How many miles do you ride?

[Yemmi530]

As a beginner to cycling, how many miles should you ride?
I am very new to the cycling world, specially to road bike. And I wonder how many miles should i ride as a beginner? I had saw some people riding 40 miles or so. As of right now, I am riding 15 miles every time when I jump on my Trek 1.2 WSD. Plus, I am getting a new pedal "Look KeO Elle". Any opinion? What pedal and saddle are you gals using? Any recommendation?

[Kalidurga]

My advice is to get rid of the word "should". Ride as many miles as you want to ride and as your schedule and fitness will permit. Fifteen miles is plenty for some people, while forty miles is not enough for others. Only you can decide what distance you can and "should" ride.

[lo123]

My advice is to get rid of the word "should". Ride as many miles as you want to ride and as your schedule and fitness will permit. Fifteen miles is plenty for some people, while forty miles is not enough for others. Only you can decide what distance you can and "should" ride.

++

DO what you feel like and want to ride.

For someone else's perspective... I started out doing 10-15 mile jaunts. AFter a month of that, I was up to 25-30 mile rides.
I've been riding just over 6 months, and my longest ride was 75 miles. I had planned to complete at least 1 century this fall, but both were rained out. There's always next year!

[Yemmi530]

Wow, up to 75 miles. Good for you and Yes, there is always Next year. I wish you will have a great race next year. Me, I will take the advise "riding whatever i want" starting out around 15 miles. Hopefully, next year this time I will be able to ride longer "just like your gals" long and fun ride. So, did you gals join a local term or club? So, you can ride with some cycling buddies?

[Kalidurga]

I've never ridden with a club, but I do often ride with women in my area that I've met through this forum. But I also love to ride by myself, it's a great way to just clear my head and escape.

Where do you live, Yemmi?

[Yemmi530]

I live in Fresno, California. And you? I totally agree with you, sometime it is such a great way to clear your mind; some relief from this busiest world. With this type of perfect weather, riding by myself "made me felt good as well". However, I would like to meet up some local cyclist "like a group ride" never try it before but as a group activity, i think i might be a fun ride "if i can caught up :P".

[Kalidurga]

I'm all the way over on the east coast, but there are a lot of TE ladies from California who could probably give you suggestions of groups to look into.

[annielynn]

I made the mistake when I first riding to keep track of the number of miles I was riding. It would always depress me. Now that I have been riding for 2 months I don't keep track of the miles riden but the time that I am out. I love to be on my bike and often think about riding. It is my time and I love it. If you have an hour to ride cool, if you have 30 mins to ride even better. Just being out there is what matter.

In the beginning I was riding about 15 miles at a time last weekend I just completed 30. Both times I felt accomplished. My goal is to complete a metric century by this time next year. :)

[Owlie]

I started out doing one or two miles to get used to the feel of the road bike when I first got her (I hadn't been on a bike since I was ten). I bumped it up to five or ten after a while, and then have been trying to move up to fifteen or twenty. Then I got the flu, and now doing three miles has me tired. Do what feels right. There's no "should" here. Well, I know I should ride more before winter sets in, but alas, Cleveland's weather, terrible pavement, and school conspire against me...okay, mostly school. :(

[Lakerider]

Ride as far as you feel like and/or time will allow. My first ride 16 months ago was 2 miles and I really thought I had accomplished something! Well, I had since I hadn't ridden a bike since I was a kid. Now I usually ride between 20-40 with my longest ride being 101. Yesterday I rode 30 and today 70 so I'll call that a 2 day century. Have fun riding!:)

[redrhodie]

What works for me (and by that, I mean I feel really good) is rides around an hour and a half to 2 hours total. I'm giving lengths of time instead of distances because depending on terrain and conditions, distance can vary so much. I fear overuse injuries from riding more than that, but lots of people love doing longer rides than I do.

I ride 4-5 days per week.

