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How many miles is a "good ride"?

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How many miles is a "good ride"?

Old 07-10-19, 07:31 AM
  #26  
TakingMyTime
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You're doing great. Mileage is a personal thing and can change from day to day. As long as you're moving forward it's a good thing.

When my wife and I first started out we were stopping 3 times on our 11 mile loop. It felt like it was killing us.
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Old 07-10-19, 09:27 AM
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A good ride is one you enjoy and return uninjured.

Distance depends on your experience and perspective. I started just riding to work and back every day (at the time, a one way distance of only 4 miles or so). One thing led to another, and I now ride distances non-cyclists think to be crazy.

Keep it up and your BP will improve. The other thing is that if it becomes a bit of an obsession for you as it has for me, you'll eventually give up the smokes. One thing about cycling is that it gives you a good barometer of your condition. You'll know (and feel) it when you've eaten badly or done something else that reduces your performance. That kind of direct immediate feedback has a way of nudging you in the right direction.
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Old 07-10-19, 09:49 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
I can't believe that I'm going to agree with @I-Like-To-Bike ^ above. But I am. Other people aren't you, and cannot experience what you're experiencing even if they're along side of you at the moment. Ride your ride and enjoy every moment.

My "good" rides happen unexpectedly, when my everything just clicks. Maybe it's a more energetic day or that my legs are rested. Maybe it's the fit or performance of my bike and me. Maybe it's something about the weather, like a light rain or a warm wind that makes my senses more alert. Or I'm tagging along behind my wife, who is having a particularly strong and energetic day and is flying (for her). She'll smile and say, "great ride, huh?" 'Yes. It was.', I say.
Same.
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Old 07-10-19, 10:10 AM
  #29  
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Thanks for all the positive and encouraging replies so far. I guess I was forgetting that every rider had to begin somewhere so my 8 miler isn't so bad. I am going to keep going because even on days where the wind kicks my ass, I feel better for the rest of the day.

Played golf early this morning, came home and let the dog out and then rode 9.3 miles. I am whooped but feel good about the ride. I do believe this is something that I am going to continue to do and will update my progress. Thanks again.
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Old 07-10-19, 02:02 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by moe zhoost
any ride is a good ride. Miles are less important than how often you ride.
+1000
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Old 07-10-19, 02:28 PM
  #31  
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Just "ride your ride"...any ride is good.

My BEST ride was only 300 yards.

That was the day I got back on the bike after a year's absence due to a non-cycling injury.

It has all been gravy since then.

Good luck and ride safely!
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Old 07-10-19, 06:10 PM
  #32  
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My most memorable “best” rides have been far far shorter than your rides.

And those “best” rides had many many “recovery” days before my next “best” ride.

Just ride and just enjoy.

-mr. bill
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Old 07-10-19, 08:59 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by freeranger
To me, one of the things that indicate that it was a "good ride", is that it left me with a smile. The smiles are just as important as the miles! I'd rather have a good 10 mile, enjoyable ride than a miserable 20 miler!
I can remember one ride which did not leave me with a smile: 70 miles in a 36° steady downpour. I didn't like that. All the rest I think - smiles. My wife says all I have to do is swing a leg over and I'm smiling. Not that there weren't times when I was gritting my teeth and considering abandoning. But in the end, smiles.
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Old 07-10-19, 09:10 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by ucfdad
Just starting to get into riding for fun and fitness. I am 58, 6'1 and 240 and a smoker with high blood pressure. So far in July I have ridden 60 miles in 7 rides. Somedays I can do 12 and some days I am struggling to do 8. When I tell a non cyclist I did 8 miles they are like "wow that is great". When I say I rode 8 to a cyclist, I get a much less positive reaction.

So, when first starting what should be considered a good ride? How much did you ride at the beginning?

Also, would love to hear from anyone who has a success story about lowering blood pressure through riding, need the inspiration.

