This Should Be A Sticky


Hey,mods, Are You Listening**********????

I can still remember how excited I was a few weeks after buying my first bike as an adult after a few bikeless years when I managed to ride 30 miles in a day. It was 3 rides of 10 miles with long breaks between them. I was soon up to 30 mile continuous rides. About a year later my perception of distance got a shakeup when I rode a cross-state ride, a week of 60-70 mile days. I was not really prepared for that ride, but I survived it and learned a lot from it. Over the years since then I have become very comfortable doing 50 to 70 mile rides and can stretch it up to 100 miles now and then without too much suffering, but that didn't happen overnight.
Take your time and don't push yourself to try rides longer than you can handle. Not everyone will want to do really long rides, but if you are so inclined and if you prepare and learn the lessons about equipment and conditioning, you can get to where you want to be. And you can have a lot of fun in the process.

Pretty soon we'll need another thread about overtraining. Rode 15 miles Tuesday, 25 miles Wednesday, and am tired but not sleepy at 4AM Thursday. We'll see.

All of this is good stuff. Regarding "over doing it", I thought that I was ready for my Birthday ride last weekend, but then I missed several days of exercise before the ride due to work, and my Birthday ride, although great fun, resulted in my first twinges to specific muscles (in this case, lower left back, and right calf). Since about 2000, I've gone from canal path rides, to mountain biking, to entry level road biking, to leading club A rides. It's all been fun and the progress reflects my enjoyment of the sport.

Just like my Dad's and my Grandfather's gardens got a little bigger each year, my riding has gotten a little more active each year. I've just never been a gardener.:)

Thank you stapfam, this is very helpful information. Since we just bought our bikes a few months ago, we have been aiming to add a few more miles to our weekend rides every week to gradually increase our strength and endurance without killing our legs. Every weekend we go a few (or several) miles further... 5, 11, 14, 18. This coming weekend I hope to go 20 and not a lot more, I like the 10% rule. Every time we return home, I am grinning from ear to ear like a kid on Christmas morning and wanting to go back out for more, and my legs recover pretty quickly (by at least the next morning). We also walk a lot, and I use a mini stepper, so this is not all I do. Based on what I've read in this thread I'm surprised we've been able to go from 5 to 18 in just a matter of weeks, yet I don't feel fatigued or sore so I don't think I am overdoing it. I believe in recovery days, whether it's puttering around the house, light gardening, a casual walk, or an easy ride around the neighborhood. I already understand the urge to ride harder but my 50+ sensibilities just says "no!". :)

Useful and encouraging advice. I would add a couple of things. First, when you set out to do a good distance, set a pace for yourself that is well below what you do on shorter rides. Remember that even great marathon runners don't run as fast as milers and certainly no where near the speed of sprinters. A good rule of thumb is 2-3 mph slower than short rides. I find that the real "wall" in riding distances is mental, so I use the following trick to increase my mileage: I do rides out and back. That is, if I wanted to go try for, say, 25 miles, I tried to find a route that goes out 12.5 miles and then turn around an come back. I'm not sure why, but once I turn around and retrace my route, it always seems a bit easier--maybe because with each pedal stroke I know I am getting closer to the finish.

One of my favorite rides here in the DC area is from my house to Mt. Vernon and back. It is a little over 40 miles round trip mostly on a bike path. The first time I did it two years ago, I averaged 13.2 mph and it took me 4 1/2 hours including several stops. It is still one of my proudest journal entries. Today I do the same ride in 2 1/2 hours (over 16 mph) with one 2-3 minute "banana stop" (I hate eating on the bike). It is still no world beater, but it shows that anyone (even an overweight, 65-year-old) can make real progress if they stick with it.

If you stay with it, you'll be doing a century a month in no time. Then you can go to North Carolina and ride with jppe on one of his 12,000 feet of climbing centuries in 5 or 6 hours (in my dreams!).

[QUOTE=tlc20010]One of my favorite rides here in the DC area is from my house to Mt. Vernon and back. It is a little over 40 miles round trip mostly on a bike path.
QUOTE]

Is this the Mount Vernon Trail? I've thought about including a ride on this trail the next time my daughter and I visit the area.

