Cougrrcj 

Time

Mostly anymore I commute when it is light enough for a 'daytime morning commute' -- leaving the house at 6:30-7:00. So the sun has to be up before that. Half asleep morning drivers are bad enough, and I refuse to do it when it is dark out - even though I have both bright front and rear blinky lights!

OK, so more on-topic, I have a 'goal' door-to-door time for my commute -- that is to try to beat my best. My commute is 12.5 miles one way, on relatively flat terrain. Looking at elevations, it is about 160' difference - downhill to work. My best time heading to work -- including stopping at traffic lights -- is 39 minutes flat. That's averaging 19.2mph! I don't think that's all that bad for a 60-yr-old 'semi-Clyde' riding a 30-40-year old, 25-30 pound bike!

Cougrrcj 

Noonievut

DrIsotope

Every time one of these threads comes up, I'm always left wondering what sort of manias people are suffering from that the inclusion of a computer on a bike ruins the experience for them. It's like saying "my whole day was ruined because I wore a watch."

I ride for me. It's the most selfish thing I do. It's my time, to ride as quickly or slowly, or up or down as many hills as I care to do on that particular day. The amount of enjoyment I derive from it is up to me and me alone.

...that said, I Strava everything. I like looking at the numbers. It's part of the fun. I guess if I rode 10 miles a pop three days a week, I might be more carefree about it... or perhaps one of those who claim that not tracking anything is a pathway to zen.

hay

GuessWhoCycling

#@$&^$%!!! I used to be one of the young guys, now I remember all the old forgotten shows!

Doctor Morbius

During the Winter months, I keep track of the amount of time spent on using the trainer. During the warmer months when I'm outside on a real bike I track mileage.

ddeand 

bicyclridr4life

I just ride to get where I need to go and back home again.
Being retired, I don't make appointments. I don't care how long it takes. I get there when I get there.

gorillimo

canklecat

Fitness. Fun. Errands/commutes. I have one bike for each.

I enjoy Strava and tracking data in general for the social networking aspect and personal challenges.

I'm just beginning to recover from a very difficult 2018 -- injuries and illnesses. For awhile it felt like I was making zero progress. But during Sunday's 30 mile hard workout ride I nearly equalled my best times on the same route. Last time that happened was before the injuries and illnesses, back in the early spring of 2018.

That's the good side to data tracking. Objective evidence of progress.

I'll admit there's a downside. For months my data showed declining performance. Between that and my personal health journal it was pretty depressing for awhile. I stopped logging every tiny detail in the personal health journal because it seemed too obsessive with bad news. I don't need a remind of the bad news. I'd rather remember the good stuff.

Kedosto

caloso

downtube42

Randonnduring rides are fixed distance, so that would be for distance.

Ultracycling races are timed, so that would be for time.

At the end of the year, I look at distance, not time.

The odd thing is, I find riding a 24 hour ultra is very different psychologically from riding a brevet that takes 24 hours.

Machka 

Distance ... mostly.

I'm a long distance cyclist.

MikeyMK

Both.. have nothing to do with why i ride, or how.

The only time I'm thinking about distance is when I'm thinking about which shop would be good to stop at for refreshments.

Kapusta

Ironfish653

All of the above. If i'm commuting, it's purely for time, because, I'm going to work, and I gotta be there on time.
I usually track the commutes, since it's an easy way to build 'base' mileage, and since I ride the same route, I can compare different bikes, or if changes to them made any difference.
I do a lot of short rides, that I don't track. The library, the Y, post office, running notes to the school, or even Target for 'one or two things' All of that's within a 2-mile radius of the house only takes a few more minutes each way on the bike than the car, so I ride the bike.

I'm not a big club ride guy, but there is a week-long, 600 mile event I do every other year, and some metric/full century ride events I try to get a couple of those per year, so I do track speed and distance as a matter of preparation for those events. I'm not competitive, but I don't want to die on the road, so I want to be in shape so that I can enjoy the event, rather than just fight to finish.

I Strava, because i'm a map geek, and I like looking at my segment data. I don't really share, but I do like to compare, but if I felt like I had a really awesome section, I can see where that effort stacks up against the local hotshots.

Phil_gretz

I'm going to agree with this. Saying that, "X ruins my experience..." is a bit on the extreme side.

To answer the OP, 95% of my rides are for commuting purposes only. I don't keep track of anything, but my employer keeps track of whether or not I show up daily, so there's that.

I'm not sure why ride data would be interesting. It's certainly not to me. Once a ride is completed, it disappears like a vapor, and I have no interest in re-visiting it. There will be another ride in just a few hours.

PaulH

I am. The bike is a tool. Given heavy traffic and a lack of parking, the bike is the most practical and convenient way to get to work.

Maelstrom 

Never distance. Too hard to judge what a 20k ride on technical single track will feel like. Time generally since that is what is most limited, taking into account my drive to the trailhead.

fietsbob

I ride to get to my destination .. transportation ..

livedarklions

Distance, but I try to give myself fun destinations for day trips on the weekend, even if it's just a good place to have lunch. I did 33 rides of more than 100 miles in 2018, so I have to figure out ways to keep it interesting. Laps around a big loop just won't cut it for me, I need variety.

In the summer, I do many 30 mile speed runs after work. Those are routed primarily to avoid the worst of rush hour traffic.

Clipped_in

Duration, duration, duration!!!!!

caloso

I track pretty much every ride on Strava, even my super mundane commute or midday errands on the Jump bike. It helps to burn in the heat map to show other riders safe, well-traveled routes, and it provides data to local transportation officials.