Alex Reed

I got my first bike on 18 March. In the excitement, on the first day, I was riding for about 3 hours. Now my legs ache and it's tough just to sit.
How many hours should I cycle per day as a beginner?

13ollocks

Aching legs and sore arse are par for the course initially. I remember I started "training" for a long charity ride with a group years ago, and after one early 2-3 mile ride, one of my companions referred to "crotch trauma". Once you get some miles in, your lags and behind will become more resilient. However, don't go nuts - one-hours rides initially is fine, IMO. And don't do it every day - don't let it become a chore. Concentrate on building skills that will stand you in good stead over the long term; a nice smooth spin, appropriate use of gearing to maintain that spin - not so low that you're spinning like an egg-beater and blowing up, not so high that you're lactating your thighs - think if your position as you ride, and if it can/should be tweaked to improve comfort, but don't change things willy-nilly - try a position for a couple of weeks and adjust in small increments, then give that new setting a couple of weeks. When you ride a brisk hour and feel nicely tired but not beat up, start extending it. Try to incorporate cycling into your daily routine - commuting if possible, running errands etc - they're all miles

_ForceD_

The excitement is understandable. I think we’ve all gone through it. Not only with cycling, but other fitness activities too. You’re exploring, and getting acquainted with your athletic abilities, your equipment, and your surroundings. But, it can get you even if you’ve been doing the activity for a while. For me, when I do something to refurbish my bike…even minor stuff like replacing an old component…makes me want to ride just a bit more than usual. Just realize that overdoing it right now is going to make you a bit sore..as you’re already seen. You can deal with that. But be cautious to not overdo it and cause serious injury, or inflict “burnout” and want to give up cycling altogether. Have fun. — Dan

Iride01 

Really riding as in outside on the road or trail? Or inside on a trainer?

When you over do it, you don't need to quit entirely. But you might want to go for smaller amounts of time till and work up to the longer times.

How much and how often you should ride is going to entirely depend on what your goals are and what other things impact the time you can devote to it.

EJM73

Go by feel everyone is different . I've been riding since the mid 80's and I still lose a little form during winter just doing the trainer. I start the spring riding with a lot of 1 hour rides per week. By summer I'm rolling pretty good. In door trainers help with some form but out in the elements is different.

b88

Don’t forget chamois cream 😳.

ScottCommutes

Your age would be helpful here.
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veganbikes

“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” - Eddy Merckx (it at least was attributed to him)

70sSanO

I would think a lot depends on how much time you can easily set aside to ride.

I remember when I first started to really ride the allure of picking destination and riding to it. I never toured, and as my free time was pulled in a lot of directions it evolved into fitting 25 mile rides in with more intensity.

My advice is to ride as much as you can. I doubt 3 hours everyday is achievable. But if you can do 2, 3, 4 hour rides a few times a week it would be excellent.

As you ride more, you’ll find what gets you back on the bike each time.

John

Paul Barnard

If you can still walk, you didn't get enough time in.

phughes

Four... get back out there Francis.

Seriously, as with anything, don't overdo it. If you do too much, too soon, you may get frustrated and stop. Make it enjoyable. If you do too much and you stop enjoying it, you won't stick with it. You know if you did too much. Listen to yourself, and your body, don't worry about what other people do, or tell you to do in regards to the amout of time you need to cycle. If you are seriously training for a race and have a coach, sure , listen to the coach, other than that, ride your bike, and enjoy it.

rsbob 

I can totally understand your enthusiasm or over enthusiasm in this case. As with all physical activities, it’s best to start small and build up. It’s natural to see how far and how fast you can go, but now you are experiencing the result. I would recommend, when your muscles recover, to start by riding an hour, with a cadence/pedal spin rate between 80-95 RPM. Don’t push yourself right out of the gate, since there will be plenty of time for that. Then build up to an Hour and a half and when you don’t hurt from that, keep adding 1/2 hours. You really need to tell us your age since it will make all the difference in recommendations.

Welcome to the board and happy riding.

Flip Flop Rider

play it by ear. Ride a lot if you feel good and cut back if not. Set a goal to ride for 30 minutes, then an hour, etc. Take a day off occasionally

Jughed

Go full David Goggins and just ride 100 miles per day, every day, forever.

