Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Logging mileage

03.19.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

How far did I go today?  After several longish rides last summer (longish meaning about six miles or so), the question became more important for me to answer.  Not for any pressing need, but just to satisfy my own curiosity.

In the course of mining the web for anything bike related, I came across Bike Journal.  It’s a place to log your rides online.  You can enter the ride date, distance, ride time, average speed, ride type (flat, hills, etc.), and bike.  Those are the six default columns for data.  If you buy a premium membership for $20 a year, you get many more columns, and the ability to customize the look of your journal.  You can also take a look at others’ journals and see what their riding is like.

Bike Journal has built up quite a biking community in the years it’s been in operation.  It was just this month that the owner of Bike Journal cut back the number of data columns you get for free, and pushed harder for premium memberships.

I had been logging my rides on an Excel spreadsheet as well, and customized it to match what my Bike Journal data looked like.   I added columns for maximum speed, my weight(!), and a  description of the ride.  I keep monthly totals and year to date totals.

So, how am I doing?  Well, that’s why I keep these stats — I’m trying to find out.  My average monthly mileage is somewhere between 100-125.  In the five months of 2007 for which I kept records, my total mileage was 567.2.  Average speed: 13.9.  It’s a baseline to build from.

If I keep to my current average, I’ll rack up about 1200 miles this year.  Not much, compared to an older friend of mine, who did 2200 miles last year.

However, I don’t feel compelled to pile on the miles to match his number.  I’ll try to build throughout the spring and summer, but mainly to get ready for organized rides.  And to try to get a handle on my weight, which is around 214 these days.  I’d love to get it below 200.

I can see a time when logging my rides will seem like a silly thing to do, but that’s probably a couple of years away.  In the meantime, I just realized by reviewing my stats that I’m behind my normal monthly pace.  I have to get out and ride some more.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Categories // Records & stats

Comments

  1. Jared says

    March 19, 2008 at 9:42 pm

    I’ve been using http://www.mycyclinglog.com for a couple of months now. It’s free (for now) but I believe it’s still a fairly new site, so that may change. I like that it integrates into my blog and it provides monthly and yearly stats as well…I’m sure it’s very similar to Bike Journal.

    Reply
  2. Mike Weiland says

    March 20, 2008 at 6:20 am

    Another free option is http://www.mapmyride.com“. They integrate Google Maps into the system, routes can be searched for and shared. I don’t always map my training routes unless it’s a good one, so the system is flexible enough if you only want to use it to log your mileage.

    Reply
  3. Al says

    March 20, 2008 at 6:24 am

    I have been using http://www.winningstats.com since November. It is also a freebie, and pretty customizable. It looks like there a some good options out there. I used to use an Excel spreadsheet before as well, but I like the options I have with Winning Stats.

    Reply
  4. Noah says

    March 20, 2008 at 9:46 am

    I am using a spreadsheet I designed in Google Docs. It’s got the infinite flexibility of an excel spreadsheet and the ability to update it anywhere I have Internet access like Bike Journal.

    Although I blog, I’m not a huge fan of “social networks” like MySpace, so places like BikeJournal seem a bit superfluous to me. I also don’t care much for ads all over the place and pressure to pay money for premium memberships. I guess I just stay with Google docs.

    The reasons for cyclists — especially neophytes like you and I to log miles are many. You’ve done a good job outlining quite a few of those reasons!

    Reply
  5. dvicci says

    March 20, 2008 at 10:52 am

    There’s nothing like raw numbers to motivate you. Unlike Noah, I am a fan of bikejournal, but I use it more for self-motivation and comparison to others rather than the social network aspects… so in that we are alike. I really enjoy the ability to see how I rank (in terms of mileage, if not power output, or average HR, etc.) with those registered in my area and beyond.

    In addition, I use motionbased.com that ties in to my bike computer, as well as a spreadsheet of my own to generate the stats on my site. I can’t get to google docs from work, but SSH works, so I just transfer it back and forth via sFTP between work and home whenever I update it.

    Speaking of, I don’t recall reading anything about a bike computer here. If you don’t have one, there are many options out there for very little money that will record as much or more than what you need. If you do, then there you have it!

    Keep blogging. Excellent posts, all!

    Reply
  6. Bike Noob says

    March 20, 2008 at 11:06 am

    I do like to see how I compare to other riders on Bike Journal, but I don’t make a conscious effort to outdo them.

    And yes, I have a bike computer, and that will be the subject of an upcoming post. But if you’re using motionbased.com, I assume you have a GPS computer, and I ain’t that sophisticated. Yet.

    Reply
  7. Noah says

    March 20, 2008 at 12:07 pm

    I am that sophisticated (I am uber-nerd), but I don’t “train” and can’t justify spending more on a bike computer than two of the four bikes in my household cost. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 257 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d