How do you log rides?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Patrick Lamb said:

So how do you keep track of your rides? (Do you?)

I used to. I set up some macros in my emacs to create
records & fields as a primitive flat (but fairly searchable)
database in a single text file.

Quoted message said:

What's important
enough to log -- time, distance, ride profile, max/min speed or pulse
-- and why do you log it?

When I had the cycloputer, it seemed a shame to
just toss all those numbers into the bit bucket.
Might as well save 'em. And I liked to record
things I noticed, impressions and experiences
during my rides.

Quoted message said:

What do you do with it when you're done?

There's the rub. Not much. That's partly why I don't
bother any more.

I suppose it was nice having recorded distances to
various locations, but frankly I like looking at
maps more than I like reading text.

And sometimes I miss having important details at hand,
like the name of that truck stop - burger joint at/near
Douglas Rd & Norland. But I can always ride back there
to find out. Maybe stop in for a burger. And forget
the name of the place again.

cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Patrick Lamb said:

I really didn't start seriously logging anything until 3-4 years ago.
Before that, odometer readings at the end of each year were good
enough. In 2005, I got a desk calendar and started noting miles and a
short description of each ride. That made for a nice day at the end
of the year, when I spent a rainy afternoon entering everything into a
spreadsheet (boring) and reliving the best rides from jotted notes
(definitely not boring!).

Trouble with having a spreadsheet is, you keep going. So last year I
logged everything in a desk calendar, and also put it in the
spreadsheet, thinking of more or less interesting things to plot, and
then watching the plots carefully. It helped some with motivation, as
I went from a personal record of 3,000 miles to a new personal record
of 5,000 miles for the year. But I missed that day of reminiscing --
sort of like getting a cyclocomputer can lead to too much interest in
watching the numbers flash, and not enough interest in the ride.

So how do you keep track of your rides? (Do you?) What's important
enough to log -- time, distance, ride profile, max/min speed or pulse
-- and why do you log it? What do you do with it when you're done?

I use http://www.dahl-stamnes.net/dahls/Velo/

--
Jørn Dahl-Stamnes
http://www.dahl-stamnes.net/dahls/

Just keep monthly/annual mileage on a scratch pad and transfer it once a
year to a spread sheet. I do it just for motivation. I ride nearly
every day, so for me there is not be any particular reason to make note
of the weather/etc.

Patrick Lamb said:

So how do you keep track of your rides?

http://lifeform.com/

It's not new software, but has good features for what it does.
Exercise, diet, graphs

Portable too, I can run it from a USB thumb drive on any computer.

---
Bob Anderson*Bitwisebob
Eugene Oregon

Tracking these data has transformed the way I ride. It has led me to
ride farther, faster, and more often.

I just enter the data in a spread sheet. At the end of the year I start
a new one. Over time I've added bells and whistles like a graph of
cumulative miles and seven-day totals.

Patrick Lamb said:

Trouble with having a spreadsheet is, you keep going.

And this is a problem how exactly?

Quoted message said:

So how do you keep track of your rides? (Do you?) What's important
enough to log -- time, distance, ride profile, max/min speed or pulse
-- and why do you log it? What do you do with it when you're done?

The basic odo stats: miles, time, average speed, and top speed (a proxy
for "hilliness," since I do not have GPS). Plus comments, which briefly
describes the ride and maybe or how I felt, or any problems I had.

What I do when I'm "done:" well, I go for another ride, if I can.
Between rides this information is entertaining or useful (or both) in
several ways.

I can track my performance on terms of distance or average speed, both
generally and on those rides I do regularly. If I am actually training
for something, which is rare, I can compare my performance with the
training schedule.

I can go back a year or two to remind myself of particular rides. If I
want to do a particular kind of ride--say, a 40-mile hilly ride in apple
country--I can probably find one, along with my notes about how I liked it.

At the end of the year I can characterize my performance. I rode a
little less this year than the year before, but my rides were both
faster and hillier.

I get all this from my spreadsheet, which works pretty well for me.

I record in my yearly calendar the daily mileage, which bike I rode,
and estimated high and low riding temperatures every day. When
applicable, I record when I got wet, when I got flats and if so which
tire and why; other mechanical issues when they arise, mileage in
states other than Wisconsin, exceptionally windy days when I have
nearby weather station info; trips to one particular favorite
destination (Holy Hill in my case), and any falls (typically about once
a year). On long trips, I keep more detailed diaries, which I edit and
post.

Patrick Lamb said:

I really didn't start seriously logging anything until 3-4 years ago.
Before that, odometer readings at the end of each year were good
enough. In 2005, I got a desk calendar and started noting miles and a
short description of each ride. That made for a nice day at the end
of the year, when I spent a rainy afternoon entering everything into a
spreadsheet (boring) and reliving the best rides from jotted notes
(definitely not boring!).

