Just completed my first 20 mile ride...

johntheboy84

.... But as daft as it sounds I didn't realise how hard it was going to be to find those miles! I live on the outskirts (ish) of Leeds to rode into the city centre, back out and generally all over the place going far and wide to see my miles go up. I think I'll be looking for some more rural routes though, most of my time was spent at traffic lights going through built up areas where as I normally do a 12 mile route through some country side near me.

Didn't find any issues fitness wise so glad to have cracked the mile stone and head for 30 miles now.

hipshot

Good work, it really is all about the miles.

Going up in steps of 10 miles is a good idea too.

Don't forget to get out of the saddle on longer rides, it can make all the difference comfort wise.

diamonddog

Nice one, the more you ride and the more wandering you do the better routes will be found.

foot_loose

I would ride away from the city f I were you. You have some great countryside up that way. Enjoy it.

hindburn

Hi, if 84 in your 'name' is an indication of your birth year, then you have nothing to worry about - just press on and your body will soon adapt to the demands you make on it. I'm the wrong side of 55 and still doing hilly rides of over 100 miles regularly - it's a matter of conditioning your body and mind to it, and making yourself do it regularly is the best way. Taking too long a break from riding will let the doubts creep back in about whether you can do it. Once you have got yourself reasonably fit, set yourself targets and go out and achieve them. Essentially, whether you think you can, or whether you think you can't - either way, you're probably right! Best wishes for your riding!

danlikesbikes

Would recommend getting out of the city, you'll see the countryside as you never can from a car & you'll leave behind the stop start monotony of traffic lights. Plus the miles will just flow.

A suggestion might be to pick a place to go too then you'll know half your distance don't make it too short but long enough that your not going to large in your mileage increases each time. Take some food with you or cash for a cafe stop & the break half way should help you out to your next target distance.

tony1967

Somewhere like Ilkley, Harrogate or Tadcaster would give you 30 miles-ish there and back.
Plenty of scope for dodging the A roads too.

johntheboy84

Thank you all for the advice, this forum's brilliant for advice. Yes I think castle ford or ilkley will be my next ride on a free weekend. My only concern is if the weather gets more unbearable between now and December if I'll struggle to get out as much.

leeMorrison

Hi, what are of Leeds are you in, I live on the outskirts of Leeds, there's some really great rides heading out of the city in most directions, let me know where abouts you are and I could point you in the direction of some pretty scenic rides, pm me if you want.

prhymeate

http://ridewithgps.com/ is a great site for discovering new routes. You can search by distance and elevation gain, so you should be able to find some good routes on there as you continue improving.

gibbers82

Well done mate, just got into road biking myself

Great way to keep fit

t4tomo

hindburn wrote:

Hi, if 84 in your 'name' is an indication of your birth year, then you have nothing to worry about - just press on and your body will soon adapt to the demands you make on it.

On the other hand if its your age then well done old boy!

Philby

As above just build up the miles slowly, but trying to do it in an urban environment will be frustrating and won't encourage you to cycle more frequently or for longer distances.

I originally come from Leeds and when I am back up in God's Own County I often bring my bike and ride out to places like Ilkley, Harrogate or further afield into the Dales to places such as Burnsall and Grassington. There are some fabulous, scenic routes to enjoy which are much more fun than riding around town. Cycling to Ilkley and back, via Weston Lane in Otley, with the obligatory stop for coffee and cake at one of the many cafes would make a nice ride.

iron-clover

johntheboy84 wrote:

Thank you all for the advice, this forum's brilliant for advice. Yes I think castle ford or ilkley will be my next ride on a free weekend. My only concern is if the weather gets more unbearable between now and December if I'll struggle to get out as much.

When you know you can do up to 40miles or so without issue you could try looking to joining a local club. Most have a weekly 'social' club ride on Saturday or Sunday, with the larger clubs offering a choice of groups to go with on the day including slower/ shorter length ride groups. Either way, you shouldn't get dropped and left by yourself!

Joining a club was a great motivator during the terrible winter we just had- it meant I knew there would be at least a few others going out regardless to meet up with and get some steady miles in. The only disadvantage was the time spent cleaning the muck off the wheels and chain afterwards

Keep it up- you'll be surprised how quickly you improve from putting the time in

oldbazza

iron-clover wrote:

When you know you can do up to 40miles or so without issue you could try looking to joining a local club. Most have a weekly 'social' club ride on Saturday or Sunday, with the larger clubs offering a choice of groups to go with on the day including slower/ shorter length ride groups. Either way, you shouldn't get dropped and left by yourself!

Keep it up- you'll be surprised how quickly you improve from putting the time in

This^

Best thing I did was joining a club;this time last year a 20 mile ride was torture yet a couple of weeks ago I completed my first 100 miler.

oldbazza

Oh and be prepared to spend loads of time on forums,looking at online stores,buying way more kit and bits than you really need and lusting at bikes you can't afford.

rick_chasey

Good effort. Heading out of town is usually advisable. Less traffic, fewer lights etc.


Some good riding round Leeds!

secretsam

Plenty of good advice on here. Consider a turbo for the winter in the frozen north...

class5700

get an ordinance survey map of your area and plot out some good-looking routes. I enjoy doing this and you'd be surprised the number of quiet pretty lanes you can find not far away from busy routes.

not very high-tech but still a good way to plan rides imo.

johntheboy84

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies. Got another 22 mile ride in Y'day, 1hr 27mins. Ride there was a diddle, ride back I had an awful head wind so struggled a bit. Aiming to do another today.

When it comes to training in the darker months does everyone still go out during the week on mornings/evenings? If so do you stick to the lit roads or still go on the country ones? Was looking at the shoulder strap/tabard (hi vis) kits in Evans yesterday and didn't know if something like that would be a good shout.

Cheers!

CiB

Some good advice so far except for that last line about fuelling up on carbs. 22 miles in an hour & a half is a steady pace, about 15mph off the top of my head. For a beginner it's good going and a good start but stick at it and you'll see the times fall away to a lot closer to just over the hour for that sort of distance. I'd question the logic of loading up on carbs for what amounts to a less than 90 minutes of not very strenuous exercise. It may feel like a massive effort at this stage but if you train your body to load up for minor rides like this you won't progress in the way that you [presumably] want to. 20 miles or so is the sort of distance you should be targetting as a quick ride that involves no prep and not much in the way of recovery. Fwiw that's almost my commute to work; do it with half a bottle of water, arrive in around 1:03 - 1:10, 10 mins relax then wash & change and do the day's work. If every journey to work and then back home at night involved a big carb loading session I'd look like a Michelin man by now.

CiB

Fair points, and I did initially read it as a suggestion to load up on carbs, but regardless of that for a relatively short time spent doing moderate exercise it's not going to leave anyone light headed the day after. I read a lot of stuff on here and often see advice that's a bit overboard (not yours here mind), and sometimes it seems we overthink it. A moderately fit person can easily ride this sort of distance on any diet in reality. One of my faves is a bottle of red wine at night, coffee & weetabix next morning and away. It works. Worry about carbs etc for long rides.

Manc33

After a few more months you'll get back from a 20 mile ride and feel like going back out again.