Originally Posted by
Riveting
"They" say that a cyclist can ride 2x the amount of miles that they can ride "comfortably", which means you could probably do 150 miles, if you dared.
2 years ago I trained for a 24 hr ride (326 miles total) by riding 150 miles two days in a row a couple weeks before the event. But I also had about 7k miles, and a dozen centuries in my legs by that point that season, which helped. Prior to that 326 mile ride, 200 miles was my longest ride, a couple months earlier. That season was my crowning achievement of dedication and fitness and will likely never be rivaled again.
I've often wondered how much farther I *could* ride if I really needed to. My gut feel was about 2x. I can feel (and see on my watch) that my average speed drops after 50 miles or so, but I generally recover within a few miles.
Um...200 miles is a long ride! And 326 is just plain incredible! A dozen centuries and 7k miles? Sounds like an awesome season!
-Matt