Originally Posted by
LowCel
For the first year or so don't worry about it. Just ride and have fun. That is how you are going to build your initial base up.
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Originally Posted by
topflightpro
Do you track your heart rate? You can use that as a guide for how hard to go.
And for base building, time is a better measure of effort than miles. How far you go is of less importance than how much time you spend pedaling. You will notice, however, that as you build your base, the number of miles you cover in a set period of time will grow.
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As a beginner try not to pay attention to speed and distance (even though we all do, don't FOCUS on these). Let your focus be time in the saddles and what your body is "telling" you. Time in the saddle is the most important aspect of your base building and speed/distance are FAR less important. These latter two metrics will improve as you spend time building your base. Just focus on consistent riding, on time in the saddle, on bike handling, on fun, and on avoiding injury/overtraining.