Road Cycling - How much is too much riding?

Being new to the sport, (roadbike) I am still in that "all I ever think about is when can I get on my bike and ride" faze of owning a new bike. I used to ride my mountain bike quite often but I am putting many more miles on the road bike. (2001 Bianchi SL Daytona) My question is, how much is too much? I find myself riding every day and I am wondering if I would improve more by taking every other day off or some sort of schedule. I also have three kids so riding time is kinda whenever I can get it in, like after they've gone to bed or something like that. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Oh, I guess I should note that I am pretty much a recreational rider, not looking to race but I do like to participate in club type rides and such, I am aiming for the Solvang century in March...:beer:

First off, good luck on the century prep!

You'll get better answers than this one, but: I take a couple of days off a week. I live at about 7000 feet, so that's part of the reason. Other than that, it's not good to ride every day. At lower elevation, I take one day completely off and have one day of active rest, where I just spin on the bike for a while. You can find good resources on line for mileage suggestions, though I can't think of any, and they might be a good place to start. Vary mileage and intensity.

Remember this, though: Rest is as important as training.

I think it important to have easy days. Not so sure once you have built up a base to take days off for recovery.. Many commute daily on their bikes to work... I think if you are in training for long tours, you need be prepared for just that. Long periods of time on the bike..
Yes, initially you get stronger by letting your muscles mend.. What if you ride 8.000 miles a year and think of crossing a continent on a bike tour...? Once strong enough you can bike every day, I think.. No matter how rigorous my ride, i find after 8,000 miles a year recovery is fast... If I could I would probably ride at least 20 miles a day with my average day mileage about 35 and my longest ride once a week about 85...
But then my goal is to cross North America within the next two years..

you can ride every day... the key is intesity and recovery.

if you have a hard day then the next day should be light or no riding at all.

most racers use a 2-1 or 3-1 cylce meaning 2-3 days hard training followed by a lighter day for recovery.

since you're not in it for racing, just learn to listen to your body. when you're tired or your muscles sore, take it easy.

but unless you are totally dead from an all-out long ride and sprint, you can ride every day ---- 30 minutes of light spinning usually counts as recovery IF you normally ride a lot.

overtraining is pretty easy to do - and most riders when they catch the fever and begin to step it up do overtrain at some point (i sure did!)

gradual increases in training INTENSITY (not necessarily just time) are what you need accompanied by appropriate rest and nutrition for recovery.

You'll get better answers than this one, but: I take a couple of days off a week. I live at about 7000 feet, so that's part of the reason.

Interesting thesis.

My premise has always been that your body adjusts to any reasonable altitude.

I ride at 6,000 feet, and in the summer ride at 9,000 - 10,500 ft.

I guess your thought is that your body never completely adjusts to the altitude??

Guess I would like to know more about this. I have never made an "adjustment" for altitude, but, then, I am a purely recreational rider.

A google search reveals that practically ALL of the literature relates to adjustment to changes in altitude, with almost all stating that the body eventually fully adjusts to that altitude. However, we know that is not totally true. It appears that no one's body adjusts to the top of Mt. Everest, for example.

Do you have any research that shows a decline in athletic performance after living at altitude for many years, or after being born at a high altitude? I am reminded of the Incas in Peru living, as I recall from 40 years ago, totally adequately at 14,000 ft and above - I remember the pictures of their bodies showing enlarged lungs.

From

http://www.sportsdoctor.com/articles/altitude2.html

Your body also adapts to altitude by Increasing the number of red blood cells to transport oxygen to the muscles, brain and other organs. Climbers who have been at altitude for many weeks have shown an increase of nearly 40 percent in their circulating red blood cells. This adaptation begins soon after reaching altitude, but it may not be completed for two months or longer.

2001 Bianchi SL Daytona
No wonder you can't get off the bike :D

I love my Bianchi San Remo - I know how you feel.

My theory, or observation with my own physiology, is that my body adapts by keeping my heart rate elevated for a longer amount of time. This is especially frustrating when trying to ride after work and go to bed relatively early to get enough rest. My heart rate remains elevated for a longer amount of time after a hard effort up here than it did when I lived in Oklahoma at 2000 feet. However, I do notice a lag in recovery in hard efforts. It's either altitude or age, and, since I'm only 26, I doubt that age is a good explanation.

