Too Chicken To Go On Longer Rides

Last summer I renewed my love affair with bicycling. Since then I've conquered hills that I initially thought would kill me ( :p ), I've lost a few pounds, and I ride to work at least 3x per week (approx. 6 mile roundtrip). On the weekends I hop on my bike and tool around for an hour or so. But I have been maxing out at about 10 miles.

I want to do longer rides, but I realized today that the reason I haven't done so is that I'm afraid to. I'm not talking about a century, I just want to try my hand at something like a 20-miler. But I worry that I'll get too pooped to make it back home. It's a weird mental barricade that has kept me from "going for it."

Have any of you ever experienced this? Any tips on breaking my mental mileage barrier? :o

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Originally Posted by wackyjacky1

Last summer I renewed my love affair with bicycling. Since then I've conquered hills that I initially thought would kill me ( :p ), I've lost a few pounds, and I ride to work at least 3x per week (approx. 6 mile roundtrip). On the weekends I hop on my bike and tool around for an hour or so. But I have been maxing out at about 10 miles.

I want to do longer rides, but I realized today that the reason I haven't done so is that I'm afraid to. I'm not talking about a century, I just want to try my hand at something like a 20-miler. But I worry that I'll get too pooped to make it back home. It's a weird mental barricade that has kept me from "going for it."

Have any of you ever experienced this? Any tips on breaking my mental mileage barrier? :o

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just bring a cell phone! and have a friend or signficant other come pick you up if you can't go on! i've had to call for help when i got stranded with a flat. no biggie! :)

Don't feel obligated to increase your mileage by large increments really quickly. You can gradually up your mileage. If you're comfortable with 10, go for 11 the next time, and 12 the time after that. Slowly the way you think about distances begins to change.

I remember when 15 miles sounded long to me. Any you know what? At that time it was. But it's all relative. You slowly build the confidence and the fitness to ride longer distances. It's not a race to get to 20. You get there when you feel ready.

Good luck!

Maybe carry a map of the area with you? I'll often photocopy a section of our local bike map that shows the area I'm planning to ride in, and alternative routes. It doesn't weigh much, and makes me feel better to know that I can find my way home if I go "exploring" on a strange road or if I feel like I don't have the legs to do my planned route.

I always carry my cell phone too.

Can you get a friend to provide sag support? Knowing you have a vehicle to ride in should you get too pooped will give you the confidence to go further.

If the issue is that you're afraid of becoming too tired to get back, I think ninerfan's got the right idea. Adding just one mile the next time you ride might be what you need to break that barrier. Then, when you're ready, add another mile, or even two. Plus, it's not like you have to ride straight through. You can always stop at your usual 10 miles to take a break and have an energy snack before pushing on for the extra miles.

And as for your mental barricade-- Think of distance the same way you thought about those hills you expected would kill you. How did you handle the challenge of the hills? Put yourself into that same frame of mind when you begin to add extra miles and I bet they'll end up being easier than you're allowing yourself to believe.

Hills are where I hit my own mental barrier, so I admire you for having conquered those!

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Originally Posted by Kalidurga

If the issue is that you're afraid of becoming too tired to get back, I think ninerfan's got the right idea. Adding just one mile the next time you ride might be what you need to break that barrier. Then, when you're ready, add another mile, or even two.

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Another vote for this approach. Make sure you carry a snack with you and enough water. I started off with this approach, and it worked like a charm.

maybe join a group ride? That would really help. you're not all alone far away from everything you know and love :D you're with a bunch of friends, some of which are wise and confident.

All the above advice worked for me. Just add a mile or two to your weekend rides, and you won't even notice the increase. A group ride can be a great confidence-booster.

When I first started, I brought along everything I could possibly need -- food, water, extra layers, phone, money, you name it. I also took rest breaks.

Pam

I have a friend who rides until she's "half tired" and then goes home. It has gotten longer over the years. (I don't know how to decide when I'm half tired, however.):D

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Originally Posted by Aint Doody

I have a friend who rides until she's "half tired" and then goes home.

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That was my method when I started cycling. Worked like a charm. :)

Do a group ride with a no-drop group or your local bike shop. The miles fly by when you are riding together with other folks of your same level. That's how I learned to do it!

what also worked for me was adding miles by doing multiple loops of a smaller loop around my neighborhood. I mapped out a loop that is maybe 5 miles, but at any given time, I'm no more than a couple miles from my house. I increased by doing more within that loop, but yet never being more than a couple miles from home. If I felt I bit off more than I could chew, I was close to home.

