# What do you consider a long ride?



## Ganymede_Illusion (Mar 12, 2011)

I've been riding on the road(until the trails dry up) and been getting in 25 mile rides or a bit longer almost three days a week. To me it seems like a good ride and that is 25 miles each way for a total of 50 miles give or take.

So 50 miles, 100 miles...what is considered a long and good ride for you guys? I'm talking on the road in just a normal afternoon outing, not a marathon or charity run.


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## tomeeskeburbs (Jul 29, 2010)

A long ride on the road for me is what you said: 50 miles. But its different on a trail, its less casual and saps up more energy. So a long mtn bike ride for me would be around 30+ miles.


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## mimi1885 (Aug 12, 2006)

A 50 mile road ride is similar to 18-20 miles Mtb ride, but you are not as beat up as Mtb for sure. My usual ride is about 14-18 miles and the epic ride is not that mush longer at 18-22 miles on different trail of course. I'm beat at the end of the ride that's for sure.

There's a ride I do that's only 6 miles each way but I consider an epic ride because the 6 miles climb is definitely epic


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## b-kul (Sep 20, 2009)

does anyone else judge their rides by time not miles or is that just me? i like to go 3-4 hours so maybe i dont even know, 10 miles or so?


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## kbohip (Mar 24, 2011)

Right now a long ride for me is an hour. I'm hoping to change that this summer though.


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## jeffj (Jan 13, 2004)

I've been on 10 mile rides that were butt kickers that took 4 hours. Mileage is only one factor. Vertical feet, tech factor, altitude and weather can all play into the equation.


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## jpeters (Nov 19, 2010)

I do it by time because I do lots of climbing and dh and technical stuff very demanding. Some days I will go out riding for like 5 to 6 hrs just looking for the next challenge. I live in Germany and we have bike trails everywhere with little technical sections all over. I think when I go on flat trails I may go 50 or 60km not sure. I think for mtb time is better because if you are going up and down you will cover less ground.


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

It all depends on the terrain.

a 25 mile ride in Indiana is not that difficult. the same 25 miles in a place like Pisgah or Colorado is a different story.


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## nachomc (Apr 26, 2006)

Unless I'm riding somewhere new and cool, or with people, a 25 mile road ride is long to me because I just get bored. I enjoy riding my road bike but when I'm alone or riding my normal routes I get bored within about 90 minutes. 

On the mountain bike, I judge the ride more by the fun of the location, the views, the effort, etc. There's one trail we ride in summer that is 14 miles and it's a long ride. By contrast, the normal ride we do in the foothills (year round-ish) that is 18 miles is not a long ride. 

Clear as mud?


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## rmi (Jan 14, 2010)

Shark said:


> It all depends on the terrain.
> 
> a 25 mile ride in Indiana is not that difficult. the same 25 miles in a place like Pisgah or Colorado is a different story.


+1,000

Even locally, there is a ton of difference in the trails. I can ride 20+ miles at Fort Yargo (Winder, GA) and not be as tired as 6 miles on some of the local, tech trails.

I often base my rides on time and "effort." If I am low on time, I make sure to sprint to get a good workout in. If I have all the time in the world....well, I still like to go fast, but maybe not AS fast.

Ryan


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

I have still yet to get a bike computer so i have no idea. A typical ride for me is probably 2-3 hours of trails so a long ride would be more than that!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Ganymede_Illusion said:


> I've been riding on the road(until the trails dry up) and been getting in 25 mile rides or a bit longer almost three days a week. To me it seems like a good ride and that is 25 miles each way for a total of 50 miles give or take.
> 
> So 50 miles, 100 miles...what is considered a long and good ride for you guys? I'm talking on the road in just a normal afternoon outing, not a marathon or charity run.


I define a long ride aas something that will require refueling to prevent a bonk...generally something in excess of 2hr 15 mins.

At a hard rate.


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## Wishful Tomcat (Mar 6, 2009)

b-kul said:


> does anyone else judge their rides by time not miles or is that just me? i like to go 3-4 hours so maybe i dont even know, 10 miles or so?


I always base my rides (both road and mtb) on time in the saddle and not miles. I can gauge my endurance better that way.


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## Kaba Klaus (Jul 20, 2005)

More than 4 hours is a long ride, for me anyway.

Hard to measure rides miles, as a lot depends on the route/trail. I think the longest distance I've ever done on a MTB in one day is a little over 100 miles: White Rim in Moab.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I'd say long, for me, is 3+ hours. I remember having time to hop on my bike and ride for 6 hours when I was in college, working on a liberal arts degree, but that's rare now. I don't use a cycle computer on my mountain bike, so I don't know mileage. Depends on the trail anyway.

This summer, I'm trying a couple of endurance races. A 30-mile and a 50-mile. It's going to be interesting, I'm sure of that...


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## Cayenne_Pepa (Dec 18, 2007)

My long ride is 5+ hours, which is epic to me. I climb and descend well and if it takes me more than 4 hours out on the trail....it's a bruiser of a ride.


