R600DuraAce

Sometimes, I am amazed how much my body can take. I have been commutting for 4 days straight, adding some additional riding. Total distance ridden 150 miles for this week. 34 miles round trip. On the 4th day, today, I was really feeling it in the morning. Since I started to work around 5pm and it was Sunday, I decided to spend couple of hours riding around before heading to work. Unfortunately, my legs weren't feeling good and so I cut my ride short. Headed to work around 1 pm. Ate lunch and took a 2 hour nap. I didn't really fall asleep but somewhat awake. Got up around 4:45 pm. Had a cup of coffee and some cookies. I got things rolling and working until 10pm. I told myself I would leave my bike at work and to take the subway home. Around 9pm we ordered some food and I had some grilled chicken. I am not sure what it was but my legs felt less sored and I felt that I could really ride back home. So I took my chances. In the past I did that too but usually ending up me struggling to ride back home. This week all I did was base miles and no hard stuff. Given that there was a tail wind, I was doing 18 mph without much effort. Just in case, I sucked down some powergel during the first 3 miles. When I got home tonight, I couldn't believe that I wasn't even tired. Today I have ridden 50 miles, 34 commuting miles and 16 training miles.

pedex

Well a year ago when I was still growing my messenger business and working at the nationwide arena doing setup work(read lifting and moving heavy stuff sometimes for 18hrs straight) I was also riding around 200-250 miles/wk, so the human body can handle an awful lot.Alot more than most people are willing to push themselves to do.There were days when I would hurt all over, and there were days when I felt fine.Working at the arena was tough tough work, not much of anythng weighed less than 50lbs, and if it did, there was a bunch of them, like chairs, I used to help set up or tear down 3500 chairs plus tables and other furniture all the time.Then there was the glass for hockey, 550 sheets of prodeck flooring to cover the ice, 13 huge rolls of carpet for indoor football, bleachers to move, benches for the hockey players to move, 150 aluminum railings to install/uninstall, stages to set or tear down, plywood sheets to cover the ice and end parts for dirt shows.Nonstop physical labor.

One moring I left at like 5:30 am after working from 9pm the previous night and got outside and we had had an ice storm, my bike was covered with ice and so was everything else cept for a salted path down the middle of the street, these kinds of thngs will test your resolve to get home, especially when I was gonna be working again in about 2 more hours.

life as a car free peasant, learn to cope or die basically

When I see people say they wonder if they can ride 100 miles all at once or do 200 miles in a week I have to kinda chuckle, ya you can do it, you just have to want to do it bad enough.200 miles in week isnt really too tough once youve been riding for awhile, I run into problems when I get up around 400 or so, that takes some effort and care, just eating enough becomes a chore.

pedex

no, not really, not until about 5pm later that day, fortunately the weather kept things pretty slow in my messenger work that day, I was a zombie for about 10 months of 2003 into 2004 when hockey got canceled

I dont ever want to work in a job like that again.I have new respect for the guys that setup events, there's a whole army of people you never see behind the scenes that bust their butts for $6.50-$8.00 an hour. It used to take us about 12 hours to uninstall hockey and install the setup for a concert(cover ice, move bleechers, uninstall glass, build stage,remove dashers), and its all at night, all night and into the morning.We had a crew that started with about 30 guys at the start of hockey season, by the start of football which overlaps hockey we had 18, they cant keep help around.Nobody wants to work nights busting their azzes, dont blame them.Its one of those deals where you might not work for like a week, then you might have 5 days back to back working nights tripping in and out with setups, it gets tedious fast.

slvoid

Continuously over how long? A week, month, year?
Last summer I was averaging around 200 a week for several months, seemed ok.

Some people train by biking 250-300 miles, running 30-40 miles, and weight lifting for 5-6 hours a week, every week for months. And they seem to be better for it, so I say train away!

Cept if you notice yourself getting fatigued, slow down. Get more sleep too, you can do 400 miles a week for weeks on end but you need enough nutrition and rest.

cyclezealot

I would have to commute home after Midnight shift..26 miles home. after working 12.5 hours. I would ride in and ride home.
No subway to choose from out there in the countryside..
I would be so tired once in awhile..I would sit on the road guard and put my head on the top tube for 15 minutes..
have a power gel. wake up and what, gotta get home somehow..do what you gotta do..Well, I made it.
But ,you can sort of fall asleep over the handlebars. watch it..
Must have looked weird sitting on the guard rails asleep with my head on the top tube.

pedex

Well last year was a freak year, after I quit the arena I had this obsession with the hour TT, so I rode lots and lots of extra miles trying to get faster, wound up with 16.5k miles.All I did was ride, 30-40miles a day 5 days a week for work,then like 30-40 more most days training.Ya, I did get pretty run down feeling sometimes.I did ok as long as I got like 9-10hrs of sleep everyday and ate all the right foods, not easy to do sometimes.My biggest week was 720 miles, but that was on a bet, someone bet me I couldnt do 7 100 mile days in a row, I dont want to do that again either, my legs felt like stir fried jello for two weeks.

This year Ive been slacking cause I realize I will never be fast, not that fast anyway, im on pace to do about 13,500 miles, age is catching me, Ive definitely noiced that. I dont bounce when I crash anymore, and I cant party at all and still ride, alcohol=pain&suffering.

Yep, some people are machines, im not one of them.I just have lots of time and nothing better to do but ride.I wish I had started like 15 years ago, might have had a shot at going pro at the lower level anyway,im the right size and I love riding and competing.I seriously love the feeling after a super hard workout though, better than taking amphetamines, makes it hard to wind down sometimes even if exhausted.

biodiesel

suggestion... unless you either get a pro bike fit or really really know your bike fit stuff get another bike. Locked into one position can be really tough on joints unless you're really dialed in. At 200+ miles a week you're in the area that repetitive stress can catch up with you.

chephy

I am good at pushing and pushing even when I am weak. So I'd just be very slow if I ride too much, but if I decide I'm not gonna quit, then I'm not gonna quit. Unless I am hungry or sleepy - that is just dangerous and bad for you healthwise, and also very painful.

But anyway, my commute is only 20 miles (round trip), so that comes only to 100 miles a week. So just commuting alone isn't going to tire me even if I do it for years on end.