Advice on how to increase miles riddwn

[Catrin]

I read the posts regarding mileage goals. How do you find time to ride 6000 miles in one riding season, let alone 2000?


Can you answer some questions for me? Maybe riding over 1000 miles during one riding season is not a goal I can meet.

1. What kind of bicycle(s) do you ride?
A custom rigid mountain bike frame/drivetrain with a road fork - she is complicated

2. Do you do anything except ride during the riding season? (work, clean house, cook, take care of parents, etc.)
Certainly! I do work for a living, spend 3-4 hours a week at my gym, my house is moderately clean and there are other hobbies I have.

3. Do you ride in bad weather? What kind of weather will you not ride in? (i.e., severe downpour, high winds, temperate, etc.)
I don't ride in rain, temps below 37 or winds greater than 21-22 mph

4. Do you have apparel to ride in all kinds of weather?
Yes, outside of rain

5. Do you ride at night? (something I absolutely refuse to do)
No

6. Do you use clipless pedals? Does anyone only use plain pedals?
I currently use Speedplay Frogs, but the year in which I rode the most miles - over 2,000, I rode BMX flat pedals.

7. How many mph do you average? If I average between 11 mph and 12 mph do I have any hope of ever achieving a goal of 1000+ during a riding season?
I don't use clipless or straps - - - yet.

I average between 11-13

8. Do you ride mostly on trails or on roads?
Roads, though there were 2 seasons I also rode on the trails

9. Are the trails/roads or flat, hilly, steep hilly, or mixture?
mainly roads, flat to mixed terrain (think basically flat with short and STEEP hills)

10. Do you do most of your riding alone, with someone else, or in groups?
Solo

Any other things you can tell me would be greatly appreciated. I would like to increase my measly 500 miles to at least 1500 next year!

In the end, all that matters is you ride your bike! It doesn't matter how many miles you average per year. Nothing is wrong with 500 miles, and nothing is wrong with 6,000! Just ride when you can, take what opportunities you do to ride. My mileage was so low this year because I am in a long-term neck recovery but in the end, I don't really care what my mileage is - as long as I ride!

[OakLeaf]

It's been a while since I had a >5000 mile year. And I didn't have a job the last time I did it. But the first few times I did, sometimes a pretty demanding job (60+ hours a week), sometimes two jobs, and before that, some years when I was a full-time student living off campus and working part time, with all the same household chores as a working person. The one thing I don't have, is children. I would think someone would be hard pressed to get that kind of mileage with small children at home unless it was all commuter miles.

Averaging 100 miles a week isn't that much. Commuting does boost the total quite a bit, even a short commute - five miles one way gives you 50 mpw if you work five days. But even if you get to work some other way and all your miles are recreational, that's just one weekend morning (50 miles) and a couple of quick evening rides (25 miles each). Lots of people count their trainer "miles" if they ride indoors when it's dark or when the weather's nasty.

The miles I ride at night have never contributed much to my yearly mileage. I will occasionally run errands or go out to dinner on quiet village streets/MUPs. Never rode anything longer than 6 miles in the dark in my life, and it's usually much shorter.



Besides my current injury, the main thing that's contributed when I don't have a lot of miles on the bike, is other cardio, whether it's the running I do now or the years I was a gym rat. Seven or eight hours of cardio a week is kind of a minimum for my sanity, really, not to mention my physical health, whatever activity I get it in. If you'd rather get your cardio some other way, if you even have a job that's physically demanding that counts, I don't think there's anyone here who's going to look down on you for not having foul-weather riding gear or whatever.

[shootingstar]

Kajero: I think you can ride over 1,000 miles in a riding season. I assume you don't cycle in the winter? However more mileage can be boosted by making cycling more part of your daily lifestyle.


Can you answer some questions for me? Maybe riding over 1000 miles during one riding season is not a goal I can meet.

1. What kind of bicycle(s) do you ride? Hybrid. I have 4 bikes...with one of them a folding bike.

2. Do you do anything except ride during the riding season? (work, clean house, cook, take care of parents, etc.)
I work full time. I've been cycling to work daily for past 2 decades. Where I live now, in the winter my cycling goes down to 70% of the days because of snow, ice. I am car-free. So cycling is part of my lifestyle --shopping, errands,etc.

3. Do you ride in bad weather? What kind of weather will you not ride in? (i.e., severe downpour, high winds, temperate, etc.) If I am returning home, yes I will ride in downpour, high winds, high temperature. But if I have a choice to start off cycling, then most likely I choose not to bike in severe downpour, etc. I like cycling in light rain if it's not far. In winter, I cycle as cold as -25 degrees C --as long as there's very little ice/snow on roads/paths where I am. I just bike to work, shopping. That's my limit in terms of cold. And that is cold: it is nearly at frostbitten face warning.

Keep in mind we go touring by bike with our loaded panniers, several times per year. You have no choice not to bike. Then yes, I've cycled in 5 hrs. of pouring rain ...several different trips, etc.

I bike in high temp., high humidity but try to start off quite early in the morning.

