Artmo 

Are you trying to kill your partner?

Road Fan

Thanks, Stapfam, I would have to do this on my own. My main riding partner, Mrs. Road Fan, is just going to ride her own pace, chuckling at all this male overthinking.

Kragg

It takes me 5-10 miles to really find my groove. Then after 20 I seem to really get up to speed. The odd thing is sometimes early in a ride I think, "Man I'm out of breath already, this ride's gonna suck.". But then something kicks in and it's all good. I think it's all about getting your heart rate up and supplying all your muscles with what they need to hammer on.

Allegheny Jet

For a solo training or fun rides it takes me about 4 to 5 miles of easy spinning and progressively faster riding to warm up. Somedays it takes less and other days more warm up time depending on how the last ride left me. On group rides it does not matter how long I warm up since I'm part of the group, but I do make sure to spin at a higher cadence until the group ramps it up. If I get to the start location early I'll noodle around the parking area before the ride begins. My warm up for races is to get in 10 minutes of easy spinning followed by x 3 pickups taking my heart to the bottom of zone 4 (138 bpm) for 2 minutes on the first pickup, then to the bottom of zone 5 (154 bpm) for 30 seconds on the next 2 pickups, then 5 to 10 minutes of easy riding. I try to get the warmup done no more than 15 minutes before the start of the race. I raced last Saturday and the pace picked up to race speed as soon as we passed the start line from a "netural start". I'm glad I did a full warmup before the race start. Our average speed for the 24 mile race was 24.1 mph and my HR was so high that I turned my HR monitor over so I could not see it! I think I was in zone 5 HR for almost the entire race. If I hadn't got to the higher HR in the warm up I probably would have blown up on the first excelleration. My buddy didn't do the last two pickups with me and he was "off the back" before the end of the first lap.

stapfam

Tried to but he was not even breathing hard at the top of the hills.

Not a male thing- Without getting the Heart working well- you could have a problem later in life and she would have to think about getting in a younger model that may wear her out- So you are doing it for her.

Garfield Cat

On my early morning rides that start just before 6 am because I work, I tried running and walking. The walking is easier and I do a quarter of a mile walk around my block. This works. No need to discuss thresholds, etc. Just do it.

After the quarter mile walk, the heart gets going and the joints get that weight bearing thing going too. Sometimes I feel so good after the first quarter, I want to do another quarter with the pace a little quicker.

I think this will save a rider a lot of time. Warming up on the saddle takes too long.

I tried running (jogging) and its even better because the heart ramps up pretty quick. I figure 10 minutes of jogging is ok but I did like 18 minutes which was too much.

A rider needs to experiment on this. But try either walking or jogging. It may save you time.

On your comment about saving something to eat during the cool down phase, the "experts" in training and nutrition say what you eat and drink afterwards will help in recovery. As we get older, the body seems to respond at a slower rate. I tried to replenish the loss of electrolytes with the Hammer brand of Endurolytes capsules. I take one and wash it down with the G2 drink. It works.

SSP

I ride 7-10 miles each way to work most days, with zero warm-up.

Of course, it helps that I put more miles on the bike than my car. For the month of August, I've averaged about 20 miles per day, with only 3 days off the bike.

I think the more you ride, the less you need to warm up.

Garfield Cat

I think it depends on what the ride consists of. If an athlete is to warm up prior to his event, then it means the goal is to do that event. Think back in the days when you were competing in high school track or swimming. In track or cross country a runner would warm up with distance and then do some sprints to get the body accustomed to a certain pace. Once the starter's gun goes, the runner needs to get the rhythm of that pace and keep it throughout.

That early morning commute may be just a commute or a specific workout with a pretense of a commute. So it depends what the objective is. Warmups are part of an athlete's workout as well as warmdowns...always. But don't ask Bela Karoli.

SSP

With respect to racing...I agree completely. You've got to arrive at the starting line with a "hot engine".

But most of the posts above are not about racing - they're about "club rides", "centuries", etc.

FWIW, I average 16-18 mph on my commutes - and that's on a heavy steel Surly LHT with panniers and beefy Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x25 tires (total weight of the bike and gear is typically close to 40 lbs).

