# How Often Do You Ride? Do you have any cycling related goals?



## Fast Guy (Jan 22, 2020)

At 58 I try to ride once a week, weather, work, and family commitments willing. Last year a buddy and I set a distance goal, mine was a minimum of 500 miles, his was 1000. He's retired so has much more time to dedicate to achieving his goal. This year for me it's 600 miles. We document all our rides on Strava for accuracy.


----------



## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Distance is OK, but subject to a lot of variables like terrain and bike. 500 miles/yr on a road bike is trivial but in tough technical terrain on an mtb can be a major achievement. 

For general characterizing how much I'm riding, I use time. This works whether road, mtb and even stationary trainer rides. A typical mtb or road rides for me go 1.5 to 3 hrs and I try to get at least two but usually three a week. The goal is not so much accumulating time, but improving fitness so I can do certain rides faster or clear technical sections better...and as I'm getting older, completing certain rides without feeling like I'm going to expire.


----------



## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

I used to sign up annually for a reasonably large cycling event that happens late in the season to keep myself motivated to keep riding through much of the summer. Now I just ride for fun and to stay in shape in case an opportunity for a fun event pops up. Last year I had a few opportunities pop up that I wouldn't have been able to complete if I had not been riding consistently.

For me, consistent riding is 3-5 times a week, though I've been able to ride daily for the past 10 days. I usually ride very early in the morning to keep my riding from interfering with work, family, etc. It is a great way to get my day off to a good start and puts me in a good mood the rest of the day, and this time of year is is when the trail surfaces are still frozen and less susceptible to damage.


----------



## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

I ride three to four times a week, short rides before or after work, long rides F-Su. I’ll ride snow if it’s not too deep; sold my fat bikes. 

I’m fortunate to have trails in my backyard and trails in the community that are rideable 99% of the time, worse case scenario I’ll travel to ride, six hours to Las Vegas and eight hours to St George; California is closer but I hate it over there.

I don’t really have any riding goals and I don’t track rides. I try to ride often as time will allow, usually plan a couples week ahead for epics, otherwise it’s whatever I feel like riding. I mostly ride solo, simply because coordination is a pita and my buddies are flakes.

I think next fall I’m gonna do some bike packing, it’s hard to take off for extended rides, not like it was when I was young and had fewer bills.


----------



## roughster (Dec 18, 2017)

Not fifty yet but barring anything kooky, I hope I am still riding 5+ / week in two years!


----------



## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

I'm 52, ride 5 times a week, 5-8 hours per week mostly on techy trails. Racing is my motivation to ride quite a bit, it's easier to go out and ride in cold/damp if I know race season is approching. 
I would suggest trying to ride at least 3x per week, once a week is not enough to gain or even maintain any real fitness. Riding a trainer/stationary bike for 20 minutes counts; I got an older (but good quality) road bike and it stays on the trainer in the basement all winter, that makes it easier to do a workout if it's too rainy/cold outside.


----------



## Vespasianus (Apr 9, 2008)

At 50+, I try to get 2 MTB rides in per week (1.5-3 hours each) and one road ride (35-60 miles). Road ridding improves mountain biking dramatically. Mountain biking improves road biking dramatically.

I want to be able to retire at 65 and MTB 3-4 times a week and road bike 1-2 times a week. Just have to do enough to get me there.


----------



## Dave Mac (Jan 9, 2017)

52 try to ride three times a week did right around 2,000 miles last year, keep track on basic bike computer. been riding a about a year and half. all trail. this year I may add some pavement


----------



## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

Right now, in winter, it's pretty much indoor miles. Regardless, about 3-4 days/week with a focus on base intensity. As the weather improves, frequency increases to 5-6 days a week. 

The mileage piles up over the course of the year. Goals include primarily endurance events with a few mtb races tossed in at a much higher level of intensity.


----------



## fredcook (Apr 2, 2009)

"How Often Do You Ride?"

As often as possible.

