Jarrettsin

Been reading some inspirational threads in some of the forums about miles ridden for the year.

It's the beginning of the year right time to start. Not really a go fast guy but I am out there to get exercise and burn a few calories. Sometimes I do ride set rides and push but sometimes I plan trips go places and smell the roses so to speak.

And was wondering how many people track their miles? Do you track more than your mileage? Time, heart rate, averages maybe power meter reading? . And how are you tracking them? Just the odometer on your bike computer good enough. Maybe your obsessively enter every ride in one of the many cycling app on your smart phone. How about a spreadsheet for some of you multi bike owners tracking each bike!

So do you track? How do you track? and what do you track?

TenSpeedV2

I track my miles and time along which bike was used. It is nice to see at the end of the year where your miles went. This is the first time I am tracking my time as well.

Currently using a Garmin EDGE 810 GPS unit + Garmin Speed Sensor for trainer miles indoors
Strava - this does not always translate over correctly from the Garmin
Garmin Connect app - this is pretty nice but not exactly what I want
Google Sheets with spread sheet for the entire year

_ForceD_

Any time is a good time to start logging. And stopping to smell the roses is no problem at all IMO. Log that.
I'm more old school I guess. I still keep a handwritten log...for almost 30 years now. Although I also started using STRAVA back in October and enjoy looking at my maps and profiles. I use these runner logs because I'm also logging my running and swimming miles. But just any old notebook, or excess calendar works. I pretty much just log distance, and destination. But I will say that keeping a log gives me motivation to get out there and do it. At some point in the future you'll be very proud when you can put your hands on physical evidence that you've ridden "across the country" or "around the world" (four times), or wherever.

Dan

caloso

I have a power meter on my main road bike and I upload each ride into Training Peaks, Strava, and Golden Cheetah. TP for training stress mostly, Strava for social mostly, and GC because I like a couple of the charts.

The Garmin captures a lot of data: time, distance, speed, cadence, HR, power, elevation, even temperature. But the things that really matter are time and effort.

canklecat

Strava. I tried all the popular apps, including a paid version of Cyclemeter for a year. But Strava's free version does what I need.

I resumed cycling in 2015 after 30+ years away, intending only to ride casually and ease back into shape. And I pretty much did that. But after six months I wanted some objective stuff to compare my impressions with reality. Right about that time a friend gave me his old iPhone. So that's when the app frenzy began.

I don't use body monitors or power meters. I might eventually. Not ruling them out. I just don't have any interest in that much data right now.

And I don't use a speedometer at the moment, although I wouldn't rule it out. I'm more interested in my felt exertion. I know my physical limits and am capable of pushing myself hard, including to the point of exhaustion for interval training or hill climb training, so I don't really need another device to motivate me. When I need motivation I'll tag onto a local roadie group that's faster than I am.

But devices and prompts can be useful to motivate us so there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of whatever tech does what a cyclist wants or needs.

Also, Strava's estimates of energy and power are reasonably accurate. Some local folks I know and follow on Strava do use power meters and heart monitors. On the same segments, riding comparable bikes in comparable conditions, my estimated data on Strava is very close to their measured data. So I'm satisfied with the estimates from Strava. Close enough for my purposes.

Folks who prefer more privacy might avoid Strava but it's more than just a social networking site for competitive cyclists. I'm competitive only with myself -- I'll never be as fast as the fastest folks I know my age, so it's not worth worrying about. But I enjoy the social networking aspect. It encourages me to get on my bike when I'd rather watch TV, read or just sit home. And I enjoy local casual group rides, so it's useful for meeting folks.

But you can set your Strava data to private. Nobody needs to know where you're riding or how you're doing. You can still see other people's public data to compare your progress, if you like.

And if you don't want your data online at all, try Cyclemeter. Ride data is stored only on your phone, unless you choose to share it online. Cost is reasonable, only $10 a year. Tons of data and it's configurable to suit your preferences. I never fully explored all the capabilities, but did use the configurable voice prompts to remind me at intervals of my current speed, average speed, direction, distance traveled, etc.

