formula4

I'm still pretty new to this site and road biking in general. With that in mind, I have a few questions.

First... what are the categories for? (cat 5, etc) I'd like some sort of knowledge on this!
Also, I have a lot of free time on my hands, and I want to build myself up to a pro someday. How many miles would "get me there" per day? I know this probably sounds noobish... but I am riding 8-30 miles a day.. and I am wondering how far some of the pros ride in a day, so that I will have some sort of an idea of where I stand. Thanks!

Fat Boy Biker

During his training camp, I belive Lance rides 6 hours a day. Probably averaging over 20mph. So I would say 120 to 140 miles a day would be a good start.

Steve
-It's not the miles, so much as the fast miles up the hills that will kill you

KevinF

The various categories refer to your racing level. Cat5 racers are novice racers. With each race you do, you acquire points depending on how you place. Once you get enough points or participate in enough races, you can move up a category. A cat1 racer though is not the "top of the heap", as any pro could dust a cat1 racer anytime he felt like it.

As for how many miles a day -- a lot more then 30. That said, it's not so much the miles as what you do with those miles. Smart training will help you make the most out of whatever miles you're able to get.

Sprocket Man

120 miles a day is way too much for someone accustomed to riding 8-30 miles a day. Even 60 miles a day would be way too much at this point. Since your aspirations are to be a pro, join a local club and find yourself a coach. And don't listen to advice from people who don't know what they're talking about, such as people who say 120 to 140 miles a day would be "a good start".

ovoleg

120 miles a day from 30?

I can see it now...Your going to ride 60 or so miles the first day, take a day off, take a week off, followed by never riding again.

Why do you want to be a pro? I would push 5 miles everday until you can work it up. But I really doubt you would make 120mi/day from 30 anytime soon. That is a HUGE leap

formula4

Who said I am going to go from 30 to 120 miles in a day?! Not me.

Maybe someone suggested it, but theres not a chance in hell I would do that, I'm not an idiot.

As for the "Why do you want to be a pro?"

To win

jrennie

I agree with sprocketman, keep adding to your base miles slowly and start doing some local races. You might find out(as many do) that racing isn't for you and you just want to ride. Also it is my belief pro racers are not made, they are born. Some of us(myself included) could ride intervals and 150 mile days(not that i do either) till the cows come home and never be good enough to be pro.

Tequila Joe

Yup. I agree that on a Pro level, it is mostly genetics. Some people are born with a V-12's under the hood and others, an inline 4. You can tweak your motor though training but at the end of the day, a tweaked out inline 4 will still get blown off the road by a V-12.

T.J.

merlinextraligh

Question? How old are you? That will affect the advise you'll get on how to advance.
Find a racing club and get someone to give you some advice. Alternatively, just find a club that does some fast group rides. Getting out and riding with others will help you learn, get stronger, and give you an idea where you stand.
Improving is a matter of more than miles. You'll need to follow a program that includes base miles, intense efforts(intervals) and rest. Too complicated to explain in one post, or one thread. Get out, ride, meet people learn from them and have fun.

pyles

judging by the thread name "Miles" I thought this thread was about me

Fat Boy Biker

I was NOT suggesting you start riding 120 miles per day. I was trying to give you an idea of what a pro (one pro in particular) might do during his training. As sydney might say, "Only a carpet smoking muppet would consider increasing their miles that drastically." I was not trying to be discouraging either. Finding a club to ride with and building you base miles is where you star, as other posters have suggested. I was trying to respond to the OP's statement and question, "Also, I have a lot of free time on my hands, and I want to build myself up to a pro someday. How many miles would "get me there" per day?," in a way that would shed some light on an aspiring pro rider.

Steve
-It's not easy being green

WaitUpForMe

Yeah, but the way you initially stated it was pretty funny.

