timmhaan

personally, i'm not crazy about centuries. too long in the saddle, get a sore neck and back, etc. on the other hand, some rides are just too short, especially if the weather is nice.

i'd say 40 to 50 miles is my sweet spot. i have a good time the whole way, my legs get a good workout, and it doesn't take half the day. plus, i like to keep the pace higher and not worry about starvation. it's my sweet spot as far as rides go.

what about you?

munkyv22

50-60 feels really good.

Machka 

400K brevets, fleches, or 24-hour Time Trials .......... basically any ride that takes up one whole 24-hour day is my favorite. I only do 2 or 3 of them a year so they are a special treat.

Nachoman

I really like 25-30 miles. I feel like I can push extremely hard and get a great work out, or I can take it easy and just enjoy a leisurely couple hours. Seems perfect.

slvoid

10.4mph for 24 hours... yikes. I'll sit that one out.

Snuffleupagus

70-80 makes me happy.

After 80 I have to focus on riding, and it tends (not always, sometimes it's great) to be less fun.

Snicklefritz

I like 80 miles. I generally need about 20 to get my diesel engine really warmed up. If I do that I can go 80-100 with no problem. My upper limit without specialized training is about 200. But ask me to sprint repeatedly in a crit...well, we just won't go there...lol.

timmhaan

yeah, this is definitely (for me at least) the most difficult mileage zone. it's when i start to get tired, cranky, and hungry. that's a dangerous mix.

timmhaan

you are a rare breed!

daytonian

40-50 is perfect

Stallionforce

Sorry, Canadian here, going to have to do this in km's.

When I'm building base I like to do about 100-120 km. But later in the season I like short, hard rides, 3 hours or less. I'm a TT guy so really the super-long efforts don't make sense.

aham23

100 is good. miles 60 to 80 of that hurt the most. 30 to 50 is hammer mileage for me. i just like riding. later.

Snuffleupagus

Yeah, I can do up to 80 without really eating anything (and if it's the winter, non-stop). If I'm going to go to 100, I need to stop for food and refill my bottles.

superdex

I have a hard time justfying going out for less than 30mi, but 50-60 is also my sweet spot for a "just go ride on a Saturday" type ride. Longer than that and I get all logistical with refill and food stops....

branman1986

+2 I'm exactly the same...40-50 mile rides seem like a quick jaunt nowadays and after about 90 I'm more than ready to get off the saddle.

timmhaan

we should also make note of location.

if i had nice rural roads outside of my house, i would say 50-60 miles would be my sweet spot. but i stand by my first post of 40-50 miles for NYC riding.

superdex

from my front door I can get a metric in with most of those miles on a MUP, or to Golden and back is 50ish (not including Lookout Mtn)

Portis

For me it's really a better question to discuss time rather than miles. I've usually got at most, 2 hours to dedicate to a ride, luckily I do this about every day so the miles do add up. In the Summer, sometimes I enjoy a century or something similar, but all things considered, I usually like to make my ride a part of my day, not all of it.

botto 

depends.








honestly.

depends on the time of year, the terrain i'm riding on, the weather, who i'm with...

I'll + 1 what portis typed about time.

just back from a 3:30 hour ride. it's the longest i've done in a few weeks because i had to pack and move out of my apartment, then i got sick, then xmas, etc... anyway - it was sweet.

back in late september i did a century+ with my training partners. i felt so damn good that day, i was disappointed that we were only doing a century.

banerjek

My sweet spot is about 100. Much less than that and I don't feel like I've ridden enough. Around 100, I feel like I've ridden, but I still feel good.

I actually prefer significantly longer distances, but they're beyond my sweet spot. Fueling for tough rides is a PITA and I always find myself hoping that my body won't rebel on me.

Machka 

Where I live, I can be outside the city within a few minutes. Quite a few of the roads around here are paved, although some trick you into believe that they will remain paved ... and then they turn to gravel, or they just end all of a sudden, but I'm in the process of exploring and discovering what would make good routes.

Some of the roads are quite busy, there's a lot of oilfield traffic roaring around out there, but others are virtually empty. I've ridden some fairly lengthy roads where maybe a half-dozen pick-up trucks might go by and that's it. Again, I'm still exploring and discovering!

Then, if I want some variety, the mountains are about 100 kms to the west along a road that does not get a lot of traffic at all for some reason. Despite the fact that the road connects up with the Icefield Parkway (between Jasper and Banff), it is almost always practically deserted ... and yet it is a beautiful wide road with wide shoulders and gorgeous scenery.
.

timmhaan

don't leave us hanging. you felt so....

El Diablo Rojo

60-70 is right about my ave weekend day milage. I'm able to do this and come home and still do my 'honnie do's' and play with the kiddies. I get up to the 100mi range and I'm gonna need some couch time when I get home.

botto 

whoops. must have lleft something back in the spellcheck zone.

timmhaan

those mountains are stunning! i'd be all over that road if i lived there. i love a good shoulder.