# measuring progress



## Smoke2 (Jul 24, 2011)

I know this is sort of a broad question and it is different for each rider. For some it is getting out of their driveway and onto the pavement for others it might be completing a race. I started at 3 miles my first time out in June...managed to log in just over 230 miles each for June and July. Got sick in August/part of Sept. My goal was to get in a 300 mile month. That may not happen till next year due to time.

Longest I've ridden was 30 miles. I'm trying to go 15-25 each time out. I guess my question is should I be looking ar the overall distance or should I be looking at the time it takes to do it to measure progress. I'm usually averaging 11-13 mph depending on the route I take..some are flatter than others.

I'm a casual rider but I have a competitive streak.the last 2 rides I did intentionally go down some big hills knowing I had to come back up them..I did better than I thought I would. Guess I'm looking for little things I can do to improve my riding.

Thx for any suggestions.


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

Smoke2 said:


> I know this is sort of a broad question and it is different for each rider.


... so we'll deal with you specifically.



> Longest I've ridden was 30 miles. I'm trying to go 15-25 each time out. I guess my question is should I be looking ar the overall distance or should I be looking at the time it takes to do it to measure progress.


... both are good metrics and are not necessarily exclusive... i.e. time to cover a given distance. If you cover said in a shorter amount of time (and usually with less effort) then you tend to go just a tad further. 



> I'm a casual rider but I have a competitive streak.the last 2 rides I did intentionally go down some big hills knowing I had to come back up them..I did better than I thought I would. Guess I'm looking for little things I can do to improve my riding.


So, what do you see as long term goals for your cycling? What aspects of cycling interest you? What competitive streak suits you best?

Decades ago, I thought doing an 8 mile loop on the local multi was a huge thing. My competitive streak expressed itself in a desire to ride longer distances at speed and do time trials which continues to this day... and I measure my progress through these (and the awesomeness that all around me say I possess).


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

^^^
Some pretty good comments here.

I'd say that my biggest observation is that you don't have a goal beyond volume.

I express my competitive streak in competition. Mountain bike, mostly. I find that having a racing season and, this summer, a couple of 'A' events, makes it a lot easier for me to articulate my goals and have a sense of progress. I'm a goal-oriented person, so working toward something and being able to see improvement is big for me. The specific events were a 30 and 50 mile MTB race, so my week was planned based on what I thought would serve that, and I have a series of increasing ride time weeks on my log from the summer. Lately, I'm lucky to ride as much in a week as I did on some of those training days.  Oh well. My joints are flaky, so it's just as well if I have an off-season.

Anyway, I think events are a lot of fun and they come in all shapes and sizes. I think it should be something that would be a challenge for you today, but isn't a whole different order of magnitude from what you've been doing. So, a half- or metric century strikes me as a good goal for someone whose distance record is what yours is - it's more than you've done, but it's not RAAM. Part of how I chose a 50 mile race instead of 100 was that I thought I could go out and do a 50 mile ride the day I signed up, in the spring, but slowly. So for me, riding a 50-mile ride at a competitive pace was the challenge to work toward.

Lots of rambling, and the idea of the 'A' event is not something that will necessary work for everybody. Goals (or not) and progress are pretty individual.

As far as distance vs. speed - really, both are pretty subjective. Another way to state your question would be, "should I measure volume or intensity?" Ultimately, you're likely to be increasing both. I think speed's not a great measurement, though, because so many external variables can mess with it. I don't measure distance either, I use ride time, but if all your cycling fits relatively well within one class - all road, for example - distance is not a terrible way to quantify your volume. You've probably already noticed that some routes make it easier than others to collect miles per se.

I had a few routes I meant to clock myself on, so I could ride them later and see how well I was progressing. I've never been that great with a stop watch, but strava.com is a fun way to get a computer to do the accounting for me. Short of being able to actually control the environment, that's probably the best repeatability you're going to get.


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## minutemaidman (Jun 14, 2010)

^^^^All good info. Everyone is different. Why are you riding a bike? 

For me. I think hills are the best way to measure progress and the quickest way to make any. Hills vs time, hill and distance, etc. Hills will make or break you. And Im not talking about small hills, but climbs that are long and steep. In other words, mountains.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

I don't know your age, your weight, or what kind of shape you were in before you started riding. But it seems to me you should start pushing harder and riding a little faster, at least on some rides. If you're getting in shape you could be riding faster than that. I'm assuming you're riding a road bike, and not a hybrid or other upright style bike.