But I didn't renew Cyclemeter because their policy is to restrict data unless you're a paid customer. Strava doesn't do that. With Strava, your data is yours. They don't hinder your access to your data on free accounts. Cyclemeter does. I can't access my own 2017 Cyclemeter data now because I didn't renew the subscription this year. That's annoying.

There are lots of other cycling apps. I've used Wahoo Fitness (totally free, great on iPhone, a waste of time on Android); MapMyRide; Ride With GPS; Endomondo (absolutely useless to me, although it has some fans); several others. IpBike also records a ton of data, but the interface is non-intuitive. I used it only a few times and lost interest. An interface makeover might change my mind. Only Strava, Cyclemeter and Wahoo Fitness were keepers for me. And due to Cyclemeter's policy on user access to data, I'm not using it for now. I might reconsider.

But Strava does everything I need. Occasionally I'll fire up Wahoo Fitness simultaneously on the iPhone to compare data with Strava, but less often now than I used to do.

Regarding the differences between Wahoo Fitness for iPhone vs Android: the iOS version includes auto pause/resume when we stop and restart. Very handy for tracking our actual moving time, not the pauses for traffic lights, etc. And with walking errands, say to the grocery store and back home, the auto pause/resume will ignore our frequent stops or very slow moving inside the store, while it will restart when we walk faster.

The Android version lacks this crucial feature, so it's useful only for completely uninterrupted workouts. However when Wahoo Fitness data is uploaded to Strava, Strava does pretty well at ignoring the times we moved slower than a certain threshold and recalculates the results. So Wahoo Fitness for Android is useful, but only when the data is uploaded to Strava.

Also, the Wahoo Fitness app records lots of data but shows very little within the app on the phone. Uploading to Strava reveals much more data. Presumably the data is recorded in a standard format that could be extracted and interpreted by any program designed to do so. But Strava is pretty much the de facto standard.

europa

Sounds like you're just starting on this 'tracking' caper. Just track everything your bike computer tells you. In time, you'll work out what you don't need because that's the stuff you never refer to. Add to that the route, a comments column and keep a separate column of distance traveled for each bike you own (as well as your overall total).

How useful this stuff is depends you, your interests and what you're trying to achieve.

I keep a log on a spreadsheet because I'm a bit of a numbers nerd and it gives me pleasure - for practical use, there have been times when I'm planning a ride and go back to see how long it took me last time. I restart the log each year, only carrying over the total for each bike. I find trying to track your 'improvement' is a bit of a waste of time, but others will disagree because that's what they use their numbers for.

Metieval

ridewithgps.com
check it out

Doctor Morbius

I just log some basic info in a spreadsheet, such as the bike I road, how many miles, average speed, days per week, how I felt during the ride, if traffic was heavy or light. I keep it pretty simple. It's just something I can refer to in order to see if there are improvements over time.

During the winter months when using a trainer I log time instead of distance and don't bother with speed.

sdmc530

All off my Garmin then using the Garmin Connect program. Tracks everything you want and stuff you don't care about too. Its good. Also use Strava to keep up with friends.
I track:
Miles, HR, times, total activities...I a sure there is something I am forgetting.

Machka 

For me ...

Excel Spreadsheet
Strava


I've been keeping track since April 29.1990.
Shifted everything to an Excel Spreadsheet in January 2000.
Started using Strava too in January 2017.


Used to use Bikejournal (since 2004) and BigDogs (since 2003) ... BigDogs doesn't exist anymore, to my knowledge. Bikejournal is just limping along. Not sure how long it will still exist.

Brooke1687

I use Strava to record my outdoor miles and a spreadsheet to record my total miles where I keep track of date, total miles for the month and year ect. I also use an Apple Watch, which track my mileage but I use it more for just general fitness tracking.

Jarrettsin

Thank you for all the excellent answers. I should have stated I'm not a total newbie. The first app it tried and liked was Cyclemeter, but have been leaning more toward Map My Ride lately because of it's mapping features, might even spring for the upgrade so I can get turn by turn directions that could be great for some of my venturing out rides.

