Fifty Plus (50+) - How many hours instead of miles

Most seem to post how many miles they have ridden a certain day; however, some of us are old and slow. I try to ride 2-3 hours at a time, 3 to 5 times a week. Depending on which bike I'm riding, and the direction and strength of the wind, I average about 8.5 mph to 14.5 mph. Where I live is hilly and windy---summers are scorchers. When I'm touring, I'm even slower--I guess that's why I've ridden by myself all these years.

So, just curious how much time is spent putting in the miles you all do.

I usually average 10 MPH overall mileage..including all stops. Rolling average is usually between 13 and 15 MPH. But I've found that the number of hours you ride is a more meaningful number, because a fast ride is invariably wind aided, and a slow ride wind eroded. So a fifty mile ride with tailwind takes less time than fifty miles with a headwind. Rather than get all puffed up with a false "fast ride" or bummed out with a false "slow ride," the number of riding hours always reflects my true effort.

4 hour ride today. But mileage is still a good way to keep score.

So for this year I've ridden 2,098 miles in 125 hours.

I keep track of total hours exercised in a week. My goal is to do 10 hours, at least, as I read that was a good goal. I count biking and trips to the health club where I might do either/or strength training or aerobic stuff. I was able to average 10.5 hours a week in 2006. A couple of long bike rides really help.

Miles/kilometers or hours; doesn't matter. What gets measured gets done.

Greg Lemond used hours.

- L.

i also prefer hours, and use a pulse monitor to keep from slacking off too much

card, that seems good to me, you've lasted for years,I'd guess you've avoided injury.Speed's not bad either.To me that's a good average all around regime in a season.In my 30's I'd do over 10 a week,only 8 months out of the year at best.I have much ,much more time now,way out of shape,lucky to get 5 hrs.a week. As for miles, maybe a little over a thousand in a summer.My riding started slow and late,autumn too.No winter riding hardly.I moved down south,that will change.Some of you average 10mph..kinda fast.I always lived in mountains,it's flat here on the coast. I feel a different type of fatigue so far,it takes time.

82 hours and 968 miles so far in 07

don't pay huge attention to my time or distance,
weather, road condition and motivation are a factor,
half an hr or two hrs, not sure it matters-
the satisfaction of riding is my goal.

Boy, I wish I had the time to get in hours like that. If I can get 4 hours a week I am lucky. Not enough but better than nothing. Work sucks!
I think hours is a good way to go though, you are riding and regardless of the miles you are still getting the exersise.

T

In order of importance (to me): Hours...Cadence...Heart beats...Miles...Elevation.

Getting used to >90RPM makes for a great aerobic workout. Monitoring your HR allows for short (10min) Zone 4 workouts with zone 2 recovery. I find that to be a great endurance builder. Pedaling at >90RPM in Zone 3 for an hour makes you feel like Lance.

I don't track any of it. I'll notice my time, distance and speed for an individual ride while I'm doing it, but I don't keep a record of it.

My hours are less flexible than I would like. Hence, my riding times tend to be scheduled along with all of the other demands in my life. Hence, I know how many hours I'll ride this week, and how many next week. Mileage, however, will vary a fair amount from week to week, depending on the kind of shape I'm in, my training goals for the week, the weather, and other variables. I keep track of miles, but wish I had a need to keep track of hours!

Smiles per mile!

With all the Garmin 305 generated data, the one that seems to correlate most closely to how shot I feel at the end is the elevation. If I climb 1000-2000 ft. on the road I consider that a pretty good workout.

But I'm with DnvrFox on this one: an even better measure of the quality of a ride is the amount of endorphins generated. After my road ride yesterday evening I was actually in a good mood, not a small accomplishment given the times we live in.

last year, I rode about 2,500 miles. Two five mile trips, five days a week. My door to door average is about 10 mph, so 250 hours. As has been suggested, the best parameter is "smiles per mile."

