Minimum Ride?

[G.W.]

When you head out to hit the trails, do you have a personal minimum ride distance? 5 miles? 10 miles? Until you wear the knobs off?

 

If I’m going to gear up and load out, I try to maintain a 10 mile personal minimum.  I feel like any less wasn’t worth the effort for me.

 

Anyone else have a minimum?  Just a curiosity.

[Eric Story]

No minimum here. It’s all about the time I have. If I can only ride for an hour I’ll choose the best Loop for that. I could understand if you have to travel a bit before getting to a trailhead though. I am blessed to have a 10 min. ride to the closest trail system, which is FATS in SC, an IMBA Epic trail system. 6 loops, the longest is Great Wall at 7.5 miles. I enjoy my ride whether it’s a 5 miler or longer. Pedal on man, and don’t forget to SEND IT!

[Head Over Handlebars]

I typically only ride around 5 miles, but the route I ride is one that maximizes descending, so to get to those descents I end up climbing about 2,000 feet over the course of a ride. Today I’m going to try and at least double my usual ride.

I don’t really worry about mileage too much, so I usually just try to ride for about an hour.

[Alvin Mullen]

I always try for 10, and usually get it, but at my age and in the Florida heat, I take what I get.

[rmap01 ✓ supporter]

It’s an interesting question.  A lot of it really depends on the technicality of the trails, i.e. 10 miles on one trail may be significantly easier/faster than another.  It also depends on what options you have, i.e. loop, out-and-back, or interconnecting trails.  With all that said, when I hit a certain trail it’s usually with a specific goal in mind.  That goal is typically based on mileage, time, pre-determined trails I want to ride and/or the type of workout I want to get in (e.g. pushing for Strava PR’s or just putting miles in).  For the trails I ride and my current fitness I try to get in a minimum of 13-15 miles per ride.  Whatever distance you ride, enjoy the journey and the sense of accomplishment!

[G.W.]

I agree rmap01, 10 miles on one trail may be like 15 on another.  It’s not a steadfast rule i have, i guess it’s more of a minimum goal.  Today I went and checked out a new trail system and had the 7 most grueling miles of trail I’ve ever ridden.

[automatic120]

I usually ride 2 times during the week after work and once on the weekends when time permits. Weekends around 12-13 miles, 10 on my favorite  trail after work.

Today was cut way short due to the approaching thunderstorm and lightning. I knew I should have started earlier! Ugh!

Colorado weather, go figure!

[Wandering Pop]

I honestly don’t have a minimum in mind. Living in AZ, the summer heat dictates your ride! LoL

[addy87]

I no longer worry about the miles or minutes, it’s about the experience. One recent week I did a 22 mile ride preceded by a 7 mile ride. They were both awesome and while I did look at my mileage/time, that wasn’t my purpose. I agree with making the effort worth the time but again, the main purpose is the experience,  less you’re training for a race.

[FredCook ✓ supporter]

I never really think about how many miles I intend to ride.  Sometimes, it’s more about how much time I have.  But for the most part, my rides are determined by what kind of ride I feel like.  XC, technical, elevation changes, etc.  Resulting mileage is whatever it is.

[GJmtb]

I just try to get out 3-4 times a week.

[T Dogg]

Second that

[Jeff Barber]

I have a friend whose rule is ride time must be greater than the drive time. Some of his rides last all day long. 🙂

[Noneed2hate]

Ride until you’re satisfied or tired, whichever comes first (hopefully the former) 😛

[Downhill Mike]

Excacly. Ride time longer then drive time.

[csharp1171]

Don’t worry about miles much anymore but generally like to ride at least 45 minutes.  I’ve started doing more downhill type of riding so getting in multiple sessions on a feature is more fun that counting miles or minutes.

[charding]

I don’t think too much about distance until I’m done, so the only minimum I have is at least 45 minutes for the ride. Anything less than that is just a tease.

As for drive time versus ride time, I enjoy driving and love exploring, so if I have to drive 2 hours to get to a trail network I’ve never explored that I’ll only ride for an hour, I’m okay with that. I just try not to do it for places that I haven’t first read great reviews about.

[vapidoscar]

Depends how far you have to go to ride. I generally agree with the rule of ride time >  drive time.

With one exception: If you go with other people (like your kids) only ride as long as people are having fun. Better to leave them wanting more.

Since most trails are 30+ minutes away, 1-2 hours of riding eats up a good chunk of the morning. If I ride out my front door about 40 minutes I can find something fun to ride. That is one very technical loop or time to session. I will be lucky if I do 4 miles but I will be more exhausted that if I did 10+ at most of the other trails in the area.

[iliketexmex]

Generally I concur with ride time >  drive time. My home trails are only 10-15 minutes away.  But when I am working on the road, I will find any excuse not to hotel treadmill.

[Mann]

Agree, it depends on the investment of time. But for the regular, weekly rides, 10 miles, 1000′ of climbing is my general minimum. But I don’t cry in my beer if it was a tad less than that but loads of fun.

[Author]

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