Keeping the Data, for years

[bocobiking]

The thread below, "Ditching the Data," got me to wondering. Has anyone else kept a historical record of all of your rides?

I started keeping a paper journal of every ride--place and miles--in 1982. I got in the habit, and then in 2006 I discovered a computer program, Cyclistats, in which you can record your route, miles, speed, etc. for every ride; and I started recording my rides with the program. Each route can be named, so that you can search the database by route. Also, you can add notes for each ride: weather, things that happened, etc. Slowly I went back and added each ride to Cyclistats back to 1982.

Since 1982, I've ridden 5,020 rides on 350 different routes for a total of 127,793 miles.

This activity isn't for training or competing. It's just fun keeping a history of my favorite activity, and it is definitely looking back at different times or months and seeing what was happening. It has become more like a journal than data.

Anyone else do that?

[gone]

Yep, also use Cyclistats (which is now free) and have done since 2000.

Interesting to see trend lines in the graphs it offers (average speed, distance, weight, etc).

[Black Dog]

Do you keep track of how much fun you had on a ride and how you felt. Not being sarcastic, these are important data points.

[Mzilliox]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

Do you keep track of how much fun you had on a ride and how you felt. Not being sarcastic, these are important data points.

i try to involve that in strava. its the best indicator of a good ride for me. so if i felt good or had more fun than usual, i make note of it. you are right, this is essential data.

[gone]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

Do you keep track of how much fun you had on a ride and how you felt. Not being sarcastic, these are important data points.

Yes I do, on every ride. Not so much how much "fun" I had since I'm not paid to do this all of my rides are "fun" rides but I do note how I felt and make special note of days either that I really enjoyed (weather, felt really good, riding companions, etc) or days that were really tough (felt like crap, weather sucked, ...).

I do try to spot correlations between the objective data (average speed, distance, feet climbed, ...) and how I felt. Sometimes they correlate, most times they don't.

I do think it's difficult to get lost in the data and at least at my level of tracking (which is probably more extensive than most) it's fairly easy to see things that aren't there or miss things that are e.g., did I go fast because I was on the "fast" bike or did I choose the fast bike because I felt good?

For me, it's all for fun and I do find interesting things when I go back weeks/months/years later that make me glad I kept the data.

Whatever floats your boat, I'm analytical by nature and collecting and looking at this stuff adds to the fun I get out of cycling. If you want to throw away your bike computer and JRA good for you.


Greg

[false_Aest]

3600 miles/year for 35 years is impressive.

[bocobiking]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

Do you keep track of how much fun you had on a ride and how you felt. Not being sarcastic, these are important data points.

Well, I always enter my route, the bicycle I rode, the mileage, the time, and then I add my comments about the ride, which usually include the weather, how the ride felt, and interesting stuff that happened. Like gone, I think all rides are fun.

[bocobiking]

Originally Posted by false_Aest

3600 miles/year for 35 years is impressive.

Thanks. Too bad I had to work most of those years, or it would have been more. Since I retired, I've averaged between 5200 and 5500 miles a year.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by gone

Yes I do, on every ride. Not so much how much "fun" I had since I'm not paid to do this all of my rides are "fun" rides but I do note how I felt and make special note of days either that I really enjoyed (weather, felt really good, riding companions, etc) or days that were really tough (felt like crap, weather sucked, ...).

I do try to spot correlations between the objective data (average speed, distance, feet climbed, ...) and how I felt. Sometimes they correlate, most times they don't.

I do think it's difficult to get lost in the data and at least at my level of tracking (which is probably more extensive than most) it's fairly easy to see things that aren't there or miss things that are e.g., did I go fast because I was on the "fast" bike or did I choose the fast bike because I felt good?

For me, it's all for fun and I do find interesting things when I go back weeks/months/years later that make me glad I kept the data.

Whatever floats your boat, I'm analytical by nature and collecting and looking at this stuff adds to the fun I get out of cycling. If you want to throw away your bike computer and JRA good for you.


