Stupid question for Cyclists...

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iKapuniai
iKapuniai Posts: 594 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I finally bought my hybrid bike yesterday and I LOVE IT! I'd like to start using it to commute to/from work, and also just cruising around town to get some exercise... eventually, as I lose weight (got 100+ to lose) I'd like to get more serious about biking and do some marathons or something... but for now, only 2-4 miles at a time lol

My stupid question is, how do you keep track of your miles/distance? I guess if I know exactly where I'm going, I could use mapquest to find out how many miles from point A to point B, but I doubt that'll be the case each and every time.

What do you guys do to keep track?

Thanks in advance.
Love and Alohas,
Ihilani Kapuniai

Replies

  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
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    You got your bike! THAT'S AWESOME!

    If you have an Android, use the Endomondo app to log. Or invest in a bicycle computer, like 20 bucks at Target.
  • RedWeb
    RedWeb Posts: 108 Member
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    I'm a runner but moving is moving. I use RunKeeper which is one of many FREE GPS based smartphone apps (with associated website). There are others.
  • johnsummerton
    johnsummerton Posts: 86 Member
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    I use runtastic a free app
  • trinitrate
    trinitrate Posts: 219 Member
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    If you have a smart phone, there are great apps out there that will track your speed, pace, distance and calorie burn;.. My favorite is Endomondo.

    Alt, you can use a cheap (or expensive) trip computer which uses a small magnet and sensor on your wheel to track yoru speed / distance. Very simple ones can be as cheap as $15 or you can get fancy units like some of the Garmin ones that can cost several hundred.
  • RedWeb
    RedWeb Posts: 108 Member
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    If you have a smart phone, there are great apps out there that will track your speed, pace, distance and calorie burn;.. My favorite is Endomondo.

    Think for accurate calorie burn you need an HRM. These apps do their best based on averages but you need the heart rate to get the proper result.
  • iKapuniai
    iKapuniai Posts: 594 Member
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    Awesome! Thank you all very much!! :):)
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    I use Strava on my smart phone.
  • ftnslvr
    ftnslvr Posts: 3 Member
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    Strava is excellent. Just be careful to make sure you either 1) don't list your "home" as the starting point, or 2) don't mention what kind of bike you have or any other personal information. There have been instances where people list the expensive bike they ride and then where they live. Not common, but just be wary.
  • Steffi330
    Steffi330 Posts: 110 Member
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    I love the bike computer my Schwinn
  • trinitrate
    trinitrate Posts: 219 Member
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    If you have a smart phone, there are great apps out there that will track your speed, pace, distance and calorie burn;.. My favorite is Endomondo.

    Think for accurate calorie burn you need an HRM. These apps do their best based on averages but you need the heart rate to get the proper result.

    Yes, the most accurate calorie counts will be with a HRM, but the estimates are still a good starting point... probably a little better than the entries you get out of MFP by default.

    I also have a Polar HRM that uses bluetooth to integrate with Endomondo. It overlays the HR on top of your speed and trip graphs and works pretty well. Unfortunately, my biggest knock with Endomondo, when you have HRM info they don't utilize that for calorie estimates, they still use the generic estimates that dont have HRM info...
  • JamCubeChi
    JamCubeChi Posts: 378 Member
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    Bumping to check out replies later.

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