Correlating Gym Bike Miles/Effort to Real World Miles/Effort

ok, thanks, thought so. hard to quantify those variables. just came in from a ride, getting used to a bike again, gradually, after about 25 years. snuck it in - snow forecast for tonight and tomorrow, might not even make it to the gym, let alone riding on the street (for a couple days). we live about 4 miles from the beach, about 6 from a beach national park (sandy hook gateway national seashore) that has some bike trails. my goals include summer proficiency to ride on over a couple of days/wk. it may not seem like much, but i have my issues to work around. getting older is the worse part of getting older, lol.

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - I had a computer crash, and it's taken a few days to get it sorted. Well, as much as I can, so far. Some of the software re-installs and recovery are a work in progress. Thankfully, I have a lot of my content replicated in various cloud stores, although I've lost a ton of bookmarks and incidental notes and things.

Summing:

1. Agree with all comments that indoor training is useful and synergetic with the real world, although different, for all the environmental/physical factors mentioned. Since I'm (so far) using a recumbent stationary cycle (not the upright spin-class cycles) there's that, too. Although I've been working through the computer crash recovery, I haven't let the days go by without either the gym or riding outdoors especially with the warm days we've had this week (4 outdoor rides this week). Miles in the saddle is best, hours in the gym helps. And on the bike, I'm of course transporting my own body and the bike, versus being all relaxed in the recumbent. I'm so far using essentially flat level effort in "bike mode" for the gym (to build a basic fitness level), ratcheting up as time goes by (actually, bi-level: 5 min lower resistance warmup followed by the main workout at a higher level). As the weeks progress, I'm going to add in more "variables" on the gym bike. @_mr_b and others, I'm hoping this is a decent, structured training plan. The origin of my original question, "what correlation between gym and realworld?" came from several experienced riders asserting about 40% difference with no science facts to back them up. From my self-assessment, I was thinking it was an even greater difference, or that maybe good, trained athletes get a closer correlation.

2. One thing (esp. for @brendanwhite, @BrianSharpe, @sijomial), I am measuring cadence precisely in the gym. On the bike, I'm making guesses based on short-count intervals. I have cadence/endurance goals for the gym bike for midyear (June 30 targets) that are a stretch from where I am now. I expect the gym will continue helping the real world. Besides my excess weight, I have AFIB (the bane of a lot of older folks), so my training revolves around cardiac conditioning/limits as well. There's an Eliquis commercial I see a lot of an older guy with AFIB riding around somewhere in the Southwest (Sedona, maybe); he's my guiding light, LOL.

3. (@NorthCascades and others) Besides the beach commute-type rides I mentioned, my 2018 goals are gradually expanding my radius from home on the broad variety of trails and destinations available to me in NJ. We have a lot of rail-trails and such. Additional areas where I'll be this year for extensive riding time include Maryland Eastern Shore and Ottawa, Canada. I may be newly retired, but my wife is still working, and she is attending a continuing-ed conference in Clearwater, FL, early this spring. In my new obsession, I mapped out a leisurely drive down for me (she's flying) with stops in destinations such as Jekyll Island, GA, Chincoteague Island, VA and St. Augustine, FL (for bike riding of course), but my forecasts of my road capabilities by then combined with the logistics of hauling the bike down to FL and back have caused me to rethink this part of the plan (I will rent while in FL for some modest riding). It's a pity; the Clearwater/Tampa area has tons of good paths and trails to explore, and a rental beach cruiser won't cut it.

Overall, I'm expecting about 75% paved trails/paths/<sub>urban, 20% crushed stone/stonedust, 5% dirt/gravel in my travels. I got a bike to fit this profile now and be open to more gravel riding later (see below background tale for details). This is a change for me; when younger, I rode a classic touring bike (picture below). I've included a photo of one local multi-use trail adjacent to the Bay; in this section it's mostly crushed stone, but runs about 22 miles total, mostly paved.

Right now, for early in the year, I'm focusing on primarily evaluating nearby trails for their potential training benefits (level or nearly so, paved [at least until I can turn on my outside faucets in the Spring and I can wash grit off the bike], etc. - less a "destination," more a workout.

4. We bent the Christmas budget a bit with the bike (see below) so I'm "making do" with my cellphone doubling as a bike computer. I've been trying a few apps, and am settling on "Ride With GPS (Android)" as something I like. It has all the basic stats, GPS tracking and other management tools, including a neat integration website. Being an old guy, I remember when a basic computer on the handlebars was high tech, LOL, so there's a lot to learn/evaluate in this area. There'll be time to get a proper computer. The phone isn't a good long-term solution due to battery issues. "Map My Ride" ties in with MFP. Strava is also something I'm looking at for potential, but I'm not so competitive.

