cincinnatikid01

Ive been commuting on my fixed for some time about 5-10 miles a day. I recently decided to challenge myself into biking about 100+ miles a week. I was wondering if I was taking too large of a leap too soon. Also, if you seasoned riders could offer advice on how to go about fixed gear training. Thanks in advance!

10 Wheels

No big deal. Just ride.
I rode 500 miles last week with 6 rides.
Enjoy your time on the bike.

uke

Yup, just do it. I do about 50 miles a week in biking to class and groceries. Now I've started doing fun rides on the weekends, the number's going to climb some.

Tigerprawn

Yup, just ride! Finding a partner to keep you on track aka keep you from getting lazy is a good thing. I commute to and from work 5 days out of the week and bike for fun the other two days. I would say I do maybe 125-150 miles per week. I haven't been riding very long either. Just keep it fun and you'll hit your goal without even realizing it.

andre nickatina

Do a 20 mile ride, then go 30 miles, 40 miles... work your way up. Also, never go too hard too fast in a long distance ride. When I'm trying to put in work I look at the ride in 3rds - first 3rd of the ride, taking it easy, warming up and getting the blood flowing; 2nd part, getting a good consistency, upping the pace, concentrating on form; 3rd part, depending on how I feel either pump out everything I've got until there's no juice left or take it easy again (if I went too hard in the beginning, I get forced into the latter; otherwise it's the former). This isn't for base miles though, more like just making good time over 40-70 miles.

cincinnatikid01

Just ride eh? Yeah Im basically alone here in cuernavaca mexico when it comes to bikes so I am my own driving force. Im spreading out my rides in 24 miles mon tues and friday and 10 miles in between

uke

If you can't find people to ride with, you might consider listening to music on your rides, depending on your comfort level with earphones. Virtually all of my riding is done alone, and it's far more enjoyable than it otherwise would be because I listen to whatever I'm digging on the iPod.

Today it was in the twenties and thirties all day, but Bjork's Vespertine kept my mind off the weather.

laundryday

i do about 20-30 each day between school, work, and other stuff. orlando is pretty spread out and flat. you'll build up endurance quick if your persistent.

digthemlows

I bought a road bike after 6 years on a cruiser, I rode 60 miles the 3rd day. I'm doing the Aids Lifecycle in 8 months on my conversion...........San Francisco to Los Angeles, 565 miles in 7 days...........should be fun!

haywireII

I'll roll 25+ a day, M-Th, between school (18m r/t) and errands. Maybe 10 a day on Fridays just cruising around. Saturdays I do 40+ rides on the levee for pleasure. Sundays is usually ~5-10, then another 8-10 if you count polo.

What exactly do you mean by fixed gear training?

the_don

Yeah, I can give you advice on fixed gear training...

The rookie mistake is to jump directly to a fixed gear bike. what you should do is to remove cogs from your freehub at a rate of 1 per 6 days riding, or every 300 Km (which ever comes first).

Then you repeat, but removing cogs from your crankset. Now, you are finally down to a single speed bike (or as us seasoned like to pros call, the SS). Your next step is vital. You have to stop riding altogether. You must train for 6 months with zen like dedication by daily running backwards up 1000 sets of stairs to ready your legs for the onslaught of braking with your legs and unlearning the fact that you can coast.



Then and only then are you ready to make the move to fixed gear riding.

mugatu

you're going to need to start paying attention to recovery and nutrition more

the_don

OMG, I can't believe you guys are taking riding 100+ miles a week so seriously!!!

That is nothing. 5 days a week, 20miles. 2 rides a day at 10 miles each.

I commute 15km (about 9.5 miles) every morning, do a full day at work (sometimes 12+ hours) and then ride home. That's nearly 100 miles without even considering the riding I do on the weekend!

Need to start paying attention to recovery and nutrition!?!?! Just ride, it ain't hard. It is about 40-45mins of riding to do 10 miles (depending on the traffic lights) and to be honest that is nothing!

mugatu

Yeah, you do that consistently. The OP is making a big jump in miles, if you made a comparable step up in riding you'd need to be aware of the same things.

HandsomeRyan

Run brakes. While skidding and hardcore back pressure may earn mad style points, they will wear on your knees a lot faster and make it less comfortable to ride longer distances. Just my $0.02.

Good luck.

the_don

Not when I first started, it was summer in Tokyo when I did! The only advice he needs to to make sure he drinks enough water. Don't get dehydrated, that leads to Kidney stones. Try pissing those little feckers out!

veganeric

I am jealous of all your commutes! If I ride to work, which sadly only happens a few days a week in the summer, it's a minimum of 58 miles rt. Pretty sure I'm the only person who bought one of these primarily as a commuter.



OP - My advice is to not evenly space your milage. Do a long ride once or twice a week with short rides between them. It's also good to take it very easy at least one day a week at first, even take the day off completely, to let your body recover. When you go for longer rides stay hydrated, like has been mentioned, but also keep yourself fueled up. Bring a clif bar, piece of fruit, whatever to keep your energy up. Bonking is NO fun.

famelec

Build up to 100 miles per week in the next few weeks. Once you do it a couple of times it won't seem like a big deal anymore. I seem to remember plenty of hills around Cuernavaca, and lots of crazy drivers. How's it riding a fixie there??

Brian

cincinnatikid01

The riding has been fine here other than getting hit by 3 times in a month by taxi drivers. Drivers have no experience with cyclists here. As for hills... cuernavaca is one GIANT hill. Although my rides consists of taking a scenic route to tepoztlan. When were you there?

cincinnatikid01

wow what a waste of your time

cincinnatikid01

but yes im riding 20+ miles every other day and 10 mile rides in between. And it is no big deal other than a little tension in my back and neck. I'll have to look into getting new handlebars. Thanks for all the advice guys

uke

Nice bike. Something I'd like to do in the future, finances allowing, is purchase a TT bike for commuting as well.

Tom88

i try to do a minimum of 50miles a week. i usually go over. some of it on my road bike and some on the fixed gear. i would do more but by the time i get out of work its not very long before it gets dark.

loaf

a couple summers ago, I was doing 50-60 mi/day. at first it was hell, but I learned to ride hard, eat lots, drink enough and sleep well. you'll be fine. the more you ride, the better you get. 100/week won't be too bad, just be ready to eat everything in the house and then pass out if you're really pushing yourself. bikes are very efficient and it's not that hard to go really far on a bike. just don't pay attention to the numbers too much, you'll psych yourself out and forget the fun of riding for the sake of just riding a bike.

famelec

I was there a looong time ago! I took a few weeks of Spanish classes there in about 1988 (the school was called Cemanahuac, maybe it's still there?), then worked in Mexico City for a few years in the mid 90's. I still work for the same Mexico City based company, so I go back up to a dozen times a year. Back in the day I rode a motorcycle, not a bicycle. I really enjoyed riding from Mexico City to Cuernavaca on the old road, and Cuernavaca to Taxco was fun too. You can't beat the weather in Cuernavaca. Ride safe!

Brian