Went for a ride this morning hoping to get 15 miles but kinda doubtful because of the wind. Ended up feeling good and made 20. I may pay for it tomorrow but it's a great feeling to make a personal best! Maybe that metric century by October is doable after all.

Nice work. I don't know your fitness level or riding experience, but I'd think a metric would be well with your reach in a few months. Good luck.

Don't know your location but if the wind is as strong and as cold as it is here--You did well.

Congratulations on riding more miles than you planned on. Conditioning sneaks up on us. A metric century in October is doable if you build up your mileage carefully. The general rule of thump is to increase mileage not more than 10% per week. Do your own research on the subject. Good luck.

Hi,

From running I know once you can do 1/3 distance easily
that distance is well doable, though you will know about
it the next day, and the best training for it is improving
the pace you find easy over 1/3 distance.

rgds, sreten.

17 miles in the cold (2C) and windy (18mph) weather today.

I've been riding for a year -- and I still would not be able to do a metric century...

But, I do have 2 achievable goals:
-- 20/25 miles per ride or 100 miles per week
-- Enjoy myself

I figure if I enjoy it, I will be more likely to get back on the bike rather than looking for excuses not to...

So, my REAL goal is to ride at least a little each day and, try not to miss more than one day in a row...

Because, my REAL, REAL goal is to decrease my chances of stroke or heart attack -- AND have fun doing it!

I suggest that your first priority is to enjoy your rides -- and that will help you to keep riding. A little is not as good as a lot -- but it's a whole lot better than none.

p.s. Congratulations on getting the 20 miles in. That's good! And, what is even better is that you made the 15 and still felt good enough and strong enough to keep going. That's great!

Hi,

Hammer 20 or so mile bike rides and a metric century
will be easy taken at a fast but relatively modest pace.

rgds, sreten.

Sounds like a great day.

If you are riding now in all the crud that the weather can throw at you then you will be able to do a metric by July.just keep riding and when the weather improves- up the mileage and effort each week. When you can do a 40 miler with hills then you are ready.

Great work!

20 miles = 32 kms so you are 1/3 of the way there.

Keep it fun.

I've found that in a group of people, I am pushed much farther than I would ordinarily push myself. For example, last Saturday, my group rode from Triangle Park (near Diamond Head) to Makapu'u, a distance of around 20 miles each way. Of course, we had to pass both Diamond Head and Koko Head, both volcanoes, and while neither climb was all that high, Koko Head is a "leg breaker", at least for me. I was only thinking of going to Manala Bay, just shy of Koko Head, but the group urged me on and I made if all the way to Makapu'u. It wasn't really a good day, as it was cold (at least for Hawaii) and we got drenched with rain, but I made it all the way there and back, much farther than I would have ridden by myself.

Often, if you ride with others, you will find yourself beating even your best estimates for what you can do. Congratulations on riding farther than you anticipated - keep it up! It gets easier from here on out. With respect to the metric century ride, just keep the rest stops in mind. Over here, we have Oreos!

I have been reading on here and taking in all the advice. Thanks to all. I plan to ride every other day during the week and try to add 3-5 miles to the long ride on the weekend. I guess I will add in some stength workouts on the days I don't ride. I used the p90x program(modified many of the excercises) last year to drop from 249lbs to 210 but I don't want to be that intense 6 days a week at 52 yo. I have logged 96 miles for March so I guess I need to up the goal for April.
Thanks again.

Congrats on a personal best-you are invincible! At least for today.

Several years ago 10 wheels recommended doing a 4 hour ride. That seemed way over the top for where I was as a rider. But I started taking a couple 4 hour rides a month. They were casual, ride an hour, take a break, ride another hour get a burger kinda rides. Then I graduated to ride 2 hours and get a burger then ride for a few more hours. If you can get your rear used to the saddle time and just ride, it is amazing how strength will follow. Shortly thereafter I rode a Century-highlight of my riding life! And I am almost 60.

Hi MSU. Welcome. I take it you are in MIssissippi. I lived in Biloxi for about 10 years and played lots of tennis even in the midday sun. We were all fine but it required drinking lots of water, even the day before a tournament. You may need to build up miles in the early AM before the hottest part of the day. I would think a metric by October is a reasonable goal. Good luck.

I took up tennis in 2002 to get healthy. 10 years and 7 surgeries later, I have taken up cycling and retired from tennis. Yes, I grew up in South MS and know how brutal the summer can get. You start sweating just going out to get the morning paper.

Which Century are you prepping for? I am in Pensacola and a South Mississippi century or metric in October might be a nice break. You a State Bulldog by any chance? My mom's middle sister's family lives in Starkville and Amory, she is from Senatobia.

Bill

Thinking about the Southern Magolia. It was just announced as October 13. Yes sir, graduated from State in 83' in Petroleum Engineering went to the oil patch for a while and came back home. Can't beat the winters here or in P'cola.

I always like it when my positive expectations are exceeded.

I did my oil drilling time, too, early 80's - off shore, until the first big price drop caused a massive reduction in all drilling. I worked for The Analysts, a Schlumberger division that did MWD monitoring and logging, as an engineer (Environmental Engineering, UWF 1980.) I'll look into the Southern Magnolia and see what it looks like, thanks for the heads up.

Bill