QUESTION: What’s the average cycling distance for beginners? I’m 42 years old, out of shape and overweight. I have a hybrid bike in the garage and I want to start riding it for exercise. How far should I be going on rides? What’s a good distance to aim for? – Jacob B
RBR REPLIES: First of all, we’re glad to hear that you’re getting the bike out of the garage and getting back on the road! If you haven’t ridden it in several years, it might be worth taking it in for a tune up at your local bike shop to make sure your tires and tubes are still in good shape and everything is working properly. It wouldn’t be any fun to have mechanical problems on your first ride.
When I started cycling during my freshman year in college, my first ride was only about five miles. I was not yet an athlete and definitely not fit, so that seemed like a pretty long distance! After a couple of months, my roommate in the dorm and I were riding an out-and-back route that was about 18 miles and we were on the road to fitness.
Instead of thinking about it in terms of miles, it might be more helpful to think in terms of how much time you’re spending on the bike.
For the first few rides, you might aim for half an hour on the bike. If you average around 10 mph, that would be about five miles. If you’re riding based on time, you’d just turn around and head back to the starting point after the first 15 minutes or so. This helps prevent you from choosing an arbitrary distance that might be too far in the beginning, with the potential of leaving you exhausted and still far from home.
There are lots of good phone apps like Strava and Ride With GPS that you can use to see your distance and average speed and keep track of your riding time if you don’t have a bicycle computer. The apps are also good for keeping track of your rides over time. You’ll probably find that you’re riding further in half an hour than you were at the beginning, as your average speed increases with your fitness levels.
Once you’re comfortable with a 30 minute ride, try riding 45 minutes, and then an hour. This will keep you riding a distance that’s still reasonable for a beginner. If you’re riding anywhere from 10 to 15 miles in an hour, that’s a very good start. But even if the distance you are riding in an hour is less than that, don’t worry about it! Fitness takes time, and consistency is the key.
I’m 62 years old and haven’t been on a bike in 40+ years. I’m 5’-10” tall @ 212 lbs. i have a desk job and definitely not in shape. I hate going to the gym, lifting weights, and running is too high impact for my back and knees. I do like backpacking which I do a few times a year., but a 2-3 day, 30-40 mile backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail is a major project without a lot of fitness reward. It has lots of different rewards though.
In my teens I loved being on my bike (Huffy 10-speed) and I easily rode 100 miles a week or more. Knowing that I need more physical activity and thinking that perhaps I could still like riding a bike, yesterday I went to REI and picked up a entry-level Mtn Bike on sale and a helmet & water bottle on clearance (~$650 out the door).
Today, i went to a nearby greenway and just rode for about an hour. There were times that I had to stop to rest and hydrate, and other times that the burn in my thighs, hips, and knees was pretty bad. But, you know what they say, “No Pain, No Gain.” I pushed through the burn and when it was over I had ridden 10.25 miles.
All in all, it was tolerable and I had a good time. My advice is to take two Ibuprofen before you go and just do it. As far as Apps go, I just used the free version of MapMyRide by UnderArmor.
My Ride: https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/7216370752
I did realize that I need a handlebar phone mount because my iPhone got pretty hot in the pocket of my shorts. I’ve already ordered one on Amazon Prime for $18.50.
Happy to be back in the saddle again!
Jim
I started cycling about 2 months ago on a MTB. I have left side muscle weakness and a drop foot, and I underwent heart surgery a few months earlier. I’ve worked up from doing 5km every few days to doing around 30km most days of the week. In this last month I rode around 700km. It is interesting how ones body adjusts. My 2 big concerns now are dealing with bike maintenance and seeing if I can keep it up through the English winter!