Why do folk in the UK refer to distance covered in kms

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  • butcher of bakersfield
    butcher of bakersfield Posts: 1,233
    I keep trying to get my head around KMs and I can't. The reason I try is because any bicycle literature I read measures distances in KMs. Organised events often list distances in KMs. If you do a lot of cycling and have an interest in the culture, it's difficult to get escape it. I know that 62 miles is 100 kilometres, but if someone said to me 'I cycled 247KMs today' , my brain has no idea of what that actually means. Only that it's quite a long way. Whereas if you gave me the distance in miles I could give you an estimate of how long it would take to drive, cycle or walk, depending on your favoured method of transport because that's what I've been measuring with since about the age of 3.
  • southdownswolf
    southdownswolf Posts: 1,525
    Anything I do on the road is measured in miles, mph, gallons etc. If I play golf, I measure in yards, feet and inches. I drink pints in a pub, although I buy either 440ml or 500ml cans in the shop. However measurements at work tend to be in m, cm, mm as Europeans wouldn't have a clue if I used y, ft, in.
    I can quite easily convert distances into miles from km so when watching pro races it makes more sense for me to convert into something meaningful....
    http://www.stuartmole.co.uk/
  • SpainSte
    SpainSte Posts: 181
    I'm English, live in Spain and my other half is French.


    I still have my Garmin set to mph and still refer to the distances I've done in miles although KM is the standard here. Does cause some confusion - got back from my ride on saturday and the Missus asks how far I went, "33 miles" I said, to be greeted with a look of confusion so I have to clarify - just over 50km.

    I think it comes from being so used to miles etc. If someone says to me that the speed limit is 100kph I still think 62mph and I have to work it out in my head when it comes to other distances etc. I've got used to knowing how fast 30 or 40 mph is and how far 20 or 30 miles is but I have no idea how fast 75kph feels or how far exactly 35km is.
  • stelfc2005
    stelfc2005 Posts: 22
    it is miles and always will be in my book .

    the day i buy a 0.568261 of beer is the day i quote distance in km's ;)
  • overlord2
    overlord2 Posts: 339
    Horizontal in feet, vertical in metres. The way it should be.
  • ChrisSA
    ChrisSA Posts: 455
    It's a bit like aviation. Aircraft and wind velocities are in kts. Visibility in km, cloud base and altitude in ft. Separation in metres.

    I used to ride & run miles, but found km pacing better for running. Moved the bike over to km for parity. And as a pedantic engineer, I must point out it is km, not KM or kM or Km.
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  • ricey155
    ricey155 Posts: 233
    Miles thanks its the UK

    KMS if your a road hero Endomondo always shares with FB in KMS useless :mrgreen:
  • meesterbond
    meesterbond Posts: 1,240
    Km here... switched when I was running more and doing duathlons and now it's just more natural - I don't feel like I have to convert everything back into miles as I used to.

    It's only a measurement unit, don't know why people get so wound up about it.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    meesterbond wrote:
    It's only a measurement unit, don't know why people get so wound up about it.
    ONLY a measurement unit?? :wink:

    Here's one example of why non-standard units are something we should all be ashamed of as a species with pretentions towards a global culture:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter
  • keith57
    keith57 Posts: 164
    Been using KM's since I started riding, all the TV coverage of pro biking quotes stages in KM, so it's handy to compare!

    Also, some of the other activities I do, e.g. hillwalking and sea kayaking, all the maps have KM squares on them so it's the only practical way to work with distances for navigation.
    http://www.fachwen.org
    https://www.strava.com/athletes/303457

    Please note: I’ll no longer engage deeply with anonymous forum users :D
  • NUFCrichard
    NUFCrichard Posts: 103
    I have switched to km now. If there is a climb that rises 400m over 5km it is fairly obvious how steep it is on average, whereas 400m over 3 miles isn't so easy to work out.
    I guess you could use feet for climbing but that wouldn't be too helpful either. 1300ft over 3 miles = ? remember the answer shouldn't be in % as that is metric!
  • farrina
    farrina Posts: 360
    Bozman wrote:
    Is there an unwritten rule that all distance covered on a bike must be refered to in Kms? Or do people use kms because it makes them feel like they've covered more distance....."I did my first 100k today", no you did 62 miles.

    Showing my age no doubt but Audax's (the precursor to "Sportives" sort off) have always been specified in km thus 100/200/300/400/600/1000 no doubt reflecting their continental roots.

    Regards

    Alan
    Regards
    Alan
  • farrina
    farrina Posts: 360
    ChrisSA wrote:
    It's a bit like aviation. Aircraft and wind velocities are in kts. Visibility in km, cloud base and altitude in ft. Separation in metres.

    I used to ride & run miles, but found km pacing better for running. Moved the bike over to km for parity. And as a pedantic engineer, I must point out it is km, not KM or kM or Km.

    My favourite is carpets that are sold by the metre but can only be purchased in 14 or 16 ft widths reflecting the age of the looms. :D
    Regards
    Alan
  • McBoom
    McBoom Posts: 78
    I ride pints and drink kilometres.
  • the playing mantis
    the playing mantis Posts: 2,129
    both. but really we should follow what the greatest nation on earth does in full.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    the playing mantis wrote:
    both. but really we should follow what the greatest nation on earth does in full.
    Finland's completely metric. That settles it then!
  • the playing mantis
    the playing mantis Posts: 2,129
    true it is the home of the great carl jenkinson, but i think the states shades it in my yankophile stupid opinion!
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    Given that the U.S. is founded on democracy, another way of looking at it might be that even if it was the greatest nation on earth it should follow the majority vote of the the rest of the world and go metric... :wink:
  • chilling
    chilling Posts: 267
    I've always thought of it as a trade off. Use metric and your ride sounds longer but not as hilly and vice versa.

    Personally I do rides of x Kim's and x feet of climbing for the full hardcore stats.

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