Trouble with having a spreadsheet is, you keep going. So last year I
logged everything in a desk calendar, and also put it in the
spreadsheet, thinking of more or less interesting things to plot, and
then watching the plots carefully. It helped some with motivation, as
I went from a personal record of 3,000 miles to a new personal record
of 5,000 miles for the year. But I missed that day of reminiscing --
sort of like getting a cyclocomputer can lead to too much interest in
watching the numbers flash, and not enough interest in the ride.

So how do you keep track of your rides? (Do you?) What's important
enough to log -- time, distance, ride profile, max/min speed or pulse
-- and why do you log it? What do you do with it when you're done?

Pat
Email address works as is.

"Patrick Lamb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I really didn't start seriously logging anything until 3-4 years ago.
Before that, odometer readings at the end of each year were good
enough. In 2005, I got a desk calendar and started noting miles and a
short description of each ride. That made for a nice day at the end
of the year, when I spent a rainy afternoon entering everything into a
spreadsheet (boring) and reliving the best rides from jotted notes
(definitely not boring!).

Trouble with having a spreadsheet is, you keep going. So last year I
logged everything in a desk calendar, and also put it in the
spreadsheet, thinking of more or less interesting things to plot, and
then watching the plots carefully. It helped some with motivation, as
I went from a personal record of 3,000 miles to a new personal record
of 5,000 miles for the year. But I missed that day of reminiscing --
sort of like getting a cyclocomputer can lead to too much interest in
watching the numbers flash, and not enough interest in the ride.

So how do you keep track of your rides? (Do you?) What's important
enough to log -- time, distance, ride profile, max/min speed or pulse
-- and why do you log it? What do you do with it when you're done?

Pat
Email address works as is.

A few years ago I tried out several spreadsheets and cycling-specific
programs, but wasn't satisfied with any of them.

So, I decided to combine my vocation and my avocation and developed a
program I call "CycliStats" (http://www.CycliStats.com).

Now on version 5, CycliStats is (IMO) much easier to use than spreadsheets,
and does a lot more. Besides tracking basic ride data (distance, time,
speed, etc.), it also allows you to track personal health stats (weight,
resting heart rate, etc.), and bike maintenance. You can also easily create
seasonal cycling goals (e.g., yearly or monthly distance goals,
centuries/races, etc.) and track your progress towards them.

With over 50 built-in reports and graphs, you can slice and dice your ride
data with just a few mouse clicks.

For those who are interested, you can download a free, fully functional,
30-day trial version of CycliStats from the website
(http://www.cyclistats.com/Download.htm).

And if anyone has questions about the program, feel free to email me
(there's an email link on the Tech Support page -
http://www.cyclistats.com/techsupport.htm).

~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

I use the following Web application:

http://dltsoftware.com/efitness/login?userID=demo&password=demo

Ron Wallenfang said:

I record in my yearly calendar the daily mileage, which bike I rode,
and estimated high and low riding temperatures every day. When
applicable, I record when I got wet, when I got flats and if so which
tire and why; other mechanical issues when they arise, mileage in
states other than Wisconsin, exceptionally windy days when I have
nearby weather station info; trips to one particular favorite
destination (Holy Hill in my case), and any falls (typically about once
a year). On long trips, I keep more detailed diaries, which I edit and
post.

It didn't occur to me to post it earlier, but I do note the mileage for
flats, major repairs and additions. I keep two bikes going at a time.
They are pretty similar, so it isn't otherwise easy for me to keep up
with when those things are done.

In article <[email hidden]>,

GaryG said:

For those who are interested, you can download a free, fully functional,
30-day trial version of CycliStats from the website

Doesn't function at all for me. Next time, at least say it's
Windows-only.

--
My personal UDP list: 127.0.0.1, 4ax.com, buzzardnews.com, googlegroups.com,
heapnode.com, localhost, x-privat.org

"Doc O'Leary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

GaryG said:

For those who are interested, you can download a free, fully functional,
30-day trial version of CycliStats from the website

Doesn't function at all for me. Next time, at least say it's
Windows-only.

The system requirements are listed on the download page.

What's your OS? Newer Macs are capable of running Windows apps, and I have
several customers who are running the program that way..

~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Quoted message said:

--
My personal UDP list: 127.0.0.1, 4ax.com, buzzardnews.com,

googlegroups.com,

Quoted message said:

heapnode.com, localhost, x-privat.org

In article <[email hidden]>,

GaryG said:

"Doc O'Leary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

GaryG said:

For those who are interested, you can download a free, fully functional,
30-day trial version of CycliStats from the website

Doesn't function at all for me. Next time, at least say it's
Windows-only.

The system requirements are listed on the download page.

I saw. I would just have liked some indication of that in your post so
I wouldn't have to bother going to a site that is useless to me.

