Reynolds 

No one said average speed? I was waiting for that.

Gresp15C

I'd say distance.

I ride whenever I can get somewhere by bike, so most of my rides are determined by the distance to my destination and back, including my workplace. For purely recreational rides, I usually plan a route or destination based on the distance that think I can cover in the available time. Of course distance and time are related since I chug along at a fairly constant speed.

scott967

I have 20 , 35, and 50 mile routes I do regularly. I might rarely cut a route short or extend it but not that often (rain-shortened may be the biggest reason). I know what my ET should be at points on the route and can tell if I'm having a good, average, or bad day. I used to do a lot of "exploration" type rides with no particular route/goal, just back at a certain time but kind of got out the habit of that. I probably need to get back into that more. I upload everything to Strava but find I don't spend as much time reviewing stuff as I did in the past. All my data is public, but I don't follow anyone nor am I followed. (Partly, it's clear in the data I am slowing down and that's kind of depressing.)

scott s.
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OldTryGuy

A computer(watch) DOES NOT RUIN my day My Disney World Marathon is in 4 days and since my knees are in bad shape instead of my under 5 hour speed walking time it will take 6.5+ hours. I'm thinking that it will take a few weeks to have the knees recover(right knee has needed replacement for a number of years due to bone on bone and left is now also bone on bone and not too far behind) so I just cancelled my Bike Sebring 12/24 Hour 300 miler

I go out to complete errands, ride a distance, ride to kill time, ride with friends, ride for some dumb "art" or to compete against myself. I began the following ride at 11:55PM for some "dumb art" that requires unseen mileage that has to be ridden to make lines connect when no roads exist.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3255224580

looks like this in motion .... https://www.relive.cc/view/2041703295

then home for a shower, kit change, grab a bite and back out to add some extra miles. Total miles ridden 100+.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3256584126

livedarklions

For me, it's a statistic that's affected by too many variables to be useful, especially on long rides. I might use it on my 30 mile rides, but really it's a better measure of wind speed and traffic than it is of my effort.

On long rides, I really stopped using it in part because I found I was making my rides less interesting to boost the speed number. If I am going to do 6-10 hours of riding in a day, I need to go through places worth seeing and give myself permission to slow down and enjoy those places. There's going to be plenty of boring flat somewhere else where I can really open it up.

I agree with Grant Peterson on one thing-- I don't think of my riding as training. I just like to ride fast for its own sake because it's fun. Worrying about average speed turns it into a chore. That's for me, of course. I'm not saying people who think about it differently are wrong, I assume they're a lot better judge of what works for them than I am.

bruce19

I did a 23andMe DNA test and it told me that my muscle composition is decidedly fast twitch like power/speed athletes. I have found that I naturally gravitate toward that type of activity. In HS and college I was a QB and SS. Was very quick but was basically useless past maybe 200 yds. These days I no longer set goals except for one. I have a 6.5 mi. TT that I get serious about. Beyond that I just want to enjoy my rides and ride with people I enjoy. I don't really see the point (for me) to ride more than 50 or so miles. I'd rather ride 20-30 mi. and be on the bike more often. Maybe 4-5 times a week. Whatever works.

Paul Barnard

I may have any number of objectives at any given time. I was thinking about this very question on my ride yesterday and came to the conclusion that my overarching goal is pleasure. I ride for the fun of it. I can find that fun in the sights I see, the people I meet, the distance I cover, the mountains I climb, the time it takes or just the mental escape bicycling provides.

freeranger

I may ride for fun, or distance, recreation, or speed. All depends on how I feel when I go out for a ride, and the weather. I may take my old, heavy steel mtn.bike for a ride in the hilly section of a local MUP, if I'm in the mood for some challenging exercise. But probably won't do that on a 95 degree, humid day. That would be a day for the road bike, and a ride for distance, or speed, maybe both. But whatever the reason may be, or which bike, if it isn't fun, at least for me, then I may just work around the house or do some yard work.

WaveyGravey

I ride for pleasure. Not concerned with time but measure distance with "Map My Ride". Try to get in 100 miles per week.

Maelochs

All of these.

"Smiles per Mile" is my metric, as a rule. I don't ride to lose weight---it helps, but diet is the way to affect weight, not exercise. I don't "train" because i don't compete. I enjoy being a stronger rider for no rational reason .... but I don't enjoy it it enough to prioritize working hard to get faster over riding to enjoy the day.

When i am about to die, I might remember the sun hitting a lake, or a road emerging out of the fog early some morning, or the sun shining though a natural tunnel created by overhanging trees. I will Not be thinking, "I did that one stretch in ,085 seconds less that one day." Others might, and i don't care.

I track distance, average and max speed, feet climbed, and if the weather was a factor I note that. i note mechanicals. But all that info is downloaded or input After the ride. The rid is the thing itself, done for its own sake. often some of my fastest rides didn't feel particularly fast, and some of my slower rides felt really good ... I look back and wonder way I was going so slowly because I Felt fast. But i still have the Time on the Bike, and it felt good. Some people would be bummed that their monthly average was lowered .... I am glad I enjoyed being weak and tired.

