I am very close to achieving a mileage goal I set for 2019 that seemed impossible to me at the time.
Ive always enjoyed bicycles and had a decent Trek hybrid for many years but last summer (2018), I bought a solid hybrid bike from a LBS (Roll: Bicycles) and the interest became an obsession.
Prior to July 2018, Id never ridden longer than 30 miles in a ride or 150 miles in a month. After doing a little over 2000 miles the second half of 2018, I set the stretch goal of riding 5000 miles in 2019, thinking that I would be unlikely to hit the huge number but it was worth shooting for
Here are my mileage totals for the last 17 months:
Jul - 305
Aug - 540
Sep - 389
Oct - 213
Nov - 368
Dec - 329
2018 6 month total - 2144 miles
Jan - 148
Feb - 168
Mar - 254
Apr - 413
May 503
Jun - 749
Jul - 683
Aug - 544
Sep - 592
Oct - 531
Nov - 122 and counting
Dec - ???
2019 running total - 4707 miles
My strategy for stacking miles has been to combine a 30-mile round-trip work commute with long rides, whenever I can fit them in on the weekends. I bought a house last October that is located specifically so I can ride to my office, about 80% on great bike paths. From my house I can take bike trails for hundreds of miles from Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Xenia, Dayton, and Cincinnati. If you like riding bikes away from cars and flat roads with gentle hills, central Ohio is a cycling paradise.
I tend to do the long rides early in the morning to avoid cutting in to family time too much. I also did 2-short multi-day tours, completing the 340 mile Ohio to Erie Trail (Cleveland to Cincinnati) in June over 5 days and in October rode from Columbus, Ohio to Madison, Indiana, 220 miles, over 2 days.
How I got my miles, a fun statistical breakdown:
30-mile round-trip commutes 73 times
50-60 miles 7 rides
60-70 miles 7 rides
70-80 miles - 4 rides
80-90 miles - 3 rides
90-100 miles - 1 ride
100-110 miles - 2 rides
110-120 miles - 1 ride
120+ miles - 3 rides (133 miles was longest ride of the year, while fully loaded for touring)
I am 42 years old and a big guy, 65 and currently about 295lbs. Last June, I was about 350 lbs. I have learned a lot about my body and a bit about bicycle durability in the last 18 months. Mostly, I feel stronger and healthier than I have since I was 25 years old.
I have realized that I especially love really long rides and that feeling of being 100% tapped out after a huge effort. My goal for next year is to earn super Randonneur status (
https://rusa.org/pages/award-sr) by completing a series of 200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k rides within specified time limits.
18 months ago, I was a bike novice and began reading these forums, encouraged by learning about other big dudes riding bikes. If you are reading this and wondering if you can ride big miles while being a giant, know that you can indeed. Ask me anything, I am happy to try to help (as are many others in this awesome community)
My Strava Profile -
https://www.strava.com/athletes/33462396
Great Miami River Trail
Bike and Graffiti
Cincinnati, OTET Day 5
Hanover College - Ohio River Overlook
OTET Camping
Cleveland, OTET Day 1
Little Miami River Trail