First 50+ miler
 

Yesterday was a beautiful day so I decided to go for a long ride. I charted out 55 miles and set out for a ride through nearby forest and farmland. It was a great ride but I am slow so it took me about 3.5 hours.

It was nice to cover the distance but 3.5 hours is a long time (for me anyway) to set out on a bike. After about 2.5 hours I was more concerned with calculating the miles remaining than the ride itself.

I would like to do some longer rides similar to this but I guess I need to pick up the pace or mentally prepare myself to be out that long.

Anyone else have this problem?

Don't worry about it and just enjoy the ride.

If you can do 50 miles, then you can do 100. It is not that much harder. You just have to make one or two bathroom/water/snack stops then just keep on pedalling.

Don't think about the distance much. Just enjoy the ride. I like to look for wildlife. On one ride I saw a lot of ducks, geese, a three deer swimming in some flood waters and a couple of cranes.

Also, for long rides, you don't want to push yourself too hard. If you are so winded that you can't talk, you are pushing yourself too hard and will be worn out in about another 10 miles.

It took a bit longer than anticipated because I was pretty focused on conserving energy (didn't want to be stranded at the 40th mile) so maybe with time I'll learn my limits and be able to pick up the pace.

Maybe I'll try some other's advice here and look for some entertaining podcasts or an audiobook to supplement the scenery.

I don't think that is slow. You averaged somewhere in the 16 mph range for 50 plus miles. I just did 54 in 3 hours and 21 minutes and average 16.1 mph with a group that is much faster than me, yeah I held them up some but that is a long ways to be going 16 mph. I think you did good. Just keep riding and you will get better.