Jason9142002

Hey,
I just started riding again and I did a 25 mile ride today. I've been doing 10-12 mile rides like 3x week. I'd like to get more than 25 miles per day on weekends without the feeling I had today. Should I do short sprints during the week or longer rides at a medium pace to build up for my longer rides?

FBinNY 

Mix it up, short fast rides, possibly with some steep climbs mixed in to improve strength and power. Then longer slower rides, (slower doesn't mean slow) to push out the limits of your saddle time endurance.

Without being precisely medico/technical, short hard rides are about your legs, and the longer about the rest of your body, namely the various systems that keep you going.

As you get going, and find both range and speed improving, start trying to do those longer riders a bit faster, even if it tires you sooner than you normally would. Long term, that's what you're looking for, going both faster and longer at the same time.

BTW - the best way to train is to find a patient stronger rider who'll gently have you pushing the limits trying to keep up. When I was young I rode with someone like that. Leigh was the master of the tease, pulling ahead if I wasn't keeping up, but always close enough that I'd dig down and close the gap. By the same token, he could sense when I was crapping out, and ease the pace enough to keep me in the game. It didnt take long before I could keep up, and sometimes even punish him a bit on long rides.

dual650c

For me, endurance came/comes with time in the saddle. Period.

While the FBinNY's post is correct in some sense, it feels more like a "speed post" than a distance/endurance post to me. Probably not what he intended for anyone to get reading it... and certainly nothing wrong with the post itself....

So here's my 2 cent amplification on my opening line...

Going from 12 miles to 25 miles a day isn't about speed. It's about keeping the pedals moving - at whatever cadence you can manage. Don't worry about speed over distance at first. Just complete the ride without falling over/bonking. If you're tired at the end, well, you're doing it right. Do it again the same way next time you ride and the next time....You'll eventually find that 25 miles isn't that tiring any more.

This YEAR, I've gone from 10 miles a week to 100 miles during the week and up to 600km on the subsequent weekend by just staying in the saddle and pedaling. My average speed has increased but what's really shown "benefits" is my endurance. Once I could ride 25 miles in a day, I knew I could ride 50... then 100 and so on. It was just a matter of time and effort, both on a given day and over a period of months.

Keep at it.

FBinNY 

Sorry if I implied that speed training was key. Yes, it's about saddle time, which is why I wrote about long rides at sustainable speed.

But speed, or more precisely, power does come into play. More power allows climbing without getting overly tired or miserable, and helps keep the legs fresher. Plus one benefit of speed is that it shortens saddle time for any given distance.

My point was that the OP would benefit from a balance training program that built both strength and endurance, and that the two complemented each other well on longer rides, especially in rolling terrain.

jsigone

simply there isn't a replacement for saddle time if you want speed OR endurance.

Pending how your body is built, slow twitch or Fast twitch. One of the two will come easier.

But both needs base miles, ride as often as you can for as long as you can. 3-5days a week and aim north of 5 hours moving time. Then increase from there. Miles will become easier and harder to use as a measuring unit. Time will be the new goals.

Try to get 15 more mins out of the weekday rides unless you ride at lunch or something. If that's the case, pick a harder route and stay in the same time window.

Start bumping Saturday rides 5-10 miles every week, make sure you fuel your body. You are mostly fueling for that back half of the ride when your stored calories depletes.

Don't forget to enjoy the ride

rgconner

Hit the gym and do core muscle work in addition to riding.

Adding core strength will increase the distance you can ride comfortably.

MikeOK

Back in the day when I was racing I would do one day out of the week intervals for one hour. It was brutal and I didn't look forward to those days but they did more for my fitness than any other workout.

Cgswss

I use all that hi tech stuff... OK, I have 2 tools. Investors a heart rate monitor and a bike computer with cadence. If your in this section, I'm betting your riding sitting down and have given up on that standing to peddle stuff, so make sure your seat is high enough. I use an old way to check it, putting your heal in the peddle at the bottom of the stroke, your leg should have just the slightest bend in it

Now for riding. I row thru the gears to get my cadence at 80. I bring my heart rate up to 125 and let my speed be set by what ever gear it takes to keep my HR at 125 and cadence at 80.

I'm sure you know that you should alway give a rest day between workouts. I find I do more harm then good if I ride back to back, and if I go for a really long ride, I will give it 2 days

Hope that isn't as confusing as it reads

Jeff K.

It's also helpful to alternate hard days and easy days (or take a day off between harder rides). By giving your body 48 hours to recover from harder workouts, you should make quicker progress than if you expended the same level of effort with each ride.

baron von trail 

Building up leg strength and cardio over time will give you best results. You can do that with shorter rides if you push your limits on them. As mentioned by others, keep mixing it up: long rides and shorter ones; but, my advice is to always try beating your time from the day before. Keep a log.

I've been at this for a while, and to be fair, it really never does get to where you won't feel a bit worn out after riding more than 25 miles. Under 20, and it's pretty painless. But, once you start pushing 30 and beyond, the hands tingle, the legs want to coast more often, and the hunger starts to kick in. I started taking gels with me and using one of those every 45 minutes or so. It helps. But, it doesn't make it painless.

rumrunn6

just starting out I'd think resting 48 hrs would be beneficial. meaning longish ride 1 day then again 2 days later. you can mix in other sports on the off days & do the same with them. after considerable time, some sports can be done every day, such as walking, swimming, cycling & even modest running. but starting out, I think recovery will help you continue without disappointment & injury. weight training can be done every day but not the same muscle groups, not for muscle mass building

Myosmith

Don't forget the nutrition and recovery portions of the equation. Remember, you don't get stronger or gain endurance in the saddle, you do so when your body rebuilds with the nutrients you provide, while you sleep.

Milton Keynes

The way I increased my endurance was to do daily 10 mile rides around town for exercise to keep my legs in shape. On the weekends I would go out on the road and see how far I could push myself. One road seems to go further uphill the farther north you go, so I would push myself to go further distances on it. One day's goal was to make it to the highway which was 6 miles up the road, then turn back. Then another time it was to go a few miles further. Next time was to make it to the RR crossing where there's a small ghost town. Then to go even further to the next small but slightly larger ghost town. Eventually I was going from point to point up the road until it was a 50 mile round trip up there and back. I could keep going until it's a full century up & back. Haven't done that yet, but still need to train up for it a bit.

bunkerman

BTW to the guy who started this thread Jason 914 if you are trying for longer distances thats great but as to overdoing it if you need to stop and rest then stop and rest. No sin in that. Next time try to stop less or not at all and go another 5 miles when the distance giving you trouble becomes manageable. I noticed a big difference when I started doing simple HIIT riding. Say 1 min real hard at 80 rpms and 3 min soft pedal, do that 8x and you will get fitter. All of a sudden miles became easier to add. Going to do some 100 km rides in September. Im satisfied, not a Cat 3 anymore like I was in 1980, just trying to be a good old man.

Milton Keynes

I agree with this, and will even suggest to stop & rest even if you don't feel tired. One of the problems I have on long rides is making myself sit and take 5. Usually my rest stops are maybe 1-2 minutes and I'm back on the go. I have a hard time making myself take long rest breaks, but they really do help when you're going on long rides.