Please no "quit smoking" comments, I have heard them all and agree with them. Thanks
I agree with the comments that you should be very proud of your performance and not let other people’s comments take away from what you are doing. You and I are fairly similar in age and size. I have been riding for a few years but have not had a good winter program so each spring is a new beginning for me in terms of getting into riding shape and building miles. I created a weekly riding schedule that is based on an approach that I found years ago for getting people prepared for their first marathon. I like it because it puts a lot of variety into the week and it focuses the long mile days on Saturday which is intended to be a “ride to exhaustion” – long distance wise, not speed wise. Here is what I do

Monday – 3 ½ miles – I work on speed for this ride. It is in my neighborhood which has decent hills

Tuesday – 5 ½ miles – Another route in my neighborhood. It is a little less of a speed workout than the Monday ride but faster than my long rides

Wednesday – 7 ½ miles – I leave the neighborhood where there are more rolling hills and change of scenery. I look at my speed at the end of the ride but my focus is doing the distance not pressing for speed. As I progress through the spring/summer then my times naturally improve which is nice but not really my goal. The same goes for my next ride and my ride to exhaustion.

Thursday – Friday – One of the days is a rest day and the other is a 10 ½ mile ride. I prefer Thursday for the rest day but my schedule and attitude tend to dictate which one is the rest day.

Saturday – This is the long ride to exhaustion. As I said I am working on getting good distance at reasonable speed but I will always take distance over speed on this ride. I bring plenty of water and use an energy chew. If the ride gets over 20 miles I will also bring some fruit or other food. This distance is something that you set and increase it every week or two. I am finding that mentally it is easier for me to ride the same distance two weeks in a row and then increase it but I have increased every week with no problem. I tend to increase it by 3 to 4 miles per increase. You could probably do your first long distance ride at 15 miles. You will really see that distance go up through the course of a spring/summer and it will feel great.

Sunday – Rest day – then start the process over again on Monday. Saturday is really the only day that I increase distance but when I get in pretty good shape I tend to increase the weekday rides by 2 miles each.

The idea behind this workout schedule is that Saturday exhausts your muscles and they build up during the periods of rest and low miles during the week. That one day of total exhaustion and then letting them build back up during the week is an effective way to build muscle size and strength. The variety of the distances really helps with the mental side of building miles. It also makes it a lot easier to get out for the next ride as some of them go pretty quickly.

I hope that this helps.
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Old 07-10-19, 09:32 PM
  #35  
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A good ride is when you return home on your bike, your ass is starting to get sore, your legs are wobbly, but you have no cramps.
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Old 07-11-19, 12:06 AM
  #36  
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With respect to your health, PLEASE FOLLOW YOUR DOCTOR'S ORDERS ABOUT YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE!
I am sure the other well-wishers here on bikeforums that are suggesting you try whatever, but they are not a qualified medical doctor who has seen you and your case!
Sure everyone means well, but often some people are willing to try something that was suggested on the internet, and THIS COULD BE HARMFUL!
Listen to your Doctor, if you have any questions or concerns, please consult with your Doctor, or at least with another Doctor or other highly qualified health care professional. Do not follow something just because you see it said by someone on the internet.



In my opinion, A GOOD RIDE, should not exhaust you! The length of said "Good Ride" need not be a specified distance. The Outside TEMPERATURE in F , along with the % of Relative Humidty and AIR QUALITY are very important factors. You cannot expect that riding in 95F with very muggy conditions (High Humidity) and somewhat stagnant air quality is going to be easy. Use common sense as a guide and try to be prepared for the conditions on hand on that particular day. It is not a badge of dishonor if some days, you cannot, or do not feel strong enough to go as much or as far.
Only you can determine what seems right. Rome wasn't built in a day. DO NOT THINK YOU MUST BUST YOUR RUMP BECAUSE SOMEBODY SAYS THAT IF YOU DON'T DO X miles while riding for a certain length of time.
I suggest that YOU ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET and THAT YOU ALWAYS CARRY A FULLY CHARGED PHONE, and You always carry at least a small water bottle.

