Liz33

Thank you Daniel. I see it and can't believe it! Lol riding just makes me happy and maybe that's the secret to my good progress. I'm just having fun.

Booger1

I have to ride a 100 miles to get to somewhere I CAN ride without stopping.....

tarwheel 

I frequently ride about 30 miles without stopping and have ridden as far as 50-60 miles. The limiting factors to me are water and bathroom breaks. I drink a lot of water and try to finish a water bottle every 20 miles or so, but can go longer distances in cool weather. However, by drinking a lot that also means that I have to stop at restrooms unless it's hot and I'm sweating off the water. It's not my goal to limit stops but I tend to ride longer without stopping when riding alone. When riding with friends, we usually stop every 10-20 miles.

One of the many reasons why I no longer ride with some of the local groups is that many of them focus excessively on achieving the highest average speed. Since stopping for water or bathroom breaks reduces their average speeds, some of these groups will regularly ride 60+ miles without a stop. This is ridiculous, IMHO, particularly when riding at a fast pace because you sweat so much. I had a kidney stone about 15-20 years ago that was probably caused by not drinking enough, and I have been very diligent about drinking a lot of water ever since then.

Liz33

@tarwheel I see what you mean. That's good that you take care of yourself even if that means saying no sometimes to going out in groups.

jefnvk

Stop as in extended break? I do 20 miles on occasion. Most would probably be one of the days I just lap Belle Isle, four laps puts me around 24 miles.

Stop as in feet not touching the ground? Couple miles at most. Rare I get to go more than a mile and a quarter or so without hitting a traffic control device or cross a road, even on Belle Isle there is usually enough traffic I can't move completely freely.

rumrunn6

sometimes I stand and coast and that feels good. refreshes the legs without stopping the bike

NYMXer

I found that when I go out for two hours, I do not need to stop. In the beginning (been riding for 11 months), I would soft pedal rather than stop, then after a minute or two, get back into it.
If I a riding for more than two hours, I stop somewhere convenient and take in some water, use a bathroom, etc. Stretch, mental break and then after 5-10 minutes, off I go on my way.
The pace seems to make somewhat of a difference too. Faster rides seem to take my mind off resting and just focus on surviving, lol

02Giant 

Not counting road crossings, what ever the distance I am riding any given day. So far that is up to 73 miles.

ptempel

Not too easy in urban areas near a major city (like NYC where I am). A lot of lights and traffic to navigate around here. Otherwise could travel for a few hours without too much worry assuming I have some food and water.

pacalolo

I find that by about 40 miles/2 hours, I'm generally ready to refill my bottles and get a couple minutes out of the saddle walking around. I'm sure I could push farther the water is the big limiter. My team car just doesn't do a good job of keeping me supplied

DrIsotope

Most recently, 63.2 miles with 3.13.28 moving time and 3.13.28 elapsed time. Pretty much nothing but right turns, and a lot of luck with the stoplights.

Looking over my ride log, it seems like most rides of ~4 hours duration have 10-15 minutes of stoppage, which is most likely stop lights, traffic, etc. I never really need to stop to "recover" anymore. Sometimes I will stop to eat, usually 5-10 minutes, on rides of 60+ miles.

Daniel4

In the annual Becel Ride for Hear charity event for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, cyclists register to ride 20Km, 50km and 75km on two of Toronto's city highways.

I did it for a few years at 20km and 50km with my family. Midpoint at the Bloor exit, are refreshments so it's not all non-stop.

caffein8ed

I've never given any thought to seeing how far I could ride without taking a break.

I have an 18 mile route that I ride regularly, and I suppose I could probably take the whole trip without stopping. But, I enjoy getting off the saddle, walking around, and stretching for a little while, (typically 5 or 6 minutes). So, I make it a point to do that at 6 miles and 12 miles into the ride every time.

beechnutC23

I was aiming for 80 or so km today. The goal was to test just how good the fit is on my new bike (and it is very good indeed). There was one part of the road where the oncoming lane was closed for ditch digging work, and there was a traffic light allowing alternating traffic. I just missed the green so I started to slow to a crawl. Tried a track stand. Alas I had to put my foot down, but the other was still clipped and I was still on the bike. My foot was only on the ground for about 20 seconds. After that, no more stops, and both feet stayed clipped in. Total was 84 km. I had to stop to adjust my shoes about 2 km in to the ride so the total was about 82 km without getting off the bike. Last time I pulled off that exploit was maybe 20 years ago. I'm 58. The bike was great but I made the mistake of also breaking in new shoes at the same time and my feet were (and still are) hell afterwards.