Enthalpic

Starting at 30 miles and increasing by 10% per week looks like this
30
33
36
40
44
48
53
58
64
71
78
86
94
104
114
125

But of course you will burn out or get sick much faster than that. Take an easy week every third week and you could build up to "pro like" miles in 5 months. Pro like speed however can't be earned as mentioned. Everyone can walk a marathon

samp02

Good Luck...

ed073

How old are you?
Do you have a club/coach?
Do you have a current training program?
What are your goals in cycling?
Are you winning races?
Have you been talent ID'd by your state's sports institute or cycling federation?

formula4

This is kind of why I didn't want to post here, it's nice to ask questions and get help, but at the same time I feel like I'm being interrogated for saying something like "I want to win." I realize it will be a long road (literally) ahead of me... something not easy by anyones standards. However, if we can send a man to the moon, I'm sure that in some (probably ungodly) amount of time I will be able to be a pro rider. It will just take lots of time. I asked some basic, very simple questions and and I don't want to feel like some idiot for asking them! For the most part though, thanks for all the support.

As for the questions by ed073: If I don't even know about the categories, I don't know why you would ask these.. but here are the answers anyway!

I'm 19, I'm not in a club and I do not have a coach. the training program I am in is my own.. but eating healthy and cycling! My goals are to someday be at a pro level (maybe not LANCE level, of course).
I have not entered in any races or been talent ID'd, either.

Sometime soon I would like to be fit enough to be racing. As of right now I'm just trying to get everything straight so I can.

Thanks to all!

Enthalpic

Work hard and build up your weekend rides to 100 miles then get a coach. You will learn a lot from the process. The coach can tell you if you have a future; but it is doubtful statistically. Feel free to dream but come up with a backup plan like univeristy

ed073

Don't be offended......but you've posted a pretty vague request. My questions are to narrow down what events you're most suited to or prefer and to find out how far along you are. You stated you wanted to turn pro, so I assumed you had some idea of what's required to reach the top of our sport.

At 19, time's definitely ticking for you if you haven't started competing yet. Contact your local club or federation for entry/licencing info.....get down there and compete!!

Your club should have some access to coaching help. Avail yourself of this at every opportunity.

Talent ID is when your assessed by your federation for potential abilty. This would be done in your teenage years.

twahl

I don't think that's necessarily true. To be another Lance is largely genetic, but the big names have lesser known riders that support them. They could not win without these lesser known professional cyclists. They may not ever become wealthy, but they can make a decent living even though they never have a chance at a stage win or a yellow jersey, much less a major win. Team Discovery has at least 28 professional cyclists on the team, many will never race the tour, but they all have their place.

Duke of Kent

What sort of athletic background do you have?

My advice would be to join your college (assuming you go to college) team and/or a club team near home.

You will get people to push you, discounts on things you need, friends in your sport, and good (generally) advice. Usually for a small fee, and having to wear a jersey on your back promoting so-and-so.

Ineedhelp

You know, while I agree for the most part that there's a lot to be said for genetics, and most pros may start out when they're pretty young...

...then again, after recovering from cancer, Lance pretty much had to start over again, and how do you know that you DON'T have the genetics of a pro?

...as far as how long it takes to build up from going 8-30 miles a day to the level the pros ride?

My husband only rides with me on the rare weekend he's not working, and then we'll take off and ride 50-80 miles a day--and that's hardly a challenge for him. I have to wonder what he would be capable of if he wasn't on a 50 pound mountain bike, with regular pedals, wearing heavy old hiking boots--packing at least another 20 pounds of gear!

Each person is different, and you're never going to know until you give it a shot!

Doesn't sound like you discourage easily, so best of luck and keep us posted on your progress.

ovoleg

Go out and ride, ride hard and make progress

The reason Lance did so well post-chemo is because he already achieved a certain limit and he knew his body well enough to go back and train. Lance training post-chemo is VERY different then some guy just starting out.

Lance has the basics and all the techniques down.

I would enter races and see how well you do, at that point you can decide to pursue it further. Also, you should find a coach.

Good luck