do you ride by time or miles?

[DarcyInOregon]

It's interesting to see how the term "junk miles" has been perceived on this thread. Junk miles (in a training/coaching perspective) refers to miles that have no specific training value, meaning they do not create physiological adaptation.

Except a lot of cyclists who are members of this forum are fitness/fun riders, who do not belong to clubs, and who never intend to race. If a cyclist who races is going to use a specific term that is used by racers, then the term should be clarified. I know for myself, all my time on the bike is good because I get a cardio workout and I burn calories and best yet - I always have fun and enjoy myself. Therefore, no junk miles for me.

Pooks, when you bike on a heavy bike, yes, technically, you will burn more calories if you are able to pedal it like a road bike. Remember, I am one of many who biked on one of those heavy bikes and I still own it. I know for a fact that with the heavy bike I could not get my heart rate up as high because the bike was too heavy to pedal with as much effort as I give the road bike. Therefore, I actually burn more calories on my road bike per hour because I am able to pedal faster and stronger, go up steeper and more hills, and go for longer distances with more time spent on the bike. With respect to your question about the charts on your internet site, I haven't found a single chart that gave me an accurate number. The HRM gives a better estimate, and it still is not exact. Most of the charts will tell me I am burning more than twice the calories per hour than what my HRM says. I will go by the HRM because if the higher number on the charts was the real deal, then by golly, I would be very skinny - and I am not.

For example, the following activity charts says a person of 190 pounds who bicycles at 12-13.9 mph burns 690 calories per hour, at 14-15.9 mph 863 calories per hour, and 16-19 mph 1035 calories per hour. I pedal in the range of 14-19 mph, depending upon all of the variables, and I can tell you on a good day with a brisk wind and a lot of steep hills I might, just might, burn 500 calories an hour. That is how huge the difference is for me and what the charts say.

http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist.htm


Darcy

[RoadRaven]

Hey there Darcy...

Unfortunately "junk miles" is one of those terms which can be interpreted as a put-down, like "comfort bike" to describe a "hybrid" or "town/city" bike.

By all the people I have heard use the term "junk miles", and in all the articles and books I have read that refer to "junk miles", I have never known it to be used in a derogatory way.

It's just another way to define the type of ride you have done... aerobic or anaerobic, hill reps or intervals, recovery ride or junk miles, sprint training or enduro miles...

And its not a term I will be ousting from my vocab, because it is just a way to describe the miles I got in today/this week/etc... It is a way that people over the English speaking cyclind world use, and I assume there is some similar term for non-specific miles put in with no training purpose in other countries...

Sorry if I am waffling on, but I just want you/whoever to realise that this term, which will undoubtedly be used again on this forum, is never a critique on anothers riding skills, or enjoyment... it is just a way to define a ride.

[pooks]

For example, the following activity charts says a person of 190 pounds who bicycles at 12-13.9 mph burns 690 calories per hour, at 14-15.9 mph 863 calories per hour, and 16-19 mph 1035 calories per hour. I pedal in the range of 14-19 mph, depending upon all of the variables, and I can tell you on a good day with a brisk wind and a lot of steep hills I might, just might, burn 500 calories an hour. That is how huge the difference is for me and what the charts say.

http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist.htm


Darcy

Thanks for the site. I'll bookmark it.

And thanks for all the info. As always, very helpful to me.

I really just need to ride and not worry about it, because for me at this point, anything I'm doing is beneficial because I've been sedentary for so many years. I would like the satisfaction of plugging more calories burned into the equation, but the downside is that when the new wears off and I'm finding it more difficult to stay within my daily caloric allowance, I'll be much more likely to justify splurges if I've convinced myself I'm making up for it on the bike, which definitely defeats the purpose!

Although I do know how to build in a splurge if I want to. Haven't done it yet, but it's always there if I decide I want it. My favorite candy is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. One cup is 110 calories AND is made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. So when the day comes that I can't exist without a sugar splurge, I know what it will be!

[SadieKate]

Except a lot of cyclists who are members of this forum are fitness/fun riders, who do not belong to clubs, and who never intend to race. If a cyclist who races is going to use a specific term that is used by racers, then the term should be clarified.

Darcy, if you use a word in a conversation that your hearer doesn't understand do you know they haven't understood until they ask? Try google. Loads and loads of articles show up defining junk miles. Like Road Raven, I'm neither going to remove the word from my vocabulary or worry that someone is not familiar with a term. I was raised to run for the dictionary before being offended.

I consider myself a fitness rider but I have many of the same goals as a racer - get faster, fitter, climb stronger, lose weight, etc -- and I suspect you have the same goals. The best way to achieve them is to think about the type of rides you want each week. Or if you have an event, what type of training will get you there. It is important for all of us to understand what junk miles can be in our own particular case so that we don't waste our valuable time and energy on them. If you aren't achieving your goals, you have to go back and look at your plan.

I'll stick by my statement that "I'm for quality miles not junk miles." How you define quality is up to you. I'll define it my way.

Here are some articles which will help.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/6/...nk-miles.shtml
http://mysite.verizon.net/jim2wr/id26.html
http://thesportfactory.com/site/trai...nk_Miles.shtml

I'm not a sports nutrition expert, but I know that my weight is kept in better check when I ride intervals, not just meander through the countryside at a steady aerobic pace, but a meandering ride at times may be the perfect thing for my goals.

[Batbike]

In training terms, yesterday I rode my "endurance ride" of 3.5 hours, roughly 50 miles; today I ride my "recovery ride", 1 - 2 hours, depending on legs, roughly 15-25 miles.

I will take tomorrow off, ride a couple hours on Thursday -- how and where yet to be determined, and hope to rest and get a massage on Friday! Saturday I ride again, an endurance ride with friends, at the Tour de Madison in Madison, VA!

If I am doing what I like, it is all good! If I am riding for the sake of riding, then I need to reevaluate my goal for the day and decide if I REALLY want to ride. Sometimes it is yes, I need the fresh air and alone time, not a big work-out, just some me time; sometimes it is no, it is just one thing I HAVE to take the time to do. If no and I ride, then I have just hit MY definition of junk miles!