[tech-77]

hey if you guys could give me some feedback im pretty new to cycling and i am more of a commuter to and from work. lately i have been pushing myself to go further and ride on my days off. Today i rode 37 miles with a total time of 2:31 min but the first 15 miles were rough with alot of headwind and i had 15 miles down in 1 hour and 25 min. on the way back i put in 20 miles in just under an hour about 59min or so. My question is that ok for a newbie and also. I love to ride and i felt great after the ride. No cramps at all. im 26 5'8 174lbs. Just seeing if this is an average time or is it embarrassing? also this is my first post so im looking forward to the responses...Thank. Happy Riding.

[rola643]

Welcome tech, Nothing wrong with 2.5 hrs on that ride, keep it up and your time will drop!

[tech-77]

cool thanks im sure i could of been a lot better ride if it wasn't so windy the first 15 miles.

[wild]

From my house to Tuckahoe bike shop and back is 37.5 miles for me 3.5 hrs ride time slow and old

[Dubgurl]

well if you look at it this way, that's an average of 14.8 mph, with stop signs, traffic, and the occasional stop for water that's pretty quick! I've been riding for about 2 months now and I usually average around the low 15's So I'd say you're off to a great start!

[Xela]

I'd say that's good for one of your first longer rides. Also, it sounds like you had fun, which is the more important thing, IMO. Good to have you around here.

[Industry_Hack]

What's your goal? If it's just to get out and enjoy the fresh air, then you don't need to worry about times. If you want to improve your fitness and performance, then you have a good base to start.

Is this a route you will regularly ride? If it is, one of the best ways to shorten that time is via intervals. After you are warmed up a bit, put in a hard effort for 30-60 seconds. Give yourself a few minutes to recover, and then do it again. As long as you allow yourself adequate warm up and cool off times, you should see an improvement in the overall time. But keep it fun.

By the way, you didn't mention what kind of bike you ride. For a mountain bike with knobbies, that's an excellent time. For a road bike or hybrid on skinnier, high pressure tires, that's still respectable. Just remember that if you want to do better, compete against yourself, and don't worry about how fast other riders go.

[Dubgurl]

Originally Posted by Industry_Hack

What's your goal? If it's just to get out and enjoy the fresh air, then you don't need to worry about times. If you want to improve your fitness and performance, then you have a good base to start.

Is this a route you will regularly ride? If it is, one of the best ways to shorten that time is via intervals. After you are warmed up a bit, put in a hard effort for 30-60 seconds. Give yourself a few minutes to recover, and then do it again. As long as you allow yourself adequate warm up and cool off times, you should see an improvement in the overall time. But keep it fun.

By the way, you didn't mention what kind of bike you ride. For a mountain bike with knobbies, that's an excellent time. For a road bike or hybrid on skinnier, high pressure tires, that's still respectable. Just remember that if you want to do better, compete against yourself, and don't worry about how fast other riders go.

Insert Facebook "Like" button here.

[Industry_Hack]

Originally Posted by Dubgurl

Insert Facebook "Like" button here.

Thanks. I've been preaching the interval gospel since forever, simply because it works. There's always someone posting about how they keep increasing their distance, and not getting any faster. Increase your intensity, and you'll increase your sustained speed.

About that Like button, I found one here for you, and another here.

[rola643]

Originally Posted by Industry_Hack

Thanks. I've been preaching the interval gospel since forever, simply because it works.

But they are so much work and hurt