Author Topic: What's your Eddington number ?  (Read 102679 times)

What's your Eddington number ?
« on: 19 June, 2012, 01:26:59 pm »
Something a little different:

http://tlatet.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/eddington-number.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Stanley_Eddington#Eddington_number_.28cycling.29

If you are on MCL, go to the "view" page, that gives you a complete list of all your rides that you can export to CSV.  Then it's easy to sort in Excel.

I'm on "49", so when my legs have recovered from the 400km at the weekend it's inspiration time to go for another ride of at least 80.463 km

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #1 on: 19 June, 2012, 01:48:34 pm »
41.  And rising. ;D
Getting there...

JStone

  • E=112
Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #2 on: 19 June, 2012, 01:58:09 pm »
105km - rising slowly (sounds like the shipping forecast)
Néophyte > 2007 > Ancien > 2011 > Récidiviste

Feanor

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #3 on: 19 June, 2012, 02:06:37 pm »
80 miles or 128Km, and unlikely to increase anytime soon.

Wowbagger

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #4 on: 19 June, 2012, 02:09:22 pm »
We did this a while ago. I had a spreadsheet once into which I poured all my bikejournal / cyclogs / mycyclinglog data, but I haven't kept it up to date. From memory, mine was 42 but I would think that it has risen a little.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Jaded

  • The Codfather
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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #5 on: 19 June, 2012, 02:09:47 pm »
62 miles.
It is simpler than it looks.

Wowbagger

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #6 on: 19 June, 2012, 02:22:43 pm »
I've just checked Mycyclinglog and since 1/1/2010, when I started recording rides there, it is 55 (miles).
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #7 on: 19 June, 2012, 02:32:16 pm »
81 (miles) or 104 (kilometres).

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #8 on: 19 June, 2012, 02:51:27 pm »
I believe the Eddington Number has to be in miles.

Unfortunately, it doesn't include the hundreds of long rides I undertook as a young man, though I doubt that the number would be higher than sixty even so.
Getting there...

Chris S

Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #9 on: 19 June, 2012, 02:56:38 pm »
126 miles

It's probably not coincidence that this is very close to Randonnee distance  :).

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #10 on: 19 June, 2012, 02:57:47 pm »
Wasn't there a different name for the number in km?  I'm pretty certain that someone did cite it in a previous thread on the topic.
Getting there...

Wowbagger

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #11 on: 19 June, 2012, 03:17:33 pm »
I've just gone through Bikejournal from 2007 to 2009. I exceeded 55 miles on 78 occasions during those three years.

I suspect that, from my previous cycling life, I would have to add only one ride to my Eddington list to have any effect at all, and that was the Essex CT 100-mile ride in 1981. I don't remember any other ride over 70 miles, although I dare say there were a few over 60. I did London to Brighton a few times in the 1980s.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #12 on: 19 June, 2012, 03:33:39 pm »
I was wrong, and I find that I referred to Imperial Eddingtons in a previous thread, which I think is shocking.

We did develop the Millimole number, which was like an annual Eddington.

And the Spooner, which is simply the number of 1000km rides you've done.
Getting there...

Wowbagger

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #13 on: 19 June, 2012, 04:51:33 pm »
I've imported the data since 1/1/2007 and my Eddington number  for the period stands at 67: I've cycled 68 miles or more on 67 occasions. The 68th ride is under 68 miles (67.67).

Before 2007 I was using the old Cyclogs site, which seems to have gone for good. I had at least 2 70-mile rides in 2006: my first 100k audax, including riding to and from, and my first FNRttC. I think there was one other, in the December.

I took a sabbatical from 1987 to about 2004.

In my pre-1987 cycling, I know I had 1 imperial century under my belt, and probably a few other >70 mile rides. I used to do quite a few CTC Sunday runs, almost all of which would have been in excess of 60 miles.

I reckon my true Eddington Number is therefore about 70.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Wowbagger

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #14 on: 19 June, 2012, 05:06:50 pm »
It has occurred to me that my age is rapidly approaching my Eddington number. As of next week, the difference will be 12.

What is better - to be able to increase your Eddington Number when your age exceeds it, or to push it into 3 figures so that you never need to worry about it?

Actually, I think I'd like to keep my Eddington Number in excess of my age by 12 years. That's quite a complicated aim, as if I decide in my 59th year to do enough >71-mile rides to knock out all of those between my provable Eddington number (67) and what I believe it to be (70), I'll have to ride that distance 17 times. The following year, to get it up to 72, I'll have to ride >72 miles 18 times. I suppose what I need to do is ensure that, during the next 12 months, I ride 17 days in excess of 71 miles, but each one incrementing by one mile, to make an investment for future years.

If I decided to ride (say) 10 100-mile days, although that would push my E-number much higher much sooner*, that would take away the incentive, as I get older, to keep the rides ticking over. It would be a great achievement to push my E-number into 3 figures when I'm approaching 88!

