New But Loving It...how many miles do you average each ride?

[loride]

Ok, I'm way new at this. I am loving it. The last 3 nights I've riden 24.5 miles. That is amazing for me. How many miles do you all go in an average day? I would like to work up to a certain amount. I don't think about how fast I'm going....I'm slow but I'm slow but steady.

Here is my new blog....tonight was amazing...the weather...family....friends...awesome


http://lobolou.blogspot.com/
:)

[CyborgQueen]

Hello!

Welcome! I'm also a newbie - one month old. :-) When I FIRST started out...on my old bike - I did 1.2 miles on the first day. Then progressed to 5 miles...and let me tell you, I was EXHAUSTED. I couldn't *wait* to get my hands on a decent road bike. My LBS had a great sale, so I bought my first ever road bike. It took a little while, but I'm now doing 8 miles to 17 miles. Your miles get build up pretty quickly. It also helps a lot if you join a group ride, or beginner's ride (my beginner's ride is 17 miles!).

Love the pictures on your blog...i'm jealous. Where I live - all I see is houses, stores and casinos (Las Vegas).

[OakLeaf]

Everyone's different. Asking on a board like this is meaningless, because we all do such different kinds of riding. If there's a club or group or individual in your area that you want to ride with, ask them how many miles they usually do.

And/or, you can join the TE club on BikeJournal (http://www.bikejournal.com/club_home.asp?clubID={87168352-AB1B-4287-AC26-4451851AEC05}) and log your miles there. See how many miles some of us are riding - and add to our total! :)

[sundial]

Loride, good for you! :)

As for the number of miles I ride, it depends on whether I have a dog attached to the bike or not. ;)

[channlluv]

In the beginning, five miles was a long way, but a few weeks into regular riding, five miles was hardly worth hauling the bike out of the car. I'm a year into riding on a pretty frequent basis (3 times a week or more), and 20 miles is my usual ride, but I like to do 25.

I'm on a mtb, though, and it's heavy, and I'm sure I could do much better on a road bike. I just can't afford a good one yet. Still loving the ride, regardless.

Good luck increasing your mileage gradually - this may help avoid muscular injuries. Watch out for IT band injuries, especially, from going too far too soon. I learned that the hard way.

This is a GREAT community for learning about the sport at all levels.

Roxy

[Crankin]

It depends is the short answer. My "gotta ride, but not all day" or even half a day is about 16 miles and takes me about an hour, give or take a couple of minutes each way, depending on how I feel. If I have more time (less other things to do), I have some 20-25 mile routes that are close.
Longer rides are anywhere between 25 and 60 miles. Although I have done several metrics and one century, I rarely ride over 65 miles. In fact, I never rode further than that right before I did my century.
Of course, if I am riding my bike to do errands, some of my rides are as short as 8 miles.

[RolliePollie]

24.5 miles for three days in a row is excellent! You're doing great! :p

My feeling on the how-many-miles-is-the-right-number-of-miles is that it's a totally personal thing. It depends on how much time you have, why you're riding and what your goals are, if you have an event coming up, if you're trying to lose weight, etc. It also depends on the terrain you're riding (i.e. flat vs. hills).

I am training for a Century in late September and I'm currently riding about 100 miles per week. I literally have no flat roads around here, so that means about 8.5-9 hours/week on the bike. A friend of mine who lives where it's totally flat also rides 100 miles/week. But it only takes her about 5.5 hours. So the actual 100 miles is kind of like comparing apples to oranges.

I wouldn't worry too much about comparing your miles to others. I alwasy remind myself that this is supposed to be fun. So try to keep it fun and just enjoy being out there on the road!

[GmaJill]

A year ago I started to ride again after about 30 years of not riding. Last year my daughter in law and I rode about 10 miles three different times and then decided to do a 60 mile ride, just for fun. We made it and I have been hooked. My friend asked me to do the DALMAC ride this year.. I am 59 and must be crazy because I am doing it. I have been doing 20 miles a day 5 days a week with our friends son who is 27. If he is not around I do about 10 from my house. I hate riding alone. But he will be going on a vacation for a weeks so guess I will buck up and get riding longer alone. Unfortunately everyone else I know can only do about 10 miles or less. But then again that is ok it gets others moving and living healthier:) Today my friend and I did 37 miles,I couldn't do anymore. 90 degrees and so humid it was hard to breath. any suggestions on that kind of ride?
In trying to train for this ride there is soooooo much I do not know. Like about Chafing....ouch! proper bike fit and saddles. I am so glad I found this web site...

[ZooZoo]

Durring the week I ride about 15 miles a day, weekends anywhere from 20 to 40 miles. I'm working toward a metric century in October, another in April and as many other organized rides as I can squeeze in before STP next year. LOL

[Little Lyon]

I can usually only make it about 10 miles when I do ride, but it is so darn hot and humid! I just moved to a new area that has lots of bike paths, but there are TONS of hills...I dislike hills...

[Andrea]

You're off to a wonderful start! Set goals, but don't let them become limitations- so if you say "I want to ride 100 miles some day," work for it, but also don't let anything above and beyond that number seem like an impossibility.