we decided to step up our mileage. These kids showed amazing endurance and pushed 62.2 miles, 100 kilometers, on their bikes in one day! You guys are rockstars. 

Our travels took us lots of different places. Out to the beaches of Gulf Shores. 

To Petrified National Forest. 

The Grand Canyon. 

Palm Springs California. 

Hermosa Beach California on the way to play volleyball. 

Disneyland with Gram and Pop Pop. 

The giant Sequoia trees. 

Biking around Yosemite valley. 

And hiking in Washington with Jess and Jon.

The Oregon Coast with Aunt Megan. 

Picking blackberries in Washington with Todd. 

Walking around Seattle and visiting the Space Needle. 

Exploring Glacier National Park. 

And Yellowstone. 

And Arches National Park. 

Hiking the Hoodoos in Bryce Canyon. 

And seeing the Horseshoe Bend. 

And Antelope Canyon. 

Hiking with Pop Pop up Barr Trail. He's got his own challenge this year of hiking the Manitou Incline and other 14,000+ mountains around Colorado. 

Back in Florida, we road along the Withlacoochee bike trail. 

It's been difficult to get as many biking miles in over the summer. Having a 600 mile goal meant that we needed to average 1.65 miles of biking and walking a day. Knowing we'd be falling behind in biking, we pushed to get ahead and at one point were 230 miles ahead of our goal. When we got to Florida though, we found ourselves 80 miles behind! With only 60 days left, that means we need to average 3 miles a day. 

Alli has certainly grown. She's moved from this bike...

No, not that picture. 

This picture, to a bigger bike. And it's pink!

Checking out the alligators along the trail. 

Visiting Henry again. 

He got a new donkey!

And goats!

A 200 pound wild pig. It wasn't sleeping. 

The kids crush the mileage with no complains. 

And when they discovered their bike jerseys had pockets in it, they loved filling it with candy to help them power through. 

And it wasn't just the biking that had fallen behind. The walking has suffered too. We were 45 miles ahead at one point, but in October fell to 67 miles behind! I was worried about not hitting our goal!

But the kids weren't having any of that. "The Flowers Family accomplishes their goals!"

We walked so so much at Disney World. The walking path between Epcot and Hollywood studios, or Magic Kingdom and Transportation Center got a lot of attention from us. 

Visiting Lurch the turkey during Thanksgiving. 

Lifting Lupe the baby goat. 

And giving treats to the horses. 

We saw so many snakes during our ride. Like this little Rattlesnake. 

Or very threatening Cottonmouth. 

And there were alligators all over. 

Right next to the trail. 

Walking was so difficult to get ahead in. We really had to knuckle down and focus. In the first 18 days of December, we walked every single day and covered 95 miles! We knew we'd need to get all the miles in before heading to snowy Washington for Christmas. 

On one of our last days in Florida, we took a 6.5 mile walk around the neighborhood to the library and post office to mail Christmas cards. 

Kids! You've done it! Congratulations! 600 miles walked in one year! 

When we got home, the kids ran to their room with no prompting from us, and came back with medals for everyone! 

600 miles in one year. (walk star)

So cool guys! Congratulations! 

We celebrated our accomplishments by having Chick-Fil-A for dinner! 

And the very next day, we hit the bike trail, saying Hi to Henry, delivering Christmas presents and knocking out 25 miles on the bike! 

Kids! You guys are rock stars! 600 miles of biking completed!

And again they ran to their room when we got home to make more medals. 

600 miles in 1 year. Bike Star

Awesome job Flowers Family!

And we celebrated our big accomplishment with fondue and chicken nuggets! Yum!

A look at our progress across the year. The black line is our total goal. We went up in biking early, and slightly ahead in walking, but both fell off as the year went on. A big push at the end to get to the goal. 

And a breakdown of our monthly tally. Biking fell off dramatically while we were on the road. 

So, where does that leave us for 2023? 
We're going in a little different direction next year. 600 miles was a lot and took a whole lot of our time we felt. We'd like to work on a few more things like throwing and catching, fitness, and other hand-eye coordination activities. And as such, we'll be going down to 365 miles of biking and 365 miles of walking in 2023. Bring on the next year!