So does an hour on a stationary count in your book?

[natbla]

I know that it counts for the Saturday Spinner, and I'll log it for my personal data. But I'm torn on if today's 1 hour and 5 minutes on the machine was a "real" ride that counts toward my 2000 mile goal. THe machine I was on does project miles so I have it at 14.38 miles (pretty close to what I do on the bike in that time). So at this point I'm not inclined to include it for my 2000 even though this week will likely not include a single outside mile due to time issues and weather.

So what does everyone else think should I count it toward my 2000 miles or not?

Oh yeah on a plus side - I weighed myself today and without worrying about what I eat or focusing on my weight loss goal I'm down to 222 from 227 on Dec, 28. So I can say I've lost 5 pounds due strictly to riding my bike Yeah! 5 pounds down and 45 to go.

[Maelstrom]

This question seems to come up often, personally I wouldn't count it. Reason is simple. My goals are based on mountain biking, trainer riding is nothing akin to that level of riding. There isn't an 1/8th of the upper body movement involved.

Maybe it compares more to road riding or commuting, not sure as I avoid concrete, but if it is similar than you should be able to count it.

[cyclokitty]

I spent 35 minutes on the stationary bike today before extreme boredom took over. Tomorrow I'm gonna do my best to reach 45 minutes -- ohhh those minutes just drag. It's amazing how after a couple of hours outside on my bike I'd be thinking "please, 5 more minutes then I'll come inß!" But on the stationary bike it more like "oh my goodness. That was only two minutes. And I only started 8 minutes ago. I think I might cry!"

Congratulations on ditching those 5 pounds!!

[ronjon10]

I personally don't log my miles in spin classes or on a trainer as my mileage goal is an outdoor miles goal. (Lucky me I can ride year round.)

There's nothing wrong with doing either though, it's your goal, you decide how you want to set it and measure it.

The spinner miles spreadsheet is defined as 'any' miles, so count them there if you have an accurate measure. The most important thing is riding and getting healthy.

[doghouse]

I travel for a living and get to ride a real bike about 5 days per month on average. I count every minute my butt is on a saddle.:D

[unixpro]

I'd count it as exercise time, but not miles.

[flip18436572]

I count my roller miles, because it is just like riding outside, except I actually can ride on the rollers inside when it is crappy out with the ice and snow. I wish I could live somewhere where I could actually ride year round and not freeze or deal with ice and slush and snow.

I push myself on the rollers to ride at least 20 mph the entire time I am on the bike. Sometimes I use the roller workout as an interval and pay attention to my heart rate, and reduce and increase the gearing to match the heart rate I need to be at.

[Snapperhead]

Considering I don't have a road bike yet, if I had a way to count my spin class miles I would. I work my tail off in those classes, especially when I'm teaching. :D

[webist]

I count trainer miles but log them as trainer miles. Bikejournal.com is an online log which lets you differentiate between indoor stationary, indoor trainer, outdoor hills or flat, etc. It also lets you select whether or not to calculate indoor miles into your total.

[joelpalmer]

I record it (time and miles) and log it, but I don't have a miles/year goal that I'm trying to get. I have a pounds on the booty goal and some triathlons that I'm training for. I do note in my log that the miles are from the trainer, but as some have said, for me it's about the time in the saddle.

For some very interesting takes on winter training and how to do it effectively check out this episode (http://www.thefredcast.com/?p=275) of The FredCast (http://www.thefredcast.com/). For those who haven't heard it, FredCast is a great cycling podcast, and this episode is fantastic because David has Rich Wharton (http://www.onlinebikecoach.com/), a cycling coach, on to talk about off season training and he gives some great pointers about how to get the most out of a trainer workout (as opposed to being on the street).