I really understand the mental road-block into thinking I can't go that far. But if you increase in small increments, and then try doing that where you can bail out if you need to, I'm sure you'll be fine!

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Originally Posted by PamNY

When I first started, I brought along everything I could possibly need -- food, water, extra layers, phone, money, you name it.

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LOL!

I swear it's just a mental thing -- it's not like I'm exhausted after 10 miles. I guess I just lack confidence. Weird. You're right, though, I should just try to add a mile or so and build up slowly.

A group ride is a good idea, too, but that opens up a whole other Pandora's box of insecurities for me (I'm too slow, I won't be able to keep up, I'm too fat, etc., etc. :rolleyes: ). Good gawd, I sound like I need therapy just to ride a bike... :p

Oh, I'm right there with you for some odd reason this year. I've done long rides, I've done group rides. I skipped out on a great group ride yesterday led by a friend - 24 miles, no speed pressure - because I was afraid people would hear me panting. I started having nightmares about not being able to finish the MS ride (I've not DNF'd and I adore doing them), but the nightmares have messed with my head. I gotta get past this - but it's hard.

CA

If it isn't a group ride, at least another cyclist who can lead the way, in a friendly way.

As an important suggestion: instead of thinking constantly about mileage and...adding more mileage, how about just extending your favourite cycling routes..to see something just located abit further away or to do a chore that is located just abit further away.

And also allow yourself to explore or go abit off the normal route, ie. up an extra street or so to see something.

then when you get home, you can figure out the total distance that you actually did.

And keep a little cycling diary, that will track your distance for that day plus cumulative total mileage for past few months. It can be a real motivator.

You need to always keep cycling abit fun in an exploratory way, which will help you add that mileage and endurance also over time.

It is also suggested over time, you create for yourself 3-4 favourite bike routes close by, with at least 1-2 routes that are much longer. Will help you train up over time or deal with lousy weather which is why you would use the shorter routes.

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Oh yea, if you get abit lost in a quiet neighbourhood, that's another way to add abit of distance. :D

Try one of JD Simpson's womens rides out of bikeworld. Start with that, and work up to a wheelmen ride. All wheelmen rides have loops of varying distance and maps. You might also like the Hill Country Bicycle Touring Club, their rides tend to be slower paced than Wheelmen rides, and I think they have no drop rides. The wheelmen also run a rider education series, where you can progress with a group to longer distances, all no-drop. The more I think about it, the latter may be the best way for you to progress.

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Originally Posted by Possegal

what also worked for me was adding miles by doing multiple loops of a smaller loop around my neighborhood. I mapped out a loop that is maybe 5 miles, but at any given time, I'm no more than a couple miles from my house.

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Awesome idea!

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

I skipped out on a great group ride yesterday led by a friend - 24 miles, no speed pressure - because I was afraid people would hear me panting.

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LOL, I worry about that too! :D Heck, I've been known to hold my breath when passing pedestrians so they won't hear me gasping for air. Oy! :D :p

Apparently I'm just a big grab-bag full of insecurities, LOL. :D:D

Seriously, though, thanks to everyone for all the good advice. :)

These are all great suggestions that I have done most of. I'm still in the "too chicken to group/club ride"...yet. But, that one I am changing this season:cool:.

My normal spin I have time for is a 20mi loop. There is the most beautiful postcard picture perfect farmhouse almost dead in the middle. I tell myself... "I have to ride far enough to see how the flowers are doing"...

This ladie's yard is SO amazing. One day I saw her gardening and turned around to tell her so. I know she thought I was crazy. But, oh well:rolleyes:.

The actual "dead center" is a cemetary:eek:. That's my turn the loop point.

I have stopped there before and had the snack under a tree with the dead folks.

Also, as a gym roadie pal pointed out... if he runs out of water, cemetaries have water. There is norally an outside facuet that peeps use for the gravestone flower vases. Interesting tip.

Just keep at it... you can do it:).

