Some of you folks talk about your 50,60, or 70 mile rides - I am asking for advice on how you approach it. I am a non-competitive cyclist, and do not belong to clubs or group rides. During the week I have 100 miles of commute, and not much else.

On Sundays the past month I've been doing a 50 mile route, which is a longish or longest ride for me. Actually, three laps of 16.5 miles on a route chosen for lack of hills, out of traffic and general ease. I just wanted the miles and something to compare week to week while pushing my performance. Beyond just achieving that distance (yay) I suspect I'm just spinning my wheels. I've improved 15 or 20 minutes but still nothing to write home about. The three lap times are the same on a given day so I'm doing a consistent speed throughout.

So do you just consider the miles as base conditioning without doing anything special? Just add on more miles at a given pace? Or do you target segments for higher efforts or even intervals? My goal is not distance per se, but better endurance and to be overall a stronger rider. Three hours seems overly much time to spend, for me, if I'm not training for more than adding another few miles in range. What do you suggest to vary that routine?