Shown above (full size image here) are my outdoor cycling statistics for 2012, as compiled using a Garmin Edge 500 and Ascent. Due to aliasing issues on rides that were done without a wheel sensor and a small handful of rides where I didn’t have my GPS there’s likely a small bit of under recording here, but it’s probably pretty close. By wearing a heart rate monitor while riding the tools are also able to estimate the number of calories burned.
The big, most notable stats are as follows:
Total Distance: 4217.31 miles
Total Ride Duration (Clock Running): 462:09:23
Moving Time: 363:55:11
Distance Climbed (Elevation Gain): 133,326′
Calories Burned: 289,802
More interestingly my ride duration can be seen ramping up to May, which is right was the end of getting ready to attempt Lumberjack 100 (LJ). Things settled down in June likely as I ramped down for then was disappointed by LJ, but then the next three months had far more distance likely due to the great weather and my having half of each August and September off of work. November and December dropped off dramatically, likely due to the poor / wet weather we’ve had and drastically shortening days.
My average moving speed was also highest in March, which I attribute to that being a month of mostly dirt road riding as trails weren’t in good shape for riding. September was also fairly high with some long distances, likely attributable to more riding to and from trails. My cadence was also a good 10 RPM lower than what I see on the trainer (70s to 80s outdoors vs. 80-90), which I suspect to be a combination of outdoor riding for me being much more interrupted pedaling versus the trainer’s constant spinning. Most outdoor rides lasting longer than trainer sessions and on the trainer I don’t have to worry about bike handling, so I’m probably more willing to spin quickly when indoors.
Beyond these numbers I also spent 41:53:31 on the trainer, burning an additional 31,114 calories. (I don’t do anything with distance or speed on the trainer as it’s not really like riding on outdoor surfaces.) This was all done from January through May, then in November and December.
It’ll be interesting to see how 2013 compares to these numbers. I’d really like to give LJ a go again, but I’m on the fence about it. I really enjoyed the training rides leading up to it, but it did take a bit of time and effort. Registration doesn’t open for a couple more months so I’ve got time to decide and see if I really want to give it another go.
