General Cycling Discussion - Yearly Mileage Goals and the Trainer

I am not a goal-setter. Just never have been, my psychologist could tell you why, but it has nothing to do with cycling.

Now that I have bicycles again, I am finding myself setting goals (at 53, I guess it's not to late to start). In April, 1000 miles seemed a huge number, now it doesn't seem so much so.

Looking at establishing a goal for miles for 2012, as I find it really does help me focus on training and discipline, which is something I need to add to the equation. Other speed, weight, altitude, etc goals will fall in line as well.

But in looking at the mileage goal, do you folks count trainer miles when you talk about miles ridden for the year? Not gym bikes, but miles on your bike on a trainer.

Not asking to put myself in an egocentric spot of being able to brag on miles, but rather do you see them as being roughly equivalent, miles on the trainer v miles on the road. If it matters, the trainer miles are coming using Sufferfest videos (well, that's the plan starting in about an hour or so).

Thanks in advance...

Using a trainer is good but if you can't measure distance traveled then it's not mileage. Unless you always refer to it as trainer miles. In a separate column on your mileage spreadsheet.
That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Yeah. I don't count trainer time as mileage. You could take your avg speed on the bike and use that to come up with "trainer miles". If you average 15 mph riding the bike and ride the trainer for a total of 3 hrs, that'd be 45 "trainer miles", or what you might have covered had you ridden the bike instead of the trainer.

Although keeping tack of miles is fun. It's not really that relevant. What counts is the level of effort and duration, which only roughly correlates to miles.

But in looking at the mileage goal, do you folks count trainer miles when you talk about miles ridden for the year? Not gym bikes, but miles on your bike on a trainer.



I do not include the time I rode on my trainer with the distance I've ridden on my bicycle on the road outside.

I keep track of both, but they are in separate columns on the spreadsheet, and if I were to tell someone I've done 6500 km this year ... it will not include any time I spent on the trainer.

do you folks count trainer miles when you talk about miles ridden for the year?

Me? Absolutely not. A "mile" is a measure of distance. A trainer remains in one place, it goes nowhere. Period. End of story. Sorry.

However, you'll definitely find other cyclists who count their trainer time as "miles". In my more charitible moods I think of those folks as Semantically Misguided: What they really mean to be logging is "hours", not "miles". And hours spent on the trainer are very valuable to many cyclists' goals.

I log miles and hours but both are on the bike. Trainer miles are the same as any other exercise and not yearly miles or time. But where I live trainer miles are few and far between.

I don't have a trainer, but I do have a stationary bike. I do not count its miles as part of my total. Besides it's ridiculous and claims I bike 25mph. God I wish.

Regardless, I prefer to ski/snowshoe in winter now. It's good to train different muscle groups in my experience.

Comical! So it only counts if you actually ride distance? But how can you count a ride if you just end up finishing at home where you started?
Don't listen to these jokers. Do your own thing and feel proud you accomplished your goal. (Erm, provided you don't have one of those trainers that allows you to pedal at 40mph in your top gear easily.)
I have a resistance fan on mine that takes 300+ watts to sustain 20mph, so I blow my nose in the general direction of anyone who says I'm not "riding."

Comical! So it only counts if you actually ride distance? But how can you count a ride if you just end up finishing at home where you started?
Don't listen to these jokers. Do your own thing and feel proud you accomplished your goal. (Erm, provided you don't have one of those trainers that allows you to pedal at 40mph in your top gear easily.)
I have a resistance fan on mine that takes 300+ watts to sustain 20mph, so I blow my nose in the general direction of anyone who says I'm not "riding."

:lol:I thought the OP asked what we do. Not what they should do.:D I also don't count Video Golf towards my Handicap. I don't count tredmill stepping in my hiking mileage.:eek: :lol:

Trainer miles = 1.5 time regular miles.

Because they suck.....

I would say that it depends if you want to count them towards your goal. If you are using trainer miles as a handicap for getting outside then no you shouldn't count them. But if you are using a trainer because it is legitimately hard to get decent rides in where you live (Snow, rain, work schedule, etc.) then I see it as entirely adequate. As noted as long as your trainer is not a "Cheat" with it's MPH.