Cookiemonsta

I often go through a lot of trouble to clear 2 hours to get a ride in. But I realize that I would be able to get a lot more riding done if I would just accept that I am short on time and would just do 20km here and there (quickly before dinner, or quickly before work, quickly before sleep etc.). Instead of being like "I can not get a minimum of X kilometer in so there is no point".

Do you feel a 20 km ride is useful at all? Is it part of your routine? And would you advice me to incorporate short 20 km rides in my weekly routine if a longer ride is not possible? The alternative is going for a run, which is what I usually do, even though I really do not enjoy it.

Thanks in advance.

DaveWC

I do 24km Mon-Fri and 80-100 km Sat/Sun.

seymour1910

Same here, I don't have a great deal of time and have basically told myself if I can't get 20 miles in there is no point. I could probably get several shorter rides in during the week but always pass. Just like you, in the mornings I'll go for a run because in order for me to get a "sufficient" ride in before work I would have to get up at about 4 a.m. I actually don't care for riding at night either so that again limits me.

datlas 

It can be useful to do a 1 hour ride. I prefer 2 + as well.

Ask yourself what are your goals. If truly training you can do a series of structured intervals. If just a recovery or fun/fitness ride, no problem!

Mike F

I ride 13-15 miles 4 or 5 days during the week at 0400 and a longer ride on weekends. I dont really do it for training. I do it because its fun and blubber never sleeps

StephenH

I don't do "training rides", I just ride. Normally, shortest distance is 20 miles. Occasionally, when I'm pressed for time, I'll do a shorter 13 mile loop.

Realistically, ANY riding is better than sitting on the sofa, even if it's only one mile. If it involves changing clothes, taking a shower afterwards, etc., it seems like a lot of time to spend preparing compared to the actual ride time- and in that case, maybe get a spare short-distance bike that you can ride in jeans without a lot of preparation.

znomit

10 miles.

mr_pedro

Most week rides in the morning are between 1hr and 1.5 hr. I pick a few spots to go all out for 1-3 minutes and the rest of the time I am going at slightly below threshold.

coppercook62

20

lolguy

I agree with the "any ride is better than none." 3-4 mornings a week, I'll do 17-20 miles with a 30+ miler one weekend day. Intervals work and if you don't have enough time for 20km, go for a run. Just do something!

Bob Dopolina 

Don't ride by distance, ride by TIME.

I can do a complete interval workout in 60 minutes or so.

caloso

Absolutely.

As crit season was approaching, in order to increase my top end speed, my coach started prescribing various short (<60") interval workouts. A lot of them were less than 1 hr of total riding. I wasn't tracking distance so I would have to back and look, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were around 20 km.

generalkdi

When I'm short on time, I do a short 10k loop with 400m altitude gain all out.

mkadam68

+1

My Friday ride is typically a 45mins-1hr rest/recovery ride before the weekend. Keep it in the small ring, spin out the legs, get ready for hurting Sat & Sun.

Definitely useful.

But datlas nailed it: what are your goals? Let the answer to that question dictate how you train.

bigfred 

Absolutely!

There's no way I'm constructively doing anything after the first 60 minutes of a high intensity short hill repeats session or sprinting/spin up intervals.

In fact, turning when I experience a marked decrease in performance has resulted in me ending such workouts and heading for home while warming down after as little as 45 minutes (including the 20-25min warm up).

Beaker

This. Time and intensity/purpose. I managed to get a 2x20 sweet spot workout crammed into an hour over lunch a couple of weeks back. You can do shorter/harder intervals in less than an hour and get a real training benefit. Just don't focus on miles, focus on what you do with the time. A heart rate monitor, or better yet, power meter will really help focus that.

Carbonfiberboy 

18 miles. Happens to be the length of a local loop. It's a good distance for a short ride.

carpediemracing 

Shortest "ride" I did was 15 minutes, 5 minutes warm up, 10 sprints to max rpm:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...x-231-rpm.html

I couldn't walk right for a few days after that.

My shortest normal training rides are on the trainer, 30-35 minutes, enough to break a sweat, get the legs a bit swollen and then shrunken again (typical after taking a day or three off). This is typical the day before a race, and usually after a couple days off.

For hard rides I usually race so I don't do really hard rides on my own. Virtually all my rides are JRA or slightly harder, i.e. not structured and just getting time in.

In the early season I prefer to do a few hard weeks, with one 25+ hour week the ideal thing 4 weeks before the first race of the season. After that I've done seasons where I do 3-4 hours a week.

Spartannia

There's a perfect route right near my apartment that's just about 20K. If I want to just get in a quick ride, or a nice recovery roll, that's what I'll do: https://www.strava.com/activities/71659977

The route has the added bonus of being near a local community college campus that's great for hill repeats, if I feel like adding that to a workout for the day.

Rekless1

My weekly solo rides are right at 20 miles, my goal is to do that in 1 hour.

Pretty happy with both sides of that.

mattkime

Nothing wrong with breaking up endurance work. Interval training can be done in short segments as well. I'm very pleased with the results I've seen with the Time Crunched Cyclist.

sreten

Hi,

Get a cheap heavy "utility" bike with a rear rack and fenders
and build it into your daily routines, commuting, shopping etc.

My utility folder is as slow as you like but where I live all rides,
even the shortest, involve hills to get back home, and may
involve further hills to get somewhere I want to go.

I've been working on going up the hills in higher and higher
gears, and for me no routine ride is too short to be useful,
as there is always some part that is taxing trying to go fast.

rgds, sreten.

justkeepedaling

My usual ride is 24 km, about 800 feet of climbing, and I go at it as hard as my body can take me. I ride a 25 lb bike with a 42x23 lowest gear and I get a very good workout

e_guevara

I agree with everybody who prescribed interval training.

Prioritize intensity/time over distance, but that really depends on your training goals.

When I don't have enough time for a long ride, I do a time-trial of the local loop (27 km/16.78 mi). The terrain is a little hilly with a good number of short climbs and flats good for sprints. I try to beat my PR every time (currently it stands at 0:51).

sreten

Hi,

I used to run. Always hard as possible at first. A guy joined where I worked
and wanted to get into running. Showing him my routes I had to take it
easy for a week or so. The first time going out on my own after that I
slaughtered my best time on the route I did. I stopped going really hard.

Years ago and 50+ now but I still apply it. I don't know how fast I can
go if I tried really hard, but it would be quite a bit faster than I usually
go, which is pushing but not killing myself. I might attack the hills on
one ride, try going really fast on a section on another ride, but I now
know just racking up the mileage at a decent pace is the way to go.

rgds, sreten.