Ever have any of these app act "glitchy" on you and drop data? Or even better pause it and forget to turn un-pause when you start riding again.

I have the Bontrager Trip 300 on the bike, Don't always wear it but i do have a Fitbit Blase with HR for the wrist (my kids bought it for me) and of cause whatever app I chose to run on the phone and they all come out a little different. I app and the bike are usual to close to care but the "ride app" part of the fitbit drops data like no tomorrow! it good on HR and calories burned. When the bike computer est of calories burn is a joke it's so high. I can get cyclemeter link to the bike and bring over cadence, but can't get either to link to the Blaze for HR.

That can be an add on who's data you trust the most!!...lol

Any info on how these units decide avg speed? My bike differs from the app

Springdog

I track with Garmin 520 and the connect app. Mostly looking at miles goals. I like to look at the loop I normally run for exercise to see my performance. I just joined Strava this year so i’ll have to see how that goes.

Wileyrat

I use Ride With GPS, but mostly I just track my mileage.

Yeah, I've accidentally paused it and missed some data...Once. Now I leave the app alone until I'm done.

GrainBrain

I use Strava (free version) now and really enjoy it. I enjoy the social focus of it and have a great time after a ride looking at the flybys of other riders.

I also used map my ride(free), but a couple reasons made me switch - Strava can recover some of a ride if my phone died, it's hard to export large amounts of data, the social aspect.

I do miss the way map my ride displays speed and altitude vs Strava.

taz777

I've been tracking various metrics for a few years now. In terms of hardware, I'm using a Garmin Edge 1000. My bikes have the Garmin cadence and speed sensors fitted. I also wear the Garmin heart-rate monitor chest-strap. At the end of a ride all of the details are automatically uploaded to the Garmin Connect website. My Endomondo account is linked to Garmin Connect so all of my workouts, including non-cycling ones, are all collated in Endomondo.

The key metric for me in terms of fitness measurement is my average heart-rate over my usual cycling route. The lower, the better.

Homebrew01

I glance at the clock on the way out, then again when I get back.
Time & effort matter more than distance.

Viich

I'd love to try track, but there isn't one near me.

fietsbob

On long bike tours I have a bike computer totaling the miles..
the trip meter is reset at 'miles to go' to a city sign, so Ill know how many are left..

between tours I take the battery out, day to day that does not matter to me..

there are many more data junkies strava etc. .., you probably care more about their reports..

JanMM

I use a spreadsheet to track miles per day and per bike. Two spreadsheets, actually. One for the bike club's annual tracking for incentive awards. That one is November through October. The other spreadsheet is for calendar year. I upload everything to Garmin and also Strava for the last year.

Steve B.

Garmin 1000 to Connect and RWGPS.

I’ve tracked mileage and time since ‘90 or so

wipekitty

I've been using Strava (free version, for Android) for almost two years. It gets the data I desire - distance, speed, moving time, elevation - reasonably well. For a few more interesting data points - for fun really more than anything - I have a Veloviewer paid account.

I've never used a bike computer - not against it, but it seems unnecessary unless I start leading rides where a certain pace must be maintained. Same with heart rate monitors and power meters: these are great training tools, but I do not plan on racing, and my "training" is really more for fun than to hit any specific goal.

canklecat

Ditto. It's a good app, despite my annoyance about their policy on user data.

I found Map My Ride non-intuitive but appreciate the mapping features. A few local clubs use it to post routes for upcoming group rides, so it's useful for that.

That's usually a device error, not the app. I run the same apps on both my older iPhone 4s and a new Moto E4. The iPhone frequently experiences GPS sync errors. So far the Moto E4 hasn't. I've run both side by side on some rides, so it appears to be device dependent. iPhone users complained about this for years, although Apple seems to have resolved the issue in iPhone 6 and more recent models.

On Saturday's ride I took only the iPhone 4s to tackle some new personal best times on tricky segments. We had a stiff 15-17 mph steady south wind with 30 mph gusts. Unpleasant for casual rides and brutal on southbound climbs into the wind. But I snagged new PRs on some northbound segments and it was a blast sailing downhill with that tailwind.

