{"id":310702,"date":"2025-11-27T17:57:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/310702\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T17:57:05","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:57:05","slug":"the-key-cycling-metrics-that-will-transform-your-rides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/310702\/","title":{"rendered":"The Key Cycling Metrics That Will Transform Your Rides"},"content":{"rendered":"

My favorite metric has always been feel. I trained for two Ironman<\/a>, including World Championships in Kona and entire mountain bike<\/a> stage races like Cape Epic and Brasil Ride tracking nothing but time, distance, speed, and how I felt. I\u2019d trained enough with heart rate<\/a> and power<\/a> to know how they worked, but I always reverted to feel.<\/p>\n

That said, there have certainly been races where I\u2019ve blown up\u2014where the implosion probably could have been prevented had I been watching my watts. And the times I did spend training with power, there\u2019s little question my sessions were more precise and likely more productive. It can be easier to stay on track with training<\/a> when you have measurable goals and quantifiable sessions.<\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

Today, I strike a compromise between luddite and tech-geek, tracking my resting heart rate and heart rate variability with an Oura ring<\/a>, and recording heart rate<\/a> for most rides so I can keep an eye on how fatigued<\/a> and\/or fresh I am.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, I think that\u2019s the best process when it comes to using data. Start with the basics, then add on as you get more experience. Most riders end up settling on a handful of metrics they rely on most. <\/p>\n

Here, a primer to get you started tracking your cycling metrics.
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10 Cycling Metrics That Can Help You Improve Performance<\/p>\n

Obviously, tracking cycling metrics generally means you need a device to capture that data. Most of the metrics, such as speed, distance, time, and elevation<\/a>, mentioned here can be captured with a GPS-enabled bike computer<\/a> like a Garmin, Wahoo, Lezyne, or Hammerhead. The deeper you want to dive into the data, the more sensors you need.
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1. Speed \/ Average Speed<\/p>\n

Great for: The satisfaction of seeing your pace pick up
Equipment needed: Any basic bike computer<\/a><\/p>\n

Your miles per hour (or kilometers per hour, depending on where you live) is a fun metric to track, and it can tell you broadly high much fitter you\u2019re getting. The catch: It\u2019s not very reliable to use in training<\/a> because so many factors influence it. For example, you may be cranking out World Pro-level wattage but if you\u2019re doing so into a 30-mph block headwind, you\u2019re not going to be setting any land speed records. <\/p>\n

Your average speed<\/a> is best used as an indicator of how your training is going overtime: If you are now consistently averaging 16+ mph on a loop that you used to average 15+ mph, you can see you\u2019re getting fitter and faster<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

You can track your average time with and without your stopping time factored into the pace. Most people don\u2019t factor stoppage (or \u201ccaf\u00e9 time\u201d) in because they want to see moving time only. But if you\u2019re training for a big event like a gravel race, it\u2019s important to know your average speed including that stoppage time, because races often set cut offs based on a 10-mph pace, which includes rest stops. Once you see how long those \u201cshort breaks\u201d really are, you can learn to keep them quick and avoid missing time cuts. You\u2019ll also know how fast you need to ride to allow yourself the stoppage time you plan to take.<\/p>\n

2. Distance<\/p>\n

Great for: Watching your endurance increase
Equipment needed: Any basic bike computer<\/p>\n

We all like to see how far we\u2019ve gone, especially on a big ride. Distance<\/a> can be a motivational metric to track. If you\u2019re averaging 50 to 80 miles a week, can you make it 100? Can you set an annual goal of hitting 5,000 miles or more? When tracking distance, it\u2019s important to take into consideration what type of riding<\/a> you do. Riding 60 miles on flat roads is very different from 60 miles of singletrack<\/a>. One might take three to four hours while the other takes the better part of a day. <\/p>\n

Distance is also important to track if you\u2019re training for a ride of a specific distance. If you want to ride a century<\/a> in the fall, you\u2019ll want to work up to it by hitting 50-mile and 75-mile rides as the event approaches. <\/p>\n

Related Story3. Time<\/p>\n

Great for: Learning pacing for events
Equipment needed: Any watch<\/a> will do, but a bike computer can automatically track moving time and stoppage time<\/p>\n