I usually don't ride hard in the morning because I don't want to get to work all sweaty. But, a couple of times per week I'll do semi-structured high intensity intervals on the commute home. For those, I ride at a "brisk" pace for about 2 miles before starting into the actual intervals.

stapfam

Did Ventoux last year. From go you start climbing- No warm up except take it gentle at first. Took 3 miles and the rhythm came in. My objective was to climb it so no need for speed- but at one point I tried to change that Rhythm by tagging onto another rider that was just a bit faster. It did not work and I had to get back to my pace. I did the 21kms to the top- The other rider was only going to the cafe about 2/3rds up.

Red Rider

Do you think that's just you? Or does it apply to many, most, some of us?

In cold weather it takes me a good 10 mile spin to get warmed up -- but if the ride demands more of me early on, I answer, but I grouse about it.

Warm weather I seem to require less mileage to warm up. Maybe 3-4 miles is enough.

As for racing, I show up early and use the trainer. For a time trial I prefer to show up really lathered up; for a road race, a mere sweat is enough. I'll do 30-60 min. on the trainer, depending on the distance and type of race.

For the usual club rides, the 3-1/2 mile ride to the start is enough.

limeylew

I think that your "years off" may contribute to this need for a longer warm up and it may not be quite as noticeably after you get a couple of thousand miles into your legs.

Garfield Cat

Even though most of the posts are not about racing, a rider can gain insight about warmups and how its done. Then the rider can adjust that warmup routine to fit his needs. Riding has a lot to do with experimenting and getting to listen to the body.

Age is a factor. Somewhere I read that more than a few heart attacks occur in the early mornings when the blood vessels aren't in the action mode. A warm up will tell you how you feel so we all need to listen to our bodies.

I'm waiting for riders who have done walking or a 1 mile jog prior to riding to get their experiences. Jogging definitely will get that heart rate up quickly. But I think riders won't want to do this because a 9 minute mile takes 9 minutes away from a ride. And also even though there are a lot of ex runners out there, most riders are reluctant to jog...period.

The other argument is that there is no need to warm up at all. Plus no need to stretch...just ride.

rnorris

Definitely have to warm up before putting out any physical effort of any kind, but it takes much longer earlier in the day due to mild arthritis in one knee. In the middle of the day I can hop on the bike, ride right away, and take on good climbs after a few minutes. Early in the morning, though, I have to baby my knee with 20 minutes of hot pad treatments before riding and take it easy for the first half hour or so, otherwise my knee will be painful, stiff, and put me off the bike for days. Bummer.

jiminos

dang ... in many of the posts here, folks say they need 5 to 10 miles to warm up and they ride 30 to 50 or more miles per ride... i guess it's just my newbiness. i ride daily on one of five routes that i have mapped out (10, 15, 17, 20 and 27 miles). i just get on the bike and ride. no warm ups... no warm down... no monitoring of my heart rate... nothing... i just ride.

i commute (an incredibly short distance) to work each day. again... i just ride.

maybe it's because i'm a newbie here, maybe it's because i'm just a kid (51 years old.)

beats me.

be well,

jim

lhbernhardt

Warmup is less of function of age than it is of muscle mass. The more muscle you've got, the longer it will take you to warm up. Which is why it is silly to think that the more you ride the less you need to warm up. If anything, the fitter (and therefore stronger and more muscular) you get, the longer it will take you to warm up the additional muscle mass.

Conversely, those who don't need much warmup (such as younger riders or beginners) aren't as muscular.

On the track, the guys that take the longest to warm up are the big, muscular sprinters. I always loved to warm up with the sprinters. About thirty minutes in a SLOW paceline (sometimes thinking I was going to slide off the banking), gradually picking it up. And the final ten laps just revving it up, and then no way I can keep up on the final lap. I've heard top sprinters tell me that they didn't feel warmed up until they'd ridden about an hour.

The endurance guys, on the other hand, would start off at a moderate tempo, which would quickly stabilize at around 40 kmh, and then gradually get up to race tempo (high 40's, low 50's) for lap after lap until guys would just drop out.

When I was racing, the rule was: the shorter the race, the longer the warmup. For a 20 or 30-minute criterium, I would be on the road warming up for about an hour.

For the recreational rides I do now, the ride to the event is the warmup. Or the first twenty minutes of the event. If anybody wants to blast off from the start, I never chase them. I find I usually pass them about an hour or two later.

L.