4. Do you have apparel to ride in all kinds of weather? Yes, summer and winter. Both extremes. I spend more money on cycling gear compared to fashion clothing. I didn't plan it that way initially!

5. Do you ride at night? (something I absolutely refuse to do) I like only cycling at night on roads/paths that I am familiar. Under 1.5 hrs. of cycling time. Cycling in a big city at night, to me, requires being extra alert. In the winter, I have no choice: it is still dark when I start cycling to work and dark after work when I cycle. I'm probably one of the most northernly TE members. (But I don't beat our Norwegian lph TE member.)

6. Do you use clipless pedals? Does anyone only use plain pedals? I've been using toeclips/toecups for the past.....22 yrs.

7. How many mph do you average? If I average between 11 mph and 12 mph do I have any hope of ever achieving a goal of 1000+ during a riding season?
I don't know maybe 16-24 km. per hr. Usually on bottom end of speed.


8. Do you ride mostly on trails or on roads? Roads/paved surfaces/paths

9. Are the trails/roads or flat, hilly, steep hilly, or mixture? In Calgary 80% flat with hills rest of time. It's the headwinds in the flat prairies which can really make cycling a work-out.

10. Do you do most of your riding alone, with someone else, or in groups? A lot of the time solo....it's part of my lifestyle. I can't wait around for others when I need to do daily stuff. It has depended on where I've lived, etc. When I ride with someone, it tends to be my partner. I've learned a lot on new local routes from him....

Any other things you can tell me would be greatly appreciated. I would like to increase my measly 500 miles to at least 1500 next year!

Then build in cycling to work several times per week if you can. The convenience is that one can bike abit farther after work to do stuff or enjoy a ride. If you make cycling more and more part of your lifestyle, you will achieve more mileage.

Also tour-cycling 2-3 times per year or take in 1-2 group day rides on a weekend will also increase mileage.

Note: I know the approx. distances where I bike but I don't obsess over the total mileage. I think now I'm cycling under 3,000 km. annually. Other years it's been over 7,000 km. annually...when I was unemployed.

The most important thing: Is try to bike daily, or several times per week. No matter how short the distance. After awhile, your body naturally becomes addicted to cycling. Then the total cumulative mileage becomes secondary to you...because you're enjoying cycling.

[Grits]

I don't set an annual goal for miles, but I do try to schedule a long ride every year that I need to train for. I don't care how many miles I ride during the year, just that I am able to comfortably ride in that event. This year it was Tour de Cure ride with rolling hills. Most years it is a flat MS ride with multiple ride options from 25 - 100 miles. I don't ride in bad weather, at night, or when it is under 45 degrees. I ride for fun and not for speed. Don't worry about the goals others have set. Just enjoy riding your bike your way. I know from experience that when you try to meet someone else's goal, cycling becomes something you dread instead of something you enjoy. As long as you aren't racing for a sponsor, then do what you enjoy! As you ride and get more fit, more miles will come naturally. If you want to increase your miles so that you can enjoy longer rides, then add a few miles on each week until you are able to ride somewhere you want to go, maybe to the end of a greenway trail or to participate in a charity ride somewhere. Most charity rides have multiple options for miles - anywhere from 10 mile rides and up. It is much more fun to set a goal to be able to complete a ride to a particular place than to set an arbitrary number of miles for the year.

[lph]

I would like to add that having a mileage goal just for the sake of it doesn't make much sense to me. What I mean is, once you know what kind of bike riding you enjoy and want to do, you can set a mileage goal to give yourself a little extra motivation, but miles are just miles, and don't have much value alone.

[ny biker]

I would like to add that having a mileage goal just for the sake of it doesn't make much sense to me. What I mean is, once you know what kind of bike riding you enjoy and want to do, you can set a mileage goal to give yourself a little extra motivation, but miles are just miles, and don't have much value alone.

I agree. Very well said.

Having a mileage goal can also backfire, and can end up stressing you out.

[OakLeaf]

Yes. What they both said.

[Crankin]

And this is why I am good with riding 1,000 miles less this year. The first time I set a goal of 2,500 miles (in 2005), I missed it by 99 miles. I was crushed. I rode over 3,000 in 2006, but 2007 and 2008 were re-building years for me. I did a lot of errand and farm stand rides those years, as well as some commuting, along with my regular fitness/recreational riding. In 2010, I did a 6 day tour in Spain, early in the season, and then I started doing longer rides every week with Hirakukibou. I rode 3,100 miles that year. We had no winter in 2011, and I rode about 3,400 miles. Last year, much less (2,700). This year, I was away for 2 weeks in August and we didn't ride on our trip to the Berkshires, because of weather. If I start putting pressure on myself about this, it's not good.

[Catrin]

I agree. Very well said.

Having a mileage goal can also backfire, and can end up stressing you out.

