How to log bike ride with walking?

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heather9986hg
heather9986hg Posts: 60 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So if I took a bike ride and it's not a flat road so some uphill and I had to walk some parts since I'm not fit enough to get up the hill on the bike yet...how do I track that in my tracker?
Also how do I get better at it so I can bike more than walking? It's been a while since I've exercised and feel like I didn't accomplish much because I walked too...
Thanks

Replies

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    Are you using your gears? That's the number one thing for new riders. Your lower gears make hills so much easier.

    Hill repeats are an investment, you do some difficult work up front and reap the benefit of easier climbing soon. It's really amazing how quickly. Find a hill that's challenging but doable, and do laps. Not more than twice a week.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Build up the duration and intensity (speed and/or hills) slowly and your fitness and capabilities will improve over time. The idea of using your gears correctly is to lean primarilly on your cardio vascular systems rather than trying to muscle up the hill - your muscles will fatigue very quickly grinding up in too high a gear.

    We all had to start somewhere and remember walking is exercise too, you have accomplished your start!

    (I've no idea what your "tracker" is.)
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
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    Gears make a big difference! I have 3 direct comparisons on the same bike. Late 2019 I dusted off my old bike and started some shorter rides. It was WAY overdue for a tune up so things were out of whack enough that I couldn’t properly shift to all of my available gears. Hills were brutal! I took it for a tune up and found the wider range of gears made the ride much more doable. They were grip shifters though, and it was taking a toll on my hands and wrists to keep going back and forth so I shifted as little as necessary. I could manage, but it still was more difficult than it needed to be. A few weeks ago I was going to splurge on a new bike, only to find COVID throwing a wrench in those plans - no inventory. So instead I took my bike to a local shop and he gave it a face lift - including trigger shifters! )And new, narrower, higher pressure tires.) The combination of those two things was a game changer! Normally it’s work to get my 12 mile ride in under an hour... I had to push myself pretty hard. This last time? I lollygagged around and still shaved minutes off my time! Whoop whoop!

    Hills take time - I like the idea of doing doable hill repeats.

    In terms of logging, maybe try and make a mental note of time walking? But walking uphill is still >0 calorie burn so it might level
    out in the end? Or you can just log something like 75% of the calories?
  • heather9986hg
    heather9986hg Posts: 60 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Are you using your gears? That's the number one thing for new riders. Your lower gears make hills so much easier.

    Hill repeats are an investment, you do some difficult work up front and reap the benefit of easier climbing soon. It's really amazing how quickly. Find a hill that's challenging but doable, and do laps. Not more than twice a week.

    Thanks!
    There are two doable but good ones on my ride. So just repeat them to get better? But not more than twice a week? I was going to try to ride once or twice a week depending on weather.
    Oh and I have gears but your right I'm not using them. I hope they work. This is a bike I found at a yard sale for $2.00 ( I'm cheap)
    I'll have to try the gears
  • heather9986hg
    heather9986hg Posts: 60 Member
    Options
    sijomial wrote: »
    Build up the duration and intensity (speed and/or hills) slowly and your fitness and capabilities will improve over time. The idea of using your gears correctly is to lean primarilly on your cardio vascular systems rather than trying to muscle up the hill - your muscles will fatigue very quickly grinding up in too high a gear.

    We all had to start somewhere and remember walking is exercise too, you have accomplished your start!

    (I've no idea what your "tracker" is.)

    Thanks!
    My tracker is the fitness tracker on this app my time and exercise. Well since I did both walking and biking I'm not sure what to log it as
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
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    heather9986hg wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Are you using your gears? That's the number one thing for new riders. Your lower gears make hills so much easier.

    Hill repeats are an investment, you do some difficult work up front and reap the benefit of easier climbing soon. It's really amazing how quickly. Find a hill that's challenging but doable, and do laps. Not more than twice a week.

    Thanks!
    There are two doable but good ones on my ride. So just repeat them to get better? But not more than twice a week? I was going to try to ride once or twice a week depending on weather.
    Oh and I have gears but your right I'm not using them. I hope they work. This is a bike I found at a yard sale for $2.00 ( I'm cheap)
    I'll have to try the gears
    Can’t complain about the price! If it’s a decent bike it might be worth a tune up at a bike shop to make sure you are both safe and efficient when you ride...
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Options
    heather9986hg wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    Build up the duration and intensity (speed and/or hills) slowly and your fitness and capabilities will improve over time. The idea of using your gears correctly is to lean primarilly on your cardio vascular systems rather than trying to muscle up the hill - your muscles will fatigue very quickly grinding up in too high a gear.

