building up *my* miles too!

I went on, what was supposed to be, a 10 mile ride yesterday. However, I ended up doing 5.6miles instead. While it was a little over half of my big goal, I still broke a barrier. I have never been so far on my bike before. Today, I feel pretty good, except my sit bones are sore.

I used some Chamois Butt'r for the first time. I probably didn't need it, but wow it felt good! Has a nice cooling affect.

I had a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk about 30 minutes prior to the ride, and I didn't have any trouble with getting sick.

I did have one question. We were riding through a mostly flat neighborhood and I kept getting these peaks and troughs of energy. So much so, at one point I felt like I could keep going, and at another I'd feel like giving up I was so exhausted. Are waves like this normal? It kept going back and forth...weird really.

Thoughts?

Try to keep your cadence consistent. Spin a little faster than you feel is "normal", and you will soon see that the rhythm and ease of pedaling comes naturally. That will likely help with a lot of your exhaustion issues and maybe with your peaks and troughs of energy.

If your sit bones hurt, is your saddle too high? Is your down pedal leg completely straight when you are sitting? Do you rock in the saddle? If so, try lowering the saddle by about an eighth of an inch and see if the comfort level improves. Conversely, if the saddle is too low, you can get sit bone or tail bone issues.

Your sit bones will be sore a while as your body gets used to the saddle. Basically you have to callus your behind. Lovely thought I know. Discomfort should go away soon.
+1 on even pedaling. Or it could be your body adjusting to the activity.
Good luck.............ride on

I've also wanted to increase my miles. It got too hot to do this, it worked to break the longer ride into 2 pieces, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. So I think when it starts to get cooler, and it has this week already, I will try to do this. All through my riding, I feel pretty good, no sits bones or leg soreness issues. My lungs feel the workout the most, and I have to use the inhaler before each ride. :( But hopefully that will also go away as I get more fit. Since I started riding in April, I have shaved a few minutes off my time. :)

I'm also trying to build up my miles for a 35 mile ride at the end of Sept. I'm wondering does it help your endurance to break long rides up into two parts? I just assumed you had to ride it all together to get the endurance benefits. If riding twice a day is as effective as riding one long ride I'd be all about that ;)

Thanks

I have found that you need a break midway in the ride. When I ride with a group we go about half way, stop and have either coffee or lunch, and then continue the rest of the way. A 20-30 minute stop is enough that you can increase your mileage.

If you are going uphill, just stop and get off the bike for a minute and then get back on. I think it interrupts the lactic acid build up and you won't need to walk the bike.

The distance you can go is also affected by how many times you stop to take a brief rest, and how fast the pace is. If you never stop and the pace is faster than what is natural to you, you will get really tired. For beginners, 10-12 miles/hour is fast enough. 14-16 will tire you out. A stop at the top of a hill also helps. Eventually, you will need fewer stops and can go faster and can last for a longer distance.

Be sure to drink enough water and bring some good quality snacks (carbs and protein).