Poll - Do your trainer miles count

dhungerf

I think they should, My buddy says that they don't and real pros and riders do not count them. I think a trainer is harder because there is no coasting.

I count them

sungod

coasting == not pedalling, which can be done on a trainer

no headwind, no rain, no potholes, no inattentive/hostile people trying to kill you, etc. etc., they're not real miles

First.Aspect

No. Its fitness training, but not cycling.

Rigga

If it goes on strava then they count

cougie

I count them as sessions or hours but not miles.

Senninha

If you think they count, then they count. In my opinion cycling pays WAY too much attention to 'rules' created by others. Their rides, their rules - my rides, my rules.

Trainer miles have no coasting, can simulate headwinds with higher resistance, hills, have people around (if you use Zwift). For sure I personally don't enjoy them as much as a great ride outside, but I do enjoy them much more than a miserable ride outside in the rain or snow, and an hour of cleaning my bike afterwards! :-)

Just ride, and each enjoy as they like.

StillGoing

So 20 miles bimbling along on the flat with no wind does count, but a CP20 test on the turbo doesn't? How about pyramids on the turbo or interactive sessions v recovery rides or base miles? I say they count.

pblakeney

If you have a calibrated resistance, then absolutely!
If you have a low resistance then you are only lying to yourself.

fat daddy

the hours I have put in on Zwift since I got it have noticeable improved my road riding fitnessa a far greater rate than my road riding was improving my road riding fitness

a massive increase in PBs on strava, far better recovery time and mostly the mental conditioning that my body can keep pedalling hard as it goes over a hill rather than easinig off and coasting down the other side.

trainer miles count to me ... the difference between doing 30miles a week commuting and 124miles a week commuting + zwifting is physical so why shouldn't I log it ???

and ultimately .. when I am on Zwift its a full on hard session with others at my limit ... that counts way more than freewheeling down a hill whilst chatting to your mates on a sunday bimble to the pub and back

imposter2.0

cougie wrote:

I count them as sessions or hours but not miles.

This ^^

Hours count - miles are irrelevant - whether on road or turbo.

fat daddy

PBlakeney wrote:

If you have a calibrated resistance, then absolutely!
If you have a low resistance then you are only lying to yourself.

in someways though, the same could be applied to real cycling .... if you go out for a sunday stroll on the bike, don't pedal down hills, don't put the effort in on the flats, use your lowest gear and cycle up the hill at a pace where you can comfortably chat ... then have an hours lunch in the middle of the ride ... should that really count as its only a social, its not a "proper" ride ?

personally, you should log and count what matters to you .... anytime spent moving my legs around in circles counts to me ... even if it was uncalibrated, if you are spinning at 90rpm, and your heartbeat is up its all conditioning

pblakeney

Imposter wrote:

cougie wrote:

I count them as sessions or hours but not miles.

This ^^

Hours count - miles are irrelevant - whether on road or turbo.

Including 3 hours bimbling at 12mph chatting on the way for cake as I have done recently? One hour on the turbo is better training, if less enjoyable.

imposter2.0

PBlakeney wrote:

Imposter wrote:

cougie wrote:

I count them as sessions or hours but not miles.

This ^^

Hours count - miles are irrelevant - whether on road or turbo.

Including 3 hours bimbling at 12mph chatting on the way for cake as I have done recently? One hour on the turbo is better training, if less enjoyable.

Depends on your schedule. A three hour bimble could be perfectly acceptable if you have done a hard race the day before, so why not? And if you have done a hard race the day before, you wouldn't want to be knocking out a one hour turbo session at intensity the day after.

kingstongraham

My turbo stays in the same place, so no miles to count. To be honest, that place has been folded up in the loft for the past couple of years so that's another reason.

markhewitt1978

Miles are irrelevant, both inside and out. Training stress score is the only thing that 'counts'.

supermurph09

As a previously heavy user of the turbo I forgot about counting miles and looked at hours instead. Even then it's something I rarely look at, the TSS and CTL are better measures imo.

ugo.santalucia

dhungerf wrote:

I count them

Count for what? There are no rules about cycle mileage, no tax to pay on pedalling, no prizes to be won by pedalling more, no shame in pedalling less... warranties do not rely on mileage either... I am not sure what you are counting them for

fat daddy

also all miles are different.

10% miles are hard ..... -10% miles are easy .... bumpy miles wear you out more than smooth ones, miles that you sprint on hurt your quads, miles that you sit on the hoods and talk about cake are the nicest.

but ... the overall factor ..... arnt we meant to count in Kilometers ?

MiddleRinger

fat daddy wrote:

.... if you go out for a sunday stroll on the bike, don't pedal down hills, don't put the effort in on the flats, use your lowest gear and cycle up the hill at a pace where you can comfortably chat ... then have an hours lunch in the middle of the ride ... should that really count as its only a social, its not a "proper" ride ?

Well that sounds like a proper good ride to me! Haha!

fat daddy

MiddleRinger wrote:

Well that sounds like a proper good ride to me! Haha!

I must admit a few years ago before I had kids and did a lot more real cycling, this was my approach and this level of riding I made significant gains .... albeit around my waist line

didn't count the miles back then though .. more the pints at lunch time

napoleond

I don't count miles. I count TSS.

markhewitt1978

NapoleonD wrote:

I don't count miles. I count TSS.

As I said . Obviously we know the miles from when we were riding but the TSS, or rather the Strava training load is the first thing I look at after I'm finished my ride.

It's great because it means you've got nowhere to hide by picking a flat route or one with favourable winds etc.

topcattim

As said earlier, it depends what you mean by count. They count as time spent training. They count as time on the bike that is likely to improve your next race. They don't count as time on the road.
My club has (amongst the many other much more meaningful competitions) a Strava miles/month competition. A clubmate of mine is currently way up the leaderboard, even though he's injured and only able to ride a Zwift trainer at the moment. Does that matter? Depends what you mean by "matter" ;-)

First.Aspect

How do I count my time on the rowing machine and on the water in cycling miles?

I reckon multiply by 3.14.

topcattim

First Aspect wrote:

How do I count my time on the rowing machine and on the water in cycling miles?

I reckon multiply by 3.14.

Only if you're rowing in circles

mrfpb

Sorry. But people pedal downhill? Are you daft!

fat daddy

Strava segments go downhill as well as up

pblakeney

Imposter wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

Imposter wrote:

cougie wrote:

I count them as sessions or hours but not miles.

This ^^

Hours count - miles are irrelevant - whether on road or turbo.

Including 3 hours bimbling at 12mph chatting on the way for cake as I have done recently? One hour on the turbo is better training, if less enjoyable.

Depends on your schedule. A three hour bimble could be perfectly acceptable if you have done a hard race the day before, so why not? And if you have done a hard race the day before, you wouldn't want to be knocking out a one hour turbo session at intensity the day after.

Personal opinion based on personal experience.
I don't race. Ever. And I expect most on Road Geneal are similar.

mrfpb

fat daddy wrote:

Strava segments go downhill as well as up

The only place where KOM is awarded for downhill rides!

imposter2.0

mrfpb wrote:

fat daddy wrote:

Strava segments go downhill as well as up

The only place where KOM is awarded for downhill rides!

And flat rides...

ugo.santalucia

First Aspect wrote:

How do I count my time on the rowing machine and on the water in cycling miles?

I reckon multiply by 3.14.

If you do a loop, you can measure the distance between the furthest points on a map, multiply by pi and you get the distance you cycled, pretty accurately many times