Pretty poor advice for someone just starting out (like myself and the OP) from someone with your experience. How can you possibly advice a new rider to start out doing 40 mile rides? This would be the equivalent to telling someone that jogs around the block to run a marathon, and would be the one thing to put them off riding forever.

I am new to riding and also taking 5-8 mile rides daily, and that is what I would consider to be a sensible starting point. I hope to one day be taking 40 mile rides, but that day is quite a way off right now.