i used to keep a training log but life got really busy and stopping logging rides a few years ago.

there is no doubt i have improved and am on a structured program, but do you keep

milage, both that day and total for year
mph
max speed
diet
your weight
who you rode with
how you felt
what you need to improve upon
weather
unusual things that happened
flats/repairs on road

what helps you most when you look back on your log?
how often do you look back at your logbook?
what do you use for a logbook (computer, notebook, PDA)

Date: Miles: Time: Sometimes a note of where I went or weather extremes.

Date, start time, mileage, ride time, route, max speed, average speed, weather, which bike, notes

Then I also have YTD miles and time, monthly miles and time, average speed for the month, average ride time for the month and other quirky things like average miles per week, graphs of weekely comparisons of mileage and time, etc. I also track how I'm doing per month against my year's goals.

I keep track of both mileage and time: mileage for the road bike and time for the MTB.

Date, short ride description, effort 1 - 10, Distance, Avg speed, notes.

I do this in Excel so I can do graphs or sum columns if I want.

I look back to see what my monthly and yearly mileage is and that's usually about it. One day when I'm old, er no, a senior, I may read through these.

for each day there is route (which i never fill in), date, avg speed, max speed, distance, which bike i used, time.
for each week it shows me my fastest time for the week, the total distance and time for the week, and my fastest avg speed.
then for each month it shows me total distance, total time, fastest speed and total time
and then it shows me yearly data for total distance, longest ride, fastest speed and total time.

i made my log in microsoft excel.

i ask only because i found that i was only keeping a logbook to be anal and i felt more like a machine than using it for useful, purposeful feedback. so maybe i was focusing on the wrong stuff to jot down.

keep the good feedback coming.

Contents of my training log:

Thursday 5/27/04

3sleep 5fatigue 4stress 1sorness
rest hrt 44 weight 140lbs
Workout E1 A2 5x2
weather93F
Route Strarpass Rd
Dist 56 miles
Time 3:14
Zone 1 2:10
Zone2 40 min
zone 4 10 min
Altitude gain 987 ft
Max cadence 121
Avg cadence 87
max hrt 166
lowest hrt 106
avg hrt 128
Max watts 410
Avg watts 270

Ect, ect,ect..............

Illegible scribbles, beer stains, and about 3 months between entries.

Miles, mostly...Also, where I rode to/from.....Use my log book also to keep track of what maintenance is performed on my bikes....Find that useful in knowing, like kind of miles on a chain, etc.

Well, I'm the author of the "CycliStats" ride log (https://www.CycliStats.com), so that's what I use.

I log: Bike, Date, Distance, Time, Avg Speed, Calories, Climbing (elevation gain), Max Speed, Avg. Heart Rate, Max Heart Rate, Avg Watts, plus free-form Notes (for things I saw or felt, notes on intervals, etc.). Here's a screen shot: https://www.shastasoftware.com/CycliStats/addride.htm

CycliStats also tracks my personal health stats (weight, blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat %, etc.), and bike maintenance (how many miles on that rear tire or chain?). Plus, it features a bunch of reports and graphs for any bike and time frame, available with just a couple of mouse clicks.

If you're interested, you can download a free, fully functional 45-day trial version from the website.

Pretty basic, lots of sites offer that free.

Date, Route, Distance, Max. Spd., Ave. Speed, Ave. Cadence, Max Candece, Weight (body), Climbing Ft. Max. Elevation, Comments. Some calculations from MPH -> KPH, and then time from speed & dist, ect.

Back in the '80s when I was racing, I kept a detailed diary but now I only record weight, miles, sometimes average, and sometimes route.

Besides, after the first 100,000 miles, you begin to wonder what the point is.

Here's mine:
https://www.accesswave.ca/~elvisbird/dougrides.XLS

Basically date (& route), bike used, dist, time, avg speed.

Broken down for each month.

Digger

Ps Not much distance yet, the weathers been crap!

Do beer stains count?

Well, I'm going to have to disagree with the "pretty basic" characterization. I'm not aware of any "free" sites that offer all of the features of CycliStats - they offer some of them (as do most ride loggers), but none offer all of them.

Some other advantages:

1) Native Windows program
CycliStats offers the ease-of-use of a native Windows program. Compare this to browser-based "programs" that are generally clunky and much slower to use (this is the same reason most folks don't do their word processing in a browser window). I guarantee you can slice and dice your ride data much more quickly and easily in CycliStats than in any browser-based log.

2) You don't have to be connected to the internet, or remember a password to log onto a site.

3) Your ride data is stored securely on your own computer.
There's no guarantee that a "free" site won't someday be abandonded by its author, causing your ride data to be lost.

The CycliStats program is way cool... big props to SSP and his hard work!

If you are looking for a web based ride logger, please feel free to check out www.activebody.org. It's free and there is already an active group of BikeForum people using it (https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/37532-activebody-org-team.html).

I'm the author of the site and I agree with SSP... you are either looking for a web based tool, or more of a windows based tool. Each have +++ and ----, but you should ask yourself what you are looking for and use the one that will most answer your needs.

If you have any questions about my site, please feel free to bug me,
clint