For example, a good ride for me, consists of riding with pals in Saluda Shoals Park, which is a superb place to ride in my opinion with lengthy (5 miles of paved roads) with little or no automobile traffic, and the automobile traffic is typically about 20 mph through the park. The very tall Pine Trees and the wildlife that one routinely sees, rabbits, and turtles and sometimes snakes and the occasional deer sightings,........... The road is normal width two lane road, and there are speed bumps at certain places to make certain that automobile traffic is limited to slow speeds..................................Automobile access to the park is limited as you have a park ranger gatehouse at each park end that you must drive up to and register, or provide an annual subscription pass with bar code to the automated gate scanner/reader that raises the gate to enter the park. The Speedbumps do not have any effect on those who might be training for triathlons as one can to either side of them if you want to maintain a fast, bumpless pace. To give you an example, sometimes my pals and I have done as little as about six miles and other times we have gone more than 24 miles. We often ride what we refer to as CHIPS style (remember the mid-late seventies NBC Tv show...) side by side, having a conversation while riding. One riding pal who rode in our group there for two months last summer, who was a veteran marathon runner, but had never done a tri-athlon before then, trained with us in June, July, August 2018. She was fed all types of bull from the local idiots working in the bike stores. She was told by these young kids that they didn't downshift and just gut out the hills..........I mean how stupid is that, so she was having a hard time keeping up with the rest of us because she wasn't shifting to climb hills.... Once somebody asked her why was she fast except hills etc and she said the guys in the bike stores said they did it that way........so somebody in our group said, hey Linda, why do you think Fuji put so many gears on your bike and the Fuji engineers who selected the combination.........once somebody explained that it was something that you do so that you can maintain a pace/cadence that best suits you and allows for a swifter pace when you shift down or shift up when it becomes the time for you to do so. She said I was only doing what the bike shop guys said they did. We said you were listening to idiots, who probably barely graduated high school. She then approached it from an engineer's perspective and was shifting like crazy and the rest of us were unable to keep up with her. She was riding a vintage Fuji that she bought used on Craigs for $100 because it fit her very petite size. On a steel Fuji, she finished 4th in the Augusta HALF-IRONMAN in Sept 2018 in the 60-64 age group. It was her first competition while riding a bicycle. It was also her first swimming competition. She was a very experienced marathon runner but had not done any competitive swimming or bicycling. She trained for the swimming portion by swimming everyday in Lake Murray beginning in July 2018. You don't need to listen to dummies that tell you one thing or another........just because they might be twenty five year old half-wits working in a bike shop, or some really old one quarter wit like me, posting something on the internet.

Use your best judgement. What might be appropriate for some super-stud, young 18 to 25 year old half-wit that works in a bike shop and rides all the time, may not be realistic for someone who is no longer twenty-something.

Have Fun whenever and wherever you ride. If you don't like something about where and how you ride, then CHANGE what you don't like. Ride somewhere else, and/or if you're not comfortable riding in racing position (drop bars), there is absolutely nothing wrong with riding something in upright position with Northroad bars............ Ditto for something with either a mixte or step-through frame......... Not all bicycling is simply riding crouched forward wearing tight brightly colored spandex, pretending you're a tour de force as a Lance wannabee. There is nothing wrong with being a super-strong serious cyclist decked out in bright, tight fitting racing garb, as it is a well deserved badge of honor if you can spin it to win it and cruise at 30 mph but you don't need to try to kill yourself to get there. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET TO THAT POINT, IT IS POSSIBLE, BUT YOU WILL NEED TO BUILD UP OVER A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF TIME, UNLESS YOU'RE ALREADY A WORLD CLASS ATHLETE, WHICH LIKELY MAKES IT EASIER TO REACH THAT GOAL.

If you just make it a point to have a good fun ride, each time out and worry less about what the "serious" bikers do, you'll continue to ride. You will enjoy it more and more, and you'll likely see some benefit from regular and occasional riding. Don't wear yourself out. You're not doing the bike ride across Iowa tomorrow.
Get a comfortable bicycle seat and get a comfortable helmet and wear the helmet every time out.
Have fun. It does not matter how fast or slow , only that you GO and ride a little. You'll probably enjoy each ride and wish to ride again soon. Do not feel that you must go fast , because being aware and in control is more important. You do not want to crash. The pavement/asphalt/concrete is going to hurt you if you do crash.
Minimize your risk by always wearing a helmet. You can survive broken ribs, a broken clavicle, dislocated elbow, shoulder, fractured wrist, broken legs, broken arm, broken hip, knee injuries, road rash...etc but having your bare head bounce against the asphalt like a basketball and it could be fatal. Bike helmets do work.

