I just started riding in April / May and really didn't have any real goals -- but I thought at the time that it would be great to ride over a thousand miles (which seemed like a lot)... I am at something over double that now...
But my real goal was to improve my cardio fitness (which I discoverered was in pretty bad shape when I started) -- and that has improved dramatically. It still isn't where I would like it to be. But, honestly, I didn't know that I could feel this good!
So, I guess I made my real goal... But I still have more to go...