Go go go till the legs say no

That elk statement....It is the most awesome thing I've read today...

Good job Tom. I'm 43 and just had my first 400 mile month in June. Distance cycling is a great 40 something activity to keep the body and mind fit.

No Elk here in Mid-Maryland, but we hunt a lot of geese in the farm firlds here close to home. I do a majority of my scouting by bike. Killing two birds with one stone so to speak. Good luck in the Elk woods this year and I'm sure the summer riding will pay off for you.

That'd be cool! Elk hunting is physically intense; the beasts live in rough country and you have to go where they are.

Sitting here on my arse debating.... tear down the wellhouse, or go for a ride. I'm riding today no matter what, but it's a cool enough day to make a daytime ride (as opposed to evening) possible.

Well...... the wellhouse is on my self-imposed honey-do list. Better make some effort there, THEN go for a long ride. Once I tear the damn thing down, I'll have to build a new one, is the thing.

That's great long Tom. About the same mileage I got in July. July was really my first month of riding since a pulmonary embolism almost killed me last fall. had some lingering effects and really pushing hard is a *****. I guess I really don't have a choice, I have to get fit fast. I am signed up for cycle Oregon this fall and cancelling just ain't a option in my book.

My little riding thread. Ho jeez. Well, corny as it is, an update.

Did 702 miles in august. Woohoo! Original goal was 600 miles, but 700 was in reach so I did 65 Wednesday and 62 today to make it happen.

I still plan on doing a century, but in general I think I'll shorten my rides for a while- more like 25-35 miles with a more focused goal, like upping an average mph, or going balls-out on a set of climbs, or whatever. And some good spins on the flats. I've been banging pretty hard.

I'm feeling solid aerobically and fear no hill. My main biking buddy is whining. Haha, love it.

Great improvement! A century should not be a problem if you're starting to log that many miles!

I hope so! I'm guessing 100 gets a little... personal... in ways that 60 only hints at. But we shall see.

That is awesome..I started in Mid June and have managed to put 450 miles Total)...48 and overweight with RA and for me this is a big deal...Now the the nice cooler weather is coming i see myself doing more nice long rides....Congrats and remember , it is a big deal...Like somebody said in post 4 or 5... it's 358 miles more than the majority of americans did...

Thanks!!

I rode hard in the heat this summer- a number of times I'd start my ride in the 90's. What works for me is an all-cotton long sleeve T shirt (in electric yellow).... I soak it with water before the ride, and it's like air conditioning the first half hour or so. After that sweat takes over, and then soon after, things would start to cool down naturally as evening came on. Anyway-- the above got me out on my bike on many a hot afternoon.

I will likely back off the mileage a bit in Sept. Maybe set a goal of more like 500. First, I've pushed my knees hard ramping up this fast, and I want them to be in good shape for hunting season and then ski season. Next, the time factor.... 50-60 mile rides every other day eats up a LOT of time and with school starting back up, I will have more responsibilities to my family that I can't dump on my wife. My youngest is a serious high school athlete and constantly needs rides etc. And finally, 60 mile rides are just a long time to be on a bike. It starts not being fun. I don't want to kill the fun part.

I'm thinking more like 30-40 mile rides, but kick up the speed a notch or two.

It's amazing how the miles start to pile up. I find lately I've been doing three or four group rides for every solo ride, and I was looking at my miles yesterday thinking maybe I can double last year's total if the weather cooperates.

I keep an excel spreadsheet just for fun. I'm missing data for May & June 2011 (which is when I started riding), but everything else is accurate.

[TABLE="width: 892"]
[TR]
[TD] Year
[/TD]
[TD] Jan
[/TD]
[TD] Feb
[/TD]
[TD] Mar
[/TD]
[TD] Apr
[/TD]
[TD] May
[/TD]
[TD] Jun
[/TD]
[TD] Jul
[/TD]
[TD] Aug
[/TD]
[TD] Sep
[/TD]
[TD] Oct
[/TD]
[TD] Nov
[/TD]
[TD] Dec
[/TD]
[TD] Total
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]2011
[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]27.25[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]477.55[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]241.64[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]309.32[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]119.82[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]88.00[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]27.94[/TD]
[TD="align: right"] 1,291.52
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]2012[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]108.88[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]64.94[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]247.70[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]364.08[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]509.68[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]712.50[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]230.10[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]666.70[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]424.2[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]3,328.78[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]2013[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]450.0[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]242.6[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]243.00[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]713.40[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]625.30[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]851.10[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]545.90[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]733.20[/TD]
[TD="align: right"]40.20[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="align: right"]4,444.70[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]9,065.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Don't view 100 miles as some mythical distance that's any more difficult to train up to than your current progress, just keep increasing your mileage and soon it will just be what you do for your weekly long ride. IMO the further you can go without stressing out about it, the more fun the sport starts to become.

Well I just did 303 for August which is a new record for me. Hoping to keep it up throughout winter.

Way to go, LT! As stated earlier, it's important to keep cycling fun. When we view it as performance/miles=self worth, fun tends to go down the drain, IMO. I know that's blasphemy to some folks on BF, but it's true.

An occasional long ride and lots of short ones may be just right for you. If so, then don't let anyone talk you out of it.

Mid 40s as well. 360 miles in May, 420 in June, 500 in July, 360 in August (unforeseen family obligations). I am hoping to hit 350-400 in September before the weather gets too cold in October.