How to keep record of how far travelled and MPH achieved

[vickster]

When you are starting out like me and finding it extremely difficult I think it may be useful just to have something to look at to see if you are making any progress what so ever. Presently it's just, shall we say uncomfortable and not very enjoyable. I'm sure that it will get better in the fullness of time. As previously stated cycling is not like other comparable exercises for older people such as walking or swimming, where a little progress seems to be made on every occasion. There is quite a lot more to cycling than those two exercises. The other issue that I have found is that there are not many clubs or rides for older people, most of the clubs (probably quite rightly) are really for younger and /or more accomplished mountain bike and/or road riders.

Cycling UK has group rides and generally have an older membership

https://www.cyclinguk.org/local-groups

the lets ride groups run by British Cycling may also offer options for you

get a simple computer for your handlebars so you can see your speed and distance while riding. Cateye velo models are good 👍

 

[byegad]

The best move I ever made was to remove my cycling computers from my bikes. instead of obsessing about whether I was a tad slower or faster today I started to enjoy the countryside.

 

[david k]

When you are starting out like me and finding it extremely difficult I think it may be useful just to have something to look at to see if you are making any progress what so ever. Presently it's just, shall we say uncomfortable and not very enjoyable. I'm sure that it will get better in the fullness of time. As previously stated cycling is not like other comparable exercises for older people such as walking or swimming, where a little progress seems to be made on every occasion. There is quite a lot more to cycling than those two exercises. The other issue that I have found is that there are not many clubs or rides for older people, most of the clubs (probably quite rightly) are really for younger and /or more accomplished mountain bike and/or road riders.

My favourite is endomondo, free smartphone app. Really good at recording distance in segments of weekly, monthly and annually.
I also like to consider duration, so rather than how far or fast was I, how much riding have I managed this month, 5 hours, 10 hours ?

 

[All uphill]

The best move I ever made was to remove my cycling computers from my bikes. instead of obsessing about whether I was a tad slower or faster today I started to enjoy the countryside.

My ebay £10 speedo on my best bike stopped working a couple of weeks ago. I'm very surprised at how liberating it is to just cycle at a pace that suits me. I still have Strava on my phone to get stats at the end of a ride which I transfer to a paper diary.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

The secret is to use it as a recording tool, but not allow it to control how much, how far, and how fast you cycle. I'm well aware that a fit club rider on a light road bike may be able to average over 17 mph, whereas I might be pootling along at only 11 or 12 mph overall. It's easy to become obsessed about chasing the stats of other riders. I simply don't care if other riders are quicker than me or have bikes that weigh only half as much as mine.

 

[whitesix]

Totally agree with that SkipdiverJohn; can get you in all sorts of problems; only any good to use to keep a log of your own times and speeds as a matter of interest. It's sometimes nice to know how or if one is progressing or (as usually in my case) staying static!

 

[oldwheels]

Many cyclists use a Wahoo or Garmin GPS device and upload to Strava. This is quite an expensive option and as you are returning it may be better to leave this for a while.

I haven't had a cycle computer in years but imagine it will be easy to find one which will record this information on a ride by ride basis. As I recall Cateye were good but I'm sure others will be able to make more recent suggestions.

I have a very small garmin which can do all sorts of wonderful things but I am only interested in current speed and distance travelled. Mostly interested in the riding distance as with an electric assist I want to keep within battery life. My trike has some other magnet operated thing but again my only interest is distance travelled. Both will have a cumulative option if required but you could always keep a written record.

 

[whitesix]

When I walked; I did the same route mostly every day; I merely used a stop watch to note my time; ditto when I swam (I just used to note my time in my dairy every day - it didn't change much, but I did find Friday's swim was faster than Monday's). With cycling however it may be useful to just have distance covered, time taken and MPH. At present I am forcing myself to get out five days per week, and the route I am currently doing takes me around 35 minutes. I hope to (in time, gently, gently and hoping my knee holds out) increase my rides up to 1 hour or 1½ hours for 5 days per week. I think this would probably satisfy my goals of keeping fit and weight loss (perhaps with a little bit of upper body and suppleness work). I continue to be very grateful of all the advice received so far.

 

[RoadRider400]

I use the free app Sportactive. Does all you are asking and more. Records average speed over 0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 10 mile distances on your route and also reports the incline and declines on each split. It will plot the route for you to review and saves them all in a neat history so you can compare splits if you do the same routes. It also keeps track of the number of rides and total distances cycled year on year. Another feature is that it states the temperature at the start of each ride which I find really useful in deciding what to wear next time.

 

[xzenonuk]

another one for the strava app here, keeps track of tons of stuff and is free

 

[Brads]

When you say older, ,what do you mean ?

 

[Blue Hills]

The best move I ever made was to remove my cycling computers from my bikes. instead of obsessing about whether I was a tad slower or faster today I started to enjoy the countryside.

Agree. I no longer have much interest in my speed after i switched to a garmin - my main display doesn't show the speed.

 

[whitesix]

When you say older, ,what do you mean ?

I'm not sure if this comment was for me; but if it was, by "older" I mean 60+ (ie retired).

Thank you vickster; have contacted https://www.cyclinguk.org/local-groups, but unfortunately nothing available in my area; so its back to the five days per week, 35 minute trek for the time being (14 rides thus far).

 

[annedonnelly]

I'm not sure if this comment was for me; but if it was, by "older" I mean 60+ (ie retired).

Thank you vickster; have contacted https://www.cyclinguk.org/local-groups, but unfortunately nothing available in my area; so its back to the five days per week, 35 minute trek for the time being (14 rides thus far).

If you're on other social media (Facebook or whatever) you could look for cycling groups in your area on there. Maybe find someone who'd buddy up with you.

 

[si_c]

Nothing wrong with a diary and pen and paper if you're just after keeping a basic log. I use Strava for keeping track of my rides and have done for a few years, you can just set the app recording and then stuff it in a pocket out of the way.