500 miles a month!

sybillabryson

Hi, I'm trying to ride 500 miles a month this season; I've ridden 1216 miles since May 1st and I'm looking for friends who love to cycle as much as I do. I've lost 50 pounds eating less and biking more. Lately I've been working on improving speed (currently average 13-15 in city and 14-18 in country). I completed my first century ride in June and I want to do another one soon. Send me a friend request.

Archon2

sybillabryson wrote: »

Hi, I'm trying to ride 500 miles a month this season; I've ridden 1216 miles since May 1st and I'm looking for friends who love to cycle as much as I do. I've lost 50 pounds eating less and biking more. Lately I've been working on improving speed (currently average 13-15 in city and 14-18 in country). I completed my first century ride in June and I want to do another one soon. Send me a friend request.

WTG, that is ambitious and a great goal! Welcome to the group

ntnunk

That's absolutely ambitious! I love it. Good luck to you and welcome to the group!

m1xm0d3

We are new friends but I rode my first 500+ mile month, last month. But as a commuter (avg 20 miles a day) with a 10 year old daughter (single dad here) it's hard to rack up that many miles over a month. Just not enough hours in the day... I only did it by supplementing with a 3rd evening ride and the use of my KK trainer.

My goal was for 2,000 miles this year (set in January, did 1,700+ in 2014 so 2K it seemed reasonable) but I am only <60 miles away from hitting that goal.

Tell us about your bike and gear. Are you RB, Hybrid, MTB? Clipless pedals? Toe cages? I noticed a huge gain in performance once I got a RB and went clipless. Previously I had been using my toe cage MTB for all riding.

sybillabryson

Thats great youve already ridden so much this year. I have time to do this because I work at a university and I rarely work during the summer.

I dont clip or have toe cages or straps. I ride a 19 1/2 pound Bianchi road bike with continental 700x23 tires. I dont drive at all so I bike all year round to work/grocery store or to visit friends and family. I put in a lot of miles last year on a terrible broken down 32 pound road bike (it was the parts of several bikes put together). When I got the Bianchi this winter I started riding obsessively because I couldnt believe how easy and smooth it rode. I had a lot of problems with flats like you did when I first got it. I got like 10 or 12 flats in April. I found out that the problem was inside the rim where the spokes come through. The holes on the inside of the rim come up the sides of the rim and normal rim tape wasnt covering them so the tubes were getting poked constantly by the edges where it was drilled for the spokes. I slapped some electrical tape in there and I've only gotten one flat since then (not bad for over 1000 miles). But overall the bike has been great. It has campagnolo brakes which are super low maintenance and very responsive.

The owner of my local bike shop really wanted me to buy a hybrid bike because i commute year round but I'm really glad I got the bike I did because long distances are much more comfortable and I'm faster. We'll see what I'll be saying though when I have to bike to work in an ice storm this winter though.

m1xm0d3

Consider the toe cage for your platform pedals. I noticed a difference once I did. I still use them on my MTB. Worth looking at CX offroad tires that have an aggressive offroad tread for the winter.

twofastdogs

Sybillabryson, congrats on your progress so far. Completing your first century is a great achievement!

I will second the recommendation for clips - it makes a huge difference in comfort and power.

Enjoy your rides - central Indiana is a great place to ride once you get out of the city.

Bikerchickmomma

Having a planned routine can help you achieve your 500 mile/month goal. Biking to destinations you usually drive to can add miles to your "bike-log". I used my bike to travel to work, run errands, visit relatives, meet my husband at the local "watering hole", (Then, I hang the bike on our car's bike rack and become the designated driver taking him home. Note: this works better during daylight hours.) The point I'm making is to use your bike whenever you can. I also biked to our cottage, 96 miles from our home on a regular basis. The most miles I logged in a month was 755. I commend your commitment. You go girl!!!

Bikerchickmomma

P.S. Keep your old bike for winter riding. I have an old Schwinn that has seen lots of cold weather riding. You can fit it with clip-in pedals and get winter biking boots if you feel it necessary. And having an extra bike never hurts in case your main bike is broke down.

farmerpam1

Newbie here, you're an inspiration with so many miles logged! One thing I have to say, I think you will be amazed with how much more power you'll have with clip pedals, I wish I'd known about them long ago. They seemed so scarey, but it is AMAZING how much more power you'll have available. It's like I have two engines working for me now, really makes me rejoice! "Push, pull", becomes my riding mantra , helps me fly like the wind. Ride on!

sybillabryson

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement and suggestions.

Bikerchick I'm already implementing some of your ideas. I dont drive at all. I dont even have a license. Im usually only in a car once a week sometimes not all during the week. So yeah, that does add the miles even though anywhere i need to go is within 5 miles usually. Thats amazing you did 750 in a month! I feel like Im at my max now with 500.

twofastdogs Yes, central indiana is awesome. Its pretty flat which makes for easy rides and i only have to go through 3 or 4 stoplights before I'm in the middle of a corn field.

I'm not sure if i have the confidence to clip in yet. I do some pretty rough riding on bad roads, i hit curbs and pot holes and sometimes jump on and off the bike to take short cuts. But i am considering trying straps or cages. Thanks a lot for the advice everyone.