Rich22

Whats a good method to increase mileage? I have been doing about 10-15% increase in mileage a week. And sometimes instead I will pick a route that is short but has alot of hills. Just curious as to what you guys do!

rapidcarbon

become a bike messenger

Psimet2001 

Assuming you have enough time available...just ride them. You can easily add much more than your 10-15% and be acclimated to the higher mileage within a week. You'd be surprised.

I have a much harder time getting used to lower miles than higher miles.

BTW give us an idea about how many miles we're talking about....

JaredMcDonley

Eat right! When I changed diet to more healty regular meals - I was shocked by how different I felt out. Also just keep pushing yourself and taking a recovery ride is very important. But what are you doing now would be the best thing to tell us so we can really help you. I mean how much are you looking to add and in what time?

pgaulrapp

When i first started, i was increasing by about 25% each week, then i plateaued at 30 minutes out (enough to give me an hour each day).

What really helped me increase mileage was music. When I'm out on the trail, I really get into the music and stop focusing on my breathing and other stuff. Just me and the ride, with a good soundtrack.

That, plus I gained about 1mph by raising my seat post 1.5 centimeters

stea1thviper

definitely know what u mean with the music. out here there's so many ^%$#% cornfields it's worse than staring at the ocean for 3 hours a day because at least the ocean water mOves. music really helps with those out-to-the-middle-of-nowhere rides.

Jeffrey

my increases in mileage came unintentially. Before I became a big cycling enthusiast, going out for a 10 mile ride seemed like a respectable feat. Then I lost my car and began taking a 17 mile ride once a week to visit my folks. I took a 30 mile ride and was very impressed with myself. Soon 30 mile rides became the norm. The sky is the limit now but I generally stick to a favorite 30 mile loop. I would say once you acclimatize your legs to 25+ miles go ahead and jump into the deep water. Its ok to get off your bike if you need to rest your aching butt. Mostly milage barrriers are in one's head.

Jeffrey

=unintentionally

Rich22

Right now I do this route.

Zoom out so you can see entire thing. Elevation is at bottom.
With school + work at the same time i have max about 2 days to ride my bike. Yesterday i did this and today i am just doing an easier ride. But then since i dont cycle for another week I cant increase any because my legs arent used to it. See what im saying?

https://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=440530.

deanp

Just keep riding and it comes, soon you'll want 90 minutes on the bike, and as your speed increases you'll cover more ground.

chrisvu05

in the words of someone famous

"ride lots"

DannoXYZ 

I think it comes down to why you want to increase mileage? Is there a long commute/tour that you want to do? Or just see more scenery? Mileage is easy, just go slow enough to complete the distance and drink/eat lots. But after 7-8 hours on the bike, doing more is just a little... boring?

botto 

Ride more.

Rich22

I want to increase mileage to ride to different places. However when I hit around the 17 mile mark, Im just super uncomfortable. My neck hurts, left arm is sort of numb, my ass is all pinched n ****...

My saddle is the stock one on the trek 1200 (Peice of **** i know, but I cant afford better). The bibs are great, however maybe im just a hairy beast down there! ) . I cant explain the neck or numb arms. I moved my saddle back a bit a few weeks ago. I made sure it was not angled down and I got gel gloves... etc etc.

DannoXYZ 

Ok this is more a fit issue, not mileage. A couple of suggestions:

1. raise the handlebars as high as it can go, should be even with the saddle. The lower the bars, the more uncomfortable you'll be.

2. move the seat forwards. This folds your stomach over less, bends your back less, stretches out your arms and shoulders less, keeps your head higher so you don't have to bend your neck much. Also reduces stress on the knees due to lower angle it has to bend. Also make sure your seat is high enough, so that spinning backwards with your heel on teh pedal results in straight legs. This is the minimum height, typically we want about 1/8" to 1/4" gap between heel and top of pedal.

3. relax hands, arms and shoulders with bent elbows. Practice placing the weight on the outside heel of the palm so that you DO NOT have to grip the bars with your fingers at all. You'll want to be able to wiggle ALL your fingers and your thumb. This reduces muscle-fatigue in your hands, arms and shoulders.

4. for the neck, DO NOT LOOK UP, keep your neck inline with your spine. So your face is not vertical, it's aimed down at about 45-degrees to look about 50-ft ahead of the bike. Which is where you should be looking anyway to avoid potholes, debris and glass. Use your peripheral vision and eyeballs to look up at the horizon. also do not hunch your shoulders up to your ears. Keep the shoulders relaxed and down, stick head & neck out like a turtle.

Every 5-minutes, re-check your position. Make sure your elbows are bent, hands & arms relaxed, wiggle your fingers.