I haven’t been logging my rides on the web site this season. The primary reason is that I met my weight loss goal last season and have kept the weight off. I’m about 25 pounds lighter than I was at the start of the 2024 season (from 178 pounds to 153 pounds).
Another reason is that I started the season late in terms of riding as many days as possible. I didn’t ride much in May.
I also just don’t need the extra motivation, and some of my rides are mostly leisure rides. Some with my mom, some with my friend Andy, many alone. Cycling has always been fun to me, and after losing 25 pounds, I don’t really have goals beyond the big psychological benefits of cycling. Getting outside, getting the heart pumping, getting endorphins (which has helped my sleep tremendously). I’m also paying attention to different metrics than I did last year, mainly time in heart rate zones 2 and 3. I don’t really set goals against these metrics, but they’re useful for identifying leisure rides versus workout rides and making sure I’m completing a reasonable number of workout rides each week.
And finally, but maybe most importantly, the gamification stuff in the Apple Fitness app provides enough motivation to push me a bit at times. As an example, today I logged 31.25 miles, all in ECO 1 (lowest pedal assist) on my 90 pound e-bike, burning 1,423 calories in the process. But it was split across 2 rides, the first being 24.65 miles. After seeing the data, I realized I could beat my daily move calories record and my daily exercise record with about 5 more miles, so off I went for another 6.6 miles (a ride to the local dairy farm for skim milk, with an extra hill climb tacked on). All in the name of getting 2 new awards in Apple Fitness: a New Move Record (for the calories) and a New Exercise Record (151 minutes).
Two years ago, I would have said that the gamification in Apple Fitness would not work on me. I was wrong. I knew this last season; even without using much data from Apple Fitness, I had done my own gamification by setting mileage and calorie goals and then going after them. But this year I’ve gone a little easier on myself in terms of mileage goals, and just used the Fitness awards as occasional extra motivation.
As of July 26, my e-bike odometer is at 2,039.1 miles. That accounts for last season and this season so far. I will not match last season’s mileage during this season (due largely to getting started much later). I feel a little bit disappointed, but really my goals have changed. I’m not looking to lose more weight, and my goal is more about maintenance, heart strength, endorphins and enjoying my rides.