Most cyclists train by time because that\u2019s our most finite resource. How much time you have each week to ride determines how to best use that time if your goal is to improve performance. Riders with a tight time budget<\/a> are best served doing polarized training that emphasizes short, hard interval workouts<\/a> during the week and longer rides as time permits on the weekend.
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4. Elevation<\/p>\n

Great for: Bragging rights and building strength<\/a> (hills make you stronger!)
Equipment needed: A GPS enabled bike computer<\/p>\n

Elevation gain in cycling is the total amount of feet (or meters) you climb over the course of a ride. Climbing is good training<\/a>, because your body must work harder in the effort to overcome the pull of gravity. If you\u2019re the kind of rider who routinely avoids inclines, setting climbing goals<\/a> and tracking elevation can give your cycling fitness<\/a> a boost. If your goal is to focus on elevations, start by aiming to hit an average of 500 feet per 10 miles. Work up to what some climbing lovers call the \u201cgolden ratio\u201d of 1,000 feet of vertical gain per 10 miles of riding.
<\/p>\n

Related Story5. Calories<\/p>\n

Great for: Fine-tuning your fueling<\/a>
Equipment needed: Apps like Strava will estimate your calorie burn, but for more accurate data, use a heart rate monitor and\/or power meter<\/p>\n

A calorie is a unit of energy provided by food. The calorie metric<\/a> provided on your cycling computer or smartwatch is how many of those units you used to complete your ride. But calorie calculations are an imperfect science. <\/p>\n

Some devices will provide estimates based on algorithms, which are just that\u2014estimates. Past research has shown that devices can have a wide margin of error: A Stanford study published in 2017<\/a> reported that not one of the seven devices they tested\u2014including the Apple Watch, Fitbit Surge, Mio Alpha 2, Basis Peak, Microsoft Band, PulseOn, and the Samsung Gear S2\u2014delivered an accurate number for calories burned. The most accurate one, the Apple Watch, was off by 27 percent. The least accurate one? Off by 93 percent. <\/p>\n

A more recent meta-analysis<\/a> published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine echoed these findings, indicating that though devices that measure your heart rate along with your movement are more accurate, they all have a pretty significant margin of error.
<\/p>\n

Apps like GarminConnect, Strava, and other training apps might be a bit better, but they\u2019re not perfect, either, and the number they give you depends heavily on the information you give the app. The more detailed data you input about yourself, such as age, height, weight, gender, and max heart rate<\/a>, the more accurately their internal algorithms can calculate your calorie burn. Wearing a chest-based heart rate monitor<\/a> that is synced to your device also helps make your calorie count more accurate.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the best way to know how many calories you burn on a ride is by using a power meter<\/a>. Power meters measure the work you\u2019re performing and display it in kilojoules, which is a unit of work that takes into account that the human body isn\u2019t 100-percent efficient when turning energy from your fuel stores into physical work, like pedaling a bike.<\/p>\n

\u201cKilojoules and calories burned in cycling convert to a 1:1 ratio,\u201d explains USA Cycling elite coach Daniel Matheny, head coach at Matheny Endurance<\/a> in Colorado Springs. If your ride file says you performed 800 kJ of work, you can feel confident within a 5-percent margin of error that you burned about 800 calories.<\/p>\n

Tracking calories is useful for helping you fuel for rides. Some riders underestimate the number of calories they\u2019ll burn on a three-hour group ride and end up falling off the back on the verge of bonking three quarters of the way through. Properly fueled riders ride faster and happier. <\/p>\n

Just note that the goal is not to replace every calorie you\u2019re burning as you ride. Your gut can\u2019t take that. \u201cReplace about half the calories you\u2019re burning per hour for rides lasting longer than three or four hours to keep fuel levels topped off,\u201d says sports physiologist and SkratchLabs founder Allen Lim, Ph.D.<\/p>\n

You may also notice that the fitter you become, the fewer calories you burn on a given ride at a given pace. That\u2019s because your body has become more efficient at using oxygen.
<\/p>\n

Related Story6. Cadence<\/p>\n

Great for: Training leg strength<\/a> and speed; watching fitness improve for new riders
Equipment needed: A cycling computer and cadence sensor<\/p>\n