Yes, this! I've had it happen myself which is why I focus more on riding when I can and for as long as my body is happy with it. I do pay attention to the numbers when I ride as that is just how I am, but I don't worry about the cumulative totals any longer. My 1,500 mile goal for next year is simply an incentive to get out there - I've competing physical activities

[kajero]

I would like to add that having a mileage goal just for the sake of it doesn't make much sense to me. What I mean is, once you know what kind of bike riding you enjoy and want to do, you can set a mileage goal to give yourself a little extra motivation, but miles are just miles, and don't have much value alone.

I agree. This makes much more sense to me that wanting to ride an unachievable goal of 2000+ miles for me.

And I also agree with what ny biker says, "Having a mileage goal can also backfire, and can end up stressing you out."

I wish I could have commuted before I lost my job. It was 16 miles each way, but I never could figure out a safe way to ride to work. There were two very, very, busy streets about 1/2 mile long with no bike lanes. I felt it was too dangerous to ride during rush hours. It wasn't worth the effort to load the bike and unload it for about 3 miles. Doing all that would have been a real stressor for me.

Thanks for the answers to all the questions. It really helped me. I learned there are a lot of things I can do to add a few miles to the total.

Thanks to all of you I already feel better about the number of miles I rode this season. It isn't a competition; It was what I feel comfortable with and what I want to achieve.

[velo]

I think setting goals is a great way to see what you are capable of doing. I set goals for many things that help me through life. I set them for work because they help the community I serve. I set them at home to help the family I love. But they never stress me out and really they never have. I think they are great as motivation but each person has to do what is best for their own comfort level. I know several people who will hit 10,000 miles this year. I know two people who moved from riding paved trails to road riding in traffic. I don't think there is a person here who would qualify those accomplishments. It doesn't have to be a competition for people to work outside of their comfort zone and push themselves to expand and grow. The feeling that it's a competition comes from within. I love seeing what other people do in all areas of life...not just cycling...because they are where I'm heading and where I've been and it's nice to know the possibilities and also how I can help.

[Crankin]

Well, speaking for myself, even though I know I do more, in terms of physical activity, than 99% of Americans, it makes me feel *bad* to hear about all the 5-10K a year people. There's nothing wrong with my self esteem, but truth is, even my DH wonders about this, and he is a very strong rider... but we just think we are wusses. I mean, if I do a 50-60 mile one day, I will not be doing that again the next day, unless I am on a tour. And people who routinely ride 100 miles every weekend? Well, if you are a racer, sure. If not, then you surely can't be doing anything else besides riding. So, even competition with myself doesn't work so much, because I often just set goals that are high. I am generally an extremely disciplined person, organized, etc., but even being around others who talk about this stuff makes me kind of annoyed.

[ny biker]

I think setting goals is a great way to see what you are capable of doing. I set goals for many things that help me through life. I set them for work because they help the community I serve. I set them at home to help the family I love. But they never stress me out and really they never have. I think they are great as motivation but each person has to do what is best for their own comfort level. I know several people who will hit 10,000 miles this year. I know two people who moved from riding paved trails to road riding in traffic. I don't think there is a person here who would qualify those accomplishments. It doesn't have to be a competition for people to work outside of their comfort zone and push themselves to expand and grow. The feeling that it's a competition comes from within. I love seeing what other people do in all areas of life...not just cycling...because they are where I'm heading and where I've been and it's nice to know the possibilities and also how I can help.

I think the important thing is that what works for one person could be a disaster for another person. If someone is indicating they feel they have to ride more simply because people on the internet say they have ridden a certain number of miles this year, then I think a mileage goal could turn out to be stressful for that person.

One of my cycling friends rode more than 11,000 miles last year. But he didn't do it because it was his goal. He did it because he loves to ride his bike. He rides almost every day. He considers riding a century to be the best possible way to spend a day, and he'll get up and ride 50 or more miles again the next day because he just wants to.

Setting goals can be good motivation in the right context, but they can also backfire. Unless you're a professional racer getting paid to ride your bike, I think it's important that any cycling goals you set have an underlying element of fun. It can very easily go from something you enjoy to something you have to do even though you'd rather be doing something else.

[nuliajuk]

I don't set mileage goals. For one thing, I don't have a way to measure mileage since I decided not to use a computer any more, for another, I have other activities that I do (swimming, cross-country skiing, a little running) that are just as important to me as cycling. I aim to get at least 6 hours of aerobic exercise per week as a base, then focus on increasing a particular activity if I have a plan for it. I'd love to do another Swimtrek tour, for example.
For this coming winter I'm on the fence about riding in or not. On the one hand, it's good for bike handling skills, on the other it isn't really enough to qualify as very much exercise; I have to do a lot of planning and clothes packing for just 20 minutes or less of actual riding each way. I can get a higher quality workout in on the turbo trainer. If I can figure out a way to carry skis with me, maybe I can ride to a park with ski tracks and get another workout in that way.
I was actually thinking of running to work 3 times a week between November and March (well, running with a lot of walking breaks). It would take at least 30 minutes and be much more intense than riding.

[Crankin]

That sounds fun.
I am about where you are, Nuliajuk. I am doing other things now, too.