Increasing cycling (distance & number of days)

slopesoarer

The back end of March this year I got back on the bike (Genesis Equilibrium 853). In the last 15-20 years I haven't done very much cycling at all, just couldn't get back in to it. When I was younger it was mountain biking and I was out 5-6 days a week working around shifts and occasionally I think I was over training and burned out and would have to have a few months off (could happen summer or winter).

Since the back end of March I have been riding 3 times a week (generally Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings) and have been increasing distance from 14-15 miles to around 25 miles per session. Starting to feel good about it can fell some strength coming back to my legs. Finding excuses to ride rather than not to ride, etc.

I'm trying to keep momentum going and want to increase both frequency of days out and length of rides without doing too much too soon. I was reading a thread about someone wanting to increase their cycling distance from around 30 to 100 miles per session and part of the advice was to forget about speed.... I find that very difficult. I always find myself pushing myself and even when I try to back off within a short period I find that I am pushing myself (if you rode with me you might not agree but it feels that way for me, ha!).

So I'm looking for ideas and experiences from riders, who can help me increase frequency and distance without me overdoing it and locking the bike away in the garage again.

By the way I'm 58 now, probably a little over weight according to official figures (but that is coming off with riding), have no reason other than a few commitments around midday not to be able to get out and ride: )

Cheers

Simon

cgfw201

Just build it up gradually. To increase your level of fitness you need to increase either the Duration, Frequency or Intensity of your rides. So longer, more regular or harder riding. Dial these up as much as you feel comfortable doing and you'll get stronger. The more you dial each up, the faster you will improve. Dial these too much and you'll end up fatigued and get ill, so listen to your body.

Given it's the summer. I'd just say get out early before work and enjoy some rides after work. Do that and distance and duration isn't a concern, it's just fun.

slopesoarer

cgfw201 wrote:

Just build it up gradually. To increase your level of fitness you need to increase either the Duration, Frequency or Intensity of your rides. So longer, more regular or harder riding. Dial these up as much as you feel comfortable doing and you'll get stronger. The more you dial each up, the faster you will improve. Dial these too much and you'll end up fatigued and get ill, so listen to your body.

Given it's the summer. I'd just say get out early before work and enjoy some rides after work. Do that and distance and duration isn't a concern, it's just fun.

Thanks for the reply, what you say makes perfect sense,

Thanks again!

pblakeney

Tip #1.
The more variety in your routes, the less chance of boredom.

slopesoarer

PBlakeney wrote:

Tip #1.
The more variety in your routes, the less chance of boredom.

Haha... yeah I know what you mean, to be fair where I live I can vary routes a lot the one thing I don't seem to be able to do easily is get rid of hills

milemuncher1

To start with, slowly increase the distances on the three days you’re riding now, until your fitness increases to the point you’re doing 30 - 50 miles, without being too knackered out, then either get yourself a Garmin ( or something else like a Garmin, but probably better, like a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt), and some route planning computer stuff, like Strava, or ride with GPS, or similar ( or maybe even a decent O.S. map, and a compass, if you really want to be hardcore). Then plot some routes out in your locale. Then the fun starts, you can go out and test the routes out, take notes of issues / problems, and suitable points of interest ( pubs with nice gardens, or nice independent cafes / tea rooms etc). Then alter the route accordingly and go and try it again. Repeat until it’s fun. Alternatively, join a local club / cycle group / CTC / let’s ride group, and use the routes they will show you, but ad lib it the next time out. To begin with you’ll probably find it’s more enjoyable to ride with a group, and before long, you’ll be smashing out massive rides, without noticing how far you’ve gone.

slopesoarer

Cheers Milemuncher.