MAKE YOUR OWN MEMORIES AND MAKE YOUR OWN RULES, RIDE AT YOUR OWN PACE...... It does not have to be a race!
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Old 07-11-19, 06:22 AM
  #37  
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How many miles is a "good ride"?
Originally Posted by ucfdad
Just starting to get into riding for fun and fitness…So, when first starting what should be considered a good ride? How much did you ride at the beginning?...
Originally Posted by CliffordK


Perhaps 200 miles in a day?

It varies a lot with person & training.
Originally Posted by deacon mark
There is no answer as such it depends on your background…
Originally Posted by Moe Zhoost
Any ride is a good ride. Miles are less important than how often you ride.
I began reading this thread, piqued by the title, with an immediate quantitative answer in mind, as a decades-long, lifestyle cyclist (touring, year-round commuting, and modest road cyclist).

I have previously posted that I consider a “ride,” worthy of suiting up, going out, and warming up to be at least 10 miles (my one-way commute is 14). I consider a “good” (long) ride, e.g. on a weekend for training, or on a tour, to be at least 40 miles. In my 20’s though, without training, I rode my 5-speed Schwinn suburban 50 miles one-way, out-and-back in a weekend.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
… So while this [time now] is my pinnacle of bike ownership, I started out in 1972 as a poor college student on a $90 Schwinn five-speed Suburban with wire baskets that on my very first weekend tour imbued me with a love of cycling that has been my lifestyle since….

Last edited by Jim from Boston; 07-11-19 at 06:32 AM.
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Old 07-11-19, 07:16 AM
  #38  
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That's actually a pretty good amount of riding in the first seven rides. What I or any other cyclist does now doesn't relate, but what were our first rides?

My first ride (wife's car wouldn't start at the grocery store and I was about 48) was an epic 2.5 miles, and I'd have bragged if anyone would have listened. We started riding now and again, around 4 or 5 laps of a flat 1-mile loop in the park, and there was nothing wrong with being proud of that. So, personally I think you're doing great.
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Old 07-11-19, 06:30 PM
  #39  
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Ten.
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Old 07-11-19, 06:47 PM
  #40  
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A "good ride" is anytime you finish the ride feeling as well or better that when you started. If you feel crappy after your rides - then slow down or shorten them. Miles measure distance - but they hardly measure physical benefit.

Why not tell your self to ride for an hour -and pay no attention to how far or fast?
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Old 07-12-19, 06:16 AM
  #41  
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My thoughts ---

......Forget about legs hurting or not hurting,

Forget about 10 miles being good or 100+ miles being good,

......Forget about if you feel great or feel crappy after the ride is completed

Forget about whether a smile appears or a frown instead

Having gotten out for a ride and having fun should be enough to make it a GOOD RIDE!

For myself, when I have remained vertical while riding from first mounting the bike up until I dismount I consider a GOOD RIDE. Becoming horizontal via a Tom-Bay or a crash while moving has a propensity to put a kibosh on having been a "good ride." This means even bicycling 1.5 miles to local Walmart to food shop can be a good ride.

With regards to miles bicycled after "kitting-up" and getting the bike and all other things ready to ride, I strive for a metric century or longer. SW FL has no hills to stress my old muscles so once the pedaling begins with minimal coasting the miles just seem to pass by. Wednesday, my 69th birthday, was the only day I could ride this week so I started at 12:11AM, promptly got rained on big time but continued past that Mother Nature Birthday Present and finally finished 12.5 hours later with a GOOD RIDE of 141 miles. Next week maybe 2 rides of 100+ miles.
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Old 07-12-19, 06:43 AM
  #42  
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My niece just started riding on her Craig's list bike. She just has good rides to the farmers market and other good rides with her kids. She lowered her BP by eating a whole food plant based diet. I had a good ride yesterday: 30 miles some road MTB mixed Ellis County TX 100 degrees.
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Old 07-12-19, 06:54 AM
  #43  
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If I put my helmet on and leave my garage on one of my bikes, it's a good ride. I even got caught in wind, driving rain, and a little pea-sized hail on Wednesday evening, and found myself laughing. I felt like a 10 year old kid again.

