How long do you ride?

[hammer]

I'm going to get into biking as a form of exercise this year (I've never been able to go running without knee/foot pain) and I was wondering how long of a ride (time and/or distance) would be a good workout.

 

[nek_crumudgeon]

The traditional approach to converting riding time from running time is 2x duration - so a 45 minute run would be 1.5 hr ride. I'm not sure how accurate that is anymore because it seems like running takes so much more out of you.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

depends on how many hills you hit, your gearing etc...i hit an hour at lunch durning the week (15-20mi) then long rides on the weekends if time allows 50-80mi....get a heart rate monitor, great device!!!

 

[Marc]

Like SKIQUATTRO says, distance is a good benchmark, but so much else comes into play that it is hard to say.

Ride until you're tired. There's a good measure.

Distance will vary greatly with your fitness, gearing, elevation changes, temperature, wind, road surface, whether you have a riding partner, what you ate and drank 24 hours before your ride, what you eat and drink on your ride, how long you rode the day or two days before how much sleep you got the night before, and how hard you push yourself.

So just ride until you're tired and you can't go wrong.

 

[marcski]

Obviously it also depends on whether your road riding or mountain or trail riding. Again, the technical difficulty/vertical of the trails will also determine how long. Also, how hard you push yourself. If you're riding strongly and keeping a good cadence, you're going to tire quicker, yet cover more ground while you're riding. If you're riding at a slower pace, you can obviously stay out longer.

I mountain bike on some fairly technical/hilly terrain. 2 hours of strong riding will pretty much tire me out. There are also days, when I just pop out for about an hour to get a quick workout. And then, there are those beautiful epic all day rides.

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

All kinds of answers. Based on my experience the last 5 years, try riding 30-minute slow-to-moderate pace loops if you’re starting out from scratch. And then work you way up to 90-minute rides, 4-5 rides a week. Bring lots of WATER and HYDRATE before you get thirsty. It is all right to stop for breaks when getting started. You will require them less often as you build endurance.

When you can ride 90-minutes at moderate speed most times out, modify your routine slightly by speeding up for a 30-45 minute routine once a week and work up to twice a week by alternating between slow, moderate, rest day, moderate, fast, slow, rest day, repeat. Figure out several different routes that can be alternated and help keep the rides from getting stale. Eastern MA has plenty of hills, so that portion of bicycling will not be neglected.

When you have that rotation worked out, go for longer rides 2-3hours or more once a week (the weekend morning you usually ski). Find someone else or a small group of people who ride regularly and invite your self to go with them. It appears the Charles River Wheelmen in eastern MA offer lots of opportunities to ride with others.

When the snow starts flying in November and you'll be ready to ski with vigor!

 

[Bumpsis]

Charlie offers good advice by suggesting you start slowly with 30 minute spins.

You can actually get a very nice workout without having to spend 1.5 to 2h in a saddle.

A one hour ride at 15mph (average) will burn up about 700 calories according to a few guides I read. It's easy on the bones and joints and will get you in good cardio conitioning.

Just don't forget to cross train to keep you abs and upper body in shape as well.

Charles River wheelman (if you're around Boston) has at least one "fitness"ride a week. If you work up to being able to ride solo for 1h at average 15mph, you may want to join them and ride the pace line.
It will push you well beyond what you can do solo and it's a blast becuase of all the sudden you're keeping pace that much faster than waht you could do riding solo.

 

[skibum1321]

The length of your ride should also be highly dependent on the amount of time you have. Just because you don't have a 3 hour window to go for a long ride doesn't mean that you can't get out. There is nothing wrong with getting out for a half hour or so to get the heart pumping a little bit.

 

[Greg]

2 - 2/12 hours for midweek evening rides. Lately that's been giving me 6-8 miles. Last year I had a lot of 4 - 6 mile rides. Now I think sub-6 will be rare. Early morning weekend rides are typically more like 3 - 3/12 hours, or 8-10+ miles. Depends on the terrain as far as distances covered.

