I've found a great route with uncommonly light traffic at 19 miles round trip, and have taken it every evening this week. I've logged 80 miles this week and I'm sore. Considering staying home tonight, or taking the midway turn around.

I can take the distance without issue. My legs, feet, and hands are fine. Really, I enjoy the uninterrupted distance, low rolling hills, and smooth asphalt for most of the way. The next turn around makes for a 35 mile round trip, which once I feel up to it, would like to try for twice a week.

What I'm not enjoying is the morning after. If only I could silently chew my arm off to escape this soreness and fatigue with which I wake, I'd surely do so. It didn't start until after two days on the route, and after four, I'm seriously considering cutting back on either distance or days. Certainly ready for a break

Blistering Sands is coming up on Monday and I'd like to be competitive in the 31 mile tour. Race starts at 8, and here I am tired and still sore at 9. Should I just not ride this weekend?

What's your limit for a daily ride? Do you take days off?

35 5 days a week and more on Saturdays; although I've cut back to 26 miles 5 days a week and 45-60 on Saturdays except for a monthly 100-200+ mile ride.

You need to ease into it. You won't notice 20 miles a day when you're used to riding 18. Coming from half that you will.

The rule of thumb is +10% a week. Take a lower volume rest week out of every four.

You need some time off.

One day a week I don't ride. That's Sunday unless something gets in the way of riding Saturday.

I answered something like this here:

My first answer in Post 12: https://www.bikeforums.net/18872109-post12.html

And here:

My second answer in Post 42: https://www.bikeforums.net/18879313-post42.html

In this thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cy...-you-ride.html


It can take a little while to build up so that you feel comfortable exercising every day or most days.

I had a hard time finding my enthusiasm this year, so most of my cycling has been in the last month. I rode a 60k last month, 30 miles in Brownwood, and a few days of five to ten miles here and there. This has been my first week of consistent riding over ten miles daily, so I guess I should have seen it coming. Ease into it, I did not.

I'll ride the truncated route with the neighbor because he hasn't been out all week, and take the weekend off.

Thanks for the input.

I'll try to better understand the search function in the future.

My normal weekday rides are 15-20, depending on what trail I use. My weekend fun rides are generally 30-35. I've done as much as 55ish in a day, and while I've never done it could probably eek out a metric century without much concern, but a ride generally stops being fun somewhere around the 40-45 mile mark for myself.

Never had much issue with being sore the next day, though. Fatigued a bit at times, especially after three 35 mile days in a row in 90F heat, but not sore. Is your bike fit properly?

all of them

Eating enough protein? I'll second the advice to take a day off now and then, and consider working in a long ride every week at low intensity.

It's as close as I can get with what I have. It could use a bit more reach in the top tube, and as a result, I feel as though I could move my saddle forward a bit but don't. The only way it really fits poorly is when I get all the way down in the drops, with my elbows bent and my thumbs wrapped up around the brake hoods. I feel like I need more than can be achieved with just a longer stem.

Riding in the rails as I do most of the time, it fits just fine. Down low, I feel a little crunched in the midsection. I only assume that position when I'm trying to get the most out of a descent, and only for short periods.

I'm still learning here. Anything wrong with this picture?



This came to me from another man's trash and has been stripped to nothing since. I set it up as you see it here.

Only thing that looks off to me is the saddle looks slanted down too far from level, then again I am by no means a fit expert. The question should have probably been worded more as "have you taken fit into consideration?". Fit is very subjective, the bike sizes I prefer and how I have them set up makes many people cringe and tell me I am wrong, but as I mentioned I have never gotten off the bike with pain, let alone it still lingering the day after. They work for my body proportions and the riding I do.

I find the seat angle better for riding in the drops. If I angle the nose up any, it puts pressure in places it shouldn't be.

I'd like to clarify that I don't get off of the bike with pain, actually far from it. I could keep right on going another ten miles. I'm sore the morning after, and progressively worse with each day. I can feel the previous day in the first five miles as a bit of stiffness but it goes away pretty quick.

Ah. I don't find riding in the drops to be comfortable, or practical, for long distances, so I can't really comment on that. Quick sprints, going into a headwind, sure, but most of the time I am on the hoods.

I've been riding about an hour after dinner each night, and tend to carry something along the lines of a protein bar or chew to have along the way. It's nice, but I feel I really only need a snack on rides of thirty miles or more.

I'm not going to say that the fun stops, but that the challenge begins to present itself at around 27-30 miles for me.

I ride on the rails about 75% of the time. A good 15% is on the hoods, and the rest is either moving around on top or pulling down low in the drops for speed. I've pedaled to 39mph, couldn't have done it sitting upright.

June 15: 83 miles
June 16: 63 miles (two 7,000'+ passes)
June 17: 76 (7,400' pass and an 8,000' pass)
June 18: 35 miles (21 on rough dirt with climbing)
June 19: 23 miles
June 20: 47 miles (7,000'+ pass)
June 21: 43 miles
June 22: 53 miles (6,700' pass)
June 23: 59 miles (long climb up to altitude)
June 24: 37 miles (8 mile climb, 17 miles of rough dirt)
June 25: 50 miles


All (except June 19) carrying all my clothing, camping and cooking gear.

there's absolutely no reason to eat on a 19-mile ride...

especially after just having a meal.

Leg soreness to me describes pushing a high gear at low RPM. What do you know about cadence and gear selection?

what area of your body is sore the next morning ? Just your arms ?

Can? I have no idea. No doubt more than I have/do.

This.

I've been averaging ~250 a week for the past 4 months, and with time and/or motivation, I'm certain I could do more.

Yeah, as I mentioned before, I like having a snack, but I don't need it unless I'm riding more than 30 miles.

I think Cadence is a stupid name for a child, and as for gear selection, I wear gloves and shorts.

No really, more than most people it seems, as I use them all. I'll push a gear until I'm not comfortable with it and downshift. While I'll often keep it on the big ring up front, I'll drop to the bottom of the cassette when I come to a stop, and cruise through the gears as I get up to speed.

When the road goes down, I tend to drop the hammer and find top gear pretty quick. It's only comfortable at speeds over 25mph, and near impossible to pedal on a flat. Once I slow down to 24mph, I start downshifting.



Just the legs, maybe a little in the lower back.

This is all very encouraging, and I enjoy seeing responses from people who have blown me out of the water.

I replaced my bottom bracket with a sealed cartridge type but didn't notice the difference in chain line until I was ten miles away and went to climb back up the caprock. Last night, I climbed the hill in the big ring, just as I did on Monday. I didn't opt to do this on the days in between but without any tools on hand, I didn't have much choice. I'll have my derailer repositioned and adjusted before I depart this evening, but it could be the source of my "extra soreness" this morning.

I'm still feeling it. A little soreness is understandable, and previous days were not unbearable, but I feel I should take the weekend off so as to be ready for the tour on Monday. Today was somewhat of a loss.

Maybe that's why I'm so used to riding in the drops, the country here makes up for lack of hills with wind.

Plenty of it.

This is awesome. Carry on.

You could try raising your handlebars slightly so that you can level your saddle.

And I would recommend counting your cadence. It should be somewhere in the neighbourhood of 80-90 rpm.