I don't have the blood pressure issue you speak of, but as a 52 yr old type 2 diabetic, I've found riding is the best medicine for keeping my blood sugars under control. Riding is something I rediscovered at 47 years old, and I haven't looked back. Some weeks I'll hit 100 miles, and some weeks I may only do 20 depending on my schedule and weather. I shoot for 50 per week but don't beat myself up if I miss my goal. Just ride, and don't worry too much about speed, distance, etc. Just look around and enjoy yourself!

Cheers.

Last edited by camjr; 07-12-19 at 07:01 AM.
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Old 07-12-19, 08:19 AM
  #44  
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Answers are of course entirely personal. For me, a good ride is enough miles to "challenge" my legs and heart rate, no falls or crashes, and no close encounters of the worst kind with any type of 4, 6, 10, or 18-wheeled motor vehicle.
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Old 07-12-19, 06:18 PM
  #45  
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Any ride is "a good ride". Seriously. Any ride provides health benefits, no matter if it's long or short. Secondly, every person is different in terms of their fitness and gear. Someone who's thin and very fit, riding a performance bike can cover twice the ground in an hour that someone who is less fit, not thin, and riding a garden variety bike can cover in an hour. But if the two people both push themselves a bit for the same duration, I'd say they were equally good rides. My suggestion is to be your own yardstick, therefore.

Last edited by YankeeRider; 07-12-19 at 06:27 PM. Reason: clarify
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Old 07-12-19, 07:44 PM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by ucfdad
Just starting to get into riding for fun and fitness. I am 58, 6'1 and 240 and a smoker with high blood pressure. So far in July I have ridden 60 miles in 7 rides. Somedays I can do 12 and some days I am struggling to do 8. When I tell a non cyclist I did 8 miles they are like "wow that is great". When I say I rode 8 to a cyclist, I get a much less positive reaction.

So, when first starting what should be considered a good ride? How much did you ride at the beginning?

Also, would love to hear from anyone who has a success story about lowering blood pressure through riding, need the inspiration.

Please no "quit smoking" comments, I have heard them all and agree with them. Thanks
When I started, I wasn’t concerned with performance. I just rode my bike every chance I got. Sometimes it was a few miles at a time. Even if I was only on my bike for 3 miles, it was better than sitting on my couch doing nothing. As time went on, I started to get more bike fit. My weekend miles were anywhere from 12-25 miles. As mentioned previously performance was unimportant. Time in the saddle was. I would pace myself so I could finish no matter how long it took. My body was so jacked up that anything over 15 miles required me to dismount very carefully because my back was killing me (L5/S1 fusion). As time went on I began to get more bike fit. It allowed me to push harder eventually over longer distances. So if I were to give you my opinion, keep doing what you are doing. Don’t worry about what other people think. The only thing that should matter is you, and getting as much time in the saddle even if it is 2 miles at a time. Go ride around the neighborhood, see the sites, smell the BBQ (someone is always BBQi g in the summer). Keep it up.
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Old 07-12-19, 07:57 PM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by ucfdad
Just starting to get into riding for fun and fitness. I am 58, 6'1 and 240 and a smoker with high blood pressure. So far in July I have ridden 60 miles in 7 rides. Somedays I can do 12 and some days I am struggling to do 8. When I tell a non cyclist I did 8 miles they are like "wow that is great". When I say I rode 8 to a cyclist, I get a much less positive reaction.

So, when first starting what should be considered a good ride? How much did you ride at the beginning?

Also, would love to hear from anyone who has a success story about lowering blood pressure through riding, need the inspiration.