So, I would agree that the body adapts to altitude. Riding at lower elevations certainly is easier now. Rather, recovery is much quicker. However, I think that my body's adaptations render another day of rest necessary for me to keep my resting heart rate low enough to rest well.

Now, to discount everything I said, it could also be that I'm now more aware of heart rate and the importance of rest than when I was riding before and during college. But, I lend a lot of credence to what I've observed with my own physiology.

I wanted to chime in re/easy riding. If you take it easy, you can ride every day. And, believe it or not, riding easy, i.e. completely aerobic, is probably the best prep you can do for a century right now. It will encourage growth of the capillary base, etc., that you need for endurance. As the ride date approaches, you'll need to ramp up effort, mileage, etc. Lots of aerobic miles that leave you strong enough to ride the next day will work wonders. Just 'cause it doesn't hurt, doesn't mean it doesn't help.

the human body gets stronger with rest.
so rest as hard as you ride.
there is nothing wrong with riding everyday.
like someone said listen to your body work on one or two skills,
each time you ride and be sure to get some rest to let your body
heal and grow stronger.
well thats my .02 on that.
K

So what if you are like retired and become a professional bicycle tour guide or what if you could be a pro rider for a team. it is your job to ride every day..
I am thinking about getting to the stage of my life where you can think about what you will do later on, - when you can tell HR, take this job and stick it... Are there jobs where you can ride every day.
If I were 15 again, my job goal would be to think about being a member of the pro team.. Don't those people ride every day.. If you ride 25,000 miles a year, guess you do not have too many days off...
In my city, we have a former member of the Race Across America team.. He still does 250 miles a week..Retired and about 60 yeaars old...Does he ever move..Younger aspiring racers can't keep up with him... He probably rides every day...

like me, you should ride as many days as you like. differing efforts not withstanding, always be aware that it should never take away from your family. my wife knows that riding is important to me and helps me be a better father and husband if i ride....

i am not a racer (genetics) but also like to ride as fast as possible to keep up with group rides. i get up extra early while the family is sleeping. i try to MINIMIZE the burden my training puts on my family. there is a fine line between obsessive and healthy/

After building up my base mileage, the only thing that keeps me off the road is when my wife suggests that the kids forget what I look like. Then, they suggest that I go riding because there is only so much cycling that they want to talk about and watch with me on OLN....

originally posted by cyclezeolot
Are there jobs where you can ride every day.

this thought goes through my head too --- i don't know if i could do it as my main career. but i am now a MountainBike Guide for the German Outdoor/Mountain Club (DAV). i already served as a guide for an 8-day TransAlp tour last Septmber and this week I signed up my 2 4-day sessions of official training which unfortunately don't happen until May/July. i will only be doing it on the weekends and for a few week-long trips per year - so in addition to my regular job, but i will be an officially certified guide!

here in Europe in the summer there are full time Mountain Bike Guides. on our tour last Sept, i met a female guide who was on her 11TH TransAlp tour of the Summer. She would ride 7-9 days (350 to 500km and 10,000 to 20,000 meters vertical!) with a group of 6-10 riders from Germany to Italy and then take the bus/train back to Germany and then do it again from end of May to mid-September! i don't think the pay is much :( unfortunately i didn't get to talk to her long as i was tending to the back of the pack of our group (we had a guy who didn't do his pre-tour training and skipped both training rides!)

You mean it's possible to ride too much?

Nathank.. In the US- Adventure Cycling has a comparable program. Not sure that organization uses that very same trained personel for their own purposes...? I have considered attending their classes.. Their guides are trained in both off road and on road cycling guides..

I'm with MediaCreations on this. In season, I ride six days a week. A couple of my weeks last summer were @ 20 hours. Cycling is what I do; teaching and writing are what I do to allow me to cycle.

But I always mix it up. I don't do the same rides every day -- I don't even ride the same bikes every day. And I change my training focus at different times of the year.

This may not be the best answer.

Riding too much is when you get home and she's put all the crap you own on the front yard. When you reach this point back off just slightly to acheive the proper amount.

:D

Greg, I like your thinking! Balancing my riding and family is harder than staying tight in the pace line!