What's your average distance, pace, etc?

[indigoiis]

I don't have a computer on the bike that I ride the most. And it's good that I don't. Some days I jam right along, some days I don't. But I know I am faster than last year, I am on my bike more this year than last year, and I'm being taken seriously as a "cyclist" by people at work and my own family.

I think sometimes the bike just doesn't want to go.
It's psychological.
Today I rode in to work, 25 miles, and because it was a Saturday, there was no traffic, no people, just me and the bike. And it took me ten minutes longer than it usually does.

I don't know why.

Think about this, though. Every ride is different. Sometimes, we tank up on water and maybe good food, and the combination of a good night's sleep and a tuned bike leads to a nice clip on the road. And sometimes, we wake up and we can't find our favorite shorts, and the dog won't come when called, and it's a little colder than yesterday, and our watch might be three minutes fast, and we might eat oatmeal instead of cheerios, and we might be a little dehydrated, and we might have ridden "too much" the day before, and man, it's just a drag getting on that hard little saddle and GAWD, didn't I JUST ride up that hill LAST NIGHT??? And the commute is not speedy nor is it particularly enjoyable. But it's still freakin' better than being in a car. I don't care what anyone says.

Stop thinking in terms of training.

Remember why you started doing this.
If you are like me, cycling saved your life.
So don't worry too much. Just love your bike. It's all you can do.

[Mr. Bloom]

Stop thinking in terms of training.

Hmmm...you're making it sound bad

For the Silvers, a big part of the enjoyment comes from pushing ourselves to new limits...if it's not fun, we slow down.

On a more positive note, my year to date miles = >210,000 calories burned which equals > 70 pounds consumed. So, since I haven't lost 70 pounds, I guess it would be said that I ride so I can eat

[7rider]

Hmmm...you're making it sound bad

For the Silvers, a big part of the enjoyment comes from pushing ourselves to new limits...if it's not fun, we slow down.

On a more positive note, my year to date miles = >210,000 calories burned which equals > 70 pounds consumed. So, since I haven't lost 70 pounds, I guess it would be said that I ride so I can eat

That's pretty much how DH and I view it, too. Challenges. Goals. Oh..and ride to eat!

[SouthernBelle]

Unless you ride cyclocross, I can't imagine what you are training for this time of year!

[crazycanuck]

Hey, don't forget that us folks down here in the Southern Hemisphere are in training mode!

[Crankin]

I often say I ride to eat, also...
But the deal about challenges is that while everyone is challenging themselves I seem to get to a certain point and then I get sick. But, like I said earlier, I'm done thinking about it. When I started riding, about 8 years ago, I had let myself get out of shape a bit after many years of intense exercise at the gym. I started slowly, but it didn't take long for me to see improvement. The thing is, is that I never consciously set out to improve my speed. It just happened. Some of it was endurance and some was the fact that i kept getting a lighter bike. So, I never "trained," like some of you do. I just rode, increasing my distance as I went. The fact that I live in an area that is not flat probably helped me a lot. I don't climb mountains, but I do climb short, steep hills on a regular basis. I didn't realize this until I started going on group rides with people who live closer to Boston; as soon as we'd get to a climb, I'd be up front! In fact, this is what got me through the only century I've done. It was flat, but with a vicious headwind by the coast; I hadn't done any rides longer than 65 miles that year, but I was able to do the century in 6.5 hours. So, while inside, I'd like to be competitive with myself, I know if I go overboard, I'll end up doing nothing.

[Veronica]

Unless you ride cyclocross, I can't imagine what you are training for this time of year!

In California we ride all year long. I have a duathlon Nov. 1 and I need to do 4 more 200Ks to get my R-12. So, yeah, I'm still training.

Veronica

[Mr. Bloom]

Unless you ride cyclocross, I can't imagine what you are training for this time of year!

Ahem, the HILLY HUNDRED is next weekend...and why aren't you coming up to join us???

Then, it appears that we're going to do another ride across Indiana AND BACK in November. New Harmony to New Albany...want to come join us SB?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey Mr. Silver, I like your new avatar.

[Fredwina]

one of the thing I think we forget is that we have different aims for getting on the bike.
An example: RUSA or my local rando club had a discussion on the e-mail list about posting elapsed time for brevet. The faster folks wanted to (i did 200k in under 5 hours! am I a He-man or what?") and the slower folk had more of the traditional "it's not a race, and the last person to finish in the allotted get as much credit as the first". in the end - the website shows finishing times.
another time I showed up at the woman's ride after I gone by the library and checked out some books. judging from the reaction, you would have thought a homeless bum was trying to join the peloton on a huffy! "OMG, those heavy books! (i Think had two James Thom paperbacks) and I've similar reaction with showing up on Saturday with the bike rigged for errands (" you ride for fun and do errands? that's unpossible!")
I would say more, but I may have start a flame war (Been meaning to comment some threads here, but I've been holding back lesy my good intentions be mistaken)

[Jiffer]

I don't think there's a right or wrong when it comes to keeping track of computer stats. It's different for everyone. If you are competitively training to race, you certainly need to keep track more than the average cyclist. If you don't race, then it's more of a fun tool to use to see how you're improving, For me, getting faster and seeing the numbers on the computer is what MAKES it fun. When I go faster, I can keep up with certain people and do certain rides that I couldn't do in the past. When I see that I'm at a 16.4 average near the end of a ride, like last week, and it encourages me to push as hard as I can to the end to try to get to 17, this is a GOOD thing for me. I need any motivation I can get to make myself work harder, because I can be a wimp sometimes! (By the way, I got to 16.9 that day ... my fastest non-group ride ever.)

If keeping track of stats becomes an obsession and your only means of feeling good about your rides is based on what the computer says, then it makes total sense to leave the computer at home and go out and simply enjoy yourself. Right now I'm sort of in the honeymoon phase, where I'm new enough at this, that I am improving faster than someone who has been riding a long time and has maybe plateaued at a certain level, or over trained or gotten sick and weakened their fitness level. For me, the average pace number on my computer is consistently getting higher and this is hugely motivating for me to keep getting on the bike.

[SouthernBelle]

Ahem, the HILLY HUNDRED is next weekend...and why aren't you coming up to join us???

Then, it appears that we're going to do another ride across Indiana AND BACK in November. New Harmony to New Albany...want to come join us SB?

I haven't trained for distance at all this year. Can I take a rain check for next? You are hereby appointed to scout out a place for me to park my little travel trailer. All I need is an electric outlet.

[Mr. Bloom]

I haven't trained for distance at all this year. Can I take a rain check for next? You are hereby appointed to scout out a place for me to park my little travel trailer. All I need is an electric outlet.

Done! No excuses

Here you go - about 5 miles from the start
http://www.mccormickscreekstatepark.com/

[kfergos]

Hmmm...you're making it sound bad

I think it can be bad or good depending on your mindset. If getting faster, stronger, etc. becomes an obsession, training is no longer a positive thing. If you can keep it as an enjoyable activity, a way to challenge yourself without it becoming a compulsion, that's wonderful. But I know personally that if I start trying to push myself, I will inevitably push too hard, become totally focused on the numbers, and ultimately stop enjoying the activity. So I try not to worry too much about my speed, but instead focus on enjoying myself. I have had a very hard time letting go of the expectation to go a certain speed, and now that I have let go (mostly), it's a matter of constantly remembering what the goal is: To have fun. We all are here to have a good time on two (or three) wheels, and whatever that means for each of us -- no matter how different -- is great.