 

[tjf67]

I have 4 rides so far this year totaling 227 miles.

Anyone use mapmyride.com. Its a great sight and very accurate.

 

[mlctvt]

2 - 2/12 hours for midweek evening rides. Lately that's been giving me 6-8 miles. Last year I had a lot of 4 - 6 mile rides. Now I think sub-6 will be rare. Early morning weekend rides are typically more like 3 - 3/12 hours, or 8-10+ miles. Depends on the terrain as far as distances covered.

Greg makes a good point here. On my road bike I can easily cover 40-45 miles in 2 1/2 hours while he covers 6-8 miles on the mountain bike. I bet you he's getting at least as much if not more fitness benefit as my 2.5 hour road ride. It really depends on each of our efforts, how hard we ride, our heart rates etc.
As everyone mentioned don't worry about doing these types of extended rides initially. Start with t1/2- 1 hour rides doing whatever's comfortable for you. Then add some mileage /effort each time you go out or whenever there's time to do that.

 

[Greg]

Greg makes a good point here. On my road bike I can easily cover 40-45 miles in 2 1/2 hours while he covers 6-8 miles on the mountain bike. I bet you he's getting at least as much if not more fitness benefit as my 2.5 hour road ride. It really depends on each of our efforts, how hard we ride, our heart rates etc.
As everyone mentioned don't worry about doing these types of extended rides initially. Start with t1/2- 1 hour rides doing whatever's comfortable for you. Then add some mileage /effort each time you go out or whenever there's time to do that.

I've been trying to keep a more consistent and smoother pace. When I stop, I try to do so only longer enough to catch my breath and get my heart to calm down, usually 2 or 3 minutes is good enough. It's difficult to get going again if you stop for too long. Also trying to incorporate this more into my rides:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/38518-rolling-recovery.html

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I've been trying to keep a more consistent and smoother pace. When I stop, I try to do so only longer enough to catch my breath and get my heart to calm down, usually 2 or 3 minutes is good enough. It's difficult to get going again if you stop for too long. Also trying to incorporate this more into my rides:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/38518-rolling-recovery.html

so no safety meetings???

 

[RootDKJ]

It takes me about 1.5 hours to complete my just under 5 mile loop. 2 hours if safety meeting are involved. I take a few breathers at the top of some of the tougher hills, and there are 3 locations where I actually sit down and take a short rest.

When I can complete the loop in around an hour, I lengthen the ride.

 

[rueler]

The length of my mtn bike rides varies...I tend to ride until dark every time I go during the week. So, a couple times during the midweek that means a 4 hour ride...the other couple times I go midweek, I tend to do 2 to 2 1/2 hour rides. On the weekends, the length of the ride depends on the group I am riding with...could be anywhere from 6 miles to 15 milers.

 

[mattchuck2]

On my road bike, I've been doing sub-1 hour rides of about 12 to 15 miles. I don't think it's giving me much of a workout, though, so I'm going to amp it up to about 20 to 25 miles (probably taking me about an hour and a half).

 

[marcski]

I responded to this thread back in its first incarnation....I still agree with everything I wrote back in 2006.

I ride as long as I can these days. Work, kids, wife.....During the week, I'm in the saddle for 1 to 1.5 hours early in the morning before work. I try and go at least 3 + days during the week. If i'm on the Mt. Bike, the ride is closer to one hour. If I'm on the road bike its my regular ride...more like 1.5 hours. (29 miles/2000' climbing). If I'm alone, I don't stop at all...except for cars on the road or falls/mechanical issues on the trails. On the weekends, I'll try and get a longer ride in....2.5 hours on the trails or 50+ miles on the road.

It all depends on exertion level and terrain.

 

[bvibert]

I ride until it's getting dark or until my legs are ready to fall off. Sometimes the dark doesn't even stop me, especially if I have the headlight with me. Usually around 2 hours after work and 3-4 on weekends of mountain biking. It's plenty enough of a workout for me.