As I think about my recent ride, I am pleased with how I did, but being a math major in my current academic adventures, I can't help but think that there should be a way to quantify a ride...
I propose using three elements for a Fifty Plus ride rating system:
M = Number of miles in the ride
A = Age in years
W = Rider's weight in pounds (after pie)
The thought occurred to me that making a 50 year old 200 pound rider produce a rating equal to the number of miles would be interesting... Then the following formula makes it work and gives credit for added age or weight...
Rating = M * (A * 0.02) * (W / 200)
So, my ride Saturday would be:
Rating = 61.57 * (49 * 0.02) * (310 / 200)
= 61.57 * 0.98 * 1.55
= 93.52483
What this means is that my ride was the equivalent of a 50 year old weighing 200 pounds riding about 93.5 miles
Of course, this methodology is only for fun, and has no scientific merit whatsoever (unless you can fool someone into it)... My goal is to increase the age and the miles while decreasing the weight... so if I am really successful at my weight loss and I ride a century next year, I could get the same rating for a longer ride...
