2019 Miles and Cycling Goals

[Keith A]

So how did everyone do last year? I ended with 6K miles last year -- which is about what I've done for the last several years. However, I didn't feel quite as strong last year as I have previously. Not sure if age is playing into this or not, but I'm hoping that 2020 is a better one. Now I need to make a plan so this will happen.

How about you?

[Matthew]

I have to tally up my mileage but guessing in the 5-6k range as well. Should have done more MTB rides as that has seemed to have suffered lately. Got a steady off road riding buddy now so that should help. They say to ride with those that are faster to improve, and he's definitely faster. I got in a couple centuries which was cool. Had a good year overall. Hoping 2020 is even better.

[madsciencenow]

Just a tad over 12k miles for me. Was my best year by about 1200 miles and first year not running. Hoping for something similar in 2020 with the understanding that life happens and you never know what opportunities and obstacles might come along.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Keith A]

madsciencenow — 12k miles, impressive

[R3awak3n]

Goal was 5000 but ended up with 4700. Last year I had 3500 so I am happy.

Goal for 2020 is again 5000.

[CDollarsign]

Man, I got 890 miles and felt good about it. Between work travel and a 4 year old it’s tough to get out.

[madsciencenow]

madsciencenow — 12k miles, impressive



Thanks, Keith! I hope it in-part offsets all the sitting I do at work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Clean39T]

6K for me too. Much more of that indoors than in 2018, but more overall miles.

Goal for 2020 is 7500, and more of that outside.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[AngryScientist]

i've kind of swapped things around, and finally think i have settled on a good log system for tracking stuff i do.

that said, i really dont know how many miles i've got in 2019, probably about 3500 or so.

i'm always amazed that people can do 12k in a year, with otherwise "normal" lives. it's very impressive, and i'm in awe of your cycling prowess and time management skills. bravo!

I never set mileage goals, especially numeric goals. i have a bunch of other cycling related goals, but this year i'm going to just keep them to myself and see how many i can knock out. seems like when i verbalize goals like this, especially "stretch" goals, it's a recipe for failure, lol.

keep up the good work folks. 2020 is shaping up to be a great year!

[tv_vt]

4200 miles for me in 2019, all outside (I don't count winter trainer time as mileage). I've been over 4k/year for the last 15 years or so. Works for me, along with the other stuff I like to do. So goal for 2020 is more of same.

Highlights: Rode the Stelvio and Mt Ventoux by new routes this year, along with riding the Sella Ronda loop a few times in the Dolomites.

[prototoast]

7700 miles for me this year, which is the most I've done since I started tracking (Strava).

I'd like to top 8000 for 2020, also travel more to do some new routes, and maybe make some friends so I'm not always riding alone.

[Andy sti]

I don't set mileage goals until December then I go for something, Haha.

Ended up with 10,250 miles for 2019 Had some great rides in there.

What I find interesting is my total hours for cycling, nordic skiing and running was 601 for 2018 and 598 in 2019. I obviously found a system that works for me.

[buddybikes]

1,700 miles but had a back fusion in the middle of it.
Happy with 2K next year but that could change if the sea calls me into my kayak more

[flying]

7650 outdoor miles for me in 2019 which was better than 2018
I was more happy about the elevation 500,200' of climbing

For 2020 I need to think a bit more about flexibility as we get errr older seems we get stiffer ;)
But my main 2020 goal is as always to just appreciate cycling which I have
for many decades now :)

[Spdntrxi]

about 2200mi this year.. all outside though no trainer.

down a couple thousand from previous years.. so not totally jazzed about that.

[berserk87]

madsciencenow — 12k miles, impressive

What he's not telling you (out of modesty) is that maybe half or more of these miles have been on the trainer, indoors, due to bad weather or lack of daylight. That's even more impressive. And the outdoor mileage was primarily done solo. That's hardcore.

Madsciencenow is one of my best pals. He used to live in Indy but recently moved to north of Chicago. He's greatly missed here.

