How much cycling progress did you make since you first started cycling?

[Anonymous1502]

What distances were you able to cover at first and what distances are you able to cover now? Any advice appreciated
The maximum distance I am able to cover at once is 50km how do I go about extending the distances I can cover? I always get paranoid that I will cycle too far 1 way and then I will be screwed on my way back as I won't have enough energy to cycle back. Also how often should someone have rest stops and for how long?

 

[HMS_Dave]

Half way down the next street and back. No fitness and obese.

Extend distance with a healthy diet, rest and regular cycling.

 

[ianrauk]

when I took cycling back up again after a 12 year break. I thought I was going to die cycling 3 miles to the station. A lot of cycling work and lifestyle change later and 6 months down the line I cracked my first imperial ton.
Distances now? 200 miles plus in a day.

 

[13 rider]

I restarted cycling in Sept 2014, my first ride was 6 miles . I now can complete an Imperial century (62 to date) without killing myself . Extending your range is either about just riding your bike or structured training which will hurt. I would do some shorter rides about 30km but try and go quicker then up the distance to say 60 km at a slower pace . Pacing and fuelling is the key to riding longer distances . Locate a cafe or such 35 from home stop for a decent rest and home and 70km done
Good luck on your progress

 

[Anonymous1502]

when I took cycling back up again after a 12 year break. I thought I was going to die cycling 3 miles to the station. A lot of cycling work and lifestyle change later and 6 months down the line I cracked my first imperial ton.
Distances now? 200 miles plus in a day.

200 miles is incredibly impressive roughly at what speed are you cycling at and for how long? Are you cycling in the city where there are lots of cars and traffic lights?

 

[Vantage]

What distances were you able to cover at first and what distances are you able to cover now? Any advice appreciated
The maximum distance I am able to cover at once is 50km how do I go about extending the distances I can cover?

I returned to cycling in Jan 2012 after a break of several years. My first ride was 5 miles and I nearly died when I got to my front door.
Joined a cycle club and rides with them had me in shape after a few months. 80 miles was my longest outing. Met my partner, got lazy, won custody of my kids, got lazier and had a stroke. 44 miles yesterday and I nearly died when I got to my front door.
Deja vu?

I always get paranoid that I will cycle too far 1 way and then I will be screwed on my way back as I won't have enough energy to cycle back. Also how often should someone have rest stops and for how long?

Ride. Then ride some more. Every little helps according to Tesco.
Push yourself a bit on the rides but don't wear yourself out. You'll learn how far it takes to do that when you've done it.
If you have a saddlebag/pouch, keep some food in it. If you don't have one, buy one and keep some food in it!
Jelly babies/gummy bears etc are good for short term immediate energy when needed. Cereal bars and the like are good for longer term energy. A couple corned beef sandwiches got me home yesterday.
Rest stops very much depend on the person, the weather and the terrain.
A cafe stop is favoured by many cyclists.
Find a cafe maybe 30k away, ride there, have a brew and chew and ride back.
If you feel OK the next day, try riding further. Or have a picnic if you're not a cafe sort of person.
Cycling is meant to fun.

 

[Mr Whyte]

As a little boy growing up I loved cycling every where, moved to the UK and stopped riding. Then started again during this lock down but made a mistake by over doing it, so in a few days I should be back to riding again but no silly rushing it so a bit at a time till I work it up.

 

[Pikey]

I restarted cycling in 2011 barely being able to make ten miles if there were any hills. Couple of years later I was doing 190 mile audax rides. Just keep plugging away and the fitness will come (have a read of the 1% rule from amazon if you have a kindle).
A couple of years later from that I havent ridden for a range of reasons for four years, I’m unfit and overweight and it’s bloody hard work getting back, but man I’m looking forward to the journey back to fitness again.

Keep digging in a bit more each day, then one day you will look back and think, bloody hell how did I do that, and the best bit is you own that reward, it’s entirely yours!

 

[snorri]

As a youngster I couldn't cycle up a local brae, had to get off and walk.
Thirty years on and I had a bike with gears and could sail up no bother.
Another 30 years on and with a bike which had a greater range of gears I was having to walk it again.
Any improvements in your cycling performance are only temporary.
The most important bit is to enjoy your cycling.

 

[HMS_Dave]

As a youngster I couldn't cycle up a local brae, had to get off and walk.
Thirty years on and I had a bike with gears and could sail up no bother.
Another 30 years on and with a bike which had a greater range of gears I was having to walk it again.
Any improvements in your cycling performance are only temporary.
The most important bit is to enjoy your cycling.

That almost makes me sad, i hope you still enjoy your cycling though...

 

[Sharky]

Don't worry about distances. Just ride for as long as your life style permits. Think in terms of time, rather than distance. As you get fitter, you'll do the same ride in a shorter time, then you can think about adding an extra loop to your ride.

Although I have done mega rides in the past, my bread & butter rides now are between 60 - 100 mins, but always ridden at "tempo".

 

[CXRAndy]

Cycling endurance is easily gained by small increments regularly. Add 5 miles to your long ride each week. In a couple of months you will be well on the way to a proper century

 

[snorri]

That almost makes me sad, i hope you still enjoy your cycling though...

Please don't be sad for me, I consider myself very fortunate to do what I can do.
I thoroughly enjoyed a 20 mile circuit this afternoon and it was whilst walking up the aforementioned brae that I started to reminisce a little about my past cycling performance and just added my thoughts to the thread.
The second last line of my post was just a black sense of humour coming through

 

[Mark Grant]

200 miles is incredibly impressive roughly at what speed are you cycling at and for how long? Are you cycling in the city where there are lots of cars and traffic lights?

Just checked my Strava and in 2017 with @ianrauk , @rb58 , @Trickedem , @iLB , @mark st1 my moving average for 236 miles was 16 mph. I think before getting slowed down by traffic in London we averaged 17.4.
My moving time was 14.43. Overall, including waiting for the train to Doncaster, the journey and breaks was 22.55.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Started aged about 3 and never had a break from cycling. I’d imagine it wasn’t far. But by aged 7 we’d cycle to the local parks and woods with the odd 36 mile round trip to Buxton. You could ride on A roads back then as traffic wasn’t anywhere near comparable to now.