Greg

I was not making any assertions or judgements; if your comment was directed towards me.

[gone]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

I was not making any assertions or judgements; if your comment was directed towards me.

It wasn't. I get that some people don't go for bike computers, garmins, tracking rides, etc. Cool, with the proviso that they cede me the right to track and record as I see fit. It often seems to be the case that people think their way is the "right" way. It's just bike riding so whatever's your (in the non-specific sense of "your") pleasure.

[MattTuck]

I love strava for this reason. I used to keep track of rides using Polar's proprietary system for my HR data. I think had like 50 characters to describe the ride, and that usually was me trying to indicate the route and what the laps in the HRM file were.

long/complicated rides were always a challenge to translate into shorthand. GPS and Strava (or other sites) make record keeping so much easier.

[fkelly]

Caution: online systems change and/or go belly-up (as do we, come to think of it). I have spreadsheet running and biking data going back to 1980. Started in spreadsheet format (and even that's changed over the years and included quattro pro, Excel and now Open Office). Used Polar for a few years. Also, SportsTracks. Exported from Sportstracks up into Ride With Gps. Also, exported that "finished" data out from Sportsracks into a CSV type (plain text) file that could be imported back into spreadsheet for safe keeping. Even with all that I can't immediately find 2001 to 2005 data. A yawning gap.

Ran 2000 miles a year some lightly injured years in the 1980's, biked 3000 to 5000 miles a year since. I can find biking mileage records adding up to near 100,000 and with missing years I'm sure I'm over that mark.

If you really want to take the data with you to your grave*, I'd recommend keeping a CSV and a spreadsheet around ... even though for day to day use your go to may be rwgps or strava.

*my wife says she's going to have a spreadsheet cut on my gravestone. I say she's going first.

[bocobiking]

Originally Posted by fkelly

Caution: online systems change and/or go belly-up (as do we, come to think of it). I have spreadsheet running and biking data going back to 1980. Started in spreadsheet format (and even that's changed over the years and included quattro pro, Excel and now Open Office). Used Polar for a few years. Also, SportsTracks. Exported from Sportstracks up into Ride With Gps. Also, exported that "finished" data out from Sportsracks into a CSV type (plain text) file that could be imported back into spreadsheet for safe keeping. Even with all that I can't immediately find 2001 to 2005 data. A yawning gap.

Ran 2000 miles a year some lightly injured years in the 1980's, biked 3000 to 5000 miles a year since. I can find biking mileage records adding up to near 100,000 and with missing years I'm sure I'm over that mark.

If you really want to take the data with you to your grave*, I'd recommend keeping a CSV and a spreadsheet around ... even though for day to day use your go to may be rwgps or strava.

*my wife says she's going to have a spreadsheet cut on my gravestone. I say she's going first.

I agree about keeping the spreadsheet. Even with Cyclistats I worry: every time there's a new Windows, will it continue to support this software? At least through Windows 7, it's ok.

Another thing I like about Cyclistats: you can separate your mileage by bicycle, so you know the mileage on each bicycle's parts and can establish a maintenance schedule for each bicycle.

[gone]

Originally Posted by bocobiking

I agree about keeping the spreadsheet. Even with Cyclistats I worry: every time there's a new Windows, will it continue to support this software? At least through Windows 7, it's ok.

Another thing I like about Cyclistats: you can separate your mileage by bicycle, so you know the mileage on each bicycle's parts and can establish a maintenance schedule for each bicycle.

You can export Cyclistats to csv, I do this once a year. And it's good through Windows 10.

[biker72]

In 1978 I started paper record keeping of my walks. Distance time weather..etc.
Started biking in 1988 and expanded the record keeping.

Since 2000 everything has been recorded in Excel spreadsheets.
I start a new one every year. I've got a graph liked to the data on sheet 2.
I put these on my Google Drive so I can access them when I'm on trips.