Are You a Piler or Filer?
The terminology of Piler vs Filer might be mostly used to describe personality traits or organizational skills, but I think it can be applied to cycling as well.
It all began when I was building Lego with my 7 year old Son. I had all the little pieces organized in bags so that he could easily find what he was looking for. All it took was one Lego session and everything was a disorganized mess. I asked my Son why he didn’t just put things back in the bags and he came back with, “because I’m a piler and you’re a filer, Dad”.
I was blown away with his genius response and definitely had no grounds for disagreement after a wise statement like that.
There’s no denying that I’m a completely insane filer. I love having things in their place and it drives me nuts when things aren’t organized. My Wife is totally opposite and it looks like her genes won out and my Son leans more towards the piler personality.
After our filer/piler Lego experience I got to thinking about how these personality differences might change the way a cyclist behaves.
I don’t think it really affects how you ride, but it definitely could come into play when tracking rides and collecting data. As a true filer, I love entering my rides online so that I can look back and see my history of miles and performance.
After each ride, I log into Daily Mile and post my results. The interesting thing is that I can’t be bothered by uploading my data each day to Strava. Although I have an account and will eventually get around to loading the data every month or so, it seems like way too much work to do it each time. I love the information that is available from that site, but I guess I’m not enough of a filer to do it each time.
Your Turn
Okay, so are you a filer or piler? Do you consistently track your riding data? Is there anything else about your filer/piler personality that greatly affects your cycling?
There is no right or wrong way to be, so whether you’re a piler or filer….just be sure to use it to your advantage and Make it Happen.
100% filer. I think it is related to my job, but its a lot more than that. Chaos drives me nuts. everything has a place and needs a plan. That is ME. and it drives my wife Pamela more than a little crazy I am sure.
I’m a filer. My job is in information management and has given me an almost reverential attitude for data. It can cost a lot to gather data, but almost nothing is required to store data indefinitely. No matter what form data is in, it can almost always be transformed and reused. I keep almost everything: miles ridden, route, type of ride (transport, fitness), bad weather days, biz travel days, BP, pulse, weight.
Hmmmm. Nerd alert!
WIthout question I am a piler…I like to pile on my bike and go for a ride. It’s not important to me what my pace is, how far I’ve ridden or how many calories I’ve burned. When I want competition, I attack a hill like a madman and dare you to pass me…on the bicycle is the last place I want neat and orderly, I want relaxed and carefree. You ask me about one of my rides and I’ll tell you about the park I stopped at to swing on a swing, or the ducks I saw being ducks in the river I frequently ride along. I’ve seen too many people become all up-tight and irritable because they were “off” their pace by 6.22 seconds, they get so wrapped up in what they wanted to do that they completely miss what they just did. There are certain areas in life that definitely require filing, but I like to keep those minimized and have a whole pile of fun!
Happy Riding!
Yeah Joel, life can be much simpler as a piler in many ways….on a bike as well. As long as we’re all getting out there and loving the bike in our own way….that’s all that matters. Thanks for jumping in on this one.
I’m definitely a filer when it comes to riding. As an analytical chemist (retired) I’m a data junkie. I currently upload data to 5 different sites. I’m trying to decide on one or two to go with. I like having speed and cadence and even heart rate data displayed in real time. I think the same classification extends to your mental approach to rides. I prefer having a route planned out ahead of time as opposed to just “winging it”. The funny thing about that is that the buddy I usually ride with is the opposite when it comes to planning a ride. His natural inclination is to “make it up as he goes”. I’ve learned to be more flexible with with “my” route when we ride and he seems to be able to stick to a route a little more. In the end though it really boils down to recognizing your style, laughing at your idiosyncrasies, and just enjoy your ride.
Great information, Bob….thanks for adding it to the post. I’m definitely a filer when it comes to day to day life, but on the bike I’m a bit of both I think.