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## Smoke2 (Jul 24, 2011)

Female
45
215 lbs ( keep that one to yourselves) lol..in pretty good shape for a fat chick.
riding both road (CAAD 10) and MTB (Diamondback Ascent) on mostly paved.
I'm feeling I should be pushing more. again not sure what the best way to do it..distance, speed, hills, mixing it all up.
I am able to tell I am in better shape than I was when I started riding a few months ago.

Not really sure what I want to do with riding, not many clubs close by to do group rides with..I'm sure that would push me more. Hoping to see if the local state park where I ride might start to advertise an unofficial ride to see if we can get some people together...getting cold out now so I'm not sure how many dihards we would get this time of year.

Like I said I'm riding for pleasure/fitness, want to take the next step but not sure what it is or should be.


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## ScooterDobs (Nov 26, 2010)

I was in a similar situation this summer, letting myself get pretty sedentary when an old friend reminded me of how much fun we had 13 years ago on the Seattle to Portland ride (200 miles in 2 days). That got me off my spam fed butt and I bought an old road bike and started riding again. I started out on flat runs, with a heart rate monitor, and rode. 10 miles every other day was an effort at first and I was at 10 miles per hour. As my fitness improved I continued to ride for 1 hour but was getting in 14 miles then 16 miles on level ground. From there went to 30 mile flat rides in 2 hours and 15 mile long hill rides in just over an hour. What worked for me was improve the fitness first on level ground then start taking on more challenges. The second thing that worked is setting a goal of the STP next summer so I have to keep riding or I will die on the ride. Knowing that is coming keeps me riding.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Smoke2 said:


> I'm feeling I should be pushing more. again not sure what the best way to do it..distance, speed, hills, *mixing it all up*..[/QUOTE]
> 
> That, I think. Keep it fun, but push yourself sometimes. A few times on each ride, dig a little deeper. Do a few medium-length rides (6-10 miles) where you try to keep in that hard-breathing zone the whole time, or most of it.
> 
> ...


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

If you're not pedaling continuously, that's a good place to start.

Climbing hills is a great way to do interval training without getting into structured workouts. Of course structured workouts are always there if you decide you want to do them. Some people do better with more structure, and some people find they don't have fun anymore.

I think form is important. It makes you more efficient. That doesn't mean you can't work out as hard anymore, and it may mean you recover more quickly, avoid injury, have more fun riding with faster friends, etc.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

For now and with your goal being fitness the best way to measure progress is probably by stepping on a scale given your starting point (I don't mean that in wise arse way like it probably sounds).

In the long run I think most people get the best results doing the type of riding they enjoy most because having fun insure they'll stick with it. So do whatever type of riding you like the most and to get progress from it just make sure you do more of it than you did the week before.


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

> Not really sure what I want to do with riding, not many clubs close by to do group rides with..I'm sure that would push me more.


... most likely riding with others *would* up the ante... I've noted that women have a bit of testosterone flowin' when they're on the bike (sidenote: One fit woman rider was jokingingly "complaining" about the testosterone in the mostly male training ride she does... and I asked "... and where are you during these rides... at the front right?" << giggle>>)

This can also be a matter of attitudes and priorities. How close are the nearest riders? How much effort would it "really" take to hook up? What kind of sacrifices are you willing to make (another cycling bud calls it "stealing time")? You might find that after a few rides... things would get reciprocal (you wouldn't always have to go elsewhere... they'd come to you as well). Many of us enjoy the adventure of new roads.



> Hoping to see if the local state park where I ride might start to advertise an unofficial ride to see if we can get some people together...


Locally, both the Metropark and the National Park service offer different types of rides... from easy short tours to time trials. Also consider local bike shops... many have postings about rides and riders looking to hook up (good for business). Our local club(s) offer a variety of organized rides that cover a relatively large area (3+ counties) which might also be true in your area.



> Like I said I'm riding for pleasure/fitness, want to take the next step but not sure what it is or should be.


... certainly, my cycling goals and aspirations "evolved" over the years. It is close to a raison d'etre. Certainly, part deux, not everyone will express their cycling with the same passions and that's OK. Variety is that spice...

But I'd also remind that time is the fire in which we all burn. None of us is getting any younger and none of us our getting outta here alive. At your age, you're likely to be in transisition... what you do now may affect the rest of your life inasmuch as you've already got the ball rolling. Think about trying to start this ball again at age 60 and 60 pounds heavier? Just a thought. 