Or

Start with baby steps and work your way up. Avoid injury, burnout, illness - say 30-45 min per day at an easy pace. Add 5-10 min every so often.

BTinNYC 

3 hours on day one!
I got nothing for you, 20 minutes was a near-death experience when I first got back on a bike.

A pretty standard weekly riding cadence is; a big ride (2-4 hours at a very reasonable pace), day off, 2 or 3 days of 1 hour hard rides, another big ride, day off...

DeadGrandpa

The way I heard it, was "Ride lots."

Kai Winters

Perhaps start with an hour or less per day with maybe one day of a bit more.
Increase a bit maybe per month.
Wear a decent pair of riding shorts and use some sort of lotion to protect your skin. I use Noxema...If Chris Horner loves the stuff who am I to argue...it is a lot less expensive than other lotions and works well.
Don't wear shorts more than once without washing them...getting a saddle sore/boil is no joke...just ask the guy who got a 'flesh eating' disease from an unattended saddle sore while at a training camp. He is currently fighting for his life due to the infection...apparently he ignored the boil. I've had them and currently just getting one healed but I always take care of it immediately.
Good luck and Ride On ! ! !

PeteHski

As a beginner I wouldn’t ride longer than an hour until you get used to it. From a general fitness/health perspective, riding for an hour 3 or 4 times per week is a good dose. But it depends what else you are doing. Is this your only exercise or part of a bigger picture? Also what is your goal here? Are you looking to ride long distances or just get fit?

Russ Roth

Take days off. I wouldn't ride more than 4 days in a week unless you're changing up how you're riding. I might do 4 days of training rides in a week but on the other days if I'm going riding its cause I got out the MTB and hit the woods or I'm cruising around on the boardwalk with a cruiser. Bikes that require different positions, slightly different muscles and some more enjoyable variety.

terrymorse 

Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience with climbing out of a fitness well after many months off the bike, so essentially starting from square one.

My strategy when first getting back on the bike is to pick a route that's not too long or hilly, maybe an hour long or a bit longer. It should be hard enough to make you tired by the finish. Continue doing that ride until it becomes easy, then pick a new route that's a bit longer and harder. Do that route until it becomes easy. Continue.

Ride length for fitness gains seems to start around 1.25 hours. Even when I'm fit, most of my rides last 2-2.5 hours. You can get a great workout in that much time.

Pratt

No more than 24, unless you are feeling really strong.

urbanknight

Better to start too light than too heavy, but basically however long your muscles/rear end/cardio can take. Rest in between rides also has an impact on that.

LarrySellerz

Your butt/sitting area will be your limiting factor, listen to your body and don’t be in pain. Soon enough your body will get used to it, but that’s probably what will limit you. Cycling specific shorts can help with this, but it doesn’t change the big picture that your butt needs time to get used to the bicycle seat.

50PlusCycling

On those rare occasions when I have been kept off a bike for at least several months, my first ride is less than 10 miles. After the ride I will be saddle sore for a few days, so I’ll wait a day or two and go for another 10 mile ride.

For me, saddle soreness starts to go away after a week or so. I can then ride 15 miles or so, and ride an extra day or two each week, for a total of 4 or 5 days.

After a month, 20+ mile rides aren’t that hard, hills and bridges are easier, and the joints and tendons in my legs begin to get stronger. My legs get tired, but less sore. Basically, I am preparing myself for longer and more intense rides.

After 2 months, I can easily ride 50 miles, and begin working on intervals, sprints, and things like that. In 3 months I’m in shape enough to ride a reasonably fast century, or on a long, multi-day tour.

Smaug1

After a 3-hour initial ride, you should take a few days off. You've traumatized your legs and bottom.
It does take several rides to get the body used to using the forgotten muscles.
Your butt, wrists and neck will adjust to some extent.

To be more specific, I think a 1 hour ride three days a week would be a good start.

I have some buddies in my club that ride 4-5 hours once a week and that's it.

Now that I have a year under my belt of serious cycling, I commute 4 miles about 3 days a week and try for at least a 20 mile ride on one of the weekend days. When I'm sore from it, I still ride the next day, but I take an eBike. ;-)