When did 73 miles become "not enough"?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If distance in miles is what makes you happy, great!
Like Tangentgirl, I wondered if you enjoyed your ride- since you didn't mention anything about that.
Me, I'm a slowpoke who decides on her ride based on how much time I want my ride to last that day. I stopped using a bike computer last year because I no longer care so much about how my mph. We are all different.
Actually, it's pretty convenient when you typically ride 10mph (we have lots of rolling hills here)- because I know if a ride is 25 miles long, it'll likely take me 2.5 hours.

That said, I do still brag about my longest (70 mile) ride when folks ask me how many miles I ride. Afterwards, I'll add something like "But that was my longest ever ride, today I'm only going ___ miles."
I do feel proud that 5 miles used to seem like a 100 when I first started out, and now 50 miles seems like 100 to me. At 57 years old, I'll take it! lol!

[indysteel]

I felt that way at one time--when I was consistently riding 200 plus miles a week, but then life started getting in the way. In some respects, it was good for me to let go of that neverending quest and arguably rigid routine, but I also miss it, too. I spent some time yesterday looking at my old Bikejournal entries, and it just depressed me. Not only did I ride a lot, I was pretty fast, too. I couldn't ride like that now if I tried--and it was just a couple of years ago. What's weird is that I feel like it was easier to build my miles when I first started riding than it is now. I don't know what's changed. My motivation maybe? I dunno. I'd like to get my mojo back, but I'm starting to accept that I may never get it back fully or, if I do, it's going to feel and look a little different.

[Crankin]

I've had a few 200 mile weeks, but mostly not. Even though I steadily built my total mileage over the years, most of it's been from lots of little rides. I mean, little, like 12-18 miles. Then, for a while I also did lots of 35-50 mile rides on weekends. Now the weekends tend to be 20-40, with a few 50 milers thrown in. Last year was the first year in 5 I did not do a metric. I think it's because I never really train for these longer rides... I just do them, the end is always painful. Last year I increased my total mileage a lot by doing one 25-45 mile ride during the week, plus the weekends, and also doing lots of short (10-12 mile) before work rides. I do work on getting my speed up (to my normal slow speed ) in the beginning of the season, but this year, I am setting no expectations, as I don't know what my schedule will be like when I start working. It was fun working toward a goal up to a certain point, and i passed that stage awhile ago. But, I still get a little adrenaline, when I am riding with others. I do a good deal of riding with others who are slower, don't ride as far, as me, so maybe that gives me a false sense of superiority!
I know that to my "normal" friends, what i do is nuts, so it helps to put it all in perspective. To the OP, there's nothing like illness or injury to put this in perspective.

[indysteel]

I'd really be thrilled if I just regularly did 30-40 mile rides, with an odd metric thrown in, plus my usual routine of yoga, hiking and (now) running. The truth is that I just feel like I have a lot more going on these days then I once did. I'm relatively new to marriage and while I was a home owner previously, I purposely had a home that just didn't require much work. That's different now, as our house and property just require more time and effort. Plus, I need and want to balance what I want out of my free time with what my DH wants. So, all things in moderation at this point. That may change in time, but right now, it's okay. From a health standpoint, I don't think I was any heathier when I rode 200 miles a week. In fact, in a lot of ways, I was putting far more strain on my body and immune system. If nothing else, these changes have made me really learn how to adapt to change. I was ready to throw my hands up about it last year out of frustration, but I've gotten a little more centered since then. My guess is that set of challenges will not be my last, so this is good practice.

[warneral]

I have to fight off thoughts like that (though admittedly on a smaller scale LOL).

Like Lisa, I want to enjoy myself and that is my primary motivation. Speed comes in dead last with distance coming in ahead of speed! I'd like to train for a century this year but am afraid all those competitive types will leave me in the dust and close up shop before I even get to mile 50!!!

So as I get those feelings of insecurity I remind myself that I'm doing it for the enjoyment and that alone is how *I* win

I did push myself to do 31mi today and it feels great!

[Crankin]

I would say that at least half, and probably more, of the cyclists who do centuries are doing it just to finish. Yes, there are always the speedy ones, but if you choose your century correctly, you will find a lot of people like you.