When I was younger, I put more stock in being able to do a good workout. Now that I am no longer actively competing against a mass of men for the attention of women ... i enjoy different things. I don't care what others do or why, so long as they are not deliberately or willfully ignorantly hurting others ..... and I don't care so much what others think of me.

I do wish I had more time to ride.

Sy Reene

I ride for kilojoules.. no not really

Cougrrcj

My three-week 'tour' that I have planned is only 45-60 miles/day. That gives me the entire afternoon to research and discover the history of my 'overnight'. Believe me, EVERY town you stop at has an interesting history! Even if it it 'why is this town/city here'...

jpescatore

For me, time is usually the limiting factor so that often drives how far. After that it is usually fun - within that amount of time what is the most fun ride I can do? There are usually choices of club rides, organized rides, or solo rides from my house, rides where I throw the bike in the car, etc. I could do. Fun is driven by which routes I haven't done in a while, have I recently done all hills or all flat rides and want to switch up, and time of year - many rides that are fun in summer aren't fun in winter.

When I have no time constraints, I go for distance - there is some kind of magic that kicks in when I get to do a ride longer than 50 miles.

For indoor cycling (Zwift) my calculus is different in several ways. I can't seem to ride/rest stop/ride/repeat indoors, so generally not doing anything that takes more than 90 minutes or so (the Alpe du Zwift is so much fun, that has been the exception but maybe I will get faster...). I also elevate training/TSS points in criteria - in the basement over the winter I'm riding more for fitness gain with no distractions like traffic, stop signs, etc. I find races fun on Zwift, never do them IRL.

When I used to commute by bike I did it because it was more fun than driving in the car, but I never actually counted those as "cycling" miles (this was back in the pre-Strava, keep your own spreadsheet days.) I know that to my aerobic and muscular systems it counted as nice base miles but psychologically, I didn't feel like I'd been biking unless I got in a recreational ride!

One last comment on fun for me: I never considered biking in the rain or below 32 degrees to be fun. With Zwift, the negative fun of those conditions for me has dramatically increased - I am way more of a wuss than I used to be, when I can go down in the basement on a rainy/icy day and get rained on in London or ride through snow in the Alps much more comfortably!

jon c. 

That's true for me as well. I decide how far I plan to ride based on how much time I have. Not being a fast rider, my average speed is pretty consistent, so whatever route I choose I will tend to ride it in the anticipated time.

Leebo

Commuters that ride for their commute? Well that would be the definition of a bike commuter. Home to work and back again. I do errands on my bike, commute, mt bike, tour and bikepack. Motivation? I like to ride bikes, cheers.

livedarklions

The question wasn't whether commuters ride for their commute, it was whether they ride solely for their commute, which is a perfectly good question. Your answer is really "no, I also....", which is a perfectly good answer.

Flip Flop Rider

correct was poorly worded but wondered if people commute only and no pleasure riding

Caliper

For me, it's distance and speed that are my motivations. The scenery is nice, but I enjoy the thrill of speed more.

NomarsGirl

I ride strictly for leisure, so I am looking to go interesting places, see nice scenery and get good coffee. Finish up with a great meal. (And somehow I've lost 40 pounds)

Leebo

OK, yes, Makes more sense now. So are there commuters who only bike commute, but not other kinds of pedaling? Would seem slim. Most of the bike commuters I know ( Boston area) are car light, some are car free. I would throw in errand rides, transportation for those commuters as well.

friday1970

This.
While we had a nice break over the weekend, I think Michigan is going to get hit with colder temps that probably won't let up until March. While trainers help out keeping some muscle in the legs, I can tell when warmer temperatures arrive that I'm in no shape for a 200k brevet. Even a 100k ride can be tough.

As far as the OP's question. Distance, but I hate my bike computer because I see the avg MPH and think about the hammers around my neighborhood and their much quicker times. I try to match them, but run out of gas early sometimes.

Caliper

Why not? Aren't there plenty of people who drive a car only for commuting/errands/transportation, where the joy of driving never enters into their realm? I don't see why should a bicycle be so different.

Maelochs

Because cycling is inherently fun?

People drive often because they simply see no options. Some have no feasible options. it is built into modern living.

Cyclists Choose to cycle instead of drive in almost all cases. And most who choose to commute/utility ride already like cycling---not many other reasons to choose cycling.

Those who are denied to he right to drive---multiple DUI and other driving offenders--might well ride only out of necessity and not enjoy it. Doubt many of them post here.

wolfchild

Commuting is pleasure and fun that's why I choose to do it, and yes I do own a vehicle but I live car-light...You can make your commute whatever you want, it can be a training ride, a joy ride, a fun ride, a fitness ride... it can be whatever you make it to be...I am amazed at some cyclists who think that bicycles are only training tools to be used for sport and anybody who bike commutes or rides for utilitarian purposes and doesn't use spandex costume and strava is a second class citizen, some of these elitists even post here on these forums.

Caliper

I agree cycling is inherently fun! Probably so does 99% of BikeForums. I also think driving is inherently fun. Plenty of people disagree with both of those positions.

Yes, there are probably a greater % of drivers than cyclists who drive out of necessity due to prevailing infrastructure (in the US). But, with the cost of car ownership as compared to the cost of bike ownership and traffic/parking, it's easy to see people who live in densely populated areas choosing cycling just for the economy or convenience who have no other interest in it.