Distance - How far should I be aiming for?

jonmack

Hey. As I'm new to this whole road lark, I was wondering what kinda distances people started riding at? I dunno where I should start really. There's a nice loop around here but it's only 7 miles and I averaged 17mph round that today in the rain and wind, I mean I could go round it a few times or I can turn around and go back on myself but still it's only gonna be multiples of seven, I was hoping to be able to go out a bit further.

I know you can't give me an exact milage, because each person varies, but is 10m a good place to start, or should I try further like 20m or so?

Thanks,

Jon

Smokin Joe

If you can do 7 miles at 17mph then 20 miles will be easily achievable. When you feel comfortable at one distance go 10 or 15 miles further next time, the worst that can happen is you will blow and have to crawl home.

We've all been there!

Infamous

Minimum of 45-60 mins.

janetthompson

Get yourself an ordanance survey map of your local area and plot yourself a route using minor roads and going through villages you never knew existed. I'm discovering new places all the time!

Le Commentateur

I'd say get out and explore the Mendip Hills or Somerset levels. Very lucky to have both options (climbing and flat terrain) so near by that you can do separately or combined. Aim for something around 2-3 hours duration.

zedders

My first time couple of ride were round the village and back, much like yourself. About 5 or 6 miles. A week later I went out with a couple of mates, and they said "we'll break you in gentle. we'll do 25 miles." I was thinking no way. But I made it no probs. I think I averaged about 14.5 mph. I would say go for 20 big ones, you'll suprise yourself. If you averaging 17 already sound like you have some fitness already. Just give you legs a break now and then!
,
If you ok with 20 then slowly increase in time, distance, or mph as you go.

jonmack

Cool. I've been planning a few routes out on Bikely so hopefully I can follow some of them and see how it goes I've found it to be a really useful resource 45-60 mins as a minimum sounds good, I guess I just gotta get stocked up on liquids and get out there.

I'd love to get out to the Mendips, hopefully once I've got a bit more experience I'll be able to ride there. I don't drive so my legs and wheels are my only mode of transport.

20 miles sounds good to me, if a little daunting, so I guess the only way I'm gonna find out how I get on is going out and doing it :P

markos1963

20 miles should be do-able given what you've done so far. The important thing is to enjoy it at the start so choose a route that will motivate you. My 12yo is up to nearly 30 miles now just by adding a couple of miles every couple of weeks to his ride, he has a stop every 10 for a drink and is feeling good after his rides so if you follow something similar you should be fine and doing a century before you know it

jonmack

12yo doing 30 miles, bloody hell! I thought I was fairly young at 21 :P Yeah I think I'm gonna just fill up a few water bottles and go for it. Annoying thing is I'm staying at my girlfriends tonight and I'm gonna go straight from there so I'm trying to plan my outfit in advance :P

Dunkeldog

There's nothing quite like getting to a certain point on a ride where you're usually ready to turn for home but know there's miles left in your legs! Build up steadily and don't worry if you have a bad day. With the wind, rain, early morning start and heavy turbo sessions on Thursday and Saturday I managed to record my worst average speed for 40 miles in two years today. A year ago I would have worried - today I laughed it off. When it goes horribly wrong give yourself a break!

Flasheart

12 months ago if you had said I would riide 40 miles I would have said you were having a laugh. Last Sunday morning I did that, came home did some gardening, had lunch and went out and did another 32 miles with my cycling buddy. The more you do it, the easier it gets...really

zedders

jonmack wrote:

Yeah I think I'm gonna just fill up a few water bottles and go for it.

Don't just use squash or water! Get yourself some propper energy drink. I rode around for weeks on orange juice! I soon realised it wasn't not a good idea and now use PSP22 energy, which is highly recommended. I love the stuff.

jonmack

Thanks Zedders. I'm gonna grab some Nuun from CRC and start using that. I did 17.5 miles today in exactly an hour, my average speed was 17.49, I was gonna do more but took a quicker route home (cut off 6 miles, as I was gonna do my warmup loop before heading home) because my right leg was aching a bit at the back of my knee, but still 17.5 miles for a first proper ride I don't think is too bad.

alfablue

I wish I could do 17.5 mph average as a beginner! :oops:

Gav888

In Jan I was dead riding 7 miles, probalby averaged 12mph if I was lucky, now ive recently completed 50 miles at 15mph average, so it builds up quite quickly. When someone said 30 is not a problem for them I thought they were crazy as to me at the time that was a big distance... now its a normal weekend ride.

fatbloke8

Jonmack,

I started cycling about 5 or 6 weeks ago, apart from when I was a kid I have not really cycled properly since. I would also not consider myself particularly fit having smoked 20 a day and was not really into fitness but was not a total couch potato either.

