Increasing Mileage

[Stu Smith]

When training for my distance running it was the rule of thumb to increase the weekly long run by 10% and the weekly mileage by 10% each week...
Is this the same with cycling ?

I've just started to cycle after running , I feel that I'm reasonably fit my average weekly running mileage was 35 -45 miles..

My longest bike ride to date was today being 32 mile atAverage of 15.3 mph,I want to train myself up to cycle 100 mile in 6 hrs or under.. Do I increase by 10% or could I go for more ???

 

[amaferanga]

I suspect you could increase it my more than 10%. Unlike running there's little chance of you getting injured. You'll just get tired, heavy legs if you do too much so just listen to your body and back off for a week if fatigue is becoming too much.

 

[Glover Fan]

Extra 5 miles on your longest ride a week would be my suggestion, but there is no definitive answer. Once you can cycle 60/70 miles you can probably cycle 100, but seeing as you have set yourself a time target you will just have to get the mileage in the legs on a regular basis.

 

[Lauren Hancock]

How does everyone figure out their mileage? Should I purchase some kind of speedometer?

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

How does everyone figure out their mileage? Should I purchase some kind of speedometer?

That or use a GPS app on iphone/android/symbian. Endomondo - Strava - mapmyride for example.

 

[defy-one]

A cheap mile-ometer from Halfords tells you distant and your speed whilst riding. You can spend a few quid to a few hundred quid

 

[amaferanga]

Nothing better than a Garmin IMO.

 

[BSRU]

Nothing better than a Garmin IMO.

Especially if you have more than one bike

 

[funk my fixie]

How does everyone figure out their mileage? Should I purchase some kind of speedometer?

OR you could do what I did at the beginning ...............find your distance by certain markers then use a stopwatch to find your time. The rest is just math x

 

[MrJamie]

I think you can add distance faster cycling, provided you listen to your body and dont keep trying to hit a distance target if joints etc are hurting. I jumped from about 30 miles in one go to 50 this week, if it hadnt have been so hot it probably would have been very very easy.

I tend to pick more circular routes, or routes where i can bail out and get the train if im really struggling, when im trying a longer distance though.

 

[Zofo]

You should look to increase your TIME spent on the bike by around 10% with each long ride. Your body doesn't know how far it's gone, only how long it's been going for.

 

[Stu Smith]

You should look to increase your TIME spent on the bike by around 10% with each long ride. Your body doesn't know how far it's gone, only how long it's been going for.

I seem to be fixed on more miles..But increasing the time on bike seems to be a good idea to me,
Would think I would also need to keep up a good pace too..

 

[Zofo]

Would think I would also need to keep up a good pace too..

Yes for the "century" your aiming for I would advise pacing yourself around the 15 mph you've done already. I can recommend Joe Friels book "Riding past 50" -- ignore the title, it's good for any age-- it has some great stuff on training for endurance rides.
Good luck.

 

[Ian H]

Double your distance works well up to around 60 miles, then add 50%. A vital task is to get fit enough that you can recover on the bike; so if you've overdone it you can slow down and recuperate, then continue. You can always plot your route later on (e.g.) bikely.com or bikehike.co.uk to check distance.