General Cycling Discussion - How many times do you ride a week.

Just got back from a 78 mile ride. My wife says all I do is ride. Jealous of other thread about wife turned on about cycling. My desire is we both ride across the south of France from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
She grudgling talks of riding with me. Other cylcing friends are at real loggerheads with their wifes over the time they spend cycling.
So after my 78 mile ride today, I am planning to get out the next 3 days- each, probably 40-50 mile rides. Hope I get back early enought to get a little yard work done.
So, does eveyone like ride every day of the week. I could easily get home and put in two hours every day of the week. And that does not include my serious days. Cycling friends say after all that exercise, let your muscles mend.
Is there a time when riders at this site say -they are satisified, and had enough for the week.? How many times a week do all of us get out on the bike?

I would be happy the wife doesn't go with me cause thats your hobby you can do alone and have peace and quiet ;)
I ride 7 days a week 10mi a day. I know its not much but I just bought my bike and I'm pretty new to MTBing and most of it is on-road and it makes it hard because of my tires hehe. I average 13mph still :) ....is that good? I always wondered what a good average speed was.
Take care and have a ball riding! :beer:

I haven't had a non-riding day for ages. My commute is about 48km round trip. On other days I might ride anything from 10-250km, depending how I feel/.

I try to ride everyday but some days I just can't get away. Plus the weather this spring made it so muddy you just couldn't ride. Now that the weather has gotten better I'm out a lot more though. I'd say I average 5 days a week now.

I try and get out as often as time and weather permit. If I manage to do that, after 6-7 days straight, if they're 30+ kms/day, I feel like I need a day off. I probably average 5 days a week during my peak.

I try to ride whenever I possibly can. This year I seem to be doing most of my riding before or after work and maybe 1 of the weekend days. This way I can spend most of the weekend doing house things with my wife, which seems to keep both of us happy. I try to put her first, as this makes for a harmonious marriage. Some weekends I don't even ride, if I have done some decent kilometres during the week. I aim for a minimum of 150km/94mls per week, if I get in 200km/120mls then I will probably have the weekend off. I enjoy cycling but there are other things I also like to make time for.

When I go for longer rides 100km/62mls I usually do it on a weekday, so it doesn't interfere with the weekend, plus there are less cars on the country roads during the week, no tourists.

CHEERS.

Mark

I work nights. In the mornings, after I get the kids and wife fed and off to school and work, I ride. That means at least 5 days a week and maybe one weekend day.

My wife is thankful that I ride and don't hang out in sports bars or do other degenerating activities (either mental, emotional or physical).

5 days a week. Sometimes more - sometimes less.

I guess i am so into it, because of my goal to cross the continent. That is just not something you would do without getting fit. In spite of getting in my 150-200 miles a week; I still plan on doing the recreational things that we both enjoy. But yes, home chores do suffer.
Pretty enthused today, because after 78 hard miles, I felt pretty enegertic when I got home. In fact I felt great. Ready for another ride already.
If some cyclist had a "personal trainer," like the pros get -they would drive us at the pace, that many of us have already set for ourselves. That just to prepare us for our supertours.
The mountain biker who suggested he goes out and averages 13 mph on a mountain bike, ( with knobbies?). I say that is pretty darn good. On dirt??
Often on my road bike on concrete, I do not do much better.

I ride most days, but that varies from 3 or 4 miles to 30+

Richard

I target a minimum of 100 miles a week. That probably works out to about 8 hrs a week, somewhat more if you count setup and maintenance. Sometimes I get more, sometimes less. Between work, weather, home obligations, and family, cycling takes a relatively low priority, but still tends to nudge out things like mowing grass. ;) Then, too, when not riding, I'm doing something related... planning rides and charting profiles, researching gear, posting to discussion forums.

My wife sighs and says "I'm a bike widow."

Not enough.

Weather absolutely lousy - high, high winds (60 mph+), dust and smoke in air (fires in the mtns), pollen count extremely high. Ugh!!

For training: six days of training and one day rest every week. At peak season [June, July and August] I'll be getting 450 km a week, so that's be an average of 70 km every day. Of course, at least two days of the week would be sprints, intervals or climbing, so they're shorter rides, and at peak I'll do at least one 120-180 km group ride on the weekend.

Right now, I'm getting in the neighbourhood of 300 km per week.

I usually try to ride everyday, but like everyone else, life's other responsibilities take priorities. I try to put in about 80-100 miles during the week and then about 30-75 miles on the weekends, depending if I can ride both days! I'm happy if I average 5 days a week, including weekends!

I would prefer to go mt. biking on weekends, so that dramatically reduces my mileage, but not the "fun factor".