Finally, it might help to keep some form of diary and refer to it from time to time. Many of us repeat the same routes and become familiar with every turn, every ascent, every free running dog... and the time it takes to ride... and will notice even a few seconds improvement!

Now, get the hell off this forum and go for a ride.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*Trust the stopwatch.*



JCavilia said:


> If you have a place where you can reliably ride 5 or 6 miles without being held up by traffic or intersections, try timing yourself on that route, and make it your personal time-trial test.


Agree, this is an excellent way to measure progress. Even a short piece of level road (I use an exact 4,000 meter distance marked off with paint) will tell you clearly if and how you're progressing. If you keep a record, such personal time-trialing also allows to experiment with different gearing, position, wheels, what have you. Keep in mind that head- or tailwinds (even almost imperceptible ones) will affect your times.

As a bonus, you'll learn how unreliable your feelings are: you will have rides which feel dog-slow to you, but turn out to be fast. And, unfortunately, vice-versa.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

wim said:


> Agree, this is an excellent way to measure progress. Even a short piece of level road (I use an exact 4,000 meter distance marked off with paint) will tell you clearly if and how you're progressing. If you keep a record, such personal time-trialing also allows to experiment with different gearing, position, wheels, what have you. Keep in mind that head- or tailwinds (even almost imperceptible ones) will affect your times.
> As a bonus, you'll learn how unreliable your feelings are: you will have rides which feel dog-slow to you, but turn out to be fast. And, unfortunately, vice-versa.


Use a circuit or an out & back route. I've had a few of these over the years and have kept stats. Last year I looked back at my times/average speeds from 30 years ago :cryin:

Right now I have a u-shaped 30 mile route that I ride often and I time-trial it flat out a few times per year, just to see how well I'm doing.

It's not perfect because wind direction and a few other variables affect things but after a while of data-keeping the big picture becomes clear, or clear enough anyway.


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## redsled660 (Oct 3, 2011)

For me, keeping a log of my rides, times, calories burned, and generally how I am feeling is the best way to track progress. I am competitive by nature, and my best compitition is ME! I like to look back and see in writing how I have progressed. Some days I ride hard, and others I just spin and relax, but overall there is improvement! I ride for the pure fun and enjoyment it brings to me. The scale and my log show me I am on the right path for me......


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## Smoke2 (Jul 24, 2011)

Thank you all for your input. The scale has not been my friend over the years..I've lost and gained so many lbs it's not funny. Since riding I am down about 15 lbs. 
Some good suggestions here, I'll take them to heart. Friend of mine ( in a different state) got a bike soon after I got mine and she's talking about putting it away for the winter!..I'm looking into a good pair of Woolie sox so I can keep riding.

Turkey~Day here in Pa is supposed to be nice..I'm looking forward to the day off and a good ride!


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

... you can ride in the winter... and it can aide in dealing with bouts of cabin fever... but it takes just a tad more commitment and planning.

The above pic might be a more extreme example (I generally only ride the roads if I'm fairly sure I can find a decent number of clear spots and minimal black ice) but there are plenty of snow free days in most winters (for many) that are mentally thwarting cuz of temps and/or winds... try to get the proper gear (layering with cycling specific gear is optimal, but you can make some substitutions (wicking, breathing fabrics 'neath a windbreak... ability to peel off layers if temps/conditions predicted to rise).

Momentum!


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## clayton.cole23 (Feb 25, 2011)

I measure my progress each year by how sharp my farmers tan line gets. Really though, I have a prefered 12-13min hill that I mesure my fitness on. Break 12, good shape. Over 13, need more training.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I find snow on the roads to make road riding less fun...

...and snow on the trails to make mountain biking more fun!


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## Smoke2 (Jul 24, 2011)

I'll probably tuck the road bike in for the winter but I'm looking forward to keeping the MTB out and using it!


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## MindBender (Jun 18, 2012)

I'm struggling with how to measure progress, too. I bought a speedometer with my bike and have been writing down those stats, but I'm not sure which numbers I should look at to see improvements or push myself to improve. I've also been jotting down a quick line about how hard I pushed (subjective likert scale style), if I had company, and how I felt afterward.


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## laffeaux (Dec 12, 2001)

MindBender said:


> I'm struggling with how to measure progress, too. I bought a speedometer with my bike and have been writing down those stats, but I'm not sure which numbers I should look at to see improvements or push myself to improve. I've also been jotting down a quick line about how hard I pushed (subjective likert scale style), if I had company, and how I felt afterward.