Cadence<\/a> is the number of revolutions you spin per minute as you pedal. If you have a cadence sensor you can watch your cadence in real time on your bike computer and track your average cadence for each ride. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s debatable how useful it is to track and\/or train cadence. Coaches used to recommend athletes aim to pedal 90 rpm, but research doesn\u2019t really show benefits from forcing yourself to do so. In 2019, a team of British researchers found<\/a> that not only did amateur riders not get any added benefit from high cadence cycling, but they also became less efficient, so they were wasting energy. <\/p>\n

Hunter Allen, CEO of Peaks Coaching Group<\/a>, and author of Training and Racing with a Power Meter<\/a> explains that your cadence will be determined by two things: your main muscle fiber type and your level of cardiovascular cycling fitness<\/a>. The balance of those factors (which, of course, can change over time) determine your ideal cadence.
<\/p>\n

Newer riders tend to pedal more slowly because their cardiovascular system<\/a> can\u2019t handle the higher heart rate that comes with high cadences. As fitness improves, cadence generally rises.
<\/p>\n

While you probably don\u2019t need to track your cadence from ride to ride, if you have a cadence sensor, it can help you do cadence drills, such as low gear\/high cadence and high gear\/low cadence drills that can help build cardiovascular fitness, leg speed<\/a>, and leg strength<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related Story7. Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE)<\/p>\n

Great for: Learning what sustainable (and unsustainable) efforts feel like and tracking fitness improvement
Equipment needed: Your heart, lungs, legs, and brain<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t get any more basic than RPE, your rate of perceived exertion. Put more simply, it’s a measure of how hard you feel like you\u2019re working. On a 1 to 10 scale, 1 is coasting along on a flat road with a tailwind, and 10 is full gas, willing yourself not to vomit.<\/p>\n

You can also think of this as your \u201cbreath analyzer,\u201d because a monitoring your breathing is an easy way to rate your efforts. Your muscles use more oxygen the harder you push, so breathing rate is a direct indication of work. If you\u2019re able to sing and recite poetry, you\u2019re not working very hard. If you\u2019re gasping uncontrollably, you are maxed out. <\/p>\n

Research<\/a> shows RPE works just as well as any scientific equipment for measuring your actual effort at any given time, but it doesn\u2019t tell you much more. For instance, you may be huffing and puffing and battling burning legs, but barely producing any power; or you could be feeling chainless while cranking out major wattage. Though you can train by \u201cfeel\u201d alone, you get a more complete picture of your daily sessions and progress if you pair it with other metrics like heart rate or power.
<\/p>\n

It also takes discipline to train by feel because you have to remain tuned in, and it\u2019s all too easy to slack off when you should be pushing or push too hard on a recovery day. <\/p>\n

Related Story8. Heart Rate<\/p>\n

Great for: Creating specific training zones and tuning into your freshness and\/or fatigue
Equipment needed: A heart rate monitor and compatible bike computer or watch<\/p>\n

As your effort increases, your heart pumps more oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to fuel your muscles. The result: Your heart rate goes up. Monitoring your heart beats per minute (BPM) with a heart rate monitor will tell you just how hard you\u2019re working.<\/p>\n

To use heart rate, you need to first determine your max heart rate<\/a> (MHR)\u2014or the highest number of BPM you can hit. Forget the generic 220 minus your age formula for determining max heart rate and take a field test<\/a> instead:<\/p>\n

Warm up<\/a> thoroughly, then do a 10-minute time trial as hard as possible, kicking it into full throttle for the final 60 seconds, aiming to full on sprint<\/a> the final 20 seconds. Cool down and check your data for MHR. Repeat two more times (with rest days in between) to find your true max. Once you have your max, you can break down various levels of training efforts according to percentages of that number. As you get fitter, you\u2019ll be able to ride faster at lower heart rates.<\/p>\n

Overall, heart rate monitoring is an excellent training tool\u2014but there are a few downsides. For one, it\u2019s a little fickle. Your BPM can drift up or down depending on how much coffee you\u2019ve had (caffeine<\/a> raises it); ambient temperature; your hydration<\/a> status; your plasma volume; how rested you are; and where you are in your menstrual cycle. It can also drift up within the same ride, especially when it\u2019s hot. <\/p>\n