5. @sijomial, @NorthCascades - the aerogel concept is interesting (sorry to hear about the Reynaud's). I wasn't always just an IT guy; when younger I also taught scuba nights and weekends. In those days, 90% of diving was wetsuit, not drysuit, so we used a cream for cold-water resistance on our feet and hands. This sort of stuff is still sold ("udder cream" or "bag balm"). It worked for us then (we had an 11-month season in NJ). I think old-time skiers also used this type of stuff. This is *NOT* an "embrocation cream" which I didn't know was a "thing" and sounds a bit like spreading napalm on your tender spots, although some bike racers do it (I'm not suggesting it either). I've also gotten some sketchy advice from serious cyclists, such as alum foil under the insole inserts of your shoes as a body heat reflector, or wrapping your feet in plastic grocery bags inside your shoes; I have no idea of these working or what.

6. @sijomial - cleats? I've already bought flat, mountain-grade pedals (the kind with little spikes to hold your soles) and matching shoes; in the old days, I rode the touring bike with pedal clips (now considered, rightly, dangerous) and stiff sole road-touring sneakers. Cycling shorts - I have a good pair (AeroTechDesigns.com for big/tall folk), and there's a story to go with them below.

7. @NorthCascades - Yes, I have fixed flats. As a big guy on a touring bike years ago, I used to get flats. I finally got the then-exotic kevlar tires and my problems went away. With the new bike, I've got what I hope are appropriate tires. Since I've also not changed a flat in years, I'm scouting for roadside repair/maint type classes to sharpen me up. My county park system has them in the spring, and REI in my area has a couple in springtime as well. Plus, all the tech is new since I last rode, so classes are good (as well as youtube).

Again, thanks, all. I "liked" all of your responses earlier to say it.

* * * * *

Now for a personal tale of this journey to a near-obsession with cycling. Skip if you want.

As you've probably surmised, I used to ride a bit. But then life intervened, adversity and choices made me twice the man I used to be, and I got to the here and now less than great shape. I'm 50+ lbs. down from my max, with about another 50 to go, and seem to be stuck at this level unless I step up the metabolism with some exercise. Calorie control isn't moving the needle any. I'm hoping cycling is the key.

I'd been moving towards getting back into shape with my pending retirement. This past summer, I got further inspired by supporting my daughter for a local women's mini-triathalon for charity. Without being sexist or judgemental, many of the participants were not "obvious" triathletes, and I realized I could/should get a move on myself. I took my old touring bike (picture below) down off the hooks in the garage, and cleaned it up preparatory to a full overhaul at the bike shop. When I saw the tires were holding air quite nicely, I thought I'd take it for a spin around the block. All was fine right up until I crashed. My modern, longish, khaki cargo shorts got hung on the horn of the saddle and I dropped like a sack of rocks. Took the entire fall on my knee. Funny thing - I had a pair of proper cycling shorts on order from Amazon; had I waited another day, maybe none of this injury - or new bike purchase - would have happened.

OK, nothing was broken, except my pride, and of course my knee was a bloody, mangled mess. I cleaned it up, dressed it, and thought I was all done except recovery. Wrong. Massive infection followed with potential other effects. Antibiotics were prescribed, and then the real problem began - I had a reaction to the antibiotic, a med which I had had numerous times before (this reaction is not unknown, but is not common). This caused "coelestatic jaundice" - my liver and gall bladder were fouled up. I turned as yellow as Homer Simpson, lost all energy, 30 lbs in 6 weeks, and surprisingly, a lot of my thinking capacity (temporarily). It took weeks to discern the cause (there's no test for the problem, can only rule out the more nasty potential things such as cancer, stones, etc., until my problem was the obvious choice left). Six weeks after that, the 30 lbs were back on (without mass eating - a disoriented liver effect), I had improving energy, and we were heading into the holiday season. Oh, and the leg wounds healed over time.

As I healed, with leg elevated and flat on my back due to the illness, I became a youtube cycling videos fanatic. My resurgent interest in cycling became near-obsession, yet I was also plagued by thoughts (fears) from the crash and concerns over age and fitness - that my bike days were over. My wife and I realized the days of the touring bike were probably over in any case, and something more age-appropriate - a hybrid, upright bars, maybe even with a step-through frame - might be called for. Over several visits to the bike shop, and lots of research we settled on a trail-oriented, "hardtail" mountain bike with a couple of mods. Trek X-Caliber 9, 2018 model, with 29x2.35 most-surfaces tires (see picture below, esp. for you, @NorthCascades).

So now I ride. For health, for life. Both in the gym and on the road. I'm going in for my post-sale 30-day adjustments this week with some good miles to reference. Looking forward to a good year.</sub>