[Grog]

Ride however much you want. Just remember to step out of your comfort zone now and then, and ride a few miles further. ;)

[shootingstar]

Like everyone else says, ride what your heart (soul, as well as the real pumping heart) and legs want to do.

Extra comments:
I never belonged to a cycling club or group for just riding around. I did belong to women's cycling group for a few years where I was one of committee organizers for events, workshops and rides. But I rode to lead or sweep some rides. Commitee members that I knew closely had busy lives and lived in different areas that it was tough for just us to find time to ride far together..outside of coordination work and meetings. :( It was a volunteer organization.

I occasionally have joined on some large event group rides or small group rides of friends,...hmmmm 3-4 times per year. Rest of the year, I ride with my dearie/partner or I ride solo. Hope you find a cycling friend to occasionally ride with.

I did track my mileage during first few years of returning to cycling. It helped motivate me, understand and estimate distance, my cycling endurance (or lack of :p) at different times of year so that I could improve after a long snowy winter of no cycling.

Distances that I occasionally post here on TE, are based on known routes and distances that my partner does with me (or I do same routes solo at times) because HE tracks his mileage daily. So I can estimate very closely how much I do ride. But have given up a daily cycling mileage journal for past decade or so. :)

I still have the journals...they include trip memories. Still valuable. But now the photos are more valuable and my fitness/health also.

[PamNY]

Ride however much you want. Just remember to step out of your comfort zone now and then, and ride a few miles further. ;)

This is good advice. I ride just for fun and don't pay much attention to mileage, but every so often I like to challenge myself.

Pam

[Owlie]

I try to get myself to a round number, but if it doesn't happen, no big deal.

[staceysue]

I remember last year, when I still just had my beach cruiser, I set the goal to ride all the way to the nearest town, 15 miles away. It seemed sooooo far, like nothing I'd ever achieve! Then, I did that and wanted to go further so I set my "ultimate" goal of going to the next town. I thought if I made it 32 miles I would have accomplished my dream. I made it with numb toes and sore wrists and realized I couldn't go any further.

This year, I still only had my beach cruiser and knew I couldn't go as far as I wanted to, so I gave up on cycling until September, when I got the bug again and bought a used road bike. I set the goal to ride it 64 miles - next year. I didn't think there would be any way I'd go that far this year. Then, yesterday, I just got on and started riding. I didn't plan on going more than 20 miles or so. 28 miles in, I felt like I wanted to keep going, gave my hubby a call to see if he'd pick me up when I was finished, and went the whole 64 miles!

I just ride until I don't feel like riding anymore, or until I run out of time, whichever comes first.

Next year I'm hoping I can do 120 miles in two days and some day I want to ride all the way to Niagara Falls (about 650 miles).

I can't go any further until I figure out what's causing my numb toes, though. I'm on to the health forum to ask some questions!

[Yemmi530]

I remember last year, when I still just had my beach cruiser, I set the goal to ride all the way to the nearest town, 15 miles away. It seemed sooooo far, like nothing I'd ever achieve! Then, I did that and wanted to go further so I set my "ultimate" goal of going to the next town. I thought if I made it 32 miles I would have accomplished my dream. I made it with numb toes and sore wrists and realized I couldn't go any further.

This year, I still only had my beach cruiser and knew I couldn't go as far as I wanted to, so I gave up on cycling until September, when I got the bug again and bought a used road bike. I set the goal to ride it 64 miles - next year. I didn't think there would be any way I'd go that far this year. Then, yesterday, I just got on and started riding. I didn't plan on going more than 20 miles or so. 28 miles in, I felt like I wanted to keep going, gave my hubby a call to see if he'd pick me up when I was finished, and went the whole 64 miles!

I just ride until I don't feel like riding anymore, or until I run out of time, whichever comes first.

Next year I'm hoping I can do 120 miles in two days and some day I want to ride all the way to Niagara Falls (about 650 miles).

