20+20+10 mlies, or 50

[inaperfectworld]

last winter i commuted the long way from a university course and did 3 journeys of 20+20+10 miles a week plus oddments hither and thither. during the summer there was no course and i was doing a run of 50 miles about every 10 days and a few bits of miles inbetween. funny thing is that i felt much fitter for having done a long ride less frequently. is this likely to be the case?

 

[col]

I think what a lot of people dont realise,is you need to give your body recovery time,so what you did may have done this,with out you realising it,so feeling fitter?

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Personally I believe in getting as much time on the bike as I can, so I do the Sunday Club run 50-60 miles and a mid week run usually with out a stop for coffee 30-40 miles. I am not able to get out more often due to work/life balance, but I think that is about right for me.

 

[Blonde]

Yes it's normal. Commuting every day does wear you down gradually, so that by the time the weekend comes round you've nowt left. It's a good idea to skip a commuting ride every so often (and go to work/uni by a different means) in order to get some recovery time in and recharge your physical and mental batteries for a longer weekend ride.

I do 26 miles a day five days a week commuting to and from work, then try to ride 50-100 miles on one day at the weekend, but sometimes I go out at the weekend and I'm just too tired from the commute to perform well or enjoy it.