metric/imperial units...

I've noticed a lot of people here use metric units when describing how
far/how fast they have ridden; whilst (at least for distance and speed)
Britain still retains Imperial units. Is there a particular reason for this
(I've noticed others just talk about miles and miles per hour).

I'm curious as even though I am younger and I try to use metric units as
much as possible (I was mostly taught in metric) I would find this practice
to be confusing as road signs etc are listed in miles.

is it something to do with racing and that statistics are collected in
metric units so people can compare them more easily with other countries?

Also, what is "a 100", "a 200" etc? some sort of long ride, but in which
units?

Alex


--
Mr R@T / General Lighting
Ipswich, Suffolk, Untied Kingdom
http://www.partyvibe.com

In article , Mr R@t (2.30 zulu-india)
) wrote:
I've noticed a lot of people here use metric units when describing how
far/how fast they have ridden; whilst (at least for distance and speed)
Britain still retains Imperial units. Is there a particular reason for this
(I've noticed others just talk about miles and miles per hour).

It's coz we is Audaxers. Audax being a thing of Frenchish (WOCAB)
origin, distances are expressed in kilometres.

I'm curious as even though I am younger and I try to use metric units as
much as possible (I was mostly taught in metric) I would find this practice
to be confusing as road signs etc are listed in miles.

is it something to do with racing and that statistics are collected in
metric units so people can compare them more easily with other countries?

Also, what is "a 100", "a 200" etc? some sort of long ride, but in which
units?

When it's Audaxers talking, almost invariably kilometres - see above.

--
Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
Dead journalists make excellent objets d'art.

in message , 2.30 zulu-india\ ('"Mr R@t \')
wrote:

I've noticed a lot of people here use metric units when describing how
far/how fast they have ridden; whilst (at least for distance and speed)
Britain still retains Imperial units. Is there a particular reason for
this (I've noticed others just talk about miles and miles per hour).

The audax people tend to have their distances measured in Km. It makes
them comparable to audaxes in other lands, but a lot of the reason is
psychological - it's very nice to be able to say '100' when you really
mean 60, or '200' when you really mean 120 :-)

I've currently got the computer on the Dolan set to Km/h - I can't
remember why. But it is nice when it tells you you're doing 30 on the
flat without really trying!

Also, what is "a 100", "a 200" etc? some sort of long ride, but in
which units?

Audaxes, _normally_ Kms. There are still a few 'imperial centuries'.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; part time troll.

Mr R@t (2.30 zulu-india) wrote:
I've noticed a lot of people here use metric units when describing how
far/how fast they have ridden; whilst (at least for distance and speed)
Britain still retains Imperial units. Is there a particular reason for this
(I've noticed others just talk about miles and miles per hour).

It sounds more impressive to say you were averaging 25 than 14..
Or to go and ride 200..

At least that is my excuse. It also gives the brain something to do,
the mental arithmetic to convert miles to kilometers and back.

...d

Dave Larrington wrote:
In article , Mr R@t (2.30 zulu-india)
) wrote:

Also, what is "a 100", "a 200" etc? some sort of long ride, but in which
units?

When it's Audaxers talking, almost invariably kilometres - see above.

That's right. I've got into the habit now of thinking of largeish
chunks in kilometres, but I still tend to picture smaller sections in
imperial. So it'll be "turn left in 400 yards", or "a couple of miles
up the road", but "only 10km to the finish".

--
Dave...

Mr R@t (2.30 zulu-india) wrote:
I've noticed a lot of people here use metric units when describing how
far/how fast they have ridden; whilst (at least for distance and speed)
Britain still retains Imperial units. Is there a particular reason for this
(I've noticed others just talk about miles and miles per hour).

I'm curious as even though I am younger and I try to use metric units as
much as possible (I was mostly taught in metric) I would find this practice
to be confusing as road signs etc are listed in miles.

is it something to do with racing and that statistics are collected in
metric units so people can compare them more easily with other countries?

Also, what is "a 100", "a 200" etc? some sort of long ride, but in which
units?

Alex



I am 40 and was tought exclusively in metric. The real world is the
confusing thing. Gallons, pints, miles, yards, stones, fluid ounces,
whats that all about. Audaxers use kilometers, time trialers use miles.

2.30 zulu-india\ wrote:

I've noticed a lot of people here use metric units when describing how
far/how fast they have ridden; whilst (at least for distance and speed)
Britain still retains Imperial units. Is there a particular reason for
this (I've noticed others just talk about miles and miles per hour).

I suspect one reason is that bicycles move more slowly than cars and tend to
be used over shorter distances; therefore, metric is preferred as the units
are smaller and offer a greater number of sub-divisions for a given range.

--
***My real address is m/ike at u/nmusic d/ot co dot u/k (removing /s)
http://www.unmusic.co.uk - about me, music, geek sitcom etc.
http://www.unmusic.co.uk/amhs/ - alt.music.home-studio

On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 16:59:09 +0100, Mr R@t (2.30 zulu-india) wrote:

I've noticed a lot of people here use metric units when describing how
far/how fast they have ridden; whilst (at least for distance and speed)
Britain still retains Imperial units. Is there a particular reason for
this (I've noticed others just talk about miles and miles per hour).

The UK's best maps, from the Ordnance Survey, have their grid in metric,
so estimating distance on them is easiest in metric.

All the bike computers I've got associate time on the 24-hour clock, which
I prefer, with metric.

I was taught everything in metric from entering grammar school in 1960, so
that's the way I fundamentally think.

The speeds and distances seem more impressive.

It makes it easier to understand mainland Europe's road signs, which I am
more likely to see than those of the USA.


If I really want to know my average speed in furlongs per fortnight I wait
until I get home & ask the computer....
22:32:45 mikec@lugh units
2084 units, 71 prefixes, 32 nonlinear units

You have: 22kph
You want: furlongs/fortnight
* 36745.333
/ 2.721434e-05
^D
22:33:06 mikec@lugh


Mike

Mike Causer wrote:
It makes it easier to understand mainland Europe's road signs, which I am
more likely to see than those of the USA.

Presumably, though, you're still more likely to see British road signs,
and if you want to understand them then you're better of thinking in miles.

--
Danny Colyer URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/
Subscribe to PlusNet URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/referral/
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Mr R@t (2.30 zulu-india) wrote:
I've noticed a lot of people here use metric units when describing how
far/how fast they have ridden; whilst (at least for distance and speed)
Britain still retains Imperial units.

It's going to take an awfully long time for the whole British population
to go wholly metric. These quirks will 'grow out' in time. My son only
knows feet and inches as words, but he weighs himself in stones and
pounds. When I bought architrave from my local builders' merchant, they
priced it by multiples of '30 cm'. It'll all change in time, and for
the better too (coherent units - lovely!).

But I find it really hard to imagine a day when draught beer isn't in pints.

Richard