Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Challenge suggestion ... 1000 mile month!

so, you could always just save up your cash, later on quit your job, and ride. always. ti's how im gonna train for the tour de france when im older

Well, I'm currently at about 600 miles for June ... it's not looking good for me to reach 1000 miles this month! :(

6 days left, 400 miles to go .......



Too much work ... not enough cycling time!!!!! :cry:



However, July and August are yet to come. :)

710 so far. I'm lagging badly. 6 days and 290 to go....hmm.

Anyone up for something more like a 300 mile challenge? ;)

I've got just over 500 so far... will probably not make 600. *sighs* My knee's been bothering me... I'll have to tinker with the fit on the bike, see if I can adjust it so it doesn't bother my knee as much.

Just a note to everyone: Knee injuries SUCK.

Well .... only 735 miles for June. :(

I don't have any big rides coming up in July ... just one 200K brevet ... so I think my strategy is going to have to change if I want to have any hope of getting 1000 miles in July.

Let's see ... there are 31 days, I know I won't be able to ride for 7 of them, so that leaves 24 days to ride. 1000/24 = 42 miles per day. I should be able to cover a slightly longer distance than that on 5 of the days ...... but I think the name of the game for July will have to be "consistancy". I'll just have to ride as much as possible every possible day!

I hit 649 miles tonight. I'm happy at that! I was going to go out for a ride this evening, but it's not happening... knee is swollen.

I'll get more miles in July!!!!

Plus, I'm moving 5 miles further out from my job.... that'll add another 200 or so miles to my minimum mileage every month.

Well .... only 735 miles for June. :(

I don't have any big rides coming up in July ... just one 200K brevet ... so I think my strategy is going to have to change if I want to have any hope of getting 1000 miles in July.

Let's see ... there are 31 days, I know I won't be able to ride for 7 of them, so that leaves 24 days to ride. 1000/24 = 42 miles per day. I should be able to cover a slightly longer distance than that on 5 of the days ...... but I think the name of the game for July will have to be "consistancy". I'll just have to ride as much as possible every possible day!

I know that I've gone down this route before but I will say it again -- I think a more realistic goal for most people is a "metric 1000" i.e. 1000 km in a single month. 1000 miles is VERY tough to achieve when we are wrapped up with other priorities like jobs, school, family... I would guess that even 1000km is difficult to achieve for most of us. Yes, there are always exceptions but why not set goals which most of can actually hope to ahieve.

Terry

I know that I've gone down this route before but I will say it again -- I think a more realistic goal for most people is a "metric 1000" i.e. 1000 km in a single month. 1000 miles is VERY tough to achieve when we are wrapped up with other priorities like jobs, school, family... I would guess that even 1000km is difficult to achieve for most of us. Yes, there are always exceptions but why not set goals which most of can actually hope to ahieve.

Terry

1) I'm not setting goals for anyone but myself. If 1000 miles a month is not your thing, it's not your thing ... I said in my very first post that it might not be in everyone's plans.

2) 1000 miles a month is attainable. I've done it several times in the past ... and so have A LOT of other people I know.

3) I posted this as a CHALLENGE ... for anyone who finds such challenges a good motivating tool ... for anyone who wants to push themselves a little further than they normally would. Interestingly, a group of people on a different forum seem to really like this challenge. Several of them have succeeded in reaching 1000 mile months, and many others are successfully setting personal bests for monthly mileage ... it's all good!!

Well .... only 735 miles for June. :(


Use creative accounting. Use the accrual method. Move the miles over from May to June.

1) I'm not setting goals for anyone but myself. If 1000 miles a month is not your thing, it's not your thing ... I said in my very first post that it might not be in everyone's plans.

2) 1000 miles a month is attainable. I've done it several times in the past ... and so have A LOT of other people I know.

3) I posted this as a CHALLENGE ... for anyone who finds such challenges a good motivating tool ... for anyone who wants to push themselves a little further than they normally would. Interestingly, a group of people on a different forum seem to really like this challenge. Several of them have succeeded in reaching 1000 mile months, and many others are successfully setting personal bests for monthly mileage ... it's all good!!

Machka,

I understand that you have set very high goals for yourself and wish you every success in achieving those goals. However, I would like to refer back to one of your postings in May where you stated:

"Every year since 1997 I've had at least one 1000 mile month ... ".

For me this seems to imply that the 1000 mile/month goal is an exception, not a rule -- why would we want to set ourselves goals that may be acheivable (for 95% of us), only once or twice per year? In my BEST cycling years, I occasionally hit the the 1600 km/month (yes, I'm Canadian and have left the miles behind me long ago and maybe I'm irked at other Canadians who continue to hold on to the old Imperial system - but that's my problem, not yours...). A few times I did 2000km or more/month and celebrated but I always knew that those exceptional months were just that - exceptional.

I guess the danger that I see is that we sometimes set goals that may be acheivable, but often only in what other sports would call "career years". Career years are hard to repeat, or live up to. Or maybe I'm just irked that I don't have the time or freedom or energy to accept your challenges...

I will agee with you "that it IS all good!!". Good luck in your endeavours.

Terry

Hmmm, missed this thread when it first came around. I'd love to have the time to ride that many miles every month. As it is, a stacked riding schedule in May "only" netted 1200+km.

Forum Moderators ... could you move this post over to the Long Distance forum?

It seems to me it might be more appropriate over there because accomplishing 1000 miles in a month requires some long distance cycling. :)

Thanks!!