L8R:beer:

I try to be on the bike at least 5 times a week,
Given weather variations if I'm not on the road
I do an hour on the rollers (sometimes I cheat
and only do 50 minutes :lol: )
I'm lucky in that my wife enjoys riding also,
and will have the bikes set up when I get
home from work. She informed me that she
wants to send me to France for the TdF as
a birthday present! (my company sponsers
one of the big teams and is offering package
at reduced rate).

Marty

Lotek. That is great, your trip to the TdF. I saw the Tour the day before Lance got the yellow in 1999. Been psyched about cycling ever since.
Watching the cyclists approach is a neat experience. The people are really jazzed. It feels just like our Superbowl. The TV sets from one end of the country to another are tuned to the Tour for all three weeks. In the bars, soccer plays second fiddle during the Tour.
You know when the tour approaches, by the noise of the helicopters overhead. Best to use a video camera, because the bikes moving at 30 mph on flats is fast action. In spite of that, I got a good photo of the cyclist in yellow. That day it was Tom Steels.
I just hope you can take along a bike and follow the tour route. The way the country folks treat you as a recreational cyclists will stick with you forever. Cars will give you all the time you need to climb that hill and not sideswipe you, even if you are slowing them down. At least that was my experience. Passengers actually opened windows and clapped to give you support. It was a great experience.

Cyclezealot

Since the company sponsers a team they have a hospitality
room (or something) set up. That is supposed to be at the
finish of one of the mountain stages (not Ventoux).
I worked with a Dr. who was french and he used to
watch it every year, said it all goes by pretty quick.
If I go the Bike goes too!

Marty

i'm on the bike for commuting 5 days a week - 10km to work and 10km home...

then i ride longer (2 1/2+ hours) every Wednesday evening and then usually Saturday and Sunday... sometimes other days or when i take a bike vacation of course

when i was really serious about 2 years ago i trained hard riding 5-6 days a week for 2+ hours, but actually you have to be careful about overtraining which i did too much --- usually a 3-1 or 2-1 schedule is better - that means 3 days of riding and then 1 day off for rest for your body to recover and get stronger and adapt to the training...

it depends on your body and your fitness, but long hard rides break down the body and muscles and usually take 1-2 days to recover and even longer if you're not well-trained and then ride really hard...

since you guys are talking about wives riding or not riding...

my current girlfriend of 10 months is not a bike enthusiast. she has a mountain bike and commuter but she always drives to work (we work at the same company 10km away and spend 6 nights a week together but she works different hours) and she doesn't do any serious rides or tours and usually wants to drive instead of ride, say to the store or whatever. i've been trying to talk her into doing a week long bike tour along the Rhein River (it's pretty but flat and a classic bike tour)... she seems interested, but not thrilled... i got her interested in running and she does that 1-2 times per week but it's mostly because she _believes_ she's fat which is ridiculous...

2 of my x-girlfriends were hard-core commuter/racers and it's one of my big questions about the long-term... i.e. is it OK as far as a life-long relationship goes if i want to spent 90% of my free time cycling and climbing and skiing and my girlfriend wants to spend like 2% of her free time doing those things... i mean i can compromise a little (i'm not riding Saturday so we can do something together and i have a MTB race Sunday so a rest day is not so bad) ... or is that one of those things that will be a huge problem and i should break it off now...

right now it works out fine b/c as singles w/o kids we have plenty of free time in addition to time spent at work and sports to hang out together... but what about when you have kids or have to work long hours (at 31 i have never worked more than 50 hours a week more than twice in a year - luck and good choices!) and then if i only have 2 hours free every day i'll want to spend 1:55 doing sports... anyone have any input on how that works out??

my dad was (and still is even at 57) out of the house for sports like 4-5 days/week mostly for volleyball (now he's a ref and runs tournaments and only plays like once a week). i think my mom played with him for like 3 years and then quit and for like the last 25 years he's always done his sports solo and seemed to work out OK for them...

i had a coworker a few few years ago who was totally into skiing - he joined the volunteer ski patrol so he could ski more (good excuse if you 'have' to go ski), but his wife tried skiing once and didn't like it. He and the kids would go skiing every weekend and then once a year he would take a week-long ski trip with the kids and his wife worked... it just seems so depressing to me or am i missing something huge here??

oops just noticed this message is a little long. sorry, hope it doesn't sound like a Dear Abby letter...

Lotek. British Air did their best to trash my old road bike. If you value your bike, get a hard case or pack it really well. Both ways, going and returning; I had to have my bike repaired. First time, I took my bike over, the damage was minor. Not on British Air.
In spite of that problem, I prefer to take my own bike, can't rent one to my specifications.

I commute m-f 12miles, saturdays usually very short rides, sundays do a distance ride around 60miles. Wahoo!

If I'm good, I commute every day, 15 miles round trip, and then I bike on the weekends. Sometimes, like this week, I'm not good and I only get a couple of commutes on the bike. I tried to make up for it a little by going on a short ride yesterday morning before my commute. So I guess when I'm good I do about 90 miles in a week, when I'm bad maybe 40.

andy

During the winter I ride 4 days, 2 days lifting.

