Why kms?

[DCBassman]

Suits me...I can still count in pounds, shillings and pennies!

240 pennies to the pound, 12 to a shilling, ...?

24 to a florin, 30 to half a crown...

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The marathon is 26 miles 385 yards.

That’s not a cycling event distance, but even in running you have 1500m, 3k, 5k, 10k all in metric units etc.

 

[snorri]

Our roads and cars and stuff is all in miles.
But seriously, why?

Perhaps we should be asking why our "roads and cars and stuff" are still not metricated some fifty five years since the UK decided to adopt metrication, rather than why some cyclists have decided not to wait for other road users.
By now I feel quite happy using miles or km whilst cycling and just adapt to my surroundings, miles in the UK and km elsewhere.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

I've still got some thrupenny bits.
The ones with thrift on.
Anyone know what I'm on about?

 

[Slick]

It is simply because as others have already said, we have been metric since the 60's and it is right and proper. The truth is for me though, I'm very much miles feet and inches and only went metric for my 50k a month challenge.

 

[classic33]

Because stupid imperial units are well past their Use By Date and the quicker we get rid of them, the better!

Your Annual Lunacy Challenge's are in trouble then.
"1. Choose a target distance, for example 100 miles, but it can be any imperial or metric distance which will be challenging for you to complete thirteen times in a calendar year."
&
"Devise a public road route which accumulates 1,000+ metres of ascent. If you prefer imperial units, you could choose 3,000', 3,250', 3,500' or a more accurate equivalent - 3,281' your target is 3,300 ft. So far, so simple."

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It is simply because as others have already said, we have been metric since the 60's and it is right and proper. The truth is for me though, I'm very much miles feet and inches and only went metric for my 50k a month challenge.

50,000 km a month is a lot 😀

 

[Milzy]

It absolutely boils my piss. The mamil brigade who are all about performance like to pretend the kmh is mph so it looks like they are riding at pro level speeds

 

[Slick]

50,000 km a month is a lot 😀

Everyone needs a goal.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Everyone needs a goal.

An achievable goal 😂

 

[ColinJ]

You're posh :-).
Sixpences and farthings for me.

I remember my dad giving me a 10 bob note to spend at a fair in the Abbey Fields in Kenilworth in the early 1960s. That was a lot of money to me at that age. I think the rides were 6d so that was enough for 20! (Different times then... I would have been less than 10 years old at the time but my parents were happy for me to clear off unsupervised for a few hours to spend the cash.)

 

[Cerdic]

This is not meant to be a 'which is better' type thread. I'm just curious.

For me, it just seems easier to think in miles. If a road sign tells me that Little Mulching is ten miles away, I've got a good idea in my head how easy it will be to bet there and back. I'm far too lazy to do the maths to convert it into kilometres...

 

[ColinJ]

Your Annual Lunacy Challenge's are in trouble then.
"1. Choose a target distance, for example 100 miles, but it can be any imperial or metric distance which will be challenging for you to complete thirteen times in a calendar year."
&
"Devise a public road route which accumulates 1,000+ metres of ascent. If you prefer imperial units, you could choose 3,000', 3,250', 3,500' or a more accurate equivalent - 3,281' your target is 3,300 ft. So far, so simple."

Because Imperialists complain when I only mention metric units! You will observe that I indicated my preference in the finished version...

The target is to do 13+ 'qualifying loops' between January 1st and December 31st.

• A qualifying loop is any ride on public roads which accumulates 1,000+ metres of ascent. (If you prefer imperial units, your target is 3,300+ ft).
• You must end up back at your starting point each time but you are free to start/finish anywhere. Your hilly loops can be included in longer rides so feel free to insert them into your routes for other challenges.
• A specific climb may only be done once per loop, but you can climb to the same point by multiple routes if available.
• Try to keep your loops 'challengingly short'. I live in a hilly area and would normally average about 1,000 metres per 50 km ridden so I will aim to make my qualifying loops shorter than 40 km to make them challenging for me rather than merely routine. Decide for yourself what is challenging for you in your area.

This is not a competition so your rides should not be compared to those of other riders. It would be much harder to do 1,000 metres of climbing in Cambridgeshire than in Yorkshire!

If you like the idea of point scoring, award yourself 1 point per qualifying loop (no matter how long or hilly it is!). Only 1 loop counts per day so don't bother doing 2 x 50 km hilly loops in a day trying to score double points. From next year onwards, perhaps try to beat your best points total from earlier years?

Another suggestion which may interest you - calculate the HR (Hilliness Ratio) for each qualifying LOOP (NB do not include any distance ridden before or after the loop!) HR = ascent/distance in metres/km. (Imperialists should calculate ft/mile and divide the result by 5.28.) and please round the results to 1 decimal place - an HR figure stated as e.g. 21.67893 would be very silly! Example #1: 1,017 metres in 37.3 km, HR = 27.3 m/km. Example #2: 3,456 ft in 28.2 miles, 122.6 ft/mile = HR of 23.2 m/km.

 

[classic33]

This is not meant to be a 'which is better' type thread. I'm just curious.

For me, it just seems easier to think in miles. If a road sign tells me that Little Mulching is ten miles away, I've got a good idea in my head how easy it will be to bet there and back. I'm far too lazy to do the maths to convert it into kilometres...

10 kilometres is just under 61/4 miles.

 

[ColinJ]

This is not meant to be a 'which is better' type thread. I'm just curious.

For me, it just seems easier to think in miles. If a road sign tells me that Little Mulching is ten miles away, I've got a good idea in my head how easy it will be to bet there and back. I'm far too lazy to do the maths to convert it into kilometres...

I don't rely on road signs... I plan my routes on digital OS maps which use kms and I have my GPS set to kms which matches the units that I worked in when planning the ride. I know that I can average about 16 km/hr when doing very hilly rides, 20 km/hr when doing lumpy rides, and nearer 30 km/hr if making an effort on flatter rides (as long as it isn't windy) so it easy to work out how I am doing.

I find it much easier to work out gradients in metric units. For example - Otley East Chevin Rd gains near enough 150 m in 1.5 km, so it is 10%. It is about 500 ft in 0.94 miles, which is, er, not as easy to work out in one's head!