Paul

I have a Garmin so it records everything. I report miles to the cycling club and hours to the park program. I think Denver's "smiles per miles" is probably the best way to measure our biking:)

I do not record my mph. I try and average 13 to 16 mph, but on some days like yesterday I am lucky to average 9 mph. Rode on a very wet limestone trail. I wear a heart monitor and try and get in between 30 to 60 minute a day where my heart rate is in the zone.

Last year I rode 5,334 miles and averaged 18.47mph = 288.8 hours. This year I have 1,332 miles at 18.39mph avg = 72.3 hours. My usual week is 20.5mi Tues-Fri at about 1.1 hours a day and then a 61mi ride on Sundays which takes around 3.5hrs for a total of about 8hrs/wk. I try to shoot for 100mi/wk minimum but there are plenty of times when I only get 50-80mi

I wont have a full year in until July, but so far I have 2528 miles in with 82 hours of riding. The only reason I keep track of it is for maintenance as well as the work out. Like you said, with the wind and all the other factors mean a lot more than just speed.

I wont have a full year in until July, but so far I have 2528 miles in with 82 hours of riding. The only reason I keep track of it is for maintenance as well as the work out. Like you said, with the wind and all the other factors mean a lot more than just speed.


I copied the miles from the computer and the average, but the average doesn't look right. How do you figure it?

I really only think in terms of days on bike. Since it is my vehicle for commuting, I get the kilometers in and since I can tend to be impatient at times, the speed uphill is there too.

I copied the miles from the computer and the average, but the average doesn't look right. How do you figure it?

I changed bikes and computers so I'm averageing 10, WOW.

In order of importance (to me): Hours...Cadence...Heart beats...Miles...Elevation.

Getting used to >90RPM makes for a great aerobic workout. Monitoring your HR allows for short (10min) Zone 4 workouts with zone 2 recovery. I find that to be a great endurance builder. Pedaling at >90RPM in Zone 3 for an hour makes you feel like Lance.
Hi Rodrigaj,

Just got a Garmin 305 and am looking at cadence. For your 90 RPM, what is your course - mostly flat? I started observing cadence and I find if I'm not paying attention, I like to ride between 70 & 80. If I pay attention, I can get it up, but not on hills. Did you find it difficult to make a jump (assuming you started lower)?

Bob

So, just curious how much time is spent putting in the miles you all do.

My primary limitation is time, i.e. getting time to ride, and 3 or 4 afternoons a week is the best I'm going to get. ut I record my mileage so go figure. In the past month, with daylight savings time making sunset here around 7:45 pm, I've been able to ride later in the day & therefore longer. We can roll out of the driveway around 5:45 pm and be back home before dark with an hour to hour & a half ride.

I set a mileage goal for the year so that's what I'm recording. My average speed is 13.5 mph on a 15-20 mile ride and that is quite consistent regardless of wind conditions for some reason. Don't have a bike computer hooked up but know all of my routes and the mileage combos taken for each ride. My HRM will record my time so I just interpolate the distance of route ridden that day with the time. If I'm feeling compulsive I'll record time, avg/max heart rate, calories burned along with mileage. Some days I just go out & ride & record the mileage.

The smiles per miles is the best suggestion...:D

I have a ride that I do and it is 100 miles long. All I worry about on that ride is time. If I can do it in a comparable time to last year then I am happy. If it starts taking much longer -I will need lights and that is a bit dangerous at the end of a hard ride offroad.

I like to ride for around 4 hours on Sundays- Whether it be road or Offroad. Milage is immaterial. Take in hills or a flat ride on the road- distance will change. Do it with rain or wind and it will change again. Then offroad- How muddy is it- or in height of summer- how rock hard is the trail- How many hills- how technical- or even do I stay longer in the cafe cos its cold outside.

Only thing I try to do is on the 65 milers- I try to get those to around 16mph on the hilly routes or 18 on the flat ones. If I ever did 20 then I would start wondering what is happening.

My goal is 20 miles per day with a minimum of 10. I set it at 20 once I started reaching that number on an hour and a half ride. With getting dressed, cooling down and showering thrown in, I spend about 2 hours with the effort. Flats, breaks, visits with friends, etc all add to the overall time, but I still get an hour and a half of riding. On weekends, 4 hours per day is not unusual.