I managed to eke out 8,030 this year and felt like a slacker. The only upside is that 100% of these were outside. I didn't ride the trainer once this year. That made me happy. I love riding my bike and the trainer is something that I don't enjoy.

[doomridesout]

2622 for 2019. Kind of sucked for mileage, but this was between busy times at job #1, dealing with a slow-motion move to a different city to start job #2, and then extremely busy times at job #2, all while helping take care of a rambunctious toddler.

I would be shocked if I could beat it in 2020. Job #2 continues to be super busy and we're having another kid in April. Woof. Hopefully 2021 is better.

[makoti]

6443mi for the year. According to VeloViewer, I was able to increase my avg speed for the entire year by about .5mph. Generally felt stronger as the year went on. Very pleased with how it played out.

[Bob Ross]

I wound up with 6,001 miles for 2019. All outdoor, in case anyone wonders. I don't do trainers, and I have a semantic beef with folks who refer to "trainer miles" :)

That's actually the fewest annual miles I've ridden since 2013 (when I was off the bike for 6 weeks with a bunch of broken ribs) and the second fewest in over a decade. I like to tell myself the reduced mileage is mostly due to solidarity with my wife, who had a catastrophic crash in late September and hasn't ridden -- or worked, or done much of anything -- since. But I also recognize that some of the obsessiveness I embraced in the past hasn't been as rewarding to me lately.

Plus I'm getting old and my knees hurt.

[jimoots]

10,000 miles for me. All outside, maybe 3-4 hours on the trainer all year.

More than I expected in my first year as a dad!

[marciero]

[moved to 2020 goals thread]

[RKW]

13,642 mi on the year.
675h.

Here's to starting 2020 off with a rest day...

[madsciencenow]

I wound up with 6,001 miles for 2019. All outdoor, in case anyone wonders. I don't do trainers, and I have a semantic beef with folks who refer to "trainer miles" :)






I’m curious about your “semantic beef?” Tell me more.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Keith A]

I wound up with 6,001 miles for 2019.According to Strava, I did 6,000.8 miles :) but there were several rides that didn't get recorded, and a couple of indoor rides that I don't record.

[prototoast]

I’m curious about your “semantic beef?” Tell me more.


I think we all know someone who averages 15 mph on the road, but then logs 25 miles for an hour on the trainer. This is less of an issue with smart trainers and apps like Zwift that convert power numbers to distance (though people still cheat and lie about their weight), but anyone using an old-fashioned odometer on a trainer is not accumulating miles in a way that's comparable to riding outside.

[mj_michigan]

Only 1400 miles in 2019 (outdoor). Less than 2018 due to bad wether and lot of travel during the season. Some more miles from the basement, but I don't keep track of those. On the positive side, I got faster on average by about 0.4 mph.

Happy New Year to all!

[redir]

Gosh you guys ride a lot! I didn't even put 12k miles in when I was racing competitively. I probably did 5k last year and most of that was commuting. This time of year I always say I want to try and get back on the podium in racing but then I remember that I race masters now so that's a pipe dream. But I like to attend two local races and they are early 'Spring Classics' so I have to do indoor riding. So my goal is typically to get in good enough shape to not get dropped in my local races.

[rccardr]

5700 for me this year. About 1000 of that in out-of-town events. And about 90% of it on vintage steel or aluminum.

Will turn 69 in 2020, so am hoping just to keep it up at that pace and not falter.

[dsimon]

Wow you guys/gals are impressive I retired from the military three years ago and bought a 160 year old House(Lemon) and went from 1500 roughly a year to 800/500/600 and I hit 1411 last year I was stoked so Im shooting for 1700-2K fingers crossed

[Black Dog]

Somewhere in the 8000-10000km range all outdoors since I do not ride a trainer and ride from April-October with some incursions into March and November.

Now that Zwift and the likes are popular I have riding friends that do more miles indoors than outdoors. I would be more curious how many outdoor miles people ride than a combined total. Seems like people are willing to forgo an outdoor ride if the conditions are less than perfect and instead Zwift away... :(

[FlashUNC]

I'm less concerned about mileage and more concerned about experiences and enjoyment on the bike.