I can't go any further until I figure out what's causing my numb toes, though. I'm on to the health forum to ask some questions!

way to go gal, good luck on your 120 miles in two days. Niagara falls, it would be a very Nice and long ride. Keep up with your dream. Riding is FUN. And it made me felt great with every accomplishment. "don't forget to bring a digital cam. with you" since it will be a long ride with awesome surrounding. I hope next time this time, i would be able to ride much longer and accomplish with a 60 miles ride. everyone "let's keep it up";)

[lo123]

I started riding with the local club about a month after I got my bike. I really prefer riding with a group now.

I still ride by myself some, but the group atmosphere is appealing to me because I will push myself harder to hang with the faster folks :)

Plus, riding with a club gives you new routes to try. I never would have done some of the routes I do now without having been on group rides.

[shootingstar]

Plus, riding with a club gives you new routes to try. I never would have done some of the routes I do now without having been on group rides.

I am very lucky...my partner has been highly active for development of bike network routes in Toronto (where we used to live) and now here in Vancouver area ever since I've known him, so I have built up some knowledge of local bike routes in both cities, how to interconnect several routes, and if I can remember all the turns/safe shortcuts that avoid lousy intersections/interchanges, etc., to ride several different long routes over 100 kms. each, if desired, across each city.

He also occasionally scouts out potential areas for bike routes/future marked lanes, future connectors, etc....so I robotically cycle along behind, just trying to remember every twist and turn.

This is how I build up my knowledge to ride all sort of routes safely, solo when I do --many short and longer routes.

[BalaRoja]

Sorry to give you what may sound like a wishy-washy answer, but 'it depends'....

Since I started riding again this year, I have never paid much attention to how many miles I ride - whether for a day, a week, month, etc. Miles I guess are something of an additional, but not particularly important detail in my scheme of things.

As you know, some miles are more equal than others (re: big hills, stiff headwinds, bumpy bad roads, etc).

I pay attention to other things when I ride (like power, intensity, duration) that are in tune with my goals. That said, I think I for this past week I had rides of 34, 28, 33, 15, 26, 8, 66 miles. I didn't plan the mileage by any stretch, but I did plan the duration/intensity/power of each one.

My advice: How far should you ride? As far as you want to do whatever it is you want to do, while still enjoying yourself. :-)

[featuretile]

I can comfortably ride 15-25 miles, four times a week (usually 18-20). I started riding about 9 months ago and 12 miles felt long then. I agree that the difficulty of the ride determines the distance (mostly hills). About 2 hours is a good amount of time for me.

I like knowing how many miles I have gone using my bike computer. I was completely jazzed when I passed 1000 miles total. I'm still not fast enough for most club rides, but I have met a cycling buddy. I like better to ride with someone than alone. You have back-up if you are out on country roads, and someone to talk to during a break.

But yesterday, I did a stretch ride in this absolutely fantastic weather we have been having in central CA. It's been 70 degrees and sunny! Can't hardly stay in the house. We went from north of Monterrey to Carmel and back. What I did not know was that there was a giant mountain we had to climb to do this coastal ride. It was 35 miles and not easy. I got home and was completely exhausted. I think I'll wait awhile before I tackle this climb again, but it was nice to be able to do it.

[azfiddle]

Featuretile- I almost could have written your post :)

I started riding in July and have been also been riding about 4 times a week, usually anywhere from 10-30 miles, and a few longer rides (44 miles is the longest so far). And I just passed the 1000 mile mark in October :-)

I agree with everyone who said there isn't a right number of miles to ride. I just get out when I have time and enjoy it... but that said, I take an inordinate amount of pleasure in the information the little bike computer provides. It's much more satisfying than basic distance record that was provided by the incessantly clicking odometer back in the 70's....

[MomOnBike]

One thing I've noticed is that I really feel best if I ride 10 miles a day. Anything less and I'm a little, um, off. YMMV, of course, but for me, at least, there is a minimum to ride. Sadly, I haven't been meeting my "quota" this year. Yuck.

