What is a long ride? What pace?

[Shortline]

I’ve been recreationally riding for the last 4 years, and by that I mean I’ve hit singletrack trails about 10 times a year….This year I’m making a concerted effort to step it up, and get out and RIDE! We ride usually at a great, well maintained trail system in Oklahoma City (Thanks OEF!) and usually ride the blue loop, and green loop together, (1 mile/4 miles respectively).

Last year, I could ride them both, and be spent at the end of the ride, but still enjoy it-This year, I had to hit the bailout after just a few miles….pretty lame….So, I’m working to fix my shoddy fitness level by riding daily, with a goal of being able to ride the Blue, Green, Yellow and Red trails back to back, around 10 miles total I believe. I was just wondering what the average length of your ride is? How far do you go? How did you get to that level of ability? It MUST be part technique, as I see several guys even fatter than me, tearing it up out there, both farther and (much) faster!! If they can do it, so can I!! So how far do YOU consider a good ride to be?

[tdbgwl]

I think a long ride is dependent on who is doing the riding.

If you want to ride farther, I don’t know any tricks… I’m new too. But I would say that the main ingredient is to have fun. The more fun that you have, the longer you will want to ride. Only you know how hard to push yourself before the fun ends.

I’m a beginner, but I’m also in fairly good shape. This past weekend was my longest ride so far, 2 laps about 8 miles each. I felt pretty much done after the first lap, but the ‘young’ guy that I rode with wanted more(he is semi). He rode the first lap with me because it was my first time there, and it took about 80 minutes. I had so much fun the first lap, that I decided to go ahead and do another. My second lap was slightly quicker and the guy I was riding with did two laps faster than my one. So pace, I would say, is dependent upon stamina, strength, equipment, technical skill, type of trail you are riding…….

Just do what feels good for and have FUN.

[Dustin Gaddis]

Like tdbqwl mentioned, it depends on who you ask. For me a "long" ride is 4+hrs of saddle time. But the guys over at bikepacking.net consider a long ride to be a few weeks!

Terrain is important too. Around home I can average 10mph pretty easily, but at the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial my best pace so far is only 6.48mph…lot more climbing, and a lot more technical.

So far my average ride length for the year is about 16.5 miles. My shortest ride so far this year was 9 miles, and was with my wife on a flat canal towpath 😃 The longest is only 25.8 miles. Longest I’ve ever done was 70, and that was in the mtns of TN.

[TheWVPedaler]

I usually like to do more than 6 miles at least…any less then that and I feel cheated. I also ride in the mountains in and around WV so 6 miles seems much longer then it really is…one of my favorite loops is around 9 miles and some change. That trail is killer and really rocky and technical some after one loop I am spent. Every get that feeling as your driving away from the trailhead that you just want to ride more? That is what keeps it all going for me.

[GoldenGoose]

+1 to what Dgaddis said about measuring your rides both in time and distance traveled. Anything over about a 4 hour ride is starting to push into a long ride for me, assuming I have been keeping a strong pedaling cadence up. 4 hours in Augusta, GA is 35+ miles. 4 hours in the North GA mtns is closer to 25 miles. Either way, I’m probably spent by the end of the ride.

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

This is a longish ride:
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/951569

This is an after work, recreational ride:
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/788851

This is a short after work ride:
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/454935

And no, I still haven’t completely gotten rid of my beer gut.

[zouch]

what makes a "good" ride has much less to do with how far it is than how much i enjoy doing it.

that said, my friends and i don’t really consider anything less than at least a few hours of trail time to be a "long" ride. pace, and how *far* that might be varies wildly, depending on the terrain and who’s in the group (since a group is usually held back by the slowest rider, i generally prefer riding in smaller groups of just a few people… of course, so i don’t have to wait for anyone, i need to ride with people that are better than me, so i run the risk of being the one people are waiting for. 😳 as it turns out, i generally ride with people i like being with, and we all end up taking our turns at the front and the back as our strengths and weaknesses change.)

if you’re just starting, work your way up by building a good fitness base first. keep yourself geared so that you’re not panting so hard that you’re out of breath to the point where you can’t talk and you’re less likely to incur an injury from straining yourself, and eventually you’ll notice that you’re going faster without being as flogged from doing it.

most of all, forget about the time and mileage. have fun, and be careful! 😃

cheers!

"Shortline" wrote

So how far do YOU consider a good ride to be?

[Jeff Barber]

"maddslacker" wrote

This is a longish ride:
http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/951569

Yeah, 30+ miles is pretty long – but that ride is mostly downhill! 😀

I’ll give it to you though, Monarch Crest was a long ride for me too because I stopped to take lots of pics and some of the high altitude climbs at the beginning were tough. Not to mention the techy scree fields along the way.

But still, we’re all pretty weak compared to the guys who ride 100mi races and 24 solo events on the weekends. I’d say 6 hours in the saddle is about the point where I stop having fun these days…

[Mark Larson]

I ride in the mountains, at least 7000+ altitude.

One of my pre-work or post-work rides is around 9miles. I ususally charge it at a race pace and try and beat my previous time every time I ride it, I’m not always successful. This trail is super rocky and technical and I average an hour and 15 minutes.

My average ride I would say is 15ish miles. I did about a 40miler last year, we think, didn’t have a computer, might have been longer. Longest ride so far for me. Definitely pushed 4-5 hours on that one. I had to refill on water, thanx you firestation in the middle. Looking for a larger capacity pack for the longer rides now.

I also picked up a road bike this year and plan to ride around lake tahoe probably monthly, its 72 miles. Also looking to do a century which will have 6800′ vertical gain in September.

I think start small and slowly add more to your rides as you feel comfortable. Next thing you know you’ll be lapping those loops several times and making 20 milers out of them.

Have fun!

[Corey Maddocks ✓ supporter]

"trek7k" wrote

Yeah, 30+ miles is pretty long – but that ride is mostly downhill! 😀

Did you tack on Rainbow Trail?

[98special]

My longest has been just oer 20 miles,but I’m workin up to doing the entire loop which is nearly 34 miles.Hope to get it done mid season. 😀
http://www.sportstracklive.com/track/de … ing/147467

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