So 2019 I got to experience the Forest of Arenberg in the Spring and descend Latigo down in Malibu in the Fall. With a lot of great rides in between.

Not a bad year all things considered.

[jojobos]

Mileage? Always not enough :no:

[XXtwindad]

I'm less concerned about mileage and more concerned about experiences and enjoyment on the bike.

So 2019 I got to experience the Forest of Arenberg in the Spring and descend Latigo down in Malibu in the Fall. With a lot of great rides in between.

Not a bad year all things considered.

Well put. Can't quantify the views you experienced, the conversations with friends over a bike ride (or over beers afterward) or the memories you've made.

[AngryScientist]

I'm less concerned about mileage and more concerned about experiences and enjoyment on the bike.

So 2019 I got to experience the Forest of Arenberg in the Spring and descend Latigo down in Malibu in the Fall. With a lot of great rides in between.

Not a bad year all things considered.

the catch-22 here is that, to fully enjoy many of these cycling experiences you need to have the base miles and fitness.

it may be nice to say, i dont care about miles, but want to go enjoy participating in a Spring Classic in Europe, but you sure will enjoy that experience more if you can comfortably finish!

in reality, this is the exact concept that motivates me. i have some really great cycling related travel planned for this year, and it relies on me bringing my legs to the party. that's what gets me through the boring miles :)

[Gphin]

I totally agree with Angry, Signing up for some Big rides is always a motivator for me to put in the mileage. So far I have the Hell of Hunterdon and the Farmers Daughter on my list of rides. Always wanted to try the D2r2 as well. I hope to crush my total of 5,250 miles from last year!! Cheers all..

[redir]

Somewhere in the 8000-10000km range all outdoors since I do not ride a trainer and ride from April-October with some incursions into March and November.

Now that Zwift and the likes are popular I have riding friends that do more miles indoors than outdoors. I would be more curious how many outdoor miles people ride than a combined total. Seems like people are willing to forgo an outdoor ride if the conditions are less than perfect and instead Zwift away... :(

The days of growing a winter beard and and getting a face full of icicles are over for me. So Zwift it is :D I can tolerate about 1 hour on Zwift which for me is amazing. And that's on the rollers. I still don't think I could tolerate indoor riding of any kind even on the smartest trainer.

[madsciencenow]

I think we all know someone who averages 15 mph on the road, but then logs 25 miles for an hour on the trainer. This is less of an issue with smart trainers and apps like Zwift that convert power numbers to distance (though people still cheat and lie about their weight), but anyone using an old-fashioned odometer on a trainer is not accumulating miles in a way that's comparable to riding outside.



Totally agree! One reason I like Rouvy better than Zwift is I feel like it’s a better representation of riding outdoors. Zwift felt similar but maybe just a little easier than outside (I could avg 0.5-1 mph faster than I might be able to do on a comparable outdoor ride). On Rouvy, I feel like it’s almost harder on the smart trainer than outside.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pdonk]

I did about 2800km outside and 400km at the track. Goal was 3000 outside but losing 3 weeks to a pulled tooth and complications killed that goal.

The new bike motivated me to ride more.

Did not break 100km on any ride this year even though I rode more than any year in past 15.

As for 2020. Doubt I'll better last year due to changes at work and family stuff.

[alexihnen]

Managed 4,386mi this year. Probably 95% on Zwift, so discount as necessary. But I also was able to ride outside on some Saturdays for the first time in a couple years. It was a good year.

[ghammer]

Wanted to do more than past years, so i got 8,000km (5,000mi). Strava has a bit less than 8K but i did many indoor rides that were not tallied. Could have done 9,000km, but lower back issues plus home life dictated otherwise. Finished the year strong, though. Things worked in my favor and i plan on continuing the trend.

For 2020 I need to fix my lower back (am taking care of it) and do more than 8,000km, I'd like 10,000km by including a few centuries and races. Let's see. But I have to be smart and make sure i'm functionally healthy before tackling big kms.

