When to get off base?

IzzyG said:

Hey guys, got a question for you guys. Newbies should always start training with base miles right? Question is, when do they start something else other than base miles? Till the point he/she does 40 miles daily? Thanks in advance.

Izzy G.

There are no such rules for questions this general. In fact without a specified goal, there are no rules.

Regardless of the goals, there is no training program that will simply have a person ride up to x miles per day before following a different program. Newbies are recommended base miles because you have to have some cycling strength and general fitness before a more structured program is beneficial/healthy. If a person can ride enjoyably for 40 miles and do so whenever they want, they're likely fit enough to start following a more structured program if they are training with a particular goal in mind.

IzzyG said:

Hey guys, got a question for you guys. Newbies should always start training with base miles right? Question is, when do they start something else other than base miles? Till the point he/she does 40 miles daily? Thanks in advance.

Izzy G.

Its not the miles, it’s the time you spend on the bike. A 40 mile ride for a pro at an endurance pace would take only about an hour and a half where a 40 mile ride for me at endurance pace would likely take about two and a half hours.

Not an answer to your question but just a point that you need to consider in your training

Eric

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spomanski said:

Its not the miles, it’s the time you spend on the bike. A 40 mile ride for a pro at an endurance pace would take only about an hour and a half where a 40 mile ride for me at endurance pace would likely take about two and a half hours.

Not an answer to your question but just a point that you need to consider in your training

Eric

Thanks for the replies guys. Spomanski, I don't quite get what you mean by your reply though. I can do a 40 miler in roughly 2 hours, a tad less at times. What does that show? Do you mean speed?

I've been riding as much as possible the past 2 months and have seen vast improvements from distance covered to speed. Struggled a tad to maintain a 13mph pace for an hour at the beginning but just finished a 2 hour ride maintaining 18mph today. Hence, I don't know if it's time for me to enter a more formatted program or keep on "ride as much as I can". Furthermore, I don't even know where to start as far as a proper program goes. Help? =P

Izzy G.

spomanski said:

Its not the miles, it’s the time you spend on the bike. A 40 mile ride for a pro at an endurance pace would take only about an hour and a half where a 40 mile ride for me at endurance pace would likely take about two and a half hours.

Not an answer to your question but just a point that you need to consider in your training

Eric

Assuming the goal is to be able to peak in a Cat 5 65 mile race. Is the idea to be able to spend 3 hrs comfortably on a bike since a Cat 5 road race can take upto 3 hrs?