Total 3:29:27 on the bike, avg speed 24.3. The ride involved 838 metres of climbing. Used to do the same trick on the same circuit but in the more difficult direction 20 years ago in under 3 hours at 28 km/h. I guess we do age!!!

On my previous Cervelo (which was a poor fit for me, being too big) the best I could manage before getting out of the pedals to stretch was about 20-30 km. As the new bike was bought to overcome that issue, I would say that the fit was a huge success. My "LBS" is in fact my son and he set up the bike with one of his partners who did the initial measurements. They did a great job!

SkunkWerX

Good question for today, for me.
Did a 32.7 mile (52.6km) loop today, no breaks. My foot may have hit the ground a few times for traffic crossings, but beyond that, it was all on the move. Moderate hills with a few steep inclines tossed in.

I had my Camelbak Classic on my back, for H20 needs. There was... maybe 4 ozs.? leftover when I turned it upside down before walking into the house. I had a Polar Bottle in reserve, in my rack pack, just in case.

I find that getting out of the saddle at times helps the sore butt syndrome. I will stand up to climb a hill that doesn't really call for standing....just more of a good way to use different muscles and get out of the saddle.

Liz, your 20 mile goal is a good "stake in the sand".
I find that setting those reachable goals helps me progress over time. After your "20" goal is reached, you can try for farther, or make the next goal time or speed related. For those with a fixed route, trying to do it in less time can be a good way to push to the next level.

ahanulec

I started riding again about 3 years ago and had difficulty going more than a few miles without needing a break off the bike. I can do 30-35 miles now without a stop.

Those stops make a big difference though. Just having a few minutes off the bike to take in a little snack and walk around really helps me keep the speed up when I am biking.

SkunkWerX

I agree, stops are beneficial for hydrating, getting some calories/energy, stretching, and letting those acids migrate out of the muscle groups. Stops are a bit like hydration, we should probably take one BEFORE we feel we need it.
If i was going farther today, I would have probably taken one at 20, then every 20 thereafter.

jamesdak 

Well for me I stop only if I have to use the bathroom or fill up water bottles. Usually on my longer ride days I'll got 40 to 50 miles before I need to stop. Most of my solo centuries will involve one stop to fill up the water, get a snack etc. Otherwise I get by with what's in my pockets and the water I carry. I can stretch while riding if needed but I've got a couple of bikes were comfort is no issue. I change positions as I ride and stand on and off enough in normal riding to be just fine.

dksix

I occasionally ride with a friend a 24-25 mile route that we don't stop during. We meet and ride to a little town in NC, it's there and back with about 1200' of elevation gain. It's mostly paved single lane road through a park in the mountains, then gravel and once near town it's 2 lane paved. I suppose I've done my regular 32 mile ride without stopping but it's just when I'm going for an overall lower time. Those are "no touch" rides, it's pretty common for me to do 25-40 miles where my only stops are sweat control but I've started wearing a bandanna under my helmet that keeps the sweat out of my eyes and off my glasses. I carry 2 Big Chill bottles that last me well over 2 hours, on rides that last more than 2.5 hours I've got to take a break. Last week I did 35 miles with about 5K' of elevation with some much stronger riders on MTB. I started out strong but by the 3 hour mark I was stopping OFTEN.

Johnny Mullet

Sometimes on the weekend I will stop several times an hour depending on the scenery, the local band at the bar, the car show, or just good pizza and beer

jon c. 

45 or 50 miles ... 3 hours or so. That's as long as my bladder ever holds out. I mostly ride in a rural county with no traffic lights and even the major roads have light enough traffic that you can almost always cross without ever having to touch the ground. So you can usually go as far and as long as you wish without impediment.

Liz33

This is so inspiring to read. Thanks for sharing

Drew Eckhardt 

One hour forty-five minutes on a trainer which is the limit of my patience.

One hour fifteen minutes outdoors which is as far as I can get without stopping for traffic, a stop sign, a stop light, removing or adding clothing, or something else.

In temperate weather I'll ride four hours without planned stops at which point I'll need to visit a restroom and probably be about to finish off my second 25oz water bottle. On longer rides need I round down to the nearest place I can refill. I also bring a 1 liter Platypus on long rides as a backup because running out of water is very unpleasant and probably dangerous.

On long rides (100-200 miles) I stop at most once to have a small amount of real food off my bike (like a chicken drumstick. I felt lousy when I tried eating bigger real food meals so I stopped trying), but otherwise only stick around long enough to get water, visit the restroom, etc.

SquireBikesalot

I don't think I've managed more than 3 hours non-stop (with some stop signs). I can make my water bottles stretch for longer than that nowadays, but this summer's been too hot for me so I find myself stopped up under shady trees a few times a ride.

woodcraft

Longest about three hours.

Often one- two hours.