"Better" depends on what your goal is. You can set goals that involve:
- number of miles ridden in a given period
- number of hours exercised in a given period
- body weight
- time on a given course
- number of feet/meters you can climb
- power output over a given period
- amount of fun your are having on the bike
- and many more

Decide what your goal(s) for riding is and then you determine what better is.


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## Lanna (May 27, 2012)

Hi Smoke2,

I started riding around the same time as you. I try to ride at least 3-4 times a week. I don't use a computer or hr monitor. Maybe later down the road, I'll buy a computer and replace the battery in my Polar hr monitor. For now, I use Map My Ride, listen to my body, do my best, and respect how I'm feeling that day. 

I also don't weigh myself. My scale needs a new battery. But, weighing myself has never motivated me to lose weight or count calories. The doctor weighs me, so I have a general idea of what I weigh ~ 120 pounds. I could lose 5 pounds, but I'm not giving up my pinot noir to do it. If it happens, it happens. If not, it's all good.

At first, every ride felt intense; even flat, trail rides. I've found that varying my rides works for me. Hilly roads have helped increase my endurance for flat, trail rides. Flat trail rides gives me the opportunity to practice pedaling with good form. Riding with friends at a leisurely rate is my recovery ride. It prevents me from working at my limit. Group rides have pushed me to ride longer and faster. 

I didn't start group rides until a couple of weeks ago. I drive about 30 minutes to the meet up. It's not my favorite ride to do; mainly because it feels like a race. It is what it is. All groups are different from what I hear. Maybe, I'll check out other area groups next spring. 

How I measure progress depends on the type of ride I'm doing. Since I don't use a computer or hr monitor, it's based on my perceived level of exertion. On Sunday, I was able to climb a familiar hill faster, in a higher gear, with less effort. 

Right now, my goal is to like (not love) hill climbs. I hate hills. I hate hills with a burning passion.


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## RaptorTC (Jul 20, 2012)

I just started riding earlier this year, although on a mountain bike, and I have found Strava to be a great motivational tool. Usually Strava is just seen as a way to grab KOM's and such, but I find more value in its other functions. I love the calendar and being able to compare months and weeks against each other with ease. Comparing my first few rides to my latest one has shown me that I am indeed improving (a lot) and the hard work is worth it.


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## MindBender (Jun 18, 2012)

laffeaux said:


> "Better" depends on what your goal is. You can set goals that involve:
> - number of miles ridden in a given period
> - number of hours exercised in a given period
> - body weight
> ...


I think for now the best goal for me is to log lots of miles. Thanks for your help - I think I was getting too complicated  How many miles in a week is reasonable/a comfortable stretch for a beginner?


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## laffeaux (Dec 12, 2001)

MindBender said:


> How many miles in a week is reasonable/a comfortable stretch for a beginner?


Let your body be the guide. If you're going too far too fast your average speed will drop after a week or two of riding. If you feel like you're getting weaker instead of stronger on the bike, it's time to take it a bit easier. You don't improve by riding further/faster/harder, you improve from recovering from riding further/faster/harder. If you never allow your body to recover you'll not improve.

If you're looking to stick to a training schedule to improve try something like this:
Week 1: ride what feels comfortable to you
Week 2: ride what you did in week a plus about 10-15% more
Week 3: take thinks easier and ride a little less than week 1
Week 4: ride what you did in week 2
Week 5: ride what you did in week 2 plus 10-15% more
Week 6: back off a little and ride week 1 again
Week 7: ride what you did in week 5
...and continue in that pattern until you reach your goal.

For a beginner, two weeks of pushing yourself is all your body will likely take before it needs to recover. An "easy" week (where you still ride, but not as hard or as far) gives your body a chance to recover and adapt to the challenges you're giving it. Once it recovers push it a bit harder/further. Listen to your body though - if it's not recovering take it a bit easier. But generally try a program where you increase your hours/mileage/climbing for a couple of weeks and then back off for a week, and then build up more than before and then back off again.

If you're new to cycling it will take several months to build up a good aerobic "base" that will then allow you to ride further and faster. Once you have that riding becomes easier. Unfortunately unless you maintain it over the winter it goes away quickly and you'll need to work on it again next spring.


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## MindBender (Jun 18, 2012)

Thanks, this was very helpful!


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