*Not strictly accurate as, of course, it's not as simple as that. However, I've got 82 100-mile rides to do to get my E-number into 3 figures. I suppose I'd better get on with it.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #15 on: 19 June, 2012, 05:12:44 pm »
Mine is about 126. I've not totalled enough 300+km brevets or 300+km days in longer brevets to get it noticeably higher yet. With luck it should eventually get to around 200.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Wowbagger

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #16 on: 19 June, 2012, 05:21:26 pm »
My guess is that there are loads of audaxers with an Eddington number of 126, since the 200k ride is their staple diet and lots of them drive to the start.

All but one (I think) of my very limited number of 200k audax rides have been in excess of 130 miles as I used trains to get to the start, and that also included crossing London. That one exception is the only one I drove to. I'd never drive to/from another ride as long as that: my legs cramped so badly just after I set off for home that I could hardly change gear.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #17 on: 19 June, 2012, 05:26:52 pm »
It has occurred to me that my age is rapidly approaching my Eddington number. As of next week, the difference will be 12.

What is better - to be able to increase your Eddington Number when your age exceeds it, or to push it into 3 figures so that you never need to worry about it?

Actually, I think I'd like to keep my Eddington Number in excess of my age by 12 years. That's quite a complicated aim, as if I decide in my 59th year to do enough >71-mile rides to knock out all of those between my provable Eddington number (67) and what I believe it to be (70), I'll have to ride that distance 17 times. The following year, to get it up to 72, I'll have to ride >72 miles 18 times. I suppose what I need to do is ensure that, during the next 12 months, I ride 17 days in excess of 71 miles, but each one incrementing by one mile, to invest make an investment for future years.

If I decided to ride (say) 10 100-mile days, although that would push my E-number much higher much sooner*, that would take away the incentive, as I get older, to keep the rides ticking over. It would be a great achievement to push my E-number into 3 figures when I'm approaching 88!

*Not strictly accurate as, of course, it's not as simple as that. However, I've got 82 100-mile rides to do to get my E-number into 3 figures. I suppose I'd better get on with it.


Thinks... shall I start a new thread?
Hands up all those whose Eddington number (miles - as defined in the original version) is greater than their age ?
Mine doesn't yet, but it will if I complete my RRTY....

As for the numbers up above 120... and therefore likely to include some 400km rides, how do you log your miles if the ride goes past midnight?

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #18 on: 19 June, 2012, 05:31:23 pm »
Per 24 hour day, rather than per multi-day ride seems appropriate.

I know a bloke who doesn't like to enter anything shorter than 600km because his average brevet length is about 595km.
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #19 on: 19 June, 2012, 06:38:06 pm »

As for the numbers up above 120... and therefore likely to include some 400km rides, how do you log your miles if the ride goes past midnight?
I log rides over 24hrs as between sleeps, so a 600 is 2 rides- before and after a sleep stop.

I think my number is between 70 and 100. I doubt very much I've done 126 200k+ yet, for all I'm a points chasing fiend.

(And that's greater than my age, by more than 20, whatever the actual number is).
This year so far it's 49. I CBA to look back to when records began.

Wowbagger

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #20 on: 19 June, 2012, 06:44:31 pm »
All my 200k audaxes have been within the same calendar day.

I have always regarded the Dun Run as a single ride, because it is encompassed within a 24 hour period. I think, without checking, that I log it to the Saturday because that's when it started. I certainly don't reset the computer at midnight.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #21 on: 20 June, 2012, 10:10:10 am »
Some of my 100k rides have spanned two calendar days (just), as I include the riding from home to the start of an FNRttC.  But the ride is always completed well within 24hrs, and before I go to bed.  I do sleep on the train home usually, but don't think that's enough to separate it.  I don't think I'm likely to do any rides which cover more than 24h start-finish, so I'm reasonably happy with my parameters.

And my Eddington is lower than my age at the moment, but has increased significantly since Butterfly got a Ti bike ;D
Getting there...

simonp

Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #22 on: 27 June, 2012, 06:24:45 pm »
126 miles

It's probably not coincidence that this is very close to Randonnee distance  :).

Hmm. I've not worked this out. I don't think I have ever done 200km unless part of a randonnee, so the number should be the number of randonnees I've ridden, plus the two 600s I've DNFed. So my number based on that alone is at least 97 (miles). I have done a few >100 mile days outside of Audax, so I can reasonably claim E of 100, but not much more.

CrazyEnglishTriathlete

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Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #23 on: 30 June, 2012, 01:00:45 am »
101.  Its been 100 or 101 for quite some time and it will take a while to get me off this mark as I seem to collect century rides.

Eddington Numbers 130 (imperial), 182 (metric) 571 (furlongs)  114 (nautical miles)

Tail End Charlie

Re: What's your Eddington number ?
« Reply #24 on: 04 July, 2012, 06:03:03 pm »
I've found this interesting. Thought my number may be quite low, but it's about 70, which is more than my age. I've never chased mileage per se, but just like going out for a ride and seeing where I get to. In fact recently I don't really log miles closely but only keep a rough guide for maintenance purposes.