Pairing HR and RPE tracking gives you a more complete picture of your effort. If you\u2019re performing tempo intervals<\/a> at a target heart rate of 150 BPM and your RPE is around 5, you\u2019re on the money. If you\u2019re performing those same intervals but working at an RPE of 8 to hit that same heart rate, that\u2019s a sign that you\u2019re not recovered<\/a> and should do an easier workout. There\u2019s also some lag time between the moment you increase intensity and the moment your heart rate reflects it, so it\u2019s not the best tool for high-intensity efforts<\/a>. <\/p>\n

You can monitor your heart rate with a chest strap or wrist-based<\/a> heart rate monitor via your sports watch. Wrist-based sensors on smartwatches and fitness trackers can be less accurate for cyclists, according to some research. That may be due to the optical sensors having less consistent contact with our wrists as we bend it to grasp our bars.<\/p>\n

Related Story9. Power (Watts)<\/p>\n

Great for: The most accurate measure of your effort
Equipment needed: A power meter and a compatible bike computer<\/p>\n

Power equals work over time. In cycling, your work rate is described as watts of energy produced: Being able to produce a lot of power for your size makes you faster on the bike. Monitoring your watts with a power meter<\/a> gives you instant feedback about how hard you\u2019re working.<\/p>\n

Power training generally revolves around your functional threshold power, or the wattage you can produce for a one-hour time trial, which is a fundamental benchmark for fitness. A common protocol for determining your FTP<\/a> is performing a 20-minute time trial and multiplying that average wattage by 0.95, since your hour-long wattage would be about 5 percent lower, according to Allen. <\/p>\n

The beauty of power is that it is absolute: You are either producing 350 watts on those hill repeats<\/a>, or you\u2019re not. If you\u2019re not hitting your intended watts for a given workout, it\u2019s time to rest.<\/p>\n

Though power is more precise than heart rate, it\u2019s worthwhile to combine the two, as heart rate represents your body\u2019s response to the work you\u2019re doing. Your heart rate should rise and fall in line with your power output. When your power is low and your heart rate is high, it\u2019s recovery time<\/a>. If you\u2019re serious about training to the point that you\u2019ve hired a coach, a power meter is a good investment.<\/p>\n

Related Story10. Heart Rate Variability (HRV)<\/p>\n

Great for: Understanding when you need more recovery time
Equipment needed: An Oura ring, Whoop strap, or specific HRV tracking device<\/p>\n

HRV is a relatively new player in the performance tracking sphere. Unlike heart rate, which you watch in real time, HRV is one that you track once a day, preferably first thing in the morning (or if you wear an Oura ring or Whoop strap, you\u2019ll see your average overnight score). <\/p>\n

HRV is a good indicator of your recovery<\/a> and\/or readiness. It may seem counterintuitive, but a fit, rested, healthy heart should not beat consistently like a metronome. Instead, it should nimbly respond to input from your sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system. <\/p>\n

High variability (reflected in a higher HRV score) shows that you\u2019re ready to go and capable of adapting to your environment and respond to exercise demands to perform well. Low variability between beats can be a sign of stress, fatigue, and inflammation<\/a>\u2014all things that can follow training too hard with too little recovery. <\/p>\n

HRV is specific to each person and naturally declines with age. Though high numbers are considered \u201cbetter,\u201d high is relative to your own baseline. One person\u2019s high HRV might be 125 while another\u2019s high might be 55. <\/p>\n

Referenced regularly, HRV scores will help you track fitness gains. For example, you\u2019ll typically see HRV measurements decrease (become more negative) during long, heavy training blocks. Then you should see a rebound, where your HRV is significantly higher, after a recovery period. An upward trend over time means you\u2019re getting fitter. A downward trend means you\u2019re training too hard and or under too much stress without proper rest and recovery. When using HRV, it\u2019s important not to put too much weight on a single day\u2019s reading, but rather to look at trends and averages over a few days. <\/p>\n

You can buy individual HRV monitors like straps and finger clip sensors, but if you\u2019re going to track HRV, you should also track resting heart rate, sleep<\/a>, and training load<\/a> and\/or activity levels, so you can put it into context. So, a device like a Whoop strap or Oura ring are the way to go, because they automatically put HRV into context of the whole picture. (If you work with a coach, they can as well).<\/p>\n