Quoted message said:

What's your OS? Newer Macs are capable of running Windows apps, and I have
several customers who are running the program that way..

While Apple hardware can run Windows, Mac OS X cannot run your app as
far as I know. I really hope you're not suggesting that your program is
so awesome that to buy it people should also pay even more for a [censored]
OS and reboot every time they run it. I haven't tried Wine, so maybe
Linux can do it better; mention it if that is the case. Regardless, all
I was asking was for some actual technical details in the middle of the
marketing.

--
My personal UDP list: 127.0.0.1, 4ax.com, buzzardnews.com, googlegroups.com,
heapnode.com, localhost, x-privat.org

Doc O'Leary said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Doesn't function at all for me. Next time, at least say it's
Windows-only.

The system requirements are listed on the download page.

I saw. I would just have liked some indication of that in your post so
I wouldn't have to bother going to a site that is useless to me.

[site owner rolls eyes]

www.bikethisway.com
Use it

Patrick Lamb said:

I really didn't start seriously logging anything until 3-4 years ago.
Before that, odometer readings at the end of each year were good
enough. In 2005, I got a desk calendar and started noting miles and a
short description of each ride. That made for a nice day at the end
of the year, when I spent a rainy afternoon entering everything into a
spreadsheet (boring) and reliving the best rides from jotted notes
(definitely not boring!).

Trouble with having a spreadsheet is, you keep going. So last year I
logged everything in a desk calendar, and also put it in the
spreadsheet, thinking of more or less interesting things to plot, and
then watching the plots carefully. It helped some with motivation, as
I went from a personal record of 3,000 miles to a new personal record
of 5,000 miles for the year. But I missed that day of reminiscing --
sort of like getting a cyclocomputer can lead to too much interest in
watching the numbers flash, and not enough interest in the ride.

So how do you keep track of your rides? (Do you?) What's important
enough to log -- time, distance, ride profile, max/min speed or pulse
-- and why do you log it? What do you do with it when you're done?

Pat
Email address works as is.

On Wed, 3 Jan 2007 21:07:28 -0800, [email hidden] (Tom Keats)

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Patrick Lamb said:

What's important
enough to log -- time, distance, ride profile, max/min speed or pulse
-- and why do you log it?

When I had the cycloputer, it seemed a shame to
just toss all those numbers into the bit bucket.
Might as well save 'em. And I liked to record
things I noticed, impressions and experiences
during my rides.

When I was going through my desk calendar, the impressions and
experiences I remembered seemed like the most important (and
ephemeral, and intangible) things in there. Well, maybe second most,
behind the mileage...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What do you do with it when you're done?

There's the rub. Not much. That's partly why I don't
bother any more.

You've gone more minimalist than I've been able to, at least so far.
I did like remembering the rides; even the one where I turned into a
20 mph headwind, at 20 F, and almost stopped. That one, at least, is
good for stories.

Pat

Email address works as is.

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 11:12:14 -0600, catzz66 <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

It didn't occur to me to post it earlier, but I do note the mileage for
flats, major repairs and additions. I keep two bikes going at a time.
They are pretty similar, so it isn't otherwise easy for me to keep up
with when those things are done.

I don't keep track of flats, but I do note mileage for chain and tire
changes. Probably doesn't make any difference for either (I mean, you
change them when they're worn out), but I have some sense of how long
a particular tire will last.

Pat

Email address works as is.

Jørn Dahl-Stamnes said:

Patrick Lamb said:

So how do you keep track of your rides? (Do you?) What's important
enough to log -- time, distance, ride profile, max/min speed or pulse
-- and why do you log it? What do you do with it when you're done?

I use http://www.dahl-stamnes.net/dahls/Velo/

So what do you record with this software, and why, and how do you use
the information?

Pat

Email address works as is.

On Fri, 05 Jan 2007 02:00:27 GMT, oughtfour <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Tracking these data has transformed the way I ride. It has led me to
ride farther, faster, and more often.

That's the positive I noted; the spreadsheet can be an inspiration, as
long as everything's going well.

Quoted message said:

I just enter the data in a spread sheet. At the end of the year I start
a new one. Over time I've added bells and whistles like a graph of
cumulative miles and seven-day totals.

Patrick Lamb said:

Trouble with having a spreadsheet is, you keep going.

And this is a problem how exactly?

I spend too much time thinking up interesting things to calculate or
plot, and too little time riding.

Pat

Email address works as is.

On Thu, 04 Jan 2007 17:47:33 -0800, bitwisebob <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Patrick Lamb said:

So how do you keep track of your rides?

http://lifeform.com/

It's not new software, but has good features for what it does.
Exercise, diet, graphs

Portable too, I can run it from a USB thumb drive on any computer.

OK, so what do you do with all that information?

Pat

Email address works as is.