Don’t track hours or MPH or averages, but I do work hard at getting in 100 miles per week. It is 100 miles in any combination of rides my time allows. I do keep track of cumulative miles on the bike for maintenance and interest.

+1 on smiles per mile. If I don’t get the 100 miles in so what. I try never to forget why I starting riding in the first place-it was fun.

I wont have a full year in until July, but so far I have 2528 miles in with 82 hours of riding. The only reason I keep track of it is for maintenance as well as the work out. Like you said, with the wind and all the other factors mean a lot more than just speed.

Looks like about a 31 mhp average George....

Looks like about a 31 mhp average George....


I didn't mention this, but I'm going out for the Tour De France.


Really, what happened is I put a new computer on my new bike and added the miles from my old bike onto the miles on my new bike and I guess you can see, it doesn't work. I sure wish I was that fast at my age, and I'm sure there are some that are, but not many.:o Have a good ride and ride safe, George

Unfortunately I get hung up in all the numbers.I have a Garmin 205 and it gives me too much info. I really need to leave it home sometimes and "just ride" !!But anyways our weeknight rides are usually 1.5 to 2.5 hours. My Sunday solos are generally 3 to 4 hours. And as said previously, avg speed is really up to wind conditions. When I'm under 16mph avg it's almost always due to windy conditions. (or the dreaded BONK !!)

Hi Rodrigaj,

Just got a Garmin 305 and am looking at cadence. For your 90 RPM, what is your course - mostly flat? I started observing cadence and I find if I'm not paying attention, I like to ride between 70 & 80. If I pay attention, I can get it up, but not on hills. Did you find it difficult to make a jump (assuming you started lower)?

Bob
Two years ago 70 to 80 was my norm. That was the way I had always have ridden. Then I started a training program using Heart Zones Cycling by Sally Edwards. Some of her training rides require high RPM. I found it hard to do them at first but I got better. I now find an average 90 RPM quite easy. It is a learned technique. Good fitting shoes are a must. During the winter months, I do high cadence workouts on my trainer.

The rides here are rolling hills of short duration. So I try to pedal at high cadence for as far as I can make it. I have triple cranksets to help. On the steepest hills around Madison, WI., I find 75 to 85 is all I can do.
I find it fun to do and the endorphin rush afterwards is the reward.

Two years ago 70 to 80 was my norm. That was the way I had always have ridden. Then I started a training program using Heart Zones Cycling by Sally Edwards. Some of her training rides require high RPM. I found it hard to do them at first but I got better. I now find an average 90 RPM quite easy. It is a learned technique. Good fitting shoes are a must. During the winter months, I do high cadence workouts on my trainer.

The rides here are rolling hills of short duration. So I try to pedal at high cadence for as far as I can make it. I have triple cranksets to help. On the steepest hills around Madison, WI., I find 75 to 85 is all I can do.
I find it fun to do and the endorphin rush afterwards is the reward.
Funny, I've had Sally's book in my Amazon shopping cart for the last week, was thinking about buying it. So now it's final - I'll buy it!

I wish I was back in Madison - I loved riding there when I lived there (early to mid-70's) - what a great city. The Yellow Jersey still in town?

Funny, I've had Sally's book in my Amazon shopping cart for the last week, was thinking about buying it. So now it's final - I'll buy it!

I wish I was back in Madison - I loved riding there when I lived there (early to mid-70's) - what a great city. The Yellow Jersey still in town?

Yes they are, I go there all the time. Andy runs a unique shop. I work on my bikes or they do. I would not trust my bikes to anyone else. He also has a web site, which is as unique as his shop:

http://www.yellowjersey.org/

4 hour ride today. But mileage is still a good way to keep score.

Forgot to add: The same energy is expended walking a mile as running a mile, just different time to reach the same goal. So if you have 2 hours to ride 20 miles or one hour it makes no difference. For those of us still on the working treadmill, time to get your ride in is of consideration.