Do you need to track HRV to become a better rider? Of course not. You can generally tell when you need a rest day<\/a> by feel. But if you routinely train hard and like to dial in your training and lifestyle habits for optimum recovery<\/a> and training readiness, this is a useful metric to use. It can be especially helpful if you\u2019re trying to establish healthy habits like cutting back on alcohol<\/a> and getting more sleep, because those types of lifestyle factors show up quickly in HRV scores.<\/p>\n

Related StoryPutting Your Cycling Metrics Into Practice<\/p>\n

All this measuring and monitoring doesn\u2019t do much good unless you apply it to specific training purposes\u2014that is, training at different effort levels to build specific types of fitness. That\u2019s where training zones come in. Different coaches break down training zones differently, but in general you\u2019ll see effort levels spread out over five to seven zones that range from recovery to max effort. For example, here are five classic training zones:<\/p>\n

Zone 1\/Easy<\/p>\n

You need to ride easy so your body can heal, adapt, and get stronger and fitter. Zone 1 rides should feel ridiculously easy. Your only goal is to boost your circulation and promote repair and recovery. These rides hover at one or two on the RPE scale.<\/p>\n

Zone 2\/Endurance<\/p>\n

Zone 2 is all about aerobic effort. Endurance rides require enough energy to feel like exercise, but still let you carry a conversation, cruise for hours, and enjoy the ride. These efforts stimulate mitochondrial growth and build capillaries and fat-burning capacity. Zone 2 rides are done at an RPE of three to four.<\/p>\n

Zone 3\/Tempo<\/p>\n

Efforts in Zone 3 are just above your comfort level, so you\u2019re breathing faster and working harder than you would on a typical aerobic, endurance ride. You\u2019re not working so hard, however, that you can\u2019t sustain your effort for a long period of time. Steady Zone 3 tempo efforts improve your body\u2019s ability to clear and use lactic acid, so they also help raise your lactate threshold. They\u2019re done at an RPE of five to six.<\/p>\n

Zone 4\/Threshold<\/p>\n

If VO2 max is your roof, lactate threshold\u2014the point at which you start working anaerobically\u2014is your drop ceiling. Training in Zone 4, which is right at that point, helps you hit higher intensities before you bump into that overhang. These efforts are done at an RPE of seven to eight.<\/p>\n

Zone 5\/Max<\/p>\n

To raise your VO2max, the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use, you need to push yourself as far into the red as you can go. Zone 5 efforts are done full throttle\u2014a nine to 10 on the RPE scale. Because they\u2019re so hard, they\u2019re also very short, generally lasting three to five minutes.
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Here is a sample of basic training zones that incorporate the metrics above. Some coaches will break these down and expand them further or use other metrics such as percent of lactate threshold heart rate as a guide.<\/p>\n

Zone 1
Training Type: Recovery
RPE: 1-2
Breathing: light & relaxed
%MHR: 60-65
%FTP: <55<\/p>\n

Zone 2
Training Type: Aerobic
RPE: 3-4
Breathing: deep & steady
%MHR: 65-75
%FTP: 55-75<\/p>\n

Zone 3
Training Type: Tempo
RPE: 5-7
Breathing: slightly labored
%MHR: 75-85
%FTP: 75-90<\/p>\n

Zone 4
Training Type: Lactate Threshold
RPE: 8-9
Breathing: rhythmic & short
%MHR: 85-95
%FTP: 90-105<\/p>\n

Zone 5
Training Type: VO2
RPE: 9-10
Breathing: rapid & heavy
%MHR: 95-100
%FTP: 105-120<\/p>\n

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Selene Yeager is a top-selling professional health and fitness writer who lives what she writes as a NASM certified personal trainer, USA Cycling certified coach, Pn1 certified nutrition coach, pro licensed off road racer, and All-American Ironman triathlete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"My favorite metric has always been feel. I trained for two Ironman, including World Championships in Kona and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[105299,49,138832,48,635,138833,80874,138830,138828,138827,28886,419,138829,138831,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-310702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-bike-performance","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-cadence","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-cycling","13":"tag-cycling-analytics","14":"tag-cycling-data","15":"tag-cycling-guide","16":"tag-cycling-improvement","17":"tag-cycling-metrics","18":"tag-cycling-tips","19":"tag-heart-rate","20":"tag-key-metrics","21":"tag-power-output","22":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}