Fifty Plus (50+) - 50+ers ONLY - FIGURING YOUR MILEAGE

Okay, 50+ ers, how do you figure your mileage. Big discussion on General Cycling Forum, with some folks getting a bit irate and incensed because other folks figure trainer miles, etc., into their mileage.

So, 50+ers, what do you do?

I only track my outside mileage!

As stated by others in the General Discussion Forum, if you want to track inside, outside or anyother side mileage be my guest, it's up to each person how they do it.

Before I got my leg broken by a car, I didn't care much about trainer miles. However, for a couple of months during the summer, the closest I got to road riding was setting up my trainer in the driveway. So I started counting trainer miles. Now it seems that we are going to have a wet El Nino winter on the California coast, so there is no way that I am not going to count those trainer miles.

Most important for me, counting the miles can make all those February days on the trainer bearable.

And, hey, we're old: We have only so many miles left in us.

I almost voted 'purist' (I voted both) & 'purist' is what I state my total miles are in this forum, but I also track miles on a trainer. I think its GOOD motivation to keep a journal of all exercise. Heck- I even track what bike I ride, milesd & time, and other exercise (walking for example). Works for me but no problem with 'what works for you!'

Okay, 50+ ers, how do you figure your mileage. Big discussion on General Cycling Forum, with some folks getting a bit irate and incensed because other folks figure trainer miles, etc., into their mileage.

So, 50+ers, what do you do?

For gosh sakes, Why would anyone care or bother with how
someone else figures the "mileage" they put on a bicycle??

To do so means that you have waaaay to much free time.......

For gosh sakes, Why would anyone care or bother with how
someone else figures the "mileage" they put on a bicycle??

To do so means that you have waaaay to much free time.......

Man, great question.

Some folks get pretty uptight about some pretty unimportant things in life. I always think that they need some REAL problems to worry about - i.e., sick kids, paying creditors and the like.

But, I am the guy who wrote this poll! Sad, isnt it! :D

Okay, 50+ ers, how do you figure your mileage. Big discussion on General Cycling Forum, with some folks getting a bit irate and incensed because other folks figure trainer miles, etc., into their mileage.

So, 50+ers, what do you do?

I Don't count trainer miles in my figure. Mainly because I don't have a trainer, but also because whenever I do sit on one (Possibly at the gym), I get bored and stop after 5 minutes with a sore butt and a feeling that that was a waste of time.
I may be fortunate, but living in the extreme S.E. of England, we do not get the extreme weather that stops me getting out on the Mountain bike across the trails that we have within 5 miles of where I live. A bit of rain, or wind, or Ice , or occasionally the extreme heat, just add to the enjoyment of the ride.
(Sorry enjoyment may not be the right word, but when you have done the ride and beaten the elements, you know you have been on a ride)

Man, great question.

Some folks get pretty uptight about some pretty unimportant things in life. I always think that they need some REAL problems to worry about - i.e., sick kids, paying creditors and the like.

But, I am the guy who wrote this poll! Sad, isnt it! :D

Well, I keep track of my mileage at Bikejournal. The person with the most miles is in Cheyenne, Wy. I was trying to figure out how in the world they got so many miles in the middle of winter. They rank people on the homepage by mileage. I was thinking if they separated road/trail from trainer, it would be much different.

I post all my riding which is all outdoors on a program from www.shastasoftware.com

Every New Years Eve, (sometimes New Years Day if I fall asleep before midnight. :D ) I set all my bike computers back to zero. I ride a trainer in the basement but those are not "bikin'" miles.

I only count the mileage of one bike as my wet weather bike has a computer no more ,crash damage , a break in the wiring somewhere !I'm not pedantic about counting Ks anyway but when out for ride its nice to know how far you've been !

I don't ride the trainer very much (age has made me tougher ;) :rolleyes: ) so I only count the miles on the road. Both bikes have a computer and I reset them to zero on New Years morning but keep a written log of total miles on each bike and total miles for each year.

undefinedundefined

undefined

I count actual bike miles ridden on the road. This is so because I live in Southern California and hardly use my trainer. After each ride I jot down 8 statistics from the ride: start time, miles ridden, average speed, average speed at half way mark, maximum speed, total time, riding time, odometer reading. Then I calculate the average speed on the return leg. After the statistics, I write a short commentary on the ride, how I felt, who I met up with on the ride, wind conditions, flat tires, helping other riders, etc. This commentary fleshes out the statistics and I sometimes go over this information to see how I'm doing. I put this on microsoft word and there were times when I did a "find" to determine some useful information. Also I describe repair work done on the bike, like chain replacement, tune ups. This is not on the ride, but its part of the biking experience.