[Swimjim]

I suppose it depends on what you are doing while on the trainer. I do Spinerval workout DVD's and follow as close as I can to the program. This does a couple of things. It helps stave off boredom which for me is a big issue with riding on the trainer and it forces me to ride like I would during a club ride. The computer and heart rate monitor don't lie. Therefor I log it. I am also fast when the melt off occurs while others are suffering just to do the mileage. I'll do bike Florida this year and be as fast as the riders from down south who ride outside year round. That purple irredesent flash you'll see will be me flying by on my Klein Quantum!

Jim

[natbla]

So I've decided to count the miles on a stationary bike at the YMCA. This is because the mileage seems to work out to the same as my road rides with a little more effort to do it. Plus, I'm a person who has trouble sustaining my drive over time so I think being able to count it and see the mileage build will help me stay motivated since it will mean psycologically I won't get down on myself as I'll be able to see progress better.

That said, I am tracking it as different from outside riding. I'll take extra please if I can still meet my 2000 miles with outdoor miles alone but that much saddle time both indoors and outdoors will be a huge accomplishment for me regardless.

Thanks for all the comments, those comments plus the realization that the interval workout today, and yesterday's "climbing" workout, were much harder than any of my other under 20 mile rides so far.

[Mazama]

Hell yes I'd count it. You're sweatin' aren't you?http://www.cosgan.de/images/midi/sportlich/n055.gif

[cyclezealot]

If I had a seperate trainer log, I might. NOt in terms of mileage however. I generally like to classify bike rides as being fun.

[Trolley Guy]

I count the stationary bike in the Saturday Spinners thread, but not in my personal mileage for the year. I have to drag myself over to the stationary, while real bike riding is something I look forward to.

[barba]

Your miles on a trainer are always zero. Count the time.

Riding a trainer and riding on the road are simply two different things. For instance, I can maintain a "speed" of 25-30mph on my trainer if I am working on my spin. I can't come close on the road.

[dallen]

I count my miles on the trainer. My wheel magnet is re-calibrated by my gps everytime I ride outside so it is pretty acurate. Since it is dark and I'm not going to be riding outside, I count the miles on the trainer. I have found that doing intervals helps with the boredom and to pass the time more quickly. I am going to break down and buy a Spinerval DVD , soon.

[DnvrFox]

I count all of my exercise in hours, not in miles or whatever. So, of course, it goes on my "hour meter." That way my swimming, walking, bicycling, trainer time, spin class time, weight lifting, etc., all are captured.

That's what is important to me. Bike miles are very artificial. Florida miles may be 1/2 the work as West Vriginia miles, etc. Of course, the same thing can happen with hours, but, IMHO, hours is the best common denominator. Nothing is perfect, unless we all carried a watt meter all the time.

[natbla]

Interesting comment about using hours across all types of exercise. Good idea, I may have to start doing that too as I've also started walking at night now too. So I'm getting roughly an hour of walking 5 days a week to go with the riding (both indoors and outdoors).

I don't own a trainer these days, but if I did I would only count the time and log the effort and heart rate data. I agree that a trainer ride is nothing like a real bike ride. Now the computer based stationary bike is a different animal as I can make it very similar in difficulty as my bike rides and for what ever reason the computerized calculation that generates the artificial milage seems to be right on the button with my real ride milage for the same time and difficulty (in terms of resistance). So I feel much more comfortable with tracking it.

[Tom Stormcrowe]

The reason I use miles on the Spinner Saturday sheet is that way, someone can "visualize" how much their capabilities increase. Miles feel more tangible than hours, in that you can say I rode 10 hours this week, or I rode 150 miles this week. To a new member of the sport, which do you think they can visualize better. ;)

As your capabilities increase, then it's a good idea to track saddle time as well, as that gives you a metric to compare speed as well as raw endurance.

[DnvrFox]

My goal is at least 14 hours of significant exercise per week. That would include resistance training and aerobic training including bicycling, swimming, fast walking, spinning, trainer, other.

[Condorita]

I'm doing the Walk to Rivendell, and for my purposes all mileage counts, whether it's on the stationary, on the elliptical, on the treadmill, or on the Giant Cypress. But you gotta do what's right for you.