I'll leave the internet search to you to learn the background.
[I will note that it is my opinion that the Wiki-web def'n is so poorly worded
That it is essentially wrong.
I certainly think the author of that def'n (or at least the wording last time I checked)
Deserved a failing grade in a mathematics class somewhere along the way.
But that is just my opinion.]
Essentially, it is a measure of the number of long rides one has completed.
My definition?
One's Eddington Cycling Number is the largest integer, N, for which the following statement is true:
I have completed N rides that were at least N miles long.
Last Saturday, five of us joined my friend Ricochet Robert
As he snagged his 10K-Hound status on a local permanent.
Our friend, BikerBob snagged his R-36.
[In NC, we don't restart the count after getting to R-12, we just keep adding-on.]
I snagged my 100th ride that was at least 100-miles long.
I.e., ECN = 100.
I wouldn't be me, this blog wouldn't accurately represent me, if I failed to have an occasional "stats" post.
So ... three charts, and maybe some comments.
[I don't really plan these posts completely, ya-know, I just type what comes to mind.]
My ECN history by year (my adult cycling career began in 2002 or 2003, but I lost those stats in a computer malfunction -- all those rides were on the green-ways, and nothing was longer than 29-miles, and I doubt there were as many as 20 rides in either year -- but, boy, that seemed like a LOT of bicycle riding -- I ventured onto the road in 2004 -- my first ride on the road was 17+ miles -- I thought I was going to die -- there are no hills on greenways, and there certainly are on just about every road in north Raleigh and further north, too):
| Career statistics through: | |||||
| year | rides | miles | mi. / r | long | E |
| 2004 | 38 | 1,176.2 | 31.0 | 53.4 | 26 |
| 2005 | 75 | 2,441.7 | 32.6 | 75.6 | 33 |
| 2006 | 133 | 4,926.6 | 37.0 | 75.6 | 42 |
| 2007 | 212 | 8,457.1 | 39.9 | 109.0 | 49 |
| 2008 | 294 | 12,222.4 | 41.6 | 109.0 | 54 |
| 2009 | 420 | 18,439.1 | 43.9 | 126.3 | 63 |
| 2010 | 532 | 25,998.6 | 48.9 | 300.3 | 71 |
| 2011 | 645 | 35,203.4 | 54.6 | 377.2 | 81 |
| 2012 | 746 | 44,138.8 | 59.2 | 377.4 | 100 |
[It is always an adventure trying to copy an Excel spreadsheet chart into Blogger.
I am NOT going to try and line up the headings with the columns.
Unless the published result looks quite bad.
Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer all hand differently.
Interestingly, IE seems to handle the best whereas Firefox is a disaster at that.]
Another way to summarize my long ride history:
| Rides by year currently contributing to E: | |||
| year | # rides | miles | mi. / r |
| 2004 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2007 | 1 | 109.0 | 109.0 |
| 2008 | 1 | 108.2 | 108.2 |
| 2009 | 5 | 544.9 | 109.0 |
| 2010 | 25 | 3,430.9 | 137.2 |
| 2011 | 36 | 5,069.1 | 140.8 |
| 2012 | 32 | 4,784.4 | 149.5 |
| total | 100 | 14,046.5 | 140.5 |
You may have noticed the 109-miler from 2007.
That was my first EVER 100-mile ride.
A solo effort on a version of my Virginia Border Raid route.
My previous long was 78+ miles -- the week before -- on my Shoofly route.
I've written and mapped those before.
If you want to read about those efforts, follow the above links.
There are likely Trimble-maps embedded in those previous posts,
If not, you can find them on the IR-route-maps-page.
I took up randonneuring in 2010.
You might have guessed that from the chart above, or
From my occasional posts and references to the NC-2010-rando-rookie class.
A third (and last) presentation of stats for / from my long rides:
| year | date | ride | distance | E |
| 2012 | current | 100 | ||
| Dec-01 | Triple-L | 127.1 | 100 | |
| Nov-03 | Egypt Mtn + | 140.3 | 98 | |
| Oct-27 | Egypt Mtn + | 140.3 | 97 | |
| Sep-29 | LOMBD + | 147.3 | 95 | |
| Sep-20 | Hope Springs Eternal + | 98.7 | 94 | |
| Sep-02 | Black Creek + | 147.5 | 93 | |
| Jul-29 | OakElmOak + | 141.6 | 90 | |
| Jun-22 | Bahama Beach + | 89.3 | 89 | |
| May-26 | LOMBD | 125.9 | 88 | |
| Apr-28 | Bahama Beach + | 90.1 | 86 | |
| Mar-10 | Egypt Mtn + | 135.6 | 84 | |
| Feb-18 | Carolina Crossroads + | 139.8 | 83 | |
| Jan-01 | Tar Heel 200 | 126.4 | 82 | |
| 2011 | end-of-year | 81 | ||
| Nov-30 | Triple-L | 127.1 | 81 | |
| Oct-26 | Triple-L | 127.1 | 80 | |
| Oct-08 | IR Bahama Beach + | 84.5 | 79 | |
| Aug-21 | Black Creek | 127.0 | 78 | |
| Aug-14 | Black Creek | 127.0 | 77 | |
| Jun-15 | Tar Heel 200 | 126.6 | 75 | |
| May-28 | IR Bahama Beach + | 81.9 | 74 | |
| 2010 | end-of-year | 71 | ||
| Aug-28 | IR Hurdle Mills Bailout 100 | 106.3 | 68 | |
| May-22 | NCBC 600k Brevet | 300.3 | 65 | |
| Mar-20 | IR Spring Equinox | 100.5 | 64 | |
| 2009 | end-of-year | 63 | ||
| 2008 | end-of-year | 54 | ||
| 2007 | end-of-year | 49 | ||
| 2006 | end-of-year | 42 | ||
| 2005 | end-of-year | 33 | ||
| 2004 | end-of-year | 26 |
[Amazing, the last chart lines-up almost perfectly (in IE compose mode).
I wonder what the difference is.
Edit Oct-05-2013: I've now learned how to manipulate Excel charts copied into blogger:
use Firefox!]
You'll notice the ECN has been ratcheting up approximately once a month for the last year-plus. That is EXTREMELY unlikely to continue in the future.
For example, the next "ratchet up" will be to ECN = 101, and that will require 5 rides.
Only someone attempting to 10K-Hound next year is likely to do that in a month.
