2 new personal records - Yea for me :)
 

Tuesday was a 31 mile day for me. This week was 101 miles. Both personal bests for a 2.5 month newbie :) I tell ya, at around 20 - 23 miles, I'm pretty pooped. That doesn't seem to be improving too quickly, but typically I only ride that far once or maybe twice in a week. Most of my rides are 12 - 15 miles. Doesn't bother me though. I'm in it for the fitness and that's way better than it was when I started.

Uh-oh. Watch out. After the 30mi ride you are now thinking 40.

Hey, congrats on the miles. Good job.

Congratulations! Most of my weekday rides are 15-20 miles, with a long ride on the weekend that has been as much as 55 miles. What helped me increase my mileage and endurance was to focus on time in the saddle, rather than distance. Joe Friel spells it out nicely in his book "Cycling Past 50". Wish I could locate my copy..... Try to increase your long ride by a half-hour each week, then drop back some every fourth week for recovery. If you have a heart rate monitor, shoot for Zones 2 &3 on your longer rides, and start at any easy pace so you'll have some "gas" left in the tank towards the end. Make sure you rest some, as well, to prevent overtraining.

Thats great, don't worry about anyone else. Just keep advancing.

+1

It sounds like you're having fun, and that's where it's at. Cycling is the best addiction going.

Sounds like you're making good progress. Don't forget, you will need to eat and hydrate on longer rides. That can make the difference between finishing strong and bonking.

Well done Gary. That is exactly how I began last Spring. I began riding easily on the local bike path and added in some local back roads later that summer. Then much to my surprise, the total miles by autumn was 2800 miles. One of the things I like most about riding my bike is how much there is to be seen at bike speeds that one missed at auto speeds.

Over time you will find yourself riding a bit faster as you adapt. Over all, you will be happier and healthier of mind and body.

That is great. IMO you are doing really well. FWIW, I allow myself one day a week to ride my 15 mi. TT as hard as I can. The rest of the time (another 2 or 3 rides a week) I practice skills like spinning or climbing and just enjoy the ride without regard to distance or time "records." If you stop enjoying your rides you're doing it wrong. Just one man's opinion. Have fun. Get fit. Smile more.

Well done. There's not much more to say but it's worth repeating - Well done!

Good job, you are building your base now. If you keep records and comments you can look back as time passes and see the improvment.

You know, I have a couple of 'staple' rides I do [I compete against my 'cyberbuddy' on my GPS etc]...and I can actually have a 'better' workout on the short 12.5 mile loop I do. I find that I 'push' that ride all the way, keeping my hearbeat substantially higher than on longer rides [keeping my sustained zone 4 and even 5 heartrate LONGER than I do on much longer rides]. Anyway, I'm developing a sense of what it is to train for endurance on the one hand, and fitness on the other. My body responds better to 'fitness' training...although, endurance stuff increases my ability to enjoy rides [like at events etc]. It seems only when I work on fitness [keeping in higher heartbeat zones] that I am able to increase my average speeds. I think these heartbeat zones relate to what we used to call aerobic vs. anaerobic stages of conditioning. Anyway, for pure fitness, it may be better to hammer down on short distances rather than simply measure mileage. It does feel good to get back from long rides though, ha. Any physiologists around to make more sense of all this?

Keep pushing out there, pretty soon you will be signing up for that century.

And, just think, you could be sitting at home watching the tube. Good work.

31.5 miles again today, but this one was non-stop :) Not hard either. Legs are getting a bit weary at the 25 mile mark, but I could have gone another 5 or maybe 10 without too much trouble. It's really awesome to be getting in bike shape :) God, I dread this winter even though it's 6 months away. What will I do :( Oh, and I'm over 100 miles for the week again with a day left, so I'll break that record, too, and had to miss one day due to rain.

Many of us ride in winter, some in very cold and snowy climates, such as Rochester, NY. tsl has no car and rides every single day, blizzard or not. So does Cranky Old Dude - both in the Rochester area. I ride in Colorado in sub freezing weather - however, I don't ride in snow or ice, but then I walk and swim a lot. Proper clothing can make it almost comfortable :) . Others have "trainers" in their garages, basements and even living rooms.

There are a lot of options for winter.

DF is correct. Although I am not as dedicated as some of my other NY brethren I ride into December - basically until the ice and snow become fixtures. Some days the temps are in the low teens. Just get fleece layers and a wind stop outer layer, winter gloves, shoe covers, balaclava and you can brave a lot of cold.