Happy new year everyone!

[cgolvin]

Just over 6500 miles, down from last year, more disappointed at not eclipsing 500k' of elevation like last year. Still a good year, finally did Eroica with my brother (and mhespenheide), but no other organized rides.

I don't set specific annual goals, but I'd like to look back on 2020 with a greater elevation per miles ratio.

[Bob Ross]

I’m curious about your “semantic beef?” Tell me more.

It's simple: "Miles" is a measure of distance.

It is not a measure of work, hours, nor of the total number of crank revolutions, etc.

If these yearend threads were titled "2019 Hours On The Bike" or "2019 Work On The Bike" or "2019 # Of Crank Turns" yadda-yadda then time spent on the trainer would certainly qualify.

But they're not, they're always called "2019 miles" and I'm sorry but your trainer did not cover any distance in 2019, it sat in one spot in your basement no matter how many hours you spent on it and how many times the crank spun around.

[bowenarrow]

3750 miles between outdoor and trainer/Zwift. Really want to hit 4K this year with more outdoor riding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[prototoast]

It's simple: "Miles" is a measure of distance.

It is not a measure of work, hours, nor of the total number of crank revolutions, etc.

If these yearend threads were titled "2019 Hours On The Bike" or "2019 Work On The Bike" or "2019 # Of Crank Turns" yadda-yadda then time spent on the trainer would certainly qualify.

But they're not, they're always called "2019 miles" and I'm sorry but your trainer did not cover any distance in 2019, it sat in one spot in your basement no matter how many hours you spent on it and how many times the crank spun around.

It's not the crank, it's the wheel(s) turning. If you go 1 mile in a straight line, you've ridden a mile. If you go around a 500 meter track for a mile, you've ridden a mile. If you go around a 50 meter track for a mile, you've ridden a mile. A trainer is like riding around on an infinitely small track.

[Bob Ross]

It's not the crank, it's the wheel(s) turning. If you go 1 mile in a straight line, you've ridden a mile. If you go around a 500 meter track for a mile, you've ridden a mile. If you go around a 50 meter track for a mile, you've ridden a mile. A trainer is like riding around on an infinitely small track.

Except that when you go around a 50 meter track for a mile -- or even for a meter -- you've physically moved some distance. You started at Point A, and then (regardless of how quickly you got there and however briefly you stayed there before returning) your body was at Point B, another discrete physical location in space.

When you ride on the "infinitely small track" of the trainer that doesn't happen. Neither the cyclist nor the cycle move any distance. Trainers are stationary.

[madsciencenow]

Thanks, Bob. I understand the distinction you are making. Personally, I’m going to continue to count both sources of miles because my ego/sanity requires it and my body feels very little difference between the two when using a smart trainer. If I lived elsewhere and my kids sport schedules were different I would certainly prefer to ride physical rather than virtual miles but as my friend already pointed out, I simply don’t have this option.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[berserk87]

Except that when you go around a 50 meter track for a mile -- or even for a meter -- you've physically moved some distance. You started at Point A, and then (regardless of how quickly you got there and however briefly you stayed there before returning) your body was at Point B, another discrete physical location in space.

When you ride on the "infinitely small track" of the trainer that doesn't happen. Neither the cyclist nor the cycle move any distance. Trainers are stationary.

I hate the trainer more than about anything. I've used this argument before. It's funny though because when you look a displaced distance, an outdoor ride is always the same as a trainer ride. If you depart from and return to the same place, you have displaced zero miles. Kinda funny.

My mind has changed on the trainer thing. When I started racing, trainer workouts were never as good as road miles. Guys that wouldn't or couldn't get outside were never as fit as those that did. With wattage measurement and interactive smart trainers, I'm seeing folks that stay on the trainer for months and re-appear outside in March, and they are as fit, it not more, often times, as guys that rode outdoors the whole time. It's hard to disrespect the results.