"Do you have any cycling related goals?"

Yes, to ride as often as possible.

For me, now at 58, that's been working out to be 4-6 rides a week as long as rain doesn't shut down our trails. All single track... no road.


----------



## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

I'm 67

I only ride from about April to October. April and October are usually wet, but once it dries out, I get in about 4 days a week. Last year I got in just over 1200 miles of trail riding. Almost all (except for Moab and St George trips) above 6500 feet where I live in Utah.

During the winter, I'm skiing and have in 49 days so far, on telemark gear. That keeps me in better shape than alpine skiing. I'll end the season with about 90 days of skiing. That's 3 or 4 times a week on average, but 4 or 5 days during the height of the season, per week.

More than that, summer and winter, is just too hard on my body.


----------



## sturge (Feb 22, 2009)

I'm 60 and goal is 3x/week. My focus is on today's ride being awesome and not getting hurt! I don't track things officially but typical 3-ride week is about 30 miles of technical singletrack so I estimate about 1200 - 1500 miles/year. 

I'm in New England and ride year round. When snow gets too deep or trails get too soft inland I can still find good riding on the coast (within 30 minutes). Lots of night rides from late Oct thru March! I also ski in winter (heading to Utah next week!).


----------



## Outhouse (Jul 26, 2019)

roughster said:


> Not fifty yet but barring anything kooky, I hope I am still riding 5+ / week in two years!


Ya but your an animal ! lol 266 miles for Jan with 27000 of climbing on our local trails

ill find you on the trails lol ill holler at ya


----------



## rob214 (Apr 18, 2019)

I road bike and mtb. my monthly goal for road biking is 500 miles, my mtb goals are just to ride when I an and enjoy it. mtb riding in southern Louisiana is really hard to do with all the rain that keeps the trails closed. so when trails are open we ride


----------



## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

Coming up on 56 and I ride on average twice a week. When I'm on vacation I'll ride every day unless my wife is off as well. I was off last week and logged 310 miles and 43,227 feet in 8 days. So far for the year I'm at 455 miles and just under 60k. I like big rides. 

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk


----------



## Undescended (Apr 16, 2018)

fredcook said:


> "How Often Do You Ride?"
> As often as possible.
> "Do you have any cycling related goals?"
> Yes, to ride as often as possible.
> For me, now at 58, that's been working out to be 4-6 rides a week as long as rain doesn't shut down our trails. All single track... no road.


This also describes me for the past 4 yrs. Used to do 1.5 hrs daily on the trail before work when I worked from home, now back in the office I'm lucky to work in 1 hr after work. Still push for 2 hr trail rides on weekends when not doing Fam hikes. Now 53, riding has been an addiction, always checking the weather timeline for the best window, however climbing remains my nemesis.


----------



## bjeast (Oct 29, 2017)

Try to mountain bike at least once a week in the off season, and road bike when I can't get to trails during the off season - as long as there is no snow. Once the season hits, at least three times a week.


----------



## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

During the summer and fall I ride 4-5 days per week, maybe 2 hours per ride. I don't go on long "epic" rides on my home trails any more because I've done them enough over the past couple of decades. I save the long rides for when I travel elsewhere.

Last year I did manage to make the top five out of all age groups on three popular local Strava segments. It was a personal achievement that I worked hard at so it felt pretty good, especially at age 52.

My main goals now are to ride more cool places, be able to nail down challenging sections, and to generally keep in shape.

But my #1 goal for 2020 is to learn how to read Korean so I can figure out what the Biens are trying to sell us.


----------



## SoDakSooner (Nov 23, 2005)

It's tough for me right now to get 1 real mtb ride in per week. I usually don't see the sun monday through friday. Leave for work at 6am get home at 6pm on a normal day. I finally got my road bike set back up for the trainer and have been logging a couple of rides per week on it. Anywhere from 1/2 hour to 75 minutes so far. 