A nice timely post Stapfam.
Many have added their own stories to this one and if you review the Rogues Gallery you will find more. As everyone else, I started out slowly in 2005 riding my old peugeot P8 model, riding a 6 mile ride beginning in Feb. By Sept. I had ridden the inaugural "Birthday Ride" at 51 miles. 2006 Brought a new bike, Trek 5200, (a wonderful gift from my wife) and during the course of the year I had increased riding to the point of having done multiple metric centuries and 2 "real" centuries. 2007 Has brought a different riding style becuase of family/work scheduling. I have ridden a couple of 50 mile rides and will probably ride my Birthday ride in July, otherwise I have pretty much been riding my std. exercise ride of 16.16 miles. I have just crossed the 1,000 mile mark for the year this morning and even though I have no metric cent. or anything else this year I am only 35 miles behind last years numbers as of this date.
For those looking to increase their distance and speed I agree just take your time and it will come. Making a goal can be a good thing as it gives you something to shoot for. That first year, "lookinup" and stapfam pretty much talked me into the Birthday ride and that gave me the incentive I needed to raise my mileage. Now though I am not planning any centuries this year, I am in good enough shape that I don't think twice about a nice 40-50 mile ride. Also remember, if you get feeling too stressed out about a goal you won't enjoy it. In that circumstance take a break for a couple of days or a week, you'll probably feel better and you'll be anxious to get back out on the bike!

Agreed. For me the best tech improvements in cycling aren't frame material or components. It's the nutritional information and products.

Good info Stapfam,

The key to it all is enjoyment. I have ridden long distances over terrain that makes it brutal. I have actually switched more to a Costa Rican method of looking at this. Down here, because of the condition of our roads, we don't count the kilometers, but the time. Time on the bike is the key and how long you can do it. The longer you can, the farther you will go.

Speed comes naturally like with anything. When your body knows how to do something, it naturally gets faster. I love to just jump on the bike and go somewhere - anywhere. Just me an my bike exploring the roads almost never traveled...

I really don't care how far I go, just how much fun it is. My days of competing with anyone is over - and especially me. You will hear about many people hoping to hit this goal or that and that is fine - in fact a good thing. But also understand that you don't have to. You can just enjoy your riding time. Some people need goals - all I need is another hill to cross to see what is on the other side. I just wish some days those hills weren't 5 hour hills! :eek:

I agree! I'm not going very far from home with my explorations, but I turn down every kid/dog/deer path and see where it goes. The city is full* of little spots of wooded trail, and hidden ponds, and little parks with beaches you can chain together to make a really nice ride. I remember now how much better I knew my own neighborhood when I was a kid.

The better perspective for regaining endurance after returning to cycling from inactivity is to forget about counting mileage all together. The true measure of endurance that is consistent across all kinds of rides, routes and conditions, is one's ability to simply continue to ride, at any speed.

I would suggest, that cyclists intending to rebuild lost endurance, first focus their measures on how long they can ride, time-wise, not distance per se.

The thread starter is off-base directing people to focus on mileage.

Easier than measuring the circumference is adjusting the coefficient
for the computer by tweaking it until it matches the GPS. The computer
will only be right if set correctly and what better standard do we have
than GPS??

I won't go that far - mileage when you are riding predictable roads is not a bad gauge and can be useful, I went through that phase myself. That is not saying my current phase is better or an improvement, just different.

My conditioning is such I know I can ride 100 miles if I wish. I recently did 80 kilometers and much of it was rock road with a MTB. Not an issue. With a road bike, who knows what I can do. I find in reality, 5 hours is my comfort zone.

One of my earliest memories was growing up in Missouri until I was 7 riding around on my Grandfather's 300 acre farm on a single speed bike. Such pure enjoyment. Exploring, stopping to talk with workers, just putting along on a bike and enjoying the day. It feels good to have recaptured it.

Out here in the back of nowhere there is NO entertainment besides exploration - but that is more than enough.

