KM vs Miles

[Punkawallah]

My education from 1969 onwards exclusively used the metric system. I thought it made complete sense and it was ridiculous that imperial units were still being used so I do my best to stick to metric units now.

I do unfortunately slip back into imperial units from time to time, e.g. saying that I am 6' 1" tall rather than 1.86 m, but transitory mental aberrations aside, it is metric for me... So, kms, not miles!

I don't lose sleep over cyclists who measure their rides in miles, but I do find it odd that some of those people measure their climbing in metres!

Using feet to measure height is likely not available on their devices, therefore they have no choice.
In the real UK, we donate blood in pints, deliver soil in tons and measure height in feet. This whole ‘metric’ thingy was a French fantasy foisted off on people. Yet real French people buy veg at their local market by the livres. :blimey:

 

[Punkawallah]

Guess you have to be late 60s to have not been educated from primary school in metric?
imperial is an utterly daft and illogical system. Metric just relates logically

Metric is a fantasy system, made up by the French in their Revolutionary fervour. What few realise is that they initially got their sums wrong, and didn’t ‘fess up for years for fear of looking like prat’s - as if.
Imperial is a perfectly logical, scientific system, based on observation and testing.

 

[Punkawallah]

Imperial gives me a headache because all the multipliers are different.

So basically, Metric is the ‘lazy’, ‘dumbed down’ system then? :-)

 

[Shut Up Legs]

So basically, Metric is the ‘lazy’, ‘dumbed down’ system then? :-)

I'm not biting.

 

[Venod]

Record miles outdoors, Kilometres on Zwift, Garmin Connect and Strava logged in miles.

 

[Dorset Boy]

Metric is a fantasy system, made up by the French in their Revolutionary fervour. What few realise is that they initially got their sums wrong, and didn’t ‘fess up for years for fear of looking like prat’s - as if.
Imperial is a perfectly logical, scientific system, based on observation and testing.

Yeah right.

 

[Mike_P]

I record rides in miles and heights in feet. I ca for examole visualise how far a distance is miles but not idea in km.

There is however as I made a related comment earlier that 50km and 100km are typically commented on distances for rides so keeping ride details on a spreadsheet is easy to flag up any rides reaching those.

The daily evidence of metrication is fuel prices, would filling stations instead want to display 693.8 as the price in gallons that I paid yesterday?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Remember that petrol (etc) is dispensed in litres

but fuel consumption is in miles per gallon

and the metic version is inverted as well as being litres per kilometre


Of course part of that is just timing - but one might wonder if the petrol companies jumped to display prices in litres as it looks a lot cheaper!

 

[Punkawallah]

I record rides in miles and heights in feet. I ca for examole visualise how far a distance is miles but not idea in km.

There is however as I made a related comment earlier that 50km and 100km are typically commented on distances for rides so keeping ride details on a spreadsheet is easy to flag up any rides reaching those.

The daily evidence of metrication is fuel prices, would filling stations instead want to display 693.8 as the price in gallons that I paid yesterday?

1p a gallon increase was a scandal. 1p a litre increase is ‘no comment’.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I remember my first 100 mile ride, and (humble brag) my recent first 100 mile run. Can't say I remember my first 100km ride.

Aye but I certainly remember my first 200k audax and my one (and definitely only) 400k.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

I'm sort of stuck in a daft unjustifiable limbo. Longer distances miles rather than km but shorter distances meters rather than feet (when my Garmin says 500 ft to left turn I convert that to meters in my head). Altitude meters.

When touring in Europe I've tried switching to km, even changed by cycle computers/GPSs to km but ended-up switching back.

 

[ktmbiker58]

I don't ride in any competitions these days so I ride in miles, the signposts are in miles and if you ask someone for directions it will probably be in miles. UK highway infrastructure is in miles.

Also I find when I am knackered the thought of still having 12 miles left to get home doesn't sound as bad as 20km.

I've actually found myself riding further since I switched to miles.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I grew up with miles but for obvious reasons sticking to them would be a bit silly.

People in the UK often aren't aware that Germany had "imperial" measurement, but even after Napoleons attempts to rationalise the states, each state, and in some cases each town had a different variation; worse, the units were often called the same but defined differently in towns only a short distance apart.

It wasn't until 1868 that sanity prevailed, and the metric system was brought in to the relief of all. Oddly this was about 30 years after the "Zollverein" where the member states removed customs barriers to facilitate trade; before then every tiny state and city state had customs barriers collecting tax. Historically Germany hasn't been as much a country as a sort of low grade squabble on a massive scale.

 

[Venod]

I think these stats are more impressive in imperial units than metric.

 

[mjr]

I think these stats are more impressive in imperial units than metric.
View attachment 820192

I have no concept if those distances are big or not, so it don't impress me! 😎