Time or mileage?

This is probably me "over-thinking" again :p This is how I am though, so please bear with me :D I appreciate everyone's thoughts and experience.

My odometer is close to 130 or so, and I have events scheduled in June (Tour de Cure and the local NITE ride). I also want to start participating in the local club sponsored Sunday afternoon dinner rides that begin in May. Oh yes, in April I am taking a week's vacation that will be dedicated to day trips to go ride on a series of rail trails/country roads in Indiana and Ohio.

The dinner rides that start in May sound like they will average around 20-30 miles, they expect an average speed of 12-14 mph. I think my current average speed is just below 11 mph though I know that my speeds have reached up to 17 mph (flats, not downhill).

I am going to talk with my trainer on this later this week - but is it better at this point to focus on the amount of TIME on my bike, or the number of miles? I am inclined to focus on the time rather than actual mileage, figuring the amount of time on my bike will up the miles in time.

Am curious to hear what other think on this. I am thinking on increasing my riding time about 15 minutes/ride a week (I am trying to ride 3-4 days a week). Right now I am focusing on using all of my gears - trying to make shifting "second nature". The large park I am currently riding in has it all, flats, a monster hill, curves, lots of different roads to ride on.

I know of only one way to get better, and that is to ride, ride, and ride some more - and I am having a blast!

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Originally Posted by Catrin

and I am having a blast!

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Well that's the most important thing!

I don't know if there's a right or wrong answer. When I first started riding I would base rides mostly on time, mostly just going out for an hour or so. After a couple of years someone asked me to do a 65 mile ride with him, and that's when I started using miles for a goal.

For weekend rides (or any day when I have flexibility on how much time I can spend on a ride) I will choose a ride based on how many miles it is and how that fits with whatever I'm training for and where I am in my training. On weekdays when I ride after work I focus more on a time limit, which is based on how long before it gets dark.

For whatever reason, I have always measured my rides on miles, not time. It's just easier in my mind because I base my rides on the route, so it takes however long it takes on any given day. Plus, it's easier for me to judge whether I'm capable of doing a given group ride, sine they too are measured in miles.

I know that many programs for beginners, especially in running, tell you to focus on time. However, I didn't do that. I mapped out some shorter routes (12-15 miles) that I could do when I got home from work. Doing those short rides 2-3 times a week, plus one-two longer weekend rides got me going fairly quickly.
Since you have a goal of doing 20-30 mile rides, I would focus on building mileage. The general rule is add 5-10% a week. Once you get comfortable with 25 mile rides, you can gradually focus on your speed.
Just my opinion.

I more or less did what Crankin did. My standard weekday rides ranged from about 15 to 25 miles. I used the weekends to build up to longer and longer rides. There were a couple of plateaus--30 and 45 miles if I remember that ere challenging. From there, adding miles got easier.

Speed work came a bit later. While I did get faster by simply riding, I didn't get appreciably faster until I started riding with people who pushed me.

I remember being really nervous to finally do a group CIBA ride, Catrin. Once I finally did, I realized they were far easier to do than I thought. If you're worried about speed, do a weekend ride rather than a dinner ride. There's no set pace for a weekend ride.

That makes sense - miles vs time. Right now my rides are anywhere from 5-13 miles, depending on weather and how tired my legs are :eek: I figure that when I am really tired that a short ride is better than none!

I am deliberately trying NOT to focus overly much on speed - at this point I've learned that I can go quite fast - but probably too fast for my current skills (it's fine as long as I don't have to do an emergency stop). So am trying to ignore the speedometer on my computer and focus more on ramping up my overall skills.

I am really looking forward to my vacation "day bike exploration trips" in a short 4 weeks - weather permitting. I figure if I pace myself that I will cover more ground than I realize right now - and a great way to enjoy the spring weather!

IndySteel, that is good to know about the weekend vs dinner ride. Since I am doing Tour de Cure, I figure that I have to do SOME kind of group ride before June - just trying to find the least intimidating way to do this...

Both weekend and dinner rides are fine in terms of group riding. I just prefer the former I guess because I like riding at my pace, with or without other people. A lot of the dinner rides are along the Monon, which I avoid like the plague.

it might help you to know and or remember that if you can do a set mileage, say 40 miles, at a reasonable speed without feeling totally devestated when you get off the bike, you can predictably do at least and possibly more than another 4-10 miles or 10 to 25% of your ride. It may not be quite as fast, but you can do it.

marni

Another thing to keep in mind that your legs are likely going to feel tired as you ride more and more until you're adequately warmed up. It take me a good 5-8 miles to warm up at a decent pace. So, if you're cutting your rides short because your legs feel tired, you may be selling yourself short a bit. As you go forward, try to work through the fatigue. I'm not suggesting that you overdo it, but you'll start to sense when you need to take it easy (or take the day off) and when you just need a long warmup.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Both weekend and dinner rides are fine in terms of group riding. I just prefer the former I guess because I like riding at my pace, with or without other people. A lot of the dinner rides are along the Monon, which I avoid like the plague.

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I didn't know that they are along the Monon so often, I have no desire to go there. I will check into the regular weekend rides. I already know the route of the first one and I don't know that I want to ride from 62nd and Moller to the heart of downtown Indianapolis on my first group ride...