    We all had to start somewhere and remember walking is exercise too, you have accomplished your start!

    (I've no idea what your "tracker" is.)

    Thanks!
    My tracker is the fitness tracker on this app my time and exercise. Well since I did both walking and biking I'm not sure what to log it as

    MyFitnessPal cycling estimates are I'm afraid totally hopeless.
    Would suggest downloading Strava free app to your phone instead.

    Don't worry that you walked a hill - soon you will be flying up them. :smiley:

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    Options
    moonangel12 wrote: »
    Gears make a big difference! I have 3 direct comparisons on the same bike. Late 2019 I dusted off my old bike and started some shorter rides. It was WAY overdue for a tune up so things were out of whack enough that I couldn’t properly shift to all of my available gears. Hills were brutal! I took it for a tune up and found the wider range of gears made the ride much more doable. They were grip shifters though, and it was taking a toll on my hands and wrists to keep going back and forth so I shifted as little as necessary. I could manage, but it still was more difficult than it needed to be. A few weeks ago I was going to splurge on a new bike, only to find COVID throwing a wrench in those plans - no inventory. So instead I took my bike to a local shop and he gave it a face lift - including trigger shifters! )And new, narrower, higher pressure tires.) The combination of those two things was a game changer! Normally it’s work to get my 12 mile ride in under an hour... I had to push myself pretty hard. This last time? I lollygagged around and still shaved minutes off my time! Whoop whoop!

    Hills take time - I like the idea of doing doable hill repeats.

    In terms of logging, maybe try and make a mental note of time walking? But walking uphill is still >0 calorie burn so it might level
    out in the end? Or you can just log something like 75% of the calories?

    Pfffft. Should have got mind control shifters. :wink: :smile:

    https://www.wired.com/2011/07/toyotas-prius-bike-with-thought-controlled-gear-shifters/
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    Options
    heather9986hg wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Are you using your gears? That's the number one thing for new riders. Your lower gears make hills so much easier.

    Hill repeats are an investment, you do some difficult work up front and reap the benefit of easier climbing soon. It's really amazing how quickly. Find a hill that's challenging but doable, and do laps. Not more than twice a week.

    Thanks!
    There are two doable but good ones on my ride. So just repeat them to get better? But not more than twice a week? I was going to try to ride once or twice a week depending on weather.
    Oh and I have gears but your right I'm not using them. I hope they work. This is a bike I found at a yard sale for $2.00 ( I'm cheap)
    I'll have to try the gears

    Hill repeats is a type of interval workout, like HIIT. At this stage you don't want to do this at full intensity, go at a pace that's challenging and slightly uncomfortable, but not full gas. Even still, it will fatigue you and doing it too often is counterproductive.

    You can ride routes with hills as often as you like. Take them slower which will be easier, and use as low a gear as is appropriate.

    If a hill is too steep, and traffic allows, ride back and forth as you go up - like switchbacks.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,249 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Are you using your gears? That's the number one thing for new riders. Your lower gears make hills so much easier.

    Hill repeats are an investment, you do some difficult work up front and reap the benefit of easier climbing soon. It's really amazing how quickly. Find a hill that's challenging but doable, and do laps. Not more than twice a week.

    That was my question too. I see way too many cyclists grinding out their rides rather than trying to stick with an easier, faster cadence.

  • pridesabtch
    pridesabtch Posts: 2,317 Member
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    Even if I walk a hill or part of a hill, I still log the whole thing as cycling. That being said, MPF is crazy inaccurate with cycling calories. You'll have to experiment with what percentage you can eat back since you don't have a separate tracker.

    I don't know your stats, but here is what I had the other day on a ride that was challenging for me (I walked a hill). I averaged about 13 mph. I'm 5'1 and my Garmin was set at 130 lb (oops, need to update that). Ride time:1:18, Calories burned: 539. Worked out to 7 cal/min for me...

    Obviously this isn't perfect, but it can give you some idea of a reasonable burn. If you are heavier than 130, you may burn at a higher rate assuming the exertion is similar. If you are lighter you will likely burn a little less.

    Best of luck.

    Hill repeats are the bomb!
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    I would log light biking then deduct some of the time spent walking if it was a lot.

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