Originally Posted by
CheGiantForLife
The 15 mile ride was done in a bike lane city while on vacation.
That ride was barely even a workout compared to my 20 min / 3.5 mile loop with hills.
I prefer HIIT riding, and will stick to short hilly rides that are challenging, not long leisure rides.
You realize those aren't the only choices, right? I wouldn't describe my long rides as "leisurely" and all of them involve a lot more climbing than you could pack into 3.5 miles. A couple weeks ago, I did an 80 mile ride that started with an ascent of 1000 feet in 5.75 miles, leaving me with another 3500 feet of climb and 74 miles to go. That was a very hot, long afternoonth
I'll leave it to people who are expert in HIIT as to whether what you're doing is actually HIIT, but if it is, you're only supposed to do it 2-3 times a week. If that's it, I'd suggest you really aren't going to get that much benefit from an hour a week. Fine if you're combining it with something else, but the HIIT as a shortcut has been wildly over-hyped:
https://www.bicycling.com/news/a3557...meta-analysis/
Note: not bashing hiit, just saying that its enthusiasts wildly understate the value of other forms of cardio.