The past couple of years I haven't even tracked training by miles. I use hours ridden per week as my measuring stick. Mileage is calculated automatically for me (using Golden Cheetah), otherwise I would have no clue how many I had ridden in a year without using a calculator. It's still kinda fun to reflect on the annual total.

[merlinmurph]

4583 miles and 311,500 ft, all on the road/trail, a good year for me. No way I'm going to admit how many hours that took, but the avg speed goes down every year.

I only did two events this year, Raid Lamoille and D2R2. Scheduling conflicts prevented other gravel events.

There some big miles out there. I don't how how you guys with kids get it done - congrats!

[thegunner]

2300 outside, 2200 indoors

but i also have a newborn, so i'll take it :banana:

[BryanE]

5300 outside miles.
Trainer miles don’t count.

[R3awak3n]

I think I got 300 miles on the trainer out of the 4700 and those were the hardest miles. Fine, trainer miles are not real miles but if someone is putting that kinda mileage on a trainer they have my respect because that is just not fun and I could not do it.

[glepore]

Good lord. Counting miles?
I enjoy riding. Its great. I don't need to quantify it anymore.
I actually do "train". Keep track of a bunch of metrics, but miles are more or less meaningless. As is speed. The other metrics, I don't share, they are for me, as a gauge for myself.
Get off my lawn, but strava etc pretty much ruined cycling with others for me.
Oh yeah, trainer miles? Meaningless. Trainer time or kj? Now that might mean something. In erg mode, miles and speed are a joke.

[PSC]

5400 road miles. No trainer, I'm to cheap.
800+ miles running. No treadmill
500+ Erg rowing miles (Concept 2). If I am going to do cardio indoors, this is my go to. Awesome workout.

[jwalther]

5002 miles, split roughly 70\30 outdoor\Zwift. Don't know about anyone else, but my Zwift "miles" are harder work than outdoor miles. I don't cheat the system, and utilize Zwift's workout programs.

[avalonracing]

Don't know about anyone else, but my Zwift "miles" are harder work than outdoor miles.

You just need to find a faster group ride ; ) I don't know about anyone else but (other than a sanctioned race) there is NOTHING that will make me dig deeper than trying to hold a faster wheel halfway into a very competitive group ride.
And oh, about 5000 outdoor miles for me. Many of them on competitive group rides. Some quite pleasant, and others where I was hanging on by a tread, and a few where I got popped.

[SlowPokePete]

10,082 miles, all outside real riding.

Mostly solo.

Zero weeks that I didn't ride 100 miles or more.

One three day, two night solo bike packing trip from my driveway.

Swift summer solstice campout with UltraRomance and company.

Nutmeg Nor'Easter was amazing.

Longest ride ever of 105 miles.

Six more months of nonsense and I retire at age 55.5.

2020's gonna be a good one.

SPP

[toronto-rider]

As I have been more into gravel than road, I think a more accurate measurement would be hrs on the bike. My favourite loop takes me 3hrs on my gravel bike but only 76km. 3 hrs on the road easy to hit 100km.
I did do over 6000 km in 2019 but spent much more time than previous years riding due to the slower speeds of gravel.

With indoor riding, it should count however I don’t upload it to my Strava just TrainingPeaks. I like to surprise my group after the winter with my strength come April. However now everyone is so fit come April from trainer workouts.
I remember the days that unless you went to a training camp in March you were behind when it came to the early races in April.

[Krenovian]

Rode something north of 3,000 miles outdoors and a bunch of trainer time. I don’t accurately track either as I have different cyclocomputers on the 4 bikes I ride and don’t total up the mileage in a log.

My, I should say our, big goal for the year was to ride Mt. Ventoux on the tandem. We accomplished it riding from Bedoin first (the classic Tour route) and then a week later from Sault (the “easy” route).

[Seramount]

retired 3 years ago and made riding 10,000 miles a bucket-list item.

first try was 9200, second year got a little closer at 9500...

put a push on the last few months...in December, bagged my highest monthly total ever at 1030 miles.

had 340 ride days and ended up with 10,172 miles.

while it was a fun challenge and got me out some days when I really didn't feel like riding, not going to try and do it again. if 10K comes, fine...if I only ride 7 or 8K, that'll work too.

don't want to make riding a 'job'...