Please no "quit smoking" comments, I have heard them all and agree with them. Thanks
I pretty much won’t bother for anything less than 30 miles. Anything 50+ is a “good ride”.
i have highish blood pressure - “prehypertension” - but right now my hp is at the low end for my age (56- can’t remember my hp, ‘cos I’m not worried about it). Last time I had a physical, the nurse measuring my hp asked me if I did anything, to which I replied I rode and rowed. “Thought so” she said.
Im an ex-smoker (quit before my son was born ~22 years ago), but I was getting serious about my cycling at the time, so between the two, I managed to pack it in. All I’ll say is that getting serious will give you incentive, but, regardless, cycling is a great joint-friendly way to work on your cardiovascular health - stick with it and the miles will come - and good luck

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Old 07-13-19, 02:05 AM
  #48  
downhillmaster
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Originally Posted by Vintage Schwinn
With respect to your health, PLEASE FOLLOW YOUR DOCTOR'S ORDERS ABOUT YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE!
I am sure the other well-wishers here on bikeforums that are suggesting you try whatever, but they are not a qualified medical doctor who has seen you and your case!
Sure everyone means well, but often some people are willing to try something that was suggested on the internet, and THIS COULD BE HARMFUL!
Listen to your Doctor, if you have any questions or concerns, please consult with your Doctor, or at least with another Doctor or other highly qualified health care professional. Do not follow something just because you see it said by someone on the internet.



In my opinion, A GOOD RIDE, should not exhaust you! The length of said "Good Ride" need not be a specified distance. The Outside TEMPERATURE in F , along with the % of Relative Humidty and AIR QUALITY are very important factors. You cannot expect that riding in 95F with very muggy conditions (High Humidity) and somewhat stagnant air quality is going to be easy. Use common sense as a guide and try to be prepared for the conditions on hand on that particular day. It is not a badge of dishonor if some days, you cannot, or do not feel strong enough to go as much or as far.
Only you can determine what seems right. Rome wasn't built in a day. DO NOT THINK YOU MUST BUST YOUR RUMP BECAUSE SOMEBODY SAYS THAT IF YOU DON'T DO X miles while riding for a certain length of time.
I suggest that YOU ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET and THAT YOU ALWAYS CARRY A FULLY CHARGED PHONE, and You always carry at least a small water bottle.

For example, a good ride for me, consists of riding with pals in Saluda Shoals Park, which is a superb place to ride in my opinion with lengthy (5 miles of paved roads) with little or no automobile traffic, and the automobile traffic is typically about 20 mph through the park. The very tall Pine Trees and the wildlife that one routinely sees, rabbits, and turtles and sometimes snakes and the occasional deer sightings,........... The road is normal width two lane road, and there are speed bumps at certain places to make certain that automobile traffic is limited to slow speeds..................................Automobile access to the park is limited as you have a park ranger gatehouse at each park end that you must drive up to and register, or provide an annual subscription pass with bar code to the automated gate scanner/reader that raises the gate to enter the park. The Speedbumps do not have any effect on those who might be training for triathlons as one can to either side of them if you want to maintain a fast, bumpless pace. To give you an example, sometimes my pals and I have done as little as about six miles and other times we have gone more than 24 miles. We often ride what we refer to as CHIPS style (remember the mid-late seventies NBC Tv show...) side by side, having a conversation while riding. One riding pal who rode in our group there for two months last summer, who was a veteran marathon runner, but had never done a tri-athlon before then, trained with us in June, July, August 2018. She was fed all types of bull from the local idiots working in the bike stores. She was told by these young kids that they didn't downshift and just gut out the hills..........I mean how stupid is that, so she was having a hard time keeping up with the rest of us because she wasn't shifting to climb hills.... Once somebody asked her why was she fast except hills etc and she said the guys in the bike stores said they did it that way........so somebody in our group said, hey Linda, why do you think Fuji put so many gears on your bike and the Fuji engineers who selected the combination.........once somebody explained that it was something that you do so that you can maintain a pace/cadence that best suits you and allows for a swifter pace when you shift down or shift up when it becomes the time for you to do so. She said I was only doing what the bike shop guys said they did. We said you were listening to idiots, who probably barely graduated high school. She then approached it from an engineer's perspective and was shifting like crazy and the rest of us were unable to keep up with her. She was riding a vintage Fuji that she bought used on Craigs for $100 because it fit her very petite size. On a steel Fuji, she finished 4th in the Augusta HALF-IRONMAN in Sept 2018 in the 60-64 age group. It was her first competition while riding a bicycle. It was also her first swimming competition. She was a very experienced marathon runner but had not done any competitive swimming or bicycling. She trained for the swimming portion by swimming everyday in Lake Murray beginning in July 2018. You don't need to listen to dummies that tell you one thing or another........just because they might be twenty five year old half-wits working in a bike shop, or some really old one quarter wit like me, posting something on the internet.

