2009 on Bike Journal

[7rider]

I'm signing up, too. What are these Road Categories?

Roxy

Do you mean "ride categories?"?
Those are a way to divide up your rides - primarily for those using filters - so you can split out one type of ride vs. another. So you can answer the questions:
How many commutes did I do this year?
How many group rides did I do?
How did my races improve or not over the season?
How many miles do I have on the road, vs. the in the woods? (oh, no...wait...you still can't answer that one)
How many miles do I have on Bike A, vs. Bike B. (oops...nope...can't answer that one, either)

Personally, I don't think they are all that great. I don't like that I can't answer those last 2 questions (at least...I haven't figured out how) Also, does 2 people on a ride make a "group"? Is my weekly ride with the folks at the shop a "general"/"leisure" ride...cuz it sure is fun, or is it "training"/"general"? If I do an organized ride with those same folks, is that an "event" or is it a "club" ride?

And...if I don't set my own standards for answering those questions...or worse, if I apply what little standards I have inconsistently, then my filters get all messed up.

(Geez...can you tell I fret about those things....a lot??)

[indysteel]

Mystery solved. Even though I was listed as a TE club member, I hadn't "moved" my miles from my primary club (my local club) to TE. I've since fixed that, so now I'm listed in the year-end stats. Again, not that it matters, but I do like the fact that I'm in some darn good company!!!!

[AnnieBikes]

I do not have a local club and have always just been solo. Can I post my miles for TE without being a premium member on Bikejournal? I rode about 4300 MILES last year. Do you always use kilometers? Questions questions!!

[indysteel]

I do not have a local club and have always just been solo. Can I post my miles for TE without being a premium member on Bikejournal? I rode about 4300 MILES last year. Do you always use kilometers? Questions questions!!

You don't have to premium member to log your miles for TE. Go under clubs and "manage my clubs." Choose TE as your club by selecting it from the drop down menu and clicking "join club." Then "move" your 2008 miles to them. As I learned, until you "move" them to TE, they won't count for the club. Let me know if that doesn't work.

[bmccasland]

I tend to forget about my neighborhood errand commuting miles. Yesterday I rode up to the park to see if the ground was too wet for a picnic - standing water on the grass after 4.5 INCHES of rain (11.3 cm) over night. Why yes it is too wet Swim fins anyone?

So I'll go on Bike Journal and start my TE log. Can't wait for the days to get a wee bit longer.

[HillSlugger]

Do you mean "ride categories?"?
Those are a way to divide up your rides - primarily for those using filters - so you can split out one type of ride vs. another. So you can answer the questions:
How many commutes did I do this year?
How many group rides did I do?
How did my races improve or not over the season?
How many miles do I have on the road, vs. the in the woods? (oh, no...wait...you still can't answer that one)
How many miles do I have on Bike A, vs. Bike B. (oops...nope...can't answer that one, either)

Personally, I don't think they are all that great. I don't like that I can't answer those last 2 questions (at least...I haven't figured out how) Also, does 2 people on a ride make a "group"? Is my weekly ride with the folks at the shop a "general"/"leisure" ride...cuz it sure is fun, or is it "training"/"general"? If I do an organized ride with those same folks, is that an "event" or is it a "club" ride?

And...if I don't set my own standards for answering those questions...or worse, if I apply what little standards I have inconsistently, then my filters get all messed up.

(Geez...can you tell I fret about those things....a lot??)

Regina, I've never used filters or reports so I may be way off here: if you use the ride type when you add your ride you can tag your ride for indoor/outdoor/off road/etc. These show on your ride journal. You can also specify which bike you rode. In your profile you can then see your yearly and lifetime miles per bike. Are you saying you can't later differentiate these things in a report?

[7rider]

Regina, I've never used filters or reports so I may be way off here: if you use the ride type when you add your ride you can tag your ride for indoor/outdoor/off road/etc. These show on your ride journal. You can also specify which bike you rode. In your profile you can then see your yearly and lifetime miles per bike. Are you saying you can't later differentiate these things in a report?

In creating filters, you can select *one* ride type, or *one* bike used. That's okay for, say, all rides done on my mtb. But I have 2 road bikes. I'd have to create one filter for the ID8 and one filter for the Axiom. Which ruins the use of a filter to show me all my road rides. Plus...my commutes are on the road on road bikes, and I'd need to filter those OUT (I can create their own category, however, to put them IN).

And my ride types on the road differ -- some routes are "rolling hills", some are "flat", etc. And selecting for ride category (club vs. training vs. racing, etc) bring up the inconsistent application problem for me. (Crud...did I call the shop ride a "leisure ride" or "training"??? Is it "rolling hills" or honest to goodness "hills"??)

[uk elephant]

My 2009 riding has finally started too and I just logged the first 5 miles on bikejournal. Not much, but every little bit adds up, right?

[RoadRaven]

Not much, but every little bit adds up, right?

Absolutely, UK. I enter everything in my log... even 1-2kms when checking a new component on a bike, or 3-5km round the paddocks with my youngest son. Everything counts.

Enjoy every little bit

[Possegal]

I signed up. I hope I don't pull down the team average. :-) I'm not much of a long distance rider, though hoping to improve on it this year. And this is the first time I've tried riding in the cold weather. So maybe I won't be too much of a team albatross.

[RoadRaven]

I signed up. I hope I don't pull down the team average. :-) I'm not much of a long distance rider, though hoping to improve on it this year. And this is the first time I've tried riding in the cold weather. So maybe I won't be too much of a team albatross.

As Geonz said, average doesn't matter. BikeJournal just tallies up team mileage totals... and every bit counts.

As for being our albatross... most excellent - have you ever stood and watched them fly over head? I did for the first time in 2007 at Dunedin... awesome creatures... an albatross would be an elegant and beautiful bird to be likened to... besides, don't they travel miles and miles and miles? You might end up our team leader with a nic like that!

[OakLeaf]

RoadRaven, you didn't warn us your m8 was going to hog the #1 spot!


j/k

[Geonz]

Average doesn't matter - total does. Everybody helps

I was the first American (either america) to post in 2009... 'cause I had to get back from that NY Eve party. I was #23 for a few minutes!! (Now ... 600's somewhere...)

[li10up]

I too like those km. Wish I would have updated my stats for December...I had another 300 miles that would have put me at 6517 km for the year - enough to jump into the top 10! oh, well...what's important to me is that I made my goal of 4000 miles! My most ever in one year.

Well, check that, looks like I would have been 11th. pooo

[RoadRaven]

RoadRaven, you didn't warn us your m8 was going to hog the #1 spot!
j/k

Hehehe... I did ask if anyone minded... am happy to take him off our team at BikeJ if anyone has an issue. He is what would be classed as a minimum Cat 2 rider in the states - possibly a Cat 1. He does do LOTS of time on the bike.