Ride 3 miles away from your house, to the north. Then work your way in a circle around your home and you've have ridden about 10 miles. I support the banana, and drink the full bottle of water comments from other posters. Rock on and ride on! Remember to keep spinning the pedals and not to mash them.

Ride 5 miles and then turn around and ride home. Just ride and keep riding.

So, went out this morning to try and double my best, ended up almost tripling it! Ended up biking 14 miles in 1 hour 15 minutes this morning! Only thing sore is my lower back, and my hand only went numb once, shook it out while pedaling and all was good. Took about, 6 or 7 30 second breaks, and only used 1 water bottle of the 2 I had. Damn I feel good! Thanks all for the motivation and giving me the can do attitude.

Good for you!! :)

I think it was Matthew Mcconaughey that was quoted saying (about running) he goes as far as he can, then turns around and goes home.

maybe you can loosen up, stop tracking miles, and ride where there's no traffic and have fun. then when you think you've gone as far as you can take a little break, maybe refuel and rehydrate, and head home ...

then klater since you will be curious, google map the route and check the miles.

NICE! If you're lower back soreness keeps happening, it could be a fit issue or you're just trying to compensate for your hand numbness. I suspect both will get better with more rides as you get used to it and the strength in your back and abs improves.

Nice work!!

10+ is now your new standard ride distance. Time to find some fun routes!

If you ride with regular shoes and toe clips, carry your cell phone and just ride. If you have a flat tire or mechanical problems, or just get too tired to ride back, call someone to get you or walk home.

Thanks guys, and thanks for the tips. Working on bike fit some more. Raising my seat about half an inch helped, and I think I might need to drop my handlebars a bit. Really wish I could find a 165mm crankset to work with the stock Shimano chainring for better fit. Also, I think my outer chainring isn't fully flat, slight wobble from it, but not the inner ring.

This is a great tool for working on your fit. May need some slight alterations from person to person but is quite good and getting you in the ball park.

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...LCULATOR_INTRO

Thanks for the link, definitely gonna use it to get me around where I need to be.

Chrisrook - you are on your way!

If it helps, in Dec 2011, I dusted off my bike, rode to the end of the street and was tired. Ashamed at myself, I made a comittment to myself to keep at it. By Jan 1 I decided to ride daily and log my miles. I finished up 2012 with 4,900 miles documented miles and I lost 60 lbs in the process.

I recall well the gradual increase in my mileage. At first 3mi was a big deal, then became the norm. Then 5, then 10 then...somewhere I just started going 25, 30, on up to 50 in a single ride. In no time you will be riding as far and as long as you have time for. There is no rule, no limit. You will know when you have had enough, and when you have not. Ride and enjoy!

Congratuations to you and Keep at it!! I look forward to future updates on your accomplishments!
BGRider.

Thanks for the encouragement! My first real ride a few weeks ago was 5 miles, and I was crazy impressed with myself. I have a friend/coworker that used to seriously bike, but stopped a few years ago that I have been talking with about my riding. When I saw him today and told him the distance, he looked at me and told me he was surprised I went that far that fast. He told me to keep going like y'all. Maybe one day he'll get back on like he's been trying to and we can get some miles in. Always nice to have a road partner. On top of that, we have this security guard who is in his mid to late 60's that used to race around the world and owned his own bike shop, he's been giving me hints and tricks to raise my cadance and to keep on a good diet. So, hopecully with y'all and them, i'll be knocking my next goal out no problem! As of now, I would like to increase my cadance, so my next goal is to do the same 14 mile ride in ~45 minutes by early August. Figure, keep up with the road on my 5 days a week schedule and it should be doable.

Well keep at it and most importantly, enjoy it!

As you're just starting to build up miles, straightening up the knee for a rest every few strokes will alloy you to pedal for a much longer duration overall, just basically take your time;)

And potentially developing a bad pedal stroke ... pedal, pedal, pedal, coast ... pedal, pedal, pedal, coast ... pedal, pedal, pedal, coast ...