I'll bite. While cycling over the winter, I was considering giving this a try this summer. I picked July or August that I would shoot for it due to the 31 days and long daylight hours.

So I hit 611 miles in 14 rides for June by the 28th and decided to take two days off to get a good rest period for starting July. The key for me is to get a good start. So I started July off with a solo century, followed the next day with a 50 mile ride. Monday I did a slow 30 mile recovery ride and yesterday, 42+ miles of casual with intervals ride. I was surprised at how strong I was yesterday after that much time in the saddle, the 30 mile recovery ride did the trick. That starts me off with almost 225 miles in the first 4 days of July. Today is scheduled rest and I'll be back on tomorrow.

We'll see how it goes. Even with a strong start, it is going to take a lot of time on the bike and I doubt it is something I'll do more than once a year or so, if that.

July is off to a good start. 477 miles so far. :D Good thing, too. Work is rearing it's ugly head in a big, big way.... :(

Just catching up on this post. I had 632 miles in June and am working on 519 miles in July so far.

I know that I've gone down this route before but I will say it again -- I think a more realistic goal for most people is a "metric 1000" i.e. 1000 km in a single month. 1000 miles is VERY tough to achieve when we are wrapped up with other priorities like jobs, school, family... I would guess that even 1000km is difficult to achieve for most of us. Yes, there are always exceptions but why not set goals which most of can actually hope to ahieve.

Terry

I think you are being a bit negative Terry,

Last July I rode 1000 miles in just over a week, 1400 km Edinburgh-London (Saturday to Wednesday), 200 km brevet on tandem with wife (following Saturday), work in between. That left the rest of the month to do other stuff. A much easier way of fitting everything in :rolleyes:

Too bad I missed this thread earlier. I think I am still on track for July to beat the 1000 mile a month (what's that in kms?) unless I fall off my bike again and injure my wrist/knee/shoulder even more. Three times in the last two weeks due to a very slippery boardwalk and killer pedal straps. :mad:

Do you all normally track your monthly mileage?

I'll reset my odometer for August to see what I can get, but I think 1600km is way over - seeing as I have had it for 2 and a half months and have reached 870km.

Hey, it's a challenge - seeing if I can get halfway (500miles) in one month will be enough for me.

Do you all normally track your monthly mileage?

I'll reset my odometer for August to see what I can get, but I think 1600km is way over - seeing as I have had it for 2 and a half months and have reached 870km.

Hey, it's a challenge - seeing if I can get halfway (500miles) in one month will be enough for me.


I've been tracking my monthly mileage since 1990. Back then, I did it all with paper and pencil, now I use Excel, bikejournal, and BigDogs.

And ... if you make 500 miles in a month, that's great too!! :)

just noticed I'm at 1016 miles for July with 6 100+ mile rides... far behind last years pace but I've just begun to get into the swing of things... maybe I can make it 1000+ for July through October... here in Vermont October riding can be tough... always windy , getting cold, short days, etc...

I managed it, barely. :rolleyes: Anyone else?

i forgot to check. i'll check when i get home tonight. i don't think 1000, but maybe close.:) :eek:

I arrived a little late. I might have been close to 1000 in July. I logged over half that distance July 22-23. What happens after August? My plan is roughly 500/month Aug-Oct, 1000/month Nov-Jan, 1500/month Feb-Mar, 2000 in April, and 3000 the first half of June ... sans derailleurs. BTW, I currently have two jobs and 3 school age kids. And I live in (currently) sunny Hillsboro, OR.

I only managed 422 miles for July. LIFE got in the way ... but that's OK ... it's all good! :) :)


Congratulations to those who made it and to those who set personal bests.


One more month to go!! :D

Ended up with 668 miles in July, with one century and one double century.

i forgot to check. i'll check when i get home tonight. i don't think 1000, but maybe close.:) :eek:

i checked (i keep obsessive daily mileage on a calendar) and in june i rode 965.7 miles (!) and in july i rode 945.2 miles (!).

no centuries (longest ride was 70 miles), but i commute daily which gives me 23 right there. so with pretty much daily after work riding, the miles racked up. after all, you really only need 33 or 34 miles a day to do it.

this month i may not have as many as i may go to the mountains for some hiking for a few days.

if i'd known, i would have put a few more miles and posted 1000!:eek:

these miles were all fixed-gear. i should be getting my geared bike sometime in september.:) :beer:

Two of them, as a matter of fact! :) I'll be putting in between 55 and 60 hours a week over the summer. (During the winter, I go to University full-time and work part-time.)

But I think of it like this:

A week is 168 hours. If I work 60 hours a week, that leaves me 108 hours. Suppose I sleep 50 hours a week, that leaves me with 58 hours to do other stuff! I could cycle 18 hours a week (for example) and still have a full 40 hours for housework, church, etc. :)

Now if you have two kids like I do, now subtract 30 hours from free time. I refuse to let my wife in the kitchen (I did not marry her for her cooking abilities), subtract another 14 hours, now thorw in that I have to maintain 6 bikes (3 are mine), subtract another 5 hours etc.

168-56(sleep)-30(kids)-14(cooking)-5(bike maintenance)-5(date night)-3(food shopping)-45(work)-5(miscellaneous) leaves me a whopping 15 for biking each week or 60 per month.

If I cycle every day of the month, maybe I could pedal 1,000 miles per month, but do not count on it :D