Use your best judgement. What might be appropriate for some super-stud, young 18 to 25 year old half-wit that works in a bike shop and rides all the time, may not be realistic for someone who is no longer twenty-something.

Have Fun whenever and wherever you ride. If you don't like something about where and how you ride, then CHANGE what you don't like. Ride somewhere else, and/or if you're not comfortable riding in racing position (drop bars), there is absolutely nothing wrong with riding something in upright position with Northroad bars............ Ditto for something with either a mixte or step-through frame......... Not all bicycling is simply riding crouched forward wearing tight brightly colored spandex, pretending you're a tour de force as a Lance wannabee. There is nothing wrong with being a super-strong serious cyclist decked out in bright, tight fitting racing garb, as it is a well deserved badge of honor if you can spin it to win it and cruise at 30 mph but you don't need to try to kill yourself to get there. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET TO THAT POINT, IT IS POSSIBLE, BUT YOU WILL NEED TO BUILD UP OVER A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF TIME, UNLESS YOU'RE ALREADY A WORLD CLASS ATHLETE, WHICH LIKELY MAKES IT EASIER TO REACH THAT GOAL.

If you just make it a point to have a good fun ride, each time out and worry less about what the "serious" bikers do, you'll continue to ride. You will enjoy it more and more, and you'll likely see some benefit from regular and occasional riding. Don't wear yourself out. You're not doing the bike ride across Iowa tomorrow.
Get a comfortable bicycle seat and get a comfortable helmet and wear the helmet every time out.
Have fun. It does not matter how fast or slow , only that you GO and ride a little. You'll probably enjoy each ride and wish to ride again soon. Do not feel that you must go fast , because being aware and in control is more important. You do not want to crash. The pavement/asphalt/concrete is going to hurt you if you do crash.
Minimize your risk by always wearing a helmet. You can survive broken ribs, a broken clavicle, dislocated elbow, shoulder, fractured wrist, broken legs, broken arm, broken hip, knee injuries, road rash...etc but having your bare head bounce against the asphalt like a basketball and it could be fatal. Bike helmets do work.

MAKE YOUR OWN MEMORIES AND MAKE YOUR OWN RULES, RIDE AT YOUR OWN PACE...... It does not have to be a race!
I would gladly take a broken clavicle, dislocated elbow, shoulder, fractured wrist, broken legs, broken arm, broken hip, knee injuries, or road rash instead of having to read this insane wall of text again
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Old 07-13-19, 02:11 AM
  #49  
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Any ride when I finish feeling energized rather than exhausted, and better the next day rather than worse.

For me, due to multiple physical and health issues, that varies greatly from day to day. Some days, about all I can manage is the 6 mile round trip to and from physical therapy. Other days, 50-60 miles feels pretty good as long as I stay within my limits.

The problem is that when I stayed well within my comfort zone, my conditioning didn't progress. I had to risk feeling bad in the short term to feel better overall.

I tend to push myself beyond my comfort zone pretty often. So while it helps enhance my conditioning in the long run, making some challenges easier -- such as climbing short, steep hills -- in the short run I have a lot of miserable day-after recovery days... sometimes two recovery days before I'm ready to ride again.
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Old 07-13-19, 07:09 AM
  #50  
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I feel this is what I'm putting up with.^^^^^^
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