Barrettscv 

I'm exploring several cycling routes that start from home and need 60 to 90 minutes to complete. I'd like to ride this route once or twice a week for fitness, with the hope of monitoring any progress. I'll also ride other routes and ride with groups, this won't become an exclusive routine.

Do you have a local (to you) fitness route? How long is it? Is it hilly, flat or a mix?

gregf83 

I used to have a 12 min loop for longer steady intervals. I would brake on the corners to keep my power steady. It was about 15-20 min from my house so a decent warmup, 2x20 intervals and cooldown made a decent workout. The only problem was the road surface is quite rough.

Now I have a stretch of new highway with a broad shoulder that I can go steadily for 30min. There are a few overpasses along the way that I'll sometimes sprint up to mix things up. Makes for a 90 min workout with 40-60 min of threshold work. Another loop I use has some short (90S and 4min) hills.

Carbonfiberboy 

I have several routes which are convenient to ride from my house. Some are almost flat, some quite hilly. Depends on what I'm looking for. The route I ride the most is the flattest one because mostly I'm just after VT1 work. It takes me ~1:10 to ride. I almost always can find the time to do that one. When I want more work I have other routes which take ~2 hours and have good hills. I used to do a three hour hilly ride once a week, but that route takes too long on the tandem.

John E

My favorite such route is a 90-minute, 25-mile round trip, from home to the top of Torrey Pines, essentially an out-and-back along Pacific Coast Highway 101. It is mostly flat, with a couple of rolling hills, and a 10-minute, 7 percent climb at the distal end. (Alternatively, I take the 12 percent climb through the park itself, but always take the main highway back, because bicyclists are no longer allowed to descend the road inside the park, for "safety" reasons. Motorists, of course, can go both up and down the hill -- go figure.)

nobodyhere

Too bad. I was there last week, but without a bicycle. I have done the 12% up and down, and saw a number of bikes going up, but did not notice there were none coming down. It makes no sense.

Leaving from my front door, I have a 18 mile loop route encompassing 9 miles of continuous gentle to not-so-gentle uphill and then, presto, 9 miles of gentle to not-so-gentle downhill. But, I have not done it much this year - life keeps getting in the way!!

In my case, "not-so-gentle" is going downhill without pedaling at 30-35 mph, depending on wind, or the comparative uphill.

Jim from Boston

Do you have a local fitness route?

Pretty much all my cycling is for training; usually by extending any one of my four parallel minimal 14 mile commuting routes, each defined by a moderate hill requiring about 2-3 minutes to climb at an interval pace. All the other routes have lesser hills, and I would estimate only about one quarter mile of each is flat.

During the nice weather (April to November) I extend the commute to about 20 miles through similar but slightly hillier terrain, with Saturday long rides at least 40 miles. A favorite non-work related route, I have called “the training loop” for years, is 21 miles along much of the Boston Marathon route: from Kenmore Square out Beacon St/Rte 16 to Wellesley, and back on Commonwealth Ave (Comm Ave)/Rte 30; or vice versa. It includes the famous “Heartbreak Hill" in Newton, actually a series of hills I would again describe as moderate for a cyclist. Moderate hills in Boston might be laughable to Seattle or San Francisco, but may be challenging for a flatlander. Winds are not too bad.

Then there is (which I don’t ride), Great Blue Hill:

IMO Boston offers pretty varied terrains with hills, and in particular many different interesting and picturesque environments. Novelty is very important for me to ride, besides the commute.to work. Since I live in the center of the "Hub (of the Universe)" as it's called, I have explored all over the region, and written up for visitors a compendium of road cycling around Metro Boston, a "Cyclist's Guide to the Metroverse."

OldsCOOL

I have several so that my body and mind stay in tune. My typical week includes a stiff hill ride. Next comes something speedy and flat, usually 6-16mi and will work intervals in somewhere. Last ride of the week is for miles and hills thrown in. This I have found, if I dont mix the routes for each specific workout, I mysteriously begin to turn in duplicate times almost like my body has acclimated successfully and it's time to break out and reroute.

FBOATSB

One block from my driveway, I get on a MUP, go 3.5 miles to a park where there is a 0.3 mile track that I run fast laps on until time to go home. MUP only crosses one road.

Ha Ha. Fast for me anyway.

gios

My hamster treadmill route is a cw 2 mile circuit that starts across the street with bike lanes and can be made without stopping. Four straights, almost equidistant. Head east up hill, turn right to the first flat south, turn right for the second flat west, turn right and downhill - repeat. I do 7 laps a day.

Dave Cutter

I have several routes from home. I have some out-and-back rides and a few loops as well. But even when the route remains the same.... they change. Sometime there will be street repairs, or cable TV trucks tying up streets, or traffic varies for reasons... I don't always understand. Currently workers are repairing/modifying natural gas lines.

The best way I judge my speed/progress is when I drive to the MUP and ride my standard out and back.

choteau

All my routes start at the house, all are the same route for the first mile, by then I usually have decided which I'll do.
My favorite is right at 30 miles, time varies depending on time of day because of traffic, wind, etc or if I stop by a local bike shop to gab. I've also noticed the same people on the same parts of the route depending on time I ride.

revcp 

I'm very fortunate. I have multiple loops from my front door of 25 (the shortest ride I do with my road bike) to 75 miles on good roads with wider shoulders, including several with good hills if I go longer and head down the the St. Croix River valley. I also have good singletrack within three miles for my mtb and fat bike.

bakes1

I have a fantastic 16 mile loop that leaves right from my front doorstep.
Travels through two towns and has a nice little 650' gain so nothing too difficult but not totally flat either.
Most of it is well paved back roads and it also includes a two mile boulevard that is perfect for hitting hard to measure improvement/KOM.
Can also do the middle portion twice as a loop which adds 4 miles to make it a nice even 20 miler when I'm feeling good.

rydabent

Lincoln Ne is fortunate to have over 130 miles of hard surface bike paths. That give me 4 different 30 mile loops that I regularly ride.

locolobo13 

The Arizona Canal has a MUP that I like. It connects to the Skunk Creek MUP as well. Allows for many miles of riding without crossing major streets.