Using appropriate gearing and a consistent pedal stroke will allow you to pedal for a much longer duration overall.

something else I read that helps me on ,long rides is to get out of the saddle every 15 minutes. not stopping necessarily but rather getting up on the pedals either coasting or peddling. this allows me to stretch my back fairly straight up. one bike has higher bars and allows that even more.

I've never heard of this. Makes absolutely no sense.
I've seen guys straighten a leg when they drift to the back of the paceline as its to dangerous to do in front.
Is this what you mean?

Methinks this is getting out of context, as the op is a beginning bicyclist, my opinion stands, imho, if you can only ride 5 miles,resting the legs alternately, during the ride will prolong the ride, not saying any experienced cyclist should do anything, not saying that resting a leg will add endurance, how could it possibly? Not saying that resting a leg will decrease the ability to pedal for hours, how could it? possibly?;)

As I've never, ever... seen a cyclist during next month's word class event ever....... rest a leg for a count, it must be an evil thing to do;)

Congrats on the progress! You will be amazed at how much your body can progress in a relatively short time if you keep at it.

If you continue to have trouble with the hands, it could be a sign of bad fit. Your weight should be balanced between your butt and your hands. If you're shifted too far forward and putting too much weight on your hands, you could get numbness. Of course, it could just be a matter of getting used to riding more distance - just something to keep in mind if you continue to have the problem.

Congrats! It can be hard for some of us to remember how big of a deal those first few rides were. ;)

I had trouble with hand pain/numbness at first, and I realized it was due to locking my elbows (probably due to the weak core). Keep those elbows loose, and your hands/shoulders will thank you.

Congrats on the progress. 14 miles is good training ride. You'll be at 30 miles in no time. But before you head out to set your next Personal Record, make sure you understand why you back hurts and why your hands go numb. It could be a slight adjustment in your seat, bar, and feet to get is worked out. I dont have a good feel for the fitness level you have so it could also be just getting accustomed to riding. May want to ride the 14 mile route or 20 mile route a few time before setting of for 30 miles.

I ride 160-180 miles weekly and often feel fatigued on some 30 mile routes if I'm not properly hydrated, rested or fed. I'm sure you'll be fine, but you introduce new variables the further you go and the longer you are on a bike the greater the impact will be. Doing a regular 15 and 20 routes will help you gauge where you need to pay attention, water, food, bike reliability, fitness etc.

Keep at it and try to get in a ride every other day during the work week and 2rides during the weekends. I recommend planning you long ride for Sat., if the weather or other things get in your way, sunday is the back plan. Enjoy the rides.

BTW
3 rides at 14 miles and 1 30 miler will put you at 72 miles for a week.

Thanks for the tips Vlaam4ever. I actually had a doctor appointment yesterday, so I talked with him about a few things. I had been having numbness issues in my hands for years, mostly the right one. When I was in high school, I flipped a mountain bike and broke my elbow, didn't ride a bike for almost 2 years after that. Add in car accidents, and you have the perfect conditions for nerve damage. According to my doctor, all the accidents seem to have brought on carpal tunnel in my right wrist. As for foot pain, he said that cycling would pronounce my flat feet, so he suggested inserts for when I am riding as well as walking. As for distance, I plan to try and maintain 14-20 mile rides next month, but try and cut my 14 mile ride down from 1 hour 15 minutes to as close to 45 minutes as possible.

Fourteen miles in 45 minutes is close to the much-ballyhooed 20mph average. It might take you longer than you think to get there, but good luck and keep at it!

Congrats on the improvement! This time last year may longest ride was around the same distance as yours when you started, 6 miles or so into town and then I would ride back home later in the day. Fast forward to now, my longest ride is about 125 miles, I've podiumed a few races, and I no longer feel like I have to plan my rides so I don't over do it. Keep on going! The better your endurance on the bike gets the more fun exploring on your bike will be!