The more I think about it, the more that I think the Wheelmen Rider Education Program would be perfect. I know they start real slow, and its a great program. Its not expensive, and includes a wheelmen membership which will quickly pay for itself in LBS discounts. More info. is here: http://www.sawheelmen.com/education.htm

Trisk: I got all excited reading about the Wheelmen rider education program, it sounded totally PERFECT for me...then I got to the part where it said the rides are on Sat. mornings. I work Sat. mornings. Bummer!!! Much sadness. :( But I might join the Wheelmen anyway.

Ah, well. I like the idea of just adding a mile here and there, or an extra loop around the neighborhood, so that's what I'll do. (In fact, I did that on my ride home from work today, and turned my 6-mile commute into a 10-mile commute. :cool: )

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Originally Posted by Miranda

These are all great suggestions that I have done most of. I'm still in the "too chicken to group/club ride"...yet. But, that one I am changing this season:cool:.

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I broke the ice in doing my first group ride by riding at the back of the pack. I was more afraid of riding shoulder to shoulder with someone than anything else. So, I didn't mind being last... I let everyone take off ahead of me! I didn't draft anyone or join a pace line. I just rode my ride and it was great!

I ride a flex-loop. I can vary it from 8 miles to 22, without backtracking too much.

Sometimes I ride with a group but they LIE. They'll say, oh, we're tired, let's only go 20 miles and inevitably they tack 10 more on.

If I really needed to force myself to ride further, I'd have my husband take me off and put me out on the side of the road 30 miles from home so I have to ride back.

Come to think of it, that's how I did my first "big hill conquering" ride.

He set me out on the side of the road and I had to ride it (the big hill) in order to get home. It's like giving a horse his head on the way back to the barn.

I haven't read the rest of the replies, but I would say just go a little at a time. Go 12 miles one ride, 14 the next, etc. Eventually you'll get to where you know your limits and how to pace yourself so you can go further and further. There's no rule that says you can't stop and take a break, or 10 breaks!

then you get to go home all downhill.;)don't worry about making it back, you'll make it. set your goal farther than you've ever gone, and just ride back from there.

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Originally Posted by SlowButSteady

Sometimes I ride with a group but they LIE.

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Hahahahah! I remember one of the first mountain bike rides I did with the Dirt Chix led by my (now) friend Joy. It was a relentless climb- we're talking miles of steep fire roads. When we got to the top, she said, "It's all downhill from here." But we took a different route back. She lied.
I don't mind I am always that last one up the mountain. Probably 'cuz I'm one of the first down. :D

Do you have someone to take you somewhere X miles away? Then you simply ride home. If you go out over the exact route it might help if you are worried about, um, "taking the scenic route" home. Take your cell phone as an electronic security blankie and you're good to go - that is, ride home.

Later, you can make the route an out-and-back or find a nice loop to add to it.

Oh, and make sure the drive out is INTO the wind. That increases the chances of a tailwind on the way home.

FWIW, I have never been too tired to make it home, on any ride.

There have been plenty of times when I was exhausted and my legs hurt and my neck hurt and it was too hot and my back hurt and ...

That's when I usually realize that I haven't had a rest break in a really long time. So I take a break. Get off the bike, stretch, have a snack, have a drink, stretch some more. Find a shady spot under a tree to get a break from the sun. Have another drink of water. Take a deep breath. Again.

Then I get back on the bike and ride home.

If the distance seems overwhelming, break it down into smaller chunks. Focus on getting to the next intersection. Or the next tree or telephone pole.

Just keep pedaling. Every revolution gets you closer to home. Just keep pedaling.

You can do it.

It's funny, but something as simple as a rest break hadn't occurred to me. D'oh! :o

So I took everyone's advice and did a somewhat extended version of my regular Sunday ride. I ended up going 13.5 miles, and felt great the whole time, even while tackling some killer hills. I think I've broken through my mental barrier! :)

BTW for the first time I wore cycling shoes (Exustars that I bought from a fellow TE-er). I don't have cleats, but I used them with my toe clips. What a difference the shoes made -- my pedaling felt much more efficient. I'm sure they contributed to my not being very tired during my ride. :cool:

The morning I suggested a 50 mile ride to DH, he said, OK, plan a route.

So I did.

Then he came up with his own idea:

He planned the first 20, which was something we were pretty used to, for an area we have had lots of fun riding many times. Then he planned the other 30 with lots of "bail out" options -- where a simple right turn would take us back toward home within about 5-7 miles.