I stopped smoking, hooked up with my local CTC and went out with them to get some basic fitness, the weekend before last I covered about 47 miles granted we had a tea stop 1/2 way and my legs ached for the next couple of days but it was not that bad. Yesterday we were out in the wind and rain 37 miles under my belt and I got home knowing I could do more and the legs are OK today.

The point of this post is you will surprise yourself how far you can go. I am sure that with a couple weeks extra training I would happily enter a 60 mile charity ride without any real worries. Also remeber its not just distance doing 25 miles at 25mph avg is a lot harder than 50 miles at a 13-15mph avg.

Hope this helps

disquieting_museeuws

Personally I would be a little cautious about using lots of energy drinks for rides like 20 miles - you can overload the system & feel unwell if not careful, and your body shouldn't really need too much specialised food for that sort of distance. Plenty of water and an energy bar in the back pocket in case you feel peckish is all you need really, or maybe an energy gel before you set off. But, all people are different and you have to find your own favourite refuelling methods over time. Better to take too much food & water than not enough.

A rule of thumb on distance is usually that you expect to 'double up' for a special ride, so if you're used to 25 miles a 50 mile charity ride (for example) should be do-able.

I've known of 12 YO girls doing centuries BTW, it's a question of building up & getting confidence, and what you're used to. I wish I could average 17.5 mph for 1 mile at the moment, incidentally!

STEFANOS4784

It's very personal, ride what you can, about 1000 miles a day should do it

jonmack

Thanks a lot everyone these posts are all really useful. I have a habit of taking a drink with me but not drinking it very often because I'm not used to it being there, so I definitely need to get into actually keeping myself hydrated and fed.

I usually have a quick snack before I set off, and then something more substantial when I return, as I'm only going out for an hour or so I never really find myself being hungry, but I definitely felt a drop in energy this morning as my riding had slowed from around 20mph on the way out to about 16mph on the way back, I just couldn't push myself to get my legs going, I was riding into a nasty headwind and had a backpack on my back the whole trip, but that's no excuse really.

I think I'm gonna aim for 15-20 miles for the next few weeks, then once I feel comfortable start pushing myself to go a bit further.

cougie

I think I started off at school being about 13 or so and using the bike as a means for adventure. First big trip was a 50 miler - after the previous rides being about 10 miles or so - so you can go a lot further than you think.

I'd say most club rides would be 60 miles or so and the racing boys do 100miles or so on a Sunday.

Good work on your speeds though - thats impressive.

Anonymous

100 miles.

jonmack

Typically I planned on doing a similar lap to yesterday but a bit shorter today, and it's peeing down with rain before I even get a chance to go out on the bike. Hopefully it will clear up by this evening so I can go out, I don't like riding in the rain much

amaferanga

To the OP.... sounds like all the riding you're doing you're really pushing yourself to go fast. But if you're trying to increase distance then you might want to consider doing some of your rides at lower intensity.

jonmack

I don't really push myself to go fast, that's just the speed I feel most comfortable riding at, but I will consider trying to ride slower for longer distances.

I have another question. How long should I be riding on the hoods compared to the drops? I tend to spend probably 90% of the time on the drops, and maybe 10% on the hoods, however sometimes I feel like I'm spending too long in the drops and my palm starts to ache ever so slightly, but then I wiggle my hands round a bit and I'm fine. I guess I should get someone to help me with bike fitting, as I've no idea how it should be setup

jonmack

Went further than expected today, did 19.7 I think, in an hour. Averaged 19.4 but there is only 190ft of ascent so it's a pretty flat route. Gonna have a laid back day tomorrow, do the 7 miler and put in some interval training to work on my cardio. But wow, I really didn't think I'd ever enjoy riding as much as this. It's completely different to anything I've ever done before (I've been riding since I was around 5, currently riding trials as well as road and have been for the last 2.5 years or so) and it's just great. I love getting out on the nice roads and just getting my hands on the drops and just riding, not pushing myself, just riding at a nice pace, and it's great.

My only complaint with my riding today was I ate about an hour before, and had a bit of discomfort and wind, so I probably should have eaten earlier, but we all have to learn somehow.

It's safe to say I'm loving this.

doyler78

I wouldn't bother with any energy drinks for those rides. Its just calories that you will not be burning off as you will have enough reserves to get through those 1 hour rides no problem. If you start going beyond 1.5 to hours then take an energy drink and start sipping from the start of the ride. Solid food is a personal thing but for me I like something to eat if I'm on the bike for more than 2.5~3hrs.

Unless someone is seriously unfit most people can do 15-20 miles pretty easily so you should be able to more than that given that you have obviously got a bit of fitness already. I would say though that personally at the start I wouldn't be too bothered about the distances at the minute as much as I would be about how consistently you ride ie its better to get 5 days of shorter rides in than 1 or 2 big longer rides. Your body likes to be kept fit so the more you do it the more it responds (although not to excess as that just ends in injury).