frpax

How many of you track your mileage via various methods?

ZmanKC

Yes, obsessively.

hubcap

No. It is not the slightest bit about the mileage to me. I can see people doing it for training purposes, or bike maintenance purposes, or motivation. But for me, probably because every commute is via bike, I don't have some goal that I am trying to improve towards.

Mr. Hobbes

I had a computer on my road bike. It had exactly 19,866 miles registered when the frame cracked and came apart where it's drilled for the internal break cables. I feel better about it knowing that I got almost 20,000 miles out of it before it bit the dust.

buzzman

Kind of. I know my two commute distances and I never drive into work and it's rare that I take the bus so it's easiest to count the days I didn't ride and subtract it from the total.

Extra transportation mileage like grocery runs and other miles done on my commuting bikes is guesstimable.

My road bike has a cyclometer so that's easier.

no1mad 

I fully intended to start this year- went so far as to sign up for pedalmybike and bikejournal. Then for various reasons, I stopped riding and I put it in the shop to take advantage of their annual tune-up special. It's ready to be picked up, but now going to be hard pressed to pay for it since being laid off. I may have to work out some sort of payment plan to avoid them selling it outright to cover their costs. And before you ask, yes, the household budget is that tight.

giantcfr1

No I don't have any interest in mileage with my commuter bike. In all the years I was riding to school and going to the BMX track after school I didn't think about it, so not much has changed.

I have a computer on my road bike, but I hardly look at it.

4Rings6Stars

No. But I did once or twice and found that my commute is 5.5 miles to work, 6.7 miles home. I commute probably 175-200 days a year so that makes it in the neighborhood of 2100 - 2400 miles a year.

azesty

Since 2005 I have entered my distance on a spreadsheet. Two years of that were in South Korea where I didnt own a bike.

h

JeanSeb

Yes. Since I discovered the "Commuting Mileage Thread", it gave me great motivation to ride to work as much as possible.

stdlrf11

I do it for maintenance schedules and motivation. I use bikejournal.com and use the comments section to record any relevant data.
This year I also started a spreadsheet to compare monthly gas saved vs. bike related expenses. I'm bound and determined to save at least $2k this year.
I figure that we've been without a second car for over two years, so counting all the other car related expenses (insurance, repairs, etc.) is no longer relevant.

tarwheel 

I've tracked my mileage, time, speed for many years going back to the days when I was mainly a runner. I track everything -- walking, running, swimming and cycling -- but cycling is my main exercise now. For the past 5 years or so, I have tracked my exercise using a free on-line site, www.mycyclinglog.com

Mycyclinglog is a great site because it is easy to use, it automatically computes your average speed, and allows you to plot various factors (eg mileage, time, etc) on graphs. Cyclists from all over the world use it, and it's fun comparing their rides and notes. This time of year, the cyclists from Australia and warmer climates tend to lead the mileage ranking but those from the Northern Hemisphere tend to catch up as spring and summer progress.

I also post my commuting mileage on the thread in this forum, mainly for fun but it also provides motivation.

SuncoastChad

No. I'm not OCD.
When I was younger and trained for 10Ks and marathons I'd track mileage.
Commuting, never. I'm not doing scheduled oil changes and timing belt replacements. If it rains I clean and lube, etc. So, for me, tracking mileage for maintenance is not a priority. Maintenance is an on-going process. I don't care how many miles I get on a tire - if it wears out I replace it, if it gets cut, I replace it, if it's flat I repair or replace the tube!! My bicycle is a tool I use frequently and not a life focal point.
All that being said, I respect those who love to track the details - I have friends that can tell me the mileage and MPG on every car they've owned since 1960!! The bicycle edition are the folks to go to for advice on the best wearing tires and chains!!

AlmostGreenGuy

Yes,. but only because I use my commuting as training for longer rides. I like to get a certain number of cycling miles in per week, slowly building up to the longer ride events of summer.

cyccommute 

Newbie

I've been entering mine in a spreadsheet since 1988. I have the speed and time data from 1988...I keep a paper log as well...but I don't enter those into the spreadsheet. You have to draw the line somewhere

unionmade

just since I got a Cateye for my commuter for XMas this year. I don't think it "counts" towards road mileage.

rhm

Yes, I do, for no reason in particular, though I do enter it in the 'mileage thread' every now and then. I also keep track modifications on the bike, so I can figure out how many miles I get out of a tire, and that kind of thing. Tires that fail after less than a thousand miles (such as Primo Comets) go on the "never again" list.

One of these days I should ask my tax man if there's some way I can get some kind of a deduction for my bicycle commuted miles.

Steely Dan

i keep track of my mileage, but only very, very loosely to give me a rough idea of when to check for maintenance issues of wear and tear. i know my route is 30 miles/day, so i can easily just add up days i ride in a month and multiply by 30. as for other riding, i just use rough estimates because none of my bikes have computers and i'm not interested in numbers for the sake of numbers, it's exclusively about staying on top of maintenance for me.

jdswitters

I started last year because I had a goal in mind of 100 days/600 miles. since I hit that goal and commute a shorter distance but every single day I just keep a rough count for maintenance reasons. Commutes are logged in at bike journal and errands and pub runs are usually done on the touring bike that got a computer last October. I am probably only accurate to within 100 miles on both of my main bikes. It is nice to have a general idea about how long tires and such last.

FunkyStickman

Yup, that thread is great motivation. I racked up about 4000 miles in one year commuting until I got hurt and had to stop. I still miss it. I used www.worldcommute.com

mikeybikes

I don't. I don't really get the point, at least for me.

ronocnikral

Yes. Strava. I'm more interested in the time involved. And for me, it's fun to have numbers to input into spreadsheets and massage.

I also track my expenses, networth, calories consumed and weight/BF%. But I can only tell you how much my salary is +/- $5000. We all have our quirks.

modernjess

No, I don't need a paper trail. It's my commute, I ride to work, I ride home. When stuff wears out I replace it. I also don't log showers or eating or sleeping or anything else.

Seattle Forrest

Of course.

CACycling

All my bikes have computers and I log the mileage at the end of each year. Also track the number of days I commute to help with motivation.