Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Hobbies and Recreation > Cycling
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-16-2009, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Sloooowcala Florida
1,392 posts, read 3,126,904 times
Reputation: 1233

Advertisements

For those of you who ride bikes either regular bikes or mountain bikes, how many miles do you travel each day? I just started riding a mountain bike for exercise and am trying to get some idea of what would be a good goal in terms of milage per day. I've discovered that I am more out of shape than I realized so I will progress myself conservatively, but I enjoy bike riding and it will certainly be a form of regular exercise that I will be motivated to do daily. Any imput is appreciated.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-16-2009, 04:48 PM
 
1,008 posts, read 2,078,843 times
Reputation: 793
Quote:
Originally Posted by smartygurl View Post
For those of you who ride bikes either regular bikes or mountain bikes, how many miles do you travel each day? I just started riding a mountain bike for exercise and am trying to get some idea of what would be a good goal in terms of milage per day. I've discovered that I am more out of shape than I realized so I will progress myself conservatively, but I enjoy bike riding and it will certainly be a form of regular exercise that I will be motivated to do daily. Any imput is appreciated.
I ride about 20-30 miles a day. But i've been doing it everyday for like 5 years. I lived overseas for years without a car and my bicycle was my only transportation, and I still ride for transportation most of the time.

For a total beginner maybe 5 miles a day? I don't know, just do it until you get sore and tired I guess.

Taking rest days is really important too. Take one or two rest days a week. Maybe three.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-16-2009, 04:58 PM
 
5,019 posts, read 14,111,453 times
Reputation: 7091
I usually ride for time, not mileage.

A short ride for me is maybe 1 1/2 hours. A long ride is at least 4-6. I do a couple of short rides per week, two mid-range (2-3 hours) and a least one long. I do both road and mtb (trail) riding. I like to mix it up.

This weekend I am doing a 12 hour mtb race---my first long-distance event in a long time. I'm pretty excited. I can't pat myself on the back too much though-some of my friends are doing the 24 hr event.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-16-2009, 07:39 PM
 
37,593 posts, read 45,960,046 times
Reputation: 57142
I know a bunch of cyclists...they do an average of 30 miles on their daily rides.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-16-2009, 07:40 PM
 
37,593 posts, read 45,960,046 times
Reputation: 57142
Quote:
Originally Posted by plaidmom View Post
I usually ride for time, not mileage.

A short ride for me is maybe 1 1/2 hours. A long ride is at least 4-6. I do a couple of short rides per week, two mid-range (2-3 hours) and a least one long. I do both road and mtb (trail) riding. I like to mix it up.

This weekend I am doing a 12 hour mtb race---my first long-distance event in a long time. I'm pretty excited. I can't pat myself on the back too much though-some of my friends are doing the 24 hr event.
WOW! You go, plaidmom!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-17-2009, 04:51 PM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,258,305 times
Reputation: 2848
I do 20-30 on my road bike. (Old Ben Franklin saying: 20 a day helps keep the doctor away) Weekends will sometimes be longer, up to 55 miles. If I ride on local path with mountain bike 15-20. If I do some challenging single tracks it can take me a few hours to travel 10-15 miles.
When I started riding regularly 5 years ago and 30+ pounds heavier my cycling computer was broken. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I just rode based on time. First for 20 minutes, then 30, then 40, than an hour and then the desire to get the road bike out and do longer faster rides returned along with the fitness to tackle them.
So just "Nike" it. Good luck and have fun!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-17-2009, 05:27 PM
 
Location: Ruidoso, NM
1,643 posts, read 4,915,957 times
Reputation: 670
I've been a regular rider for at least the past 40 years and used to ride at an average rate of 15 miles per hour. I could time my arrival using that as a guide. My longest one day ride remains 150 miles, and that was with a tail wind the entire day.

Now I have slowed to about 12 miles an hour and ride for 1-1/2 to 2 hours every other day - so about 18 to 24 miles. It's a bit deceiving too, since I live in mountainous country where half my time is spent chugging uphill and the other half coasting downhill!

Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-17-2009, 10:57 PM
 
Location: Beaverland, OR
588 posts, read 2,828,616 times
Reputation: 472
I commute to work by bike, 10 miles round trip. I also usually do a longer ride on the weekend, 45-65 miles. So I put in about 100+ miles a week.

I love climbing and found that I'm pretty good at it. In fact, the new bike computer I ordered, with built-in altimeter should be arriving tomorrow.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-22-2009, 10:58 AM
 
Location: Richardson, TX
8,734 posts, read 13,814,269 times
Reputation: 3807
Quote:
Originally Posted by smartygurl View Post
For those of you who ride bikes either regular bikes or mountain bikes, how many miles do you travel each day? I just started riding a mountain bike for exercise and am trying to get some idea of what would be a good goal in terms of milage per day. I've discovered that I am more out of shape than I realized so I will progress myself conservatively, but I enjoy bike riding and it will certainly be a form of regular exercise that I will be motivated to do daily. Any imput is appreciated.
Riding an mtb will more readily reveal your fitness level than a road bike, especially if are riding on big 2.25" low pressure knobby tires. Trail riding for 10 miles will ware me out, however, I get up to 200 miles a week on my road bike. I do have a mtb bike with a 2nd set of wheels set up with some narrower (1.4") specialized "Fat Boy" slicks inflated to 100 psi that makes road riding much more efficient. I consider it my urban assault bike, usually for night rides where hitting road hazards would be a little more likely. You will eventually get to the point that it won't be worth getting all ready for a ride unless you can get in at least 20 miles. Also might want to check for local cycling clubs. That will speed up increasing your performance level faster than solo riding.

Last edited by PanTerra; 09-22-2009 at 12:04 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-22-2009, 11:50 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
2,722 posts, read 5,469,638 times
Reputation: 2223
I'm in the gym during the week but on weekends I do 20-30 miles per day. Good times.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Hobbies and Recreation > Cycling

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top