Succhia Ruota

Mitigate impact to your body on long rides:

1. Stretch before & after your rides.
2. Keep your shoulders and neck loose.
3. Keep your grip on the bars loose.
4. Change hand positions often:
   1. In drops.
   2. On hoods.
   3. On bar tops.
5. Change body positions often:
   1. Pedal out of the saddle.
   2. Stand on the pedals while coasting.
   3. Pedal sitting up straight with hands at your sides.
6. Gradually increase your ride length to give your body time to adjust.
7. Do core exercises on your days between rides.

Metallifan33

Thanks all!
Although there was quite a bit of variation as expected, it seems like a break around 1.5 hrs is a pretty reasonable thing to do. It's also good to know that when riding to your limit, it's normal to feel uncomfortable at the initial transition to walking.

Metallifan33

As a former runner that suffered the entire day after a 10 mile run, this blows my mind.
There was always payback for running. Like I got to do something I liked doing, but I had to pay it back the next day (or week when it came to injuries).

bampilot06

Did my first 40 miler today. I didn’t stop mainly because it was freezing. When I got done my quads were in pain that I never felt before. Nothing would relieve the pain, I finally climbed into the shower and after my body warmed up the pain went away.

IMO it took me a while to get to 20 miles. Usually I am limited on time, so instead of focusing on distance for the longest time I was focusing on speed. I usually only have about an hour to ride, so my goal was to go 20 miles in that hour. It prolly took me over a month to do that steadily. I remember being useless after those rides especially in the beginning, Now the 20 milers don’t phase me at all. My first 30 I got dropped by the group on the last 5 miles but I was able to finish.
Point is keep riding it is amazing how fast you will improve.

Seattle Forrest

Not a problem, you can outrun zombies on your bike.

Reynolds 

Usually every 2 hrs or so. But sometime ago I was training for long distance and did a lot of 4 hrs non stop. My personal record is 7 hrs/180kms non stop.

TheDudeIsHere

I will tell you what not to do!

I did a 60 miler ride one day. That night I went to play a softball game in the cold. Outfield, running for a ball, PULL!! I rarely pull muscles but that sucker hurt!

TricycleTom

After an unaccustomed long ride, I can still feel fine cruising, but have no sprint left, and would have trouble climbing stairs.

KColeman32

Depends. If I'm not in shape, a long ride isn't as long as when I am in shape, of course. I'm usually trying to get my legs in shape and my ass in shape to sit on the saddle for long days. When I'm riding decent length ride, I like break the ride up into 30 mile segments, ~ two hours, depending on terrain and my fitness. I often don't like my breaks to be as long as some of my friends like. I want to get back on and finish the ride. I definitely build up to longer rides. Your 25 mile ride will get easier the more you do it, and the more you get used to the route.

Guntrainer

At 70, the Kidneys determine when I stop. Sometimes after an hour, sometimes after 2. You will get there.

BengalCat

On average if the ride doesn't involve any significant climbing I stop very briefly about once every hour to hydrate and to suck down an energy gel. If there is a lot of climbing involved I will stop for up to 10 or 15 minutes after finishing a climb or after riding twenty or so miles on the flats with a big climb ahead. My legs rarely feel tired but fatigue shows in a loss of power and an increased heart rate for the same perceived effort.

jsigone

resting? that's what red lights are for

BentRider56

I'm a Senior rider who rides recumbents, after a solo, cross-continent self-supported tour in 1991.
Having "old man" issues, I choose my rides with pee stops about every 5 miles or so.
With rolling hills I get a suitable workout, and don't have anything to prove, in terms of going for hours at a time.
Stop when you need to. We're doing this to enjoy life, not to reach some destination.
Enjoy the scenery, take pictures, socialize, have an occasional snack.
If you're struggling to walk when you dismount, have your bike fit checked, make frequent stops, and ask someone to try a recumbent bike.

mercator

When I was younger I could go for 3 or 4 hours without stopping, but for the past few years I've been getting some foot numbing issues on longer rides. I now take a short break every hour and it works well for me.

InfinityMPG

OP seems like he got what he needed from the thread, and noodle soup and Dan333SP already agreed on the most important thing:
"It's all about how often you push certain muscle groups to their limits."

I'll just add that what helped me get used to long miles initially was finding the right food to bring, the right fluids, and having a dialed-in riding position. A good saddle with no numbness is an amazing thing. After that, I agree with the spirit of jsigone's comment about only stopping at "red lights": I only stop if traffic forces me to stop or if I run out of food or water. I rest when I'm done for the day. How far you're willing to go on one "tank" then just becomes a matter of how much food or water you're willing to carry. I'll max my water at four 24 oz bottles, which gets me 4 continuous hours on a hot day and 5 on a cool day. During supported events such as triathlons, aid stations mean that that's not an issue. Once you get going, ride or die

bpcyclist

I usually stop after about 2 hours or so and grab a banana and some agua and stretch a little, unless the weather is bad and I am just booking it to get my butt home and warm.