Thanks also for the tip on leg fatigue and warming up - I had not realized that. Friday was the first time this was a real issue, and I simply ascribed it to the cross-wind and working so hard on Thursday (1 hour on bike and 2 hours in spinning class). I never over-do things. Nope. Never :p

Listen to Indy about the warm up. Even when I started riding (and I was about ten years younger) I noticed that I never feel good until I have been riding for about 7-10 miles. Which means on my short rides, I have to really go slowly in the beginning. This sometimes is a problem for me on group rides, where they often start out like a bat out of hell...
And what Marni said is true. If you can ride 40 miles, you can probably ride 50 or 60, albeit, at a slower speed. I did a century with no training, other than my regular riding. I had not done any rides longer than 60-70 miles. I knew miles 80-100 would be tough, but I set a very moderate speed goal and ended up finishing in 6.5 hours.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Listen to Indy about the warm up. Even when I started riding (and I was about ten years younger) I noticed that I never feel good until I have been riding for about 7-10 miles.......

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I had not thought about this - and it is certainly something to remember. Now that it has been mentioned it makes perfect sense, I've 50 year old bones and joints that are still in the process of learning something very new - and even if it wasn't NEW, I still have 50 year old bones and joints :p

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Originally Posted by Crankin

And what Marni said is true. If you can ride 40 miles, you can probably ride 50 or 60, albeit, at a slower speed. I did a century with no training, other than my regular riding. I had not done any rides longer than 60-70 miles. I knew miles 80-100 would be tough, but I set a very moderate speed goal and ended up finishing in 6.5 hours.

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This is what my trainer told me this past week when we met. If I have a 30 mile ride coming up, then I need to be riding at least 24-25 miles.

Thankfully it is only March - though April starts next week! I have just under 3 months for the Tour de Cure, and frankly, I am more nervous about the whole "riding in a big group of people" than I am the mileage... It won't be a regular road group though as it will all be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Track :p The N.I.T.E. ride two weeks later WILL be on the roads...but they will all be blocked off and there will be about 2,500 of us.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

The N.I.T.E. ride two weeks later WILL be on the roads...but they will all be blocked off and there will be about 2,500 of us.

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There's a reason I've never done, and will never do, the N.I.T.E. ride. :rolleyes:

As for Tour de Cure, why did I have it in my head that only the century was entirely on the track. Are the shorter distances, too?

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Originally Posted by indysteel

There's a reason I've never done, and will never do, the N.I.T.E. ride. :rolleyes:

As for Tour de Cure, why did I have it in my head that only the century was entirely on the track. Are the shorter distances, too?

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There are two options for the track - one is the 100 mile challenge in 6 hours for 100 cyclists. There is another option - "recreational ride" which is as many laps (2.5 miles) around the track as one would like. I and my team mates have decided to make at least 10 laps.

There are two other scenic ride routes away from the track, but they end with a single lap around the track.

I have friends at work who are doing the NITE Ride who have talked me into joining them - it does sound like fun. I may wimp out as it starts at 11:00 pm, but there are lots of activities during the day that are free. I guess they cut off the number of riders at 2500. That is a LOT of cyclists! Wimping out will probably be determined on how comfortable I am at the Tour de Cure two weeks prior.

Longer duration; lower intensity.

It's not just for cycling!;)

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Originally Posted by malkin

Longer duration; lower intensity.

It's not just for cycling!;)

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Indeed!

I've decided to just get out and ride however long I can, and just ride. At this point that seems the best "plan", it isn't like I've even ridden 500 miles yet! However, I have ridden at least 18 miles at one time, so I know that I can do the 25-mile option of the Tour de Cure - so I just need time and practice to focus on my bike skills. Having too much fun right now to do otherwise anyway :p

It's not just the time or the mileage that affects how you feel after a ride. It's the elevation gain and/or wind. A flat 40 mile ride may make you less tired than a hilly 25 mile ride (and may take almost the same amount of time). My average speed never amounts to much because there are such steep hills that my odometer always says about 10-12 mph, even though on the flats, I'm going 13-17mph, and the downhills can reach 25mph. The up the mountain speed can be 4 - 6mph. It depends where you ride. The small grade hills are not a problem anymore. When I read about people doing all these century rides, I wonder how many are in places where the biggest hill is a freeway overpass. The farthest I have ridden so far is 49 miles. Nothing is flat. My legs are getting stronger.

I suggest picking a route with x amount of miles and seeing how long it takes you to do it. Then see if you get there in less time in the future. I have a nice 20 mile round trip that has alot of rolling hills (some steep) and no lights. I use it as a benchmark. The first time it took 1 hr. 15 min. to go out and 1 hr. to get back. It seems that the way the hills and wind are, it's faster on the back direction even though the same distance. Now I get there in 55 minutes, and back in 45 minutes.

The other thing that affects speed is your bike. Some bikes are just faster. In time, your conditioning is also better. Together your riding ability goes up. It really takes a lot of miles to get better. In fact, I can hardly believe that I can do what I do. Started riding at 56, and it's been a little over a year.

Featuretile - this is a great idea, thanks! A friend of mine gave me his base route - it's about 42 miles long and is too much for me right now - but have already been looking at the more isolated portions of the route that probably does not have traffic signals to see what will work for me.