But the reality is I have to ride 5-6 mi to get to the path. So my weekend rides go in whatever direction takes my fancy. Just have to stop every half-mile or so.

BlazingPedals

I've got a training route that I do a few times per week once the club's evening rides have stopped running. It's 22.6 miles and 500 vertical feet, with only a handful of stop signs. On a good evening I can complete it in just about an hour.

berner

Coastal Rhode Island is mostly flat but there are a few hills. These are not very long or steep but one has to work with what is available. One hill, just a minute from the house is one mile long varying from 2% at the bottom to 8% near the top. I ride this whenever leaving the house. Nearby are several other hills, also about 7% to 8% but not as long. These hills are not the best for hill training but by riding them frequently I've improved my climbing quite a bit. Persistence overcomes talent and opportunity, sort off.

SwampDude

For me, the 60-90 minute fitness ride is a regular route from home on the edge of the city to a rustic little town about 8 miles away, and back. Its a mixture of gentle hills and flat roads, mostly along farm fields. Traffic is very light. This route is a joy to ride; the fitness benefit is frosting on the cake.

I'm trying to ride 3-4 times each week to shed about 10 pounds before winter. I'm not a 'racer' or one who keeps detailed training stats. I ride the pace that feels good and gets my pulse rate up to a respectable level for aerobic benefit.

My time on the bike is the best part of each day. Its joyful exercise, a labor of love. Its the reason I'm 75 and still going strong.

Warren128

I ride for fitness (and fun!), so all my rides are fitness routes

Like some others here, I'm fortunate to live in a great cycling area. I have regular routes from my front door that I can choose depending on how I feel that day. Since I am in San Francisco, almost all the routes include a decent hill or two. My routes range from 5 miles to 35 miles, but an average ride for me is between 15 and 20 miles, 3 to 4 times a week with about 1000' ft of climbing. I live in the western part of San Francisco, and I like to stay clear of the busy inner city areas. Sometimes I feel like some flat riding, in which case I would ride down to the Polo Fields cycling track in nearby Golden Gate Park. My favorite longer ride because of its beautiful scenery is the Marin Headlands Loop, which I do when I have time. It's about 27 miles roundtrip from my house with about 3000 ft. elevation change.

DiabloScott

My regular Saturday Morning Ride

TCR Rider

I have a few routes that all start and end at my front door. The basic loop is a 4.25 mile loop that includes about 2.5 miles of rollers on a street that has no crosstraffic so I rarely have to stop or brake due to traffic it turns onto a path along a seawall with no vehicular traffic. Pancake flat and recently resurfaced. The drawback is that it is totally exposed so wind is an issue more times than not. I can reverse the direction to deal with the wind. I would rather have a tailwind on the seawall and a headwind on the rollers because once you get off the coast the wind is a lot less pronounced.
I do intervals and threshold work on the seawall since it is wide and ,as I said, flat. Generally I do half with the wind and half into it. Some days I ride multiple laps of this loop or incorporate a couple of other circuits I have. When I'm out for mileage the circuit I do is about 9 miles. Again these circuits have little traffic so for me it's worth repeating a circuit rather than having to stop every few blocks. No major hills but quite a few short punchy climbs. Considering I like in an urban area, Brooklyn, I consider myself fortunate to have these routes available from my front door.

jodphoto

I don't know if I should call it a fitness ride so much as a fun ride. It's a route that goes from my home in Yonkers to NYC and back. It has paved paths, a dirt path, horses, a golf course, city streets and a steel bridge and the Hudson River. It's not completely flat but I do it on a road fixie, 52/20, just over 70 gear inches. It's somewhat downhill going and a little uphill coming back. There are a couple of hills that make me stand and grunt. It can be 10-48 miles with 3 different starting points, depending on my time, opportunity and mood. Lots of stuff to look at and lots of variety in textures. I ride it alone mostly so I set my own pace.

canklecat

Yep, I've used Google maps to explore some neighborhood routes for a 5 mile circuit while I'm getting back into shape. I only returned to cycling three weeks ago and five miles is the farthest I can manage in a single ride - even then I have to walk some hills.

There are no extended flat areas in my neighborhood so everything involves approximately 200-300 feet of climbing - more like an extended roller coaster of ups and downs. Probably nothing to most in-shape riders, but it's still a huge challenge for me.

I had to ignore the recommended routes on Google maps. While these are useful closer to downtown Fort Worth where there are dedicated bike/bus lanes and recreational bike/pedestrian trails, the recommendations by Google maps are ludicrous in my neighborhood. If followed I'd be riding some of the most dangerous traffic in the area, or routes littered with broken glass, metal and gravel. I just picked out my own favorite routes based on experience and having walked the area quite a bit. There are more intersections with stop signs but it's much safer overall.

jon c. 

I have a lot of different loops starting from my house, but one particular 16 mile loop I sort of use for that purpose. All my rides are rural roads, but this loop is virtually traffic free with no major crossroads and it's the perfect distance for me to try and complete in one hour from the time I leave the house to the time I walk back in. Has about 600' of elevation, which is pretty good for Florida. It's great for evenings as the westbound parts (into the setting sun) are almost entirely tree covered so there's less concern over the rare car being unable to see you in the glare.

jodphoto

[QUOTE=DiabloScott;18182780]My regular Saturday Morning Ride QUOTE]

Murder.