By the way, I get pretty tired DRIVING 5 hours as well. :D

Good topic and advice, stapfam. Let me just emphasize that for rides over 2 hours, nutrition can be important. We're all a bit different, and I've seen club riders do everything wrong and still complete a longer ride fine, but I've learned the hard way that I can't do that; I need good fuel for the longer rides. There's some really good info on nutrition for longer rides on Hammer Nutrition's site.

I'm just about where jppe was when he started, but I'm doing something a little different now. When I did my metric and pre birthday ride, I didn't put the computer on miles, I set it for time. I think if I set it for miles I would have had a harder time of it. Just about everything else has been said, take it as it come, without trying to kill yourself.

On the ride on Sunday- I had a good meal to start- Then on the r ide- only a short one- I stopped 3 times for carbs-- And the camelback was filled with carb/energy drink.

Mind you- last year- I could not have done this ride. i trained for it aswell. Found hills that would tax me and the bike. Remember- the other partner on a long ride- or hard one- is the bike. It has to fit and be comfortable

They say it takes about 3 years of regular riding (say, 2,000+ miles per year) to really reach your potential.

Some of it is mental, some of it is physical, some of it is logistical (figuring out when and how much to eat and drink), and some it it involves equipment (saddle choice, bike setup, learning your gears, etc.).

Back in 1990, I was an overweight out of shape smoker. To help me to quit tobacco, I bought a low end mountain bike...and the rest, as they say, is history. I can still remember the feeling of being a kid again from the very first time I rode down and across a rocky streambed. As time progressed (and my lungs cleared), my rides got longer and longer.

Now, 17 years later at age 54, I identify myself as a "cyclist" more than anything else. My home decor includes autographed posters of Lance and Eddy Merckx, and I have a fairly complete bike repair shop in my garage.

I've done 2 mountainous centuries this month, with 10,000 and 11,000 feet of climbing. And this Saturday I'll be doing a double metric (124 miles), with 13,000 feet of climbing.

17 years ago, I could not have imagined myself doing things like this, but now they're just a regular part of the cycling life.

So, for those who are new to this beautiful sport...keep at it, pay attention to yourself and your bike, and keep those pedals turning. Before you know it, you'll be scheduling cycling vacations to ride in the big mountains!

[QUOTE=Beverly]That's the one, Beverly. It is quite a nice trail, very little interaction with traffic for the entire 18 miles. Pretty flat except for a couple of overpasses at National Airport and a decent climb up to Mt. Vernon to finish the trip off nicely. The north end starts at the base of the Key Bridge in Roslyn (across the river from Georgetown). Midway, it goes through Old Town Alexandria, nice place to stop for a latte, beer or just to shop. There is a visitors center at Mt. Vernon with an acceptable food court (opens at 10 a.m.) with pretty high prices--no competition--and also a restaurant (the Mt Vernon Inn) that serves lunch and dinner. There are plenty of bike racks and very nice rest rooms. The trail tends to be very, very busy on weekends (kids, dogs, strollers, skateboards, bikes, joggers, organized runs--you get the idea) but even this time of year during the week is is pretty quiet and a wonderful ride. If you haven't found it, Bike Washington (www.bikewashington.org) has details on all the DC area trails.

It's been interesting to review these posts, even my own.

Yesterday I did my first hill repeats (but why?) ever. I didn't think they wore me out that much but once again I couldn't get to sleep for the life of me.

Does anyone else experience that after long rides, etc.

Nope, it's your problem....perhaps you should see a doctor (I mean besides looking in a mirror) ;)

What you describe is a not uncommon problem. I think that most 50+ers would know immediately what to do: take pie and post again in the morning. And if that doesn't work, you haven't had enough pie.

Honestly no, I sleep very well after major exertion.

It musta been serious, because I had me a big ole piece of Kentucky Silk Pie last night. Ain't nuthin better, 'cept Derby Pie.

I don't suppose your problems sleeping could have had anything to do with that "big ole piece" of pie, eh? :rolleyes: Heartburn, perhaps?