Right now, being spring, I'm riding 5 days, 1 day lifting. Two of the riding days being double sessions.

In the summer I'm riding 7 days, and double sessions are about 2-4 days a week.

Mileage varies a lot because sometimes I'll be doing a short intense track workout, and other times I'll be going to a 3-hour + road ride.

Originally posted by Coffee
I ride 7 days a week 10mi a day. I know its not much but I just bought my bike and I'm pretty new to MTBing and most of it is on-road and it makes it hard because of my tires hehe. I average 13mph still :) ....is that good? I always wondered what a good average speed was.


I also have a MTB that primarily gets road time. (I'm relatively new at this, too.) My average speed on-road/bike paths is around 12-13mph. I was rather pleased yesterday to max. at 17mph along a flat area though (and 21mph on a down-hill -- Woo!). I figure that the fatter tires just make it more of a challenge and a better workout for me.

Usually I ride 2-3 days a week, for 15-20 miles each ride. Lately I've been allowing plenty of time to run because I am running a 5k tomorrow morning -- my first of the season.

Originally posted by OctoberBlue


I also have a MTB that primarily gets road time. (I'm relatively new at this, too.) My average speed on-road/bike paths is around 12-13mph. I was rather pleased yesterday to max. at 17mph along a flat area though (and 21mph on a down-hill -- Woo!). I figure that the fatter tires just make it more of a challenge and a better workout for me.

Usually I ride 2-3 days a week, for 15-20 miles each ride. Lately I've been allowing plenty of time to run because I am running a 5k tomorrow morning -- my first of the season.

Thats exactly my set up cept you ride a little further :D

I love to run also and I have a 5K on the 27th....but I haven't ran in 1 months do to shin problems but I'm good now I think. Its just a matter of getting off my bike now hehe.
Have a wonderful day! :beer:

My short term goal is to ride 6 days a week for a few months straight. Monday-Friday doing 8-10 miles a day and then Sunday doing 20-50 miles. I take Saturday off because it is my long run day.


I have an idea of how much you guys and gals will be upset with me for saying this, but I am more of a long distance runner then a biker.

I am starting a new training program Sunday that has me running everyday. By mid summer, I may very well be running more miles per week then I bike. :eek: I am hoping the biking will give me a boost in my training for the Chicago Marathon in October.

I guess that makes my training (both running and biking) take up 1.75 hours on weekdays and 3-4 hours on Saturday and another 3-4 hours on Sunday.

Every workday, at least 22 miles, plus occasionally on weekends.

If you want your wife/husband/significant other to ride with you, start with very short rides with and objective and a reward - a mile or so to the coffee shop/ice cream shop/park. Make it fun and EASY. Don't wear your lycra. Make it about them, not about the bike. After a few times they might decide riding is fun and want to do more. Or not. But if you take them out for 10 miles with you on your racing iron in full kit, they will hurt and not like you very much. Ditto getting your kids into riding. Above all it has to be fun for them.

During the season, nearly every day. Right now, I still have my gym membership, until the first week of may, so on off days, I weights, run etc. But I will ride at least five times a week during the season. If I don't do a road ride, I'll go offroad and do the MTB thing.

In the winter we average 6 - 8 feet of snow on the ground, so I get on the trainer about once a week. Even during the summer I only get about 3 to 4 days in on the bike. I work a 14 hour night shift. Those 10 hours off leave only enough time to sleep, eat and prepare for another shift. I've found that if I try to do something on my work days I burn myself out and end up getting sick.

Originally posted by lotek
I worked with a Dr. who ... said it all goes by pretty quick.
If I go the Bike goes too!
Seeing a stage of the tour, much less taking your bike, would be absolutely awesome.
For several years the Tour de Trump/Tour duPont had stage starts/finishes near here. I learned the first time you can wait a loooong time to see 150 cyclists all go whirring by in a couple of seconds. It always worked best to either stake out a place on a big climb, that way they were going slow enough that you could at least pick out a few you might recognize. Better yet, at the finish they usually had a huge screen with continuous television coverage and some vendors around, all of which made for kind of a carnival atmosphere. Best of all was when the finish was at the top of a steep climb, where you could get the best of both.

Weather permitting I ride four days a week. Do resistance training 2 days, and rest one. In season I generally end up somewhere between 100-150 miles. Sometimes more, sometimes less. And I always listen to the machine. Having had the experience of over training( in my youth) I make a point of not going there again!! More is not always best. This regimen seems to give me the best sense of well being. ride long and prosper. Stan

I try to get out atleast 4 days a week. Ideally I would like to do 5 days a week consistently.

From what I read, should you be training for some special cycling event, 6 days would be what is advised. Each day of varying intensities.?