We made the whole fifty, but the thing we should have remembered was that during those first twenty, we still had thirty to go, cuz the last ten were pretty doggone hard! (we had, in fact, chosen one of the bail outs, then realized how close to making it we were, and toured around the neighborhoods on our way home until we had our fifty!)

Karen in Boise

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Originally Posted by Kano

The morning I suggested a 50 mile ride to DH, he said, OK, plan a route.

So I did.

Then he came up with his own idea:

He planned the first 20, which was something we were pretty used to, for an area we have had lots of fun riding many times. Then he planned the other 30 with lots of "bail out" options -- where a simple right turn would take us back toward home within about 5-7 miles.

We made the whole fifty, but the thing we should have remembered was that during those first twenty, we still had thirty to go, cuz the last ten were pretty doggone hard! (we had, in fact, chosen one of the bail outs, then realized how close to making it we were, and toured around the neighborhoods on our way home until we had our fifty!)

Karen in Boise

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congrats! :)

When I was just getting started I'd look at a map of the area and keep going a bit farther. Looking for roads I hadn't been on before. As time went on, this would take me onto longer rides every couple of weeks.

RidewithGPS.com is a great way to see your area and make routes. Easy to check the distance before you go. Also to see ways to shorten if required.

Take adequate hydration/nutrition on the bike once you get to rides that are going to be over an hour.

Think of it as an adventure!

Keep with it.

Pick a half-point destination: ice cream, hamburger, coffee, farmer's market, meet a friend. I love to eat and when I kick into a late-ride sprint, DH says to the others "she must be thinking of cheeseburgers." Lay out a loop--once you pass halfway it's just as easy to go forward as it is to back track.

I also like the drop-off idea. We take the train out and ride back some weekends.

I use MotionBased.com and mapmyride.com to search for routes and map new ones.

Hi, I go for group rides with the bike shop 3 times a week, and i try to go out by myself another 2 or 3 times a week, but not as long, but just so i can get better at riding against the wind myself instead of dropping back and hiding in the group. I rung the bike shop on thursday because i wasn't sure if they were going to go becuase of everyone leaving town for a long weekend, they told me that they were going and they were planning to do 100kms. I instantly told him that i can't do 100km and was about to say cya on saturday morning. they then told me they were going to go around town so i could go home whenever i wanted. I ended up making it 88.5kms, the only reason it wasn't the 100km was becuase it started raining extremely heavy. i was extremely happy that i made it 88.5kms after about 2 months of cycling. The bike shop owner kept saying to me, i didn't think you were going to do the 100km, and he was extremely happy with my efforts too.

My previous longest ride was 50km before this, but once you start it is very suprising how easy it can be to make the distance. Since thursday (4 days) i have ridden 230kms and i am planning to do another 20km, to make it 250km in 4 days, so that i can beat my previous total weekly ride of 145km.

My advice is to join in with a group, it makes the ride so much more enjoyable and easier as well. i will get home more tired from a 20km ride by myself compared to a 40 or 50km ride with a group.

When I was riding to the center of town, to train myself to ride to work, it was a bit demoralizing at first. I had been ill for years so I had to walk up hills and rest a couple a times on the way( 15 miles), plus have a couple hours break between riding back.
The ride home was harder, as it is uphill, always has a headwind and there are always two or three huge fit men that just zoom by, made me feel like I am going backward.
All I wanted was to go on the big rides, that I would see zooming by me , like the Tour!
Now I can do twice a week! Plus a ride on weekends, alt weeks.
you can always call a cab if you dont have anyone to pick you up!
My riding buddy said, if you ride to to work a couple times a week, that should train you up for big rides. So increase your rides during the week, as you get able.
I havent made one yet( as I have to ride 20 km to GET to the group rides, then they are 22 to 55 km, plus ride home) but I am working on it.

I read women dont push themselves as much as men exercising. I recently said ok, and kept up with some really fit people for 5 km or so, which was a first.
I do interval training, to learn how to keep pace.

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Originally Posted by Kano

He planned the first 20, which was something we were pretty used to, for an area we have had lots of fun riding many times. Then he planned the other 30 with lots of "bail out" options -- where a simple right turn would take us back toward home within about 5-7 miles.

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That's great! Good job!