eXCeSS

I've just got my bike on Saturday and I've rode so far 5 miles to my friends house and 5 miles home.

This being really the first form of exercising I've done since 8th grade (going into 12th now), I needed time to recover after the rides for a little while.

I see people talking about doing ~30miles each day on the weekend, and I was wondering if there is some techniques I need to learn to make myself last longer, or if I just need to keep riding.

Thanks

55/Rad

A good partner helps...

For now, just keep riding as much as possible - you will improve farily quickly. Get a base level going and once you are hooked and improving, look into specific training regimens. Good luck.

55/Rad

my58vw

Agreed... just ride, 10% more miles per week... you will be there soon...

Soon we will read about you doing centuries, etc... it will come with time!

TheKillerPenguin

What rad said.

Just make sure that if your legs are really killing you after you ride, before you take another one let them rest a bit.

Have fun man!

Machka 

Just keep riding! That's how I started too, and now I'm doing 24+ hour events on the weekends.

A good guideline for new riders is a 10% per week increase. So if you did 10 miles this past Saturday ... do a two or three rides of 5 to 7 miles during the week, then try 12 miles next Saturday. Then keep riding a bit during the week, and aim for about 14 miles the next Saturday, and so on. If you find you are really struggling with a Saturday distance, keep it the same for the next Saturday, don't increase it until you feel more comfortable with it.

You just need to build up your strength and get used to being on the bicycle.

Smoothie104

Im riding 3 times a week for a total of about 140 miles. Which believe it or not, is not a lot. We've got some dudes in town who are doing over 300 a week. and yes, they are forcing us all to up the miles.

Just keep with it, you will be amazed at what you are capable of, as long as keep giving it the effort.

Start small, with challenging, yet attainable goals, meet those goals, and then set new ones.

jitteringjr

I'm scratching my head wondering how this is possible. Don't they have Phy Ed class anymore?

TheKillerPenguin

Phys ed is nothing anymore. We had to run half a mile a day, but a lot of the time people just walked. The teachers dont care if you just stand around and pretend to work, really, as long as you don't cause trouble.

slvoid

Take it easy and give yourself time to recover. A little ache here and there is a good thing.
When I first started out, 3-4 miles at a time would just about wipe me out. Now, 2 years later, I just did a 150 mile ride.

jitteringjr

What the heck is that? .5 miles, that’s like 3 minutes. What about doing fun stuff, like field hockey and flag football among other things?

TheKillerPenguin

The way some people walked, it was more like 12

Sure there was soccer, rowing, tae bo, hockey, softball, running, etc...but few of us actually tried when we played, unfortunately.

hmai18

Dodgeball, man. That's where it's at.

Smoothie104

I was going to say that, definatley dodgeball, if you don't try, you're going to get pelted.

manual_overide

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball

eXCeSS

Gym class doesn't count. Running back and forth for 5 minutes is barley a warmup, then moving around a little while playing badminton really isnt anything compared to what I did today.

Thank you everyone for your replies, I appreciate it.

ManBearPig

Yeah, I've had a road bike only about 1 year. When I got my bike last year about this time, it was my first time back on any kind of bike in a couple years. I got winded just going up and down the block. My leg muscles were just not used to that kind of activity. But that's the exciting part, because only doing 5 miles you realize how much of a leap in fitness you will make in the coming weeks. If you've been doing other types of exercise -- e.g. weightlifting -- you've probably noticed a plateau and only minor improvements. But since you are just starting to road ride, you can expect comparatively large amounts of progress.

You don't have to develop some intense and highly scientific training regimine at this point. You will make good gains simply riding a few times per week according to what you feel you are capable of. Like I've posted before, my experience was several rides between plateaus, and jumping from 5 to 10 to 12 to 15 to 20 miles over the course of weeks and months. Then group riding will propel you into the 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond.

Smoothie104

Patches O'Houlihan... hhahaaaa!!!

That clip from the old black and white movie, where patches says "remember to pick the bigger, stronger kids for your team. That way you can all gang up on the weaker ones."

And them Timmy fires the ball into the other kids face!! I replayed that in super slow mo like 10 times, I don't think it was special effects, I think the kid really took it full force, unbelievable!!!!

jitteringjr

Running your arse off for 45 min like we did playing football made gym class count back in the day. Dang, I'm only 15 years out of HS and I sound like an old man.

55/Rad

The older I get the tougher PE was in High School.

55/Rad

SimpleCycle

You'll get better, and probably faster than you think. Plus you're young, so it will be easier. I'd say listen to your body and if you are a little sore, make sure you go easy next time, but don't rely on formulas to set how much you ride. I'm the kind of person who is a little impatient about things. If I'd followed the 10% weekly milage increase rule, I'd only be riding 40 miles a week or so right now, up from the 15/week I was commuting before I bought the road bike. I'm actually riding around 100/week right now. I just jumped right in with 30 mile Saturday rides at a moderate pace, and found I was fine. I have kept the milage increases steady, and rode 56 miles yesterday. It was pretty challenging, and I'll probably stick around that milage next weekend too. Just do what feels right. Also, spin in a relatively low gear at a high cadence, and don't feel like you need to be going as fast as you possibly can at all times. Endurance is about riding at a moderate pace for a long time.

capsicum

PE? That's mostly an elective now in highschool(but the kids that elect to be there try harder), and not in some elementaries at all(even then it's like 20mins twice a week).

Though, I elected to take aquatics(swimming) and boyhowdy with 1-1/2hour classes we got in hour and ten minute workouts, daily, including swimming miles(literally), interval training, cross training, skills, and games like sharks and minnows(basicaly a combonation of tag and underwater wrestling in the 12ft/diving end), water polo, and moonball(like indoor soccer but with hands, full contact, water, and a 4ft 10lb ball).

rydwhite

I found that going from 10-15 mile rides to 25-30 miles rides wasn't really that difficult. Once you start to get your legs which for me came after riding 10-15 for 2 weeks, the jump to a 25-30 mile ride on a Saturday wasn't really that difficult at all. Staying hydrated throughout the ride really keeps your energy up and then eating a Cliff Bar or taking a gel pack at about 15 miles really kept me going.

Phantoj

Keep your cadence up; your legs won't get tired as fast.

Find a group to ride with and learn to draft.