Ski season ended back in May and so I have been riding my bike to get my daily exercise. When I am home in Utah, there is a loop I like to ride that I call the "Prison Run." It is a 14-mile loop that happens to run by the the prison which is where it gets its name. One side-effect of doing the same ride over and over is that I can compare my ride stats to see if I am getting better or worse.
For the past several years I have been averaging 16 miles per hour (MPH) on the loop. That sounds pretty slow until you factor in the 1500 feet of climbing over the short 14 miles. When I hit the long section of the climb, my speed drops from 20 MPH down to about 10. I used to try to keep in the double-digit speeds and thought that was great. However I have recently lost about 35 pounds and that has really helped my climbing ability.
A few weeks ago I noticed that I had my fastest average ever at 17.9 MPH. That got me excited about my cycling ability. The next time I went out, I did better with an 18.2 MPH average. Now each time I go out I am trying to do better than the previous ride. Last week I clocked in an amazing 19.0 MPH. I didn't think that was beatable until I went out yesterday and averaged 19.2 MPH. I keep getting better and better.
What does this have to do with computers and technology? Well that is the idea behind gamification. While I am always trying to do my best, there is something that makes me want to do better when there is a measurable score associated with my effort. When I take notice of that score, I can't help but try harder. Now it is time to get on my bike and see if I can't do better than a 19.2 MPH average. Wish me luck.
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