Forgot to add: The same energy is expended walking a mile as running a mile, just different time to reach the same goal. So if you have 2 hours to ride 20 miles or one hour it makes no difference. For those of us still on the working treadmill, time to get your ride in is of consideration.
Doesn't the time per mile also have something to do with burning fat or having to burn muscle?

I think the difference is aerobic vs anaerobic. At my age and pace, I get to burn a lot of fat and preserve what muscle I still retain.

ps: also get more "smiles per mile" by going slower;)

When commuting 1 to 2 hours each way, 12 to 22 miles. When just funning around about 4 hours.

I usually do around 7 hours during a recovery week and 11-14 hours during a normal training week. I find that doing a recovery week after 3 weeks of hard riding keeps my motivation up. BTW, I also try and get 6-7 bike races in a year, started racing last year and it has helped boost my fitness level by leaps and bounds! 51 years young!

Forgot to add: The same energy is expended walking a mile as running a mile, just different time to reach the same goal. So if you have 2 hours to ride 20 miles or one hour it makes no difference. For those of us still on the working treadmill, time to get your ride in is of consideration.

Actually I don't think this is true since the amount of work required to do 20mi in 1hr is greater than the effort to do 20mi in 2hrs, I don't believe it is linear. If you do the calculations you find that you need to maintain ~261 watts to do 20mph for one hour which translates to 897kcal for my body weight. On the other hand to do 10mph in 2hrs you only need to maintain 52 watts which translates into only 358 kcal. So even though you are doing the same distance and trading speed for time you actually do about 2.5x less work overall during the ride.

I have heard a couple of nutritional people say that the key for weigth loss is really just burning the maximum amount of calories. There is a increase in fat burning when doing anaerobic vs aerobic exercise but the tradeoff in calories burned means that you are really better off just focusing on burning the highest number of calories.

Actually I don't think this is true since the amount of work required to do 20mi in 1hr is greater than the effort to do 20mi in 2hrs, I don't believe it is linear. If you do the calculations you find that you need to maintain ~261 watts to do 20mph for one hour which translates to 897kcal for my body weight. On the other hand to do 10mph in 2hrs you only need to maintain 52 watts which translates into only 358 kcal. So even though you are doing the same distance and trading speed for time you actually do about 2.5x less work overall during the ride.

I have heard a couple of nutritional people say that the key for weigth loss is really just burning the maximum amount of calories. There is a increase in fat burning when doing anaerobic vs aerobic exercise but the tradeoff in calories burned means that you are really better off just focusing on burning the highest number of calories.

Have to disagree. According to Frank Shorter the calories spent on a one mile run vs a one mile walk is the same.

Have to disagree. According to Frank Shorter the calories spent on a one mile run vs a one mile walk is the same.

I don't have figures for walking/running so I don't have opinion one way or another on that. I am strictly talking about cycling.

You can run the same calculations I did for riding at:
http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm

I use this tool a bit when I want to check power and calories. It seems pretty accurate based on the opinions in the road and race forums from folks who use power meters.

Most seem to post how many miles they have ridden a certain day; however, some of us are old and slow. I try to ride 2-3 hours at a time, 3 to 5 times a week. Depending on which bike I'm riding, and the direction and strength of the wind, I average about 8.5 mph to 14.5 mph. Where I live is hilly and windy---summers are scorchers. When I'm touring, I'm even slower--I guess that's why I've ridden by myself all these years.

So, just curious how much time is spent putting in the miles you all do.

I ride an hour a day, every day. Distance covered depends upon route choice and terrain. I only have one bike but every ride is different. 10 mins to warm-up and 10 mins to cool-down leaves 40 mins for cardio-vascular (CV) training. CV profile may be interval, bell-curve, plateau. Depending on how I feel, intensity may be as low as 65% or in the high 80s. Some days I'll just noodle along to improve on heart stroke volume. Where possible, I'll do some chores along the way - drop off the laundry, buy groceries, like that.