“What gets measured gets improved.” This business maxim applies perfectly to cycling. Without tracking your progress, you’re essentially riding blind—unable to tell if your training is working, what’s holding you back, or how to optimize your performance.
Why Most Cyclists Track Wrong
Many riders obsess over single metrics like average speed or total distance. But these numbers are misleading. Average speed doesn’t account for wind, elevation, or traffic. Annual mileage doesn’t tell you if you’re getting fitter or just getting tired.
The key is tracking metrics that reveal meaningful insights about your fitness and performance trajectory.
Metrics That Actually Matter
Normalized Power (NP) or Training Stress Score (TSS): These account for the variable intensity of real-world rides, giving you a true picture of training load. Consistent TSS week-over-week is a reliable fitness indicator.
Power-to-Weight Ratio: Your watts per kilogram on sustained climbs. This is the gold standard for comparing climbing performance across different routes and conditions.
Heart Rate Drift: On steady efforts, if your heart rate climbs while power/speed stays constant, it indicates fatigue or insufficient fitness for that intensity.
Threshold Improvements: Regular FTP (Functional Threshold Power) tests or 20-minute max efforts show whether your training is moving the needle on your sustainable power output.
Consistency: Perhaps most important—are you actually riding regularly? Days between rides is a better predictor of fitness than individual ride intensity.
Tools for Tracking
Strava: The social platform most cyclists use. Great for logging rides, comparing segments, and staying motivated through community. Limited analytics without premium subscription.
TrainingPeaks: Professional-grade training analysis. Robust but has a learning curve and costs more.
Golden Cheetah: Free, open-source, and incredibly powerful for data nerds. Steep learning curve but unmatched depth.
CyclingTab: Integrates your Strava stats directly into your browser’s new tab page. Passive visibility of your metrics keeps training top-of-mind without active effort.
The Dashboard Effect
Here’s the psychological hack most cyclists miss: frequent, passive visibility of your metrics increases adherence to training. When you see your weekly mileage or recent achievements multiple times daily, you’re more likely to maintain consistency.
This is why having cycling data visible matters—whether it’s a dashboard on your wall, a widget on your phone, or your stats in every browser tab. The gentle reminder effect compounds over months into significantly better adherence.
Beyond the Numbers
Data should inform your training, not dominate it. The joy of cycling—the flow state, the scenery, the social connections—these aren’t quantifiable but they’re what keep us riding long-term.
Use data to optimize your training blocks, identify weaknesses, and track improvement. But never let the metrics replace the fundamental pleasure of riding your bike.
Start simple: log your rides consistently for one month. Track just 2-3 key metrics. Notice patterns. Adjust your training based on what the data reveals. That’s all it takes to transform from recreational rider to data-informed cyclist.
Your fittest self is built one tracked ride at a time.
