How much time does cycling take up?

andrewJohnson

May be a daft question but...

Ok, so if I was to try and cycle serious/competitively ect, how many hours per week do you think it would take up to excel at it.

sub55

25 to 30 as a amature

jibberjim

Any number, it depends on the composition of your training, your natural abilities which include your responsiveness to different types of training. Your chosen event. All sorts of things.

An event which requires lots of explosive power and not much else will likely get better results on lower time period of training (but that training much more intense) An event which requires lots of endurance will need many more hours (at reduced intensity)

Training is not just hours - it's intensity * hours, you can't simply think of it in hours.

25-30 hours a week is more than is required for a great many people to do well at amateur level cycling (e.g. sub 20minute 10's say)

ozzzyosborn206

if you work, just do what you can, there is no way i could train anywhere near the 25/30 hours people have been saying 10/15 is probably the most you could fit in around a full time job

BigDarbs

There are plenty of pro's who don't ride 25 to 30 hours a week!

The riders that excel aren't the ones who ride their bikes the most, they are the ones that get their training and recovery right.

If you are asking because you are wanting to start racing and want to do well, its a very open question as there are so may variables, but as a guide, I race cat 3 and feel I can hold my own in most races. I generally do between 6 and 10 hours a week. I have been racing for a long time though, so I have bought a lot of fitness with me. Some of the fastest guys I know only ride their bikes 3 times a week. I know a couple of cat 1 guys and they do around 10 - 14 hours per week.

Having said that, it is all about quality, not quantity. I don't know any racer that does (or is able to do) huge hours, so you must make it all count. A structured training programme, not junk miles, will soon see you pick up speed.

A copy of Joe Friels - The Cyclists Training Bible will give you some good info and training plans.

andrewJohnson

Thanks very much for the advice.

lfcquin

Agree with BigDarbs, I too race 3rd Cat and have managed to perform "reasonably" well with about 6-10 hours a week. Can't really manage much more with work.

I only started racing this year and last year I was doing more hours on the bike but covering less miles. This year my ride intensity has increased, so I ride faster therefore cover more miles in less hours.

20-30 hours for a decent amateur eh? It looks like I will be staying 3rd Cat then for a while! :roll:

Bronzie

I'd say 6-10 hours a week is pretty typical for most amateur racers.

Making the best use of what time you can spare and being consistent week after week is crucial though.

Pokerface

2 summers ago I rode 20-30 hours a week. This past summer I rode 10-15 hours a week. And I was a much better rider this year than last. Shorter hours meant more intense and focussed training - and more recovery time.

In the winter I'd be happy with an hour a day on the turbo to be honest!

Pross

During winter I reckon you are doing well to get 5 hours of training in during the week with maybe 2 - 3 hours on a Saturday and a bit more on a Sunday so maybe 12 hours in a week. To be honest I've never really got near that myself and when I raced probably did less than 10 hours a week through the winter.

in the summer I would have done a 30 mile (1.5 hour) round trip to work 3 or 4 times a week, 1 hour high intensity chain gang on a Tuesday, club time trial on a Thursday (10, 15 or 25 miles plus a 10 mile round trip to get there) so about 1 to 2 hours and then about 2 or 3 hours on a Saturday with the intensity varying depending if I was racing on the Sunday. Sunday was either racing or a club run of about 5 hours. So even that only added up to about 15 hours a week on the bike. Unless you have a long commute to work on your bike I don't know how anyone can fit in 20+ hours of riding a week with working full time. My training above was when single with no committments. I'll be more than happy if I can do 10 hours a week now.

As others have said it's about quality not quantity although it is good to get at least one decent length ride in per week to build the base stamina.

dennisn

It's not just the riding that takes up your time. Actual racing is at the very least a half
day shot, what with traveling, the actual race, and so on. Training time varies with everyone. I remember some really good advice I once got from one of the areas top bodybuilders. He warned me not to become a "gym rat", always at the gym. Get in, get the workout done, get out, and them relax and get away from training. The same applies to cycling. You don't have to ride 24-7-365 to get better(and you probably won't anyway).
Learn to train PROPERLY. If this means getting a coach, then do it, but try and avoid one of the major pitfalls of training. Which is finding yourself out there HAMMERING on a daily
basis, tired all the time, and not concentrating on what's important in life(family, friends).

Pross

Good points and I guess in terms of racing in the UK you can write off pretty much Sunday morning and afternoon on a race day although it depends on how far away the race is. Most of my local races are within 1.5 hours drive, you need to get there at least an hour before to sign on and prepare but in most cases you would aim to get there a minimum of 1.5 hours before. So, for a 10.00am Sunday morning race you may need to leave home at around 7.00am. The average race for a beginner would be around 60 miles so thats about 2.5 hours of racing (finish 12.30pm) then it's time to change, pack the car and maybe stay for the presentations and a bit of socialising (2.00pm) so get back home at about 3.30pm. How often you choose to race is up to you but for beginners there may be a localish race two or three times a month.