However I knew the iPhone tended to lose GPS sync on one rural segment -- happens often. No idea why. So when I tackle new PRs I repeat that segment two or three times hoping one will record accurately. Sure enough, it dropped my fastest run. Measured manually it was 28.2 mph. My next two runs were 27.6 and 27.5 mph. My legs were a bit dead from the 2 mile climb into the headwind back to the starting point. Still good enough to regain my 4th overall on the top 10 list (a couple other folks, including a local pro, had nudged me down from 4th to 8th last year). We're all taking advantage of tailwind conditions for invisible doping, so nobody gets upset. I'll never be fast enough to KOM that segment. A friend holds that position and he's a beast, 30 seconds faster than me on a 2 mile segment. No way I can catch him.

That's the beauty of auto-pause/resume. It's standard with Strava free and premium -- I'm not sure whether it's even possible to disable it.

Until 2018, Cyclemeter offered auto-pause/resume only on the paid version. Now it's available on the free trial version. But the free trial version now has intrusive ads that are difficult to avoid accidentally tapping on my iPhone's small screen. Another reason I haven't used Cyclemeter this year.

If you have an iPhone check out Wahoo Fitness. It's totally free, unhindered (there's no premium version), and has the simplest interface by far of any app I've tried. It features user configurable auto-pause/resume. Very handy to setting a preferred threshold. For example, if your rides include a lot of stop and go traffic between segments you can set the threshold to ignore anything slower than a certain speed. So it'll record your actual moving time when you're up to speed, and pause when you're diddling around in traffic or loafing at the top of a hill or end of an interval sprint. Also very handy for walks. I can set it to record my fast walking to the store, then ignore the slow walks and pauses inside the store, before resuming on my return trip.

Only downside to Wahoo Fitness for iOS, as I mentioned earlier, is the app itself shows very little data. It records almost all the data you'd want (although it doesn't incorporation weather like Cyclemeter does), but you need another app like Strava in a web browser to see the results.

The Android version of Wahoo Fitness lacks this feature so it's pretty much useless.

GPS sampling. It's a reasonable guesstimate over distance. Often wildly inaccurate on short runs. That's why I'll often repeat certain segments where I'm evaluating my conditioning to find out whether I really am faster, or just feel faster because I just put on new tires or a clean chain or washed the bike.

As I mentioned, GPS sync errors can occur, usually device error rather than app error. I just ignore those for long casual rides or when I'm working on FTP. But for interval training or trying to improve my PRs for certain Strava segments I'll repeat certain segments three times to be sure at least one is recorded.

Also, if you run two or more apps simultaneously, each will record slightly different data and ride traces on the maps. It's not the device or GPS signal. It's how the apps differ in interpolating that data.

Back in 2016 and most of 2017, Strava tended to show jagged, sawtooth ride traces on maps on my rides. It wasn't doing a great job of smoothing errors to guesstimate my most likely route and speed.

Cyclemeter appeared to do much better at smoothing errors and estimating routes and speed, especially when GPS sync was lost for a few hundred yards. Strava would show me riding through barbed wire fences and across pastures. Cyclemeter would estimate "Nah, he probably took this next road to get to that point where GPS regained sync, based on the time and distance traveled and his estimated speed." Strava's AI was more like "He's magical! He flew over the herd of cattle!"

To their credit, Strava tweaks this stuff continually and appears to have sorted out most of those error smoothing glitches. Another reason I wasn't motivated to renew my Cyclemeter subscription this year.

Machka 

Strava is pretty good about not dropping data. My phone crashed mid-ride yesterday, but Strava still recorded my whole ride.

And there's average speed based on moving time, and average speed based on total time. They're often different.

Baldy1953

I do the Strava thing also. It is a nice program. One other I use is Bike Journal . It does an average speed calculation for you and keeps the stats for the year . You can also look at the previous year. It is a free program and keeps up with my stats for all that I need. Easy to view and see how you are doing on your training.