Some day, after you die they will find it just in time and perhaps put some of it in your eulogy

my computer went belly up and I haven't bothered to fix/replace it.
and you know what, I enjoy my rides a little more when I'm not worrying
about cadence, speed, mileage avg speed etc.

Sometimes I forget KISS

Marty

I'm with lotek. I think recording miles is for wusses!:)

To be sure, I do have a Garmin 201 Forerunner fitted on my bars and I use that when I go for recreational rides, not because I need to know the distance, but it's nice to upload the log file and see where I've been to.

Although I would only track the outdoor miles anyway, since I only have a computer that reads off the front wheel, I couldn't track the indoor miles. I'd have to figure out something like hours, instead.

I just enjoy riding, without a care in the world how far I go. Seems a little anal-retentive to me to keep track of things like that.

Been counting my outdoor miles since 1975.
Over a quarter million miles so far!

Been counting my outdoor miles since 1975.
Over a quarter million miles so far!

Holy bearing grease! That's over 8600 miles per year average!

That beats the heck out of my 125,000+ miles (over 5000 mi/year) since 1982.

Oh, and to keep on topic, I only count outdoor miles, too. :)

I keep a written record of each ride, indoor and outdoor. Outdoor I usually note the miles, indoor (rollers, trainer or spin classes) I only keep the time. The written record is broken down by miles, time, temp, companions, which bike, which wheels, physical condition, route taken and any other notable events along the way. (crashes, flats, etc.)

I stopped using a computer years ago, but I estimate the distance traveled by the time I'm out. For instance, if I'm out for a two hour spin, that would be 60 miles in my written record. Remarkably, since I've stopped using the computer to tally mileage, I have increased my riding distances tremendously. :D






For those of you who don't have the BS alert function turned on, the truth stopped with the first paragraph.

I just enjoy riding, without a care in the world how far I go. Seems a little anal-retentive to me to keep track of things like that.

Surely no more "anal-retentive" than RESPONDING to a post like that :D :D .

I have a computer on my bike and note miles, svg speed, max speed and elapsed time after each ride. I also have an HRM and note time in zone KCAL burned estimates and avg HR. I don't log any of this stuff though. I like knowing it, but I don't obsess over it.
However, I am soon to have delivered a new PDA with lots of memory. Maybe I'll see if there is an exercise tracking program I can buy for it.

Why not count inside miles, they're tougher than outside miles. All of my computers have rear wheel sensors and I'm surely not going to go to the trouble of subtracting off trainer miles.

Al

I've yet to purchase a trainer/rollers so I have no choice but outside miles. :)

Smiles are more important to me than miles, but I still keep track of them in my own half-assed way.

I smell the flowers. Does that count?

I have computers on the bikes that I ride long distances on or ride the most. I have to put stickers on the side of the computers to know when to repack hubs on some of them. It's too hard to keep track otherwise. I like to know how long my different components last. I'm happy to find out that the cartridge bearings on my Ksyriums have 6,000 miles with no problems. I'm very, very happy to know that all my RSX drive train including the chain and cogs are going strong at 7,500 miles on my good touring bike. I don't have a computer on the bike on the trainer or the ice bike, or the beater road bikes. If they get really dirty it's just one more thing to clean. The ice bike will get all clogged up with snow. So why bother. I can't help but track my mileage on the bikes with computers, it's just there.

I never totaled my mileage carefully until I found a thread titled "How far do you ride"
or one titled "50+ers ONLY - FIGURING YOUR MILEAGE".

I didn't vote. Nothing seemed to fit me.

At one time the miles counted for some reason. Now that I commute and tandem sometimes the same day, it all is just enjoying the fact that I can do all this. When asked at work the big question "Why" I simply say that I still can. They at times wish that they can too. We use time now not miles.