[nscrbug]

I started seriously getting "into" cycling 2 years ago, when I decided to do my first triathlon (a sprint distance). A month after I completed my first tri, I signed up for an Olympic distance. After that race, I just kept on riding as much as I could until winter set in. That first year of riding, I did 3 centuries and numerous 80+ mile rides...all on the weekends. This year, I started my riding season at the end of March and I've put on over 4,700 miles so far. I'm hoping to hit the 5k mile mark before the snow starts flying here. I would say that an "average" ride for me would be in the 60-mile range. But frankly, with the shorter days and snowy weather coming, I'll take whatever I can get in. I did a 25-mile ride on Monday, which I would normally consider to be a very short ride (my Monday morning rides are generally in the 50-65 mile range), but in addition to that I also got my full gym workout in...so, I was okay with doing just 25.

[channlluv]

I'm still getting used to my road bike (used to ride a mtb), and I'm still working on my hand position. I've been getting in 8-to 12-mile rides a couple of times a week. I was doing 40+ on my mtb, so I know my legs can do it. I just need to get my upper body on board with the new position.

Roxy

[chicagogal]

I started seriously getting "into" cycling 2 years ago, when I decided to do my first triathlon (a sprint distance). A month after I completed my first tri, I signed up for an Olympic distance. After that race, I just kept on riding as much as I could until winter set in. That first year of riding, I did 3 centuries and numerous 80+ mile rides...all on the weekends. This year, I started my riding season at the end of March and I've put on over 4,700 miles so far. I'm hoping to hit the 5k mile mark before the snow starts flying here. I would say that an "average" ride for me would be in the 60-mile range. But frankly, with the shorter days and snowy weather coming, I'll take whatever I can get in. I did a 25-mile ride on Monday, which I would normally consider to be a very short ride (my Monday morning rides are generally in the 50-65 mile range), but in addition to that I also got my full gym workout in...so, I was okay with doing just 25.

Hi nscrbug,
We are both in the chicago area, and it sounds like we are doing similar kinds of riding. I have also been cycling for 2 years, and have achieved a lot of distance goals this year. I am also starting to get faster/stronger by riding with people who are faster/stronger. Do you ride with groups, or on your own. There are a lot of great cycling groups to chose from in the Chicago area, or if you are just looking for someone to ride with every now and then, send me a PM!

[Pedal Wench]

you can also do 15 faster miles versus 40 slow miles - depends on your goals

[sekhem]

How about another DITTO on keeping a record of your rides!
I logged mileage and riding conditions starting from when I first got my bike. the original motivation was to know when it was time to do basic maintenance on the bike (darned chains need replacing @~800 miles). However the record has become a major source of motivation- I can see where I was and where I had trouble 6 mo ago and understand how far I've come in a very short time. Sometimes a ride can just be a bad day. Rather than dwelling on a bad day or a series of bad days as "proof" that I stink as a rider, the ride record is a great reminder that there are more good days than bad.

Congratulations on being a new rider. May you have some really great rides!

[Crankin]

For me, keeping a record was de-motivating, after a few years. If I didn't meet my "goal," whatever it was, distance, speed, etc., it bothered me. I took myself off of Bike Journal last year and I have been much more motivated.
Part of it, is that I have become a bit slower. Or, my average can vary widely. Whatever it was, it was starting to make me dread riding. Of course, I still have my computer to keep track of my miles, but at least half of the time, I don't look at my average. That way, I don't feel pressure. I know I can out ride most people my age (in the general population), but I am never going to be in the fast group. Since I am 56, this is fine. I have no affinity for technology and using stuff like GPS doesn't give me a "thrill" so my strategy is working.
I had to put this all in perspective; I have burned out on other sports and I didn't want this to happen with cycling.

[sundial]

^ What Crankin said. :)