Beneficial or Not?

Soni

Hi guys, i ride 17 miles before work in the mornings and it takes me around 65 minutes to complete, very hilly area through the North Downs.

I can't manage anymore in the mornings because as it is i get up at 5am and out on the road by 5:30 as need to be back before 645 for my wife leaving for work as i have to look after our children before i take them to before school club and go to work myself.

My question is this:-

I have started taking the bike into work and also doing 40 minutes cycling at lunchtime, as well as the morning ride before work, i alternate between spending those 40 minutes either doing a 13 mile circuit on one day through country lanes and rolling hills followed by a 1 mile circuit on the other day which is like a race track in the middle of a housing estate with a large wide hill going up followed by a bend at the top and a long hill down the otherside, i then repeat, only takes me about 3 minutes or so to climb it though.

Do you reckon the lunchtime ride is any good? As i said i can't fit in more miles in the morning and don't like evening riding as like to be with my family.....although i do ride longer on a Saturday and Sunday, rode to London and back the other day which was 89 miles round trip.

Which lunchtime ride do you think is the best, the 13 miles through the lanes and rolling hills or the hill circuit as detailed above?

dmch2

Do you have to take an hour for lunch? You could skip it and make the ride home an hour longer instead?

inkyfingers

I think any riding is good riding. It's important to keep your training varied though so maybe split your lunchtime rides half and half so that you are not doing the same circuit each day. On some days you could also try and turn the 1 mile circuit into intervals, maybe 1 circuit hard then 1 circuit recovery and vice versa.