[tctyres]

It's simple: "Miles" is a measure of distance.

It is not a measure of work, hours, nor of the total number of crank revolutions, etc.

If these yearend threads were titled "2019 Hours On The Bike" or "2019 Work On The Bike" or "2019 # Of Crank Turns" yadda-yadda then time spent on the trainer would certainly qualify.

But they're not, they're always called "2019 miles" and I'm sorry but your trainer did not cover any distance in 2019, it sat in one spot in your basement no matter how many hours you spent on it and how many times the crank spun around.

Meh ... I'm not so worried about what people are calling miles here. There are a lot of reasons to ride on the road, trail, track, trainer, or rollers. All of these give a different experience. It depends on a person's goals and time commitments. Trainer miles, like road miles, can be easy or hard. If riders are doing structured workout plans on a trainer, those can be really hard workouts. There is no coasting.

What you don't get in a trainer is the handling and lateral stability. In fact, those muscles can decline in strength and function.

I don't know about anyone else but (other than a sanctioned race) there is NOTHING that will make me dig deeper than trying to hold a faster wheel halfway into a very competitive group ride.
This is true. The other way of digging deep is to try to drop someone's wheel.

About 9400+ miles for me in 2019, mostly road, some trail, with a small amount of trainer miles. I also completed my first R-12.

[Chief]

5848 miles for the year. 152 miles shy of my goal of 6,000 miles. Not too shabby in my opinion for someone who is about to turn 82 years old next month. 😁

Chief

[82Picchio]

Get back into double century shape and ride at least three doubles.

[Keith A]

5848 miles for the year. 152 miles shy of my goal of 6,000 miles. Not too shabby in my opinion for someone who is about to turn 82 years old next month. 😁

ChiefThat is awesome!!!

[madsciencenow]

That is awesome!!!



+1


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[climbgdh]

+1


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

+1000. I hope I’m doing that in my 80s!!!

[Black Dog]

5848 miles for the year. 152 miles shy of my goal of 6,000 miles. Not too shabby in my opinion for someone who is about to turn 82 years old next month. 😁

Chief

Now this is amazing.

[merlinmurph]

5848 miles for the year. 152 miles shy of my goal of 6,000 miles. Not too shabby in my opinion for someone who is about to turn 82 years old next month. 😁

Chief


I turn 66 in 2 months and am always looking for role models like you. Congrats!

Three years ago, my wife and I traveled thru San Antonio in our travel trailer. Very nice place to be.

[NHAero]

Chief and Slowpokepete are my heroes!

Don't have a smart trainer and only ride on the trainer under duress :-) but no beef with trainer miles by others.

I measured just under 2,100 miles but haven't ever recorded the MTB, commuting, and errand riding until the past few weeks when I got the Wahoo Elemnt. So guesstimate 3,000 miles in 2019, and would like to see a modest increase in 2020, along with some short haul credit card tours. My new ankle brace is working out, so I think I will have increased ability to ride longer rides (>50 miles) and so perhaps get in a 100 miler or two, which I haven't done in ten years (longest this year were a couple in the low 70s, which is a long one on Martha's Vineyard without doubling back :-)

[paredown]

5848 miles for the year. 152 miles shy of my goal of 6,000 miles. Not too shabby in my opinion for someone who is about to turn 82 years old next month. 😁

Chief
Impressive.

I turned in a 'worst year in quite a while' total of less than thousand miles--and I'm a couple of decades younger...

2020 will be better!

[sjbraun]

I retired in February and celebrated by riding > 1,000 per month through April of last year. I totaled 8,673 miles, the most I've ever ridden. I also started running after a 30+ year break. I ran all of 150 miles last year, (if you can call what I was doing running.)

My goal this year is to continue to work at running, hike more, ride some gravel events during our summer in OR, and not obsess about mileage on the bike.