As the days get longer I log a lot more actual road miles during the week. A buddy talked me into riding Mt. Evans this summer. He likes to climb on the road and I am too stupid to say no, so will be looking for hills in Tulsa all summer till that point. Not great but I think I logged 1700 miles including trainer/road and mountain last year. Really didn't start riding the mtb hard till Sept/Oct when the new bike entered the stable. Road bike literally didn't get ridden after late August.


----------



## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

I ride twice per week year round. I have a winter bike and trail bike. I'm waiting for a new ht plus size bike to arrive which will be ideal for winter riding. But also ok for trails. Currently I'm riding my fs (with studded tires)

My goals for this year is keep the status quo. Ride safe, and have fun.


----------



## txduc (Sep 7, 2011)

52 here...I ride 3-4 times a week (8-10hrs total) mix of gravel and singletrack. Last year's milage was 3k. I'm shooting for the same this year mileage wise but with more focused training rather than just racking up miles and hours so I can hopefully get faster. My other goals are to run some enduro races and work on my jumping.


----------



## Outhouse (Jul 26, 2019)

56 twice a week at best. A Long ride on days off and a quick 1 hour 1000' climb on a work day
… Jan 125 miles, 15,662 in elevation gain


----------



## jcd46 (Jul 25, 2012)

54 Once or twice a week, not by choice.


----------



## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

MSU Alum said:


> I'm 67
> 
> I only ride from about April to October. April and October are usually wet, but once it dries out, I get in about 4 days a week. Last year I got in just over 1200 miles of trail riding. Almost all (except for Moab and St George trips) above 6500 feet where I live in Utah.
> 
> ...


90 days tele skiing is impressive at any age. You must of won the genetic lottery with your knees. I hope to still be inspired and physically capable at 67, kudos to you

Sent from my moto g(6) forge using Tapatalk


----------



## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

Nat said:


> Last year I did manage to make the top five out of all age groups on three popular local Strava segments.


Dang! Based out of Bend you must rip Nat. Lot of heavy hitters over there.

Sent from my moto g(6) forge using Tapatalk


----------



## BmanInTheD (Sep 19, 2014)

I'm 60 this year and my goal is the same as every year: 6,000 miles and/or 450 hours. I've gotten one or both the last 5 years. I ride avg 5x/week with a pretty even mix of MTB and road. Gonna do a few longer XC races this year and I try to always be in at least decent shape cuz I like to travel around once a month to fun places with good trails. Thought I might do the Texas Spring series this year (since I could race 60+) but got a virus over a month ago that's kept my intensity days pretty much non-existent.


----------



## Radium (Jan 11, 2019)

BmanInTheD said:


> I'm 60 this year and my goal is the same as every year: 6,000 miles and/or 450 hours. I've gotten one or both the last 5 years. I ride avg 5x/week with a pretty even mix of MTB and road. Gonna do a few longer XC races this year and I try to always be in at least decent shape cuz I like to travel around once a month to fun places with good trails. Thought I might do the Texas Spring series this year (since I could race 60+) but got a virus over a month ago that's kept my intensity days pretty much non-existent.


Smart man :thumbsup:

Oh,yeah, I myself like to ride at a moderate-fast pace at least 5 days a week, one hour minimum. With a riding schedule like that, it's not hard to lose weight at all.


----------



## Nat (Dec 30, 2003)

WHALENARD said:


> Dang! Based out of Bend you must rip Nat. Lot of heavy hitters over there.
> 
> Sent from my moto g(6) forge using Tapatalk


Well, you know how it is with Strava segments - not everyone is aware that they're racing, lol. Nonetheless, they were personal goals and I felt good about what I'd done, so thank you.


----------



## Arebee (Sep 13, 2012)

I aim to ride twice a week all year round, but family, weather and work certainly have an impact on that. In 2019 I logged 50 rides in my 50th year for just over 400 miles, the most for me ever. 

My 2020 goal is 500 miles but January weather and schedule have gotten me off to a horrible start!


----------