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## Guy.Ford (Oct 28, 2009)

20+ miles or 4-6 hrs, just depends


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## Kona_CT (Apr 25, 2010)

b-kul said:


> does anyone else judge their rides by time not miles or is that just me? i like to go 3-4 hours so maybe i dont even know, 10 miles or so?


When I go on trails I judge mostly by time. I do track my ride with the GPS in my phone, but I don't base my ride length by mileage.

As far as mileage... it all depends on the terrain. The other day I rode 24 miles on my BMX bike but it was a rail trail for about 16 of it and the rest was in the street. I know I don't normally ride that far on trails with the big bike.


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## mmacken (Mar 29, 2011)

Like a few here I do not tend to keep track of miles, I go more by how long I have been out, weather conditions and terrain.

I check all of these factors before going out, I will plan my route and check the weather 4-5 hours before I leave and have an idea of where I will be going, how the ride will be and how long it will take me.

Saying al of that, on a flatish route on a nice day I would say anything 30+ miles to be a good ride.


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## frdfandc (Sep 5, 2007)

On the road I judge by miles. 50 + miles is a long ride.

On the trail I judge by time. A 2.5 hr ride is anywhere from 15-22 miles. Depending on where and whom with I ride.


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## aerius (Nov 20, 2010)

If I'm tired or bored it's a long ride. There are days when 10 minutes is a long ride. Also days when 10 hours feels like a short ride.


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## mtnbikerfred (Mar 25, 2004)

distance and time is more appropriate for road riding. Unless you're in the mountains.

Elevation is the wild card for me. 

"1x10x1000 Rule" 

1 hour with 10 miles, with 1000ft of climbing can be a long ride....


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## FireLikeIYA (Mar 15, 2009)

Anything over:
2 hrs and/or
1200 cal and/or
16 miles
is a long ride to me :thumbsup:


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## NA1NSXR (May 8, 2008)

4 hours.


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## smoothie7 (May 18, 2011)

a 5 mile ride would be long right now. All it does in Ohio is rain. It is the middle of May and it has rained almost every day. If its not raining it 40 degrees and 30mph winds. 

Normally 50 miles would be a nice ride for me


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## dirt farmer (Mar 28, 2005)

NA1NSXR said:


> 4 hours.


+1

4 hours and above (sometimes 3.5) is my "long" benchmark.


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## S_Trek (May 3, 2010)

Anything that adds more time to my regular routine ride.


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## fireball_jones (Mar 29, 2009)

4 - 5 hours. I can run through my favorite trail systems in about that time, riding some of the fun lines multiple times, and anything longer and I get sloppy. 4 - 5 hours on the road or smooth trails seems like nothing though.

Nice thing is most of the trails I like are like an amusement park, they loop around themselves so you can keep riding the fun parts. Not too much 2 hours up 2 hours down around here.


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## tshulthise (Apr 23, 2010)

Anything over 2 hours at a moderate to hard pace gets into the "long ride" category for me. Your (trained) body can store enough energy for a couple of hours but after that you have to learn to time your eating and drinking carefully to keep your energy up. I've been on rides that lasted over 7 hours but there were a lot of breaks thrown in along the way.


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## gemini9 (Mar 23, 2011)

I went out today for 2 miles and turned around and came back home. lol It was too cold and windy so I wimped out and said heck with it.


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## NorthJeff (Apr 26, 2011)

My road rides are in the 20-30 mile range, with 30 being fairly long, "for me". I feel pretty beat afterwords, similar to running 8-10 miles. I've just been mixing in mtb/road combo rides and for the same time they kick my butt! 

If in only have time for an hour ride though...I'm going to hit the local single track hard and even though it's a lot less time-it's a LOT harder.

My goals this year...ride the 13 miles from home to the local 10 mile single track, and back. At my current pace that would take me over 3 hours and I can honestly say I'm not quite there yet...maybe another month. Also, we have about a 90 mile road triangle I'd like to ride a few times this year...not quite there yet either but both of those I'd like to be my future "long rides".


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## joshman108 (Jul 6, 2009)

mostly 2.5-3 hours which is roughly 7-14 miles. Uphill probably 2/3 of the time.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

I can do 12 miles around town on my mtn bike with about 1000 feet of total climbing in about an hour twenty. If I go to Davis, WV, that same distance take about 5-6 hours on the right trails. I feel good if I get in several 10 miles trips per week though.


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## Snugglesthemonkey (Nov 10, 2010)

I do most riding by time. Most of the time I ride about 30 miles, but the limiting factor is time. I think its important just to do what you feel though and don't push beyond what you enjoy. Its not work but play. Even when you are pushing yourself , there should be an element of play. Right?


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## Crosstown Stew (Aug 16, 2008)

Around 3000 calories is usually a long ride I guess. Time depends on terrain or road vs mtb so it just depends but this is usually a decent ride. Road usually avg's around 600-700 cal/hr and mtb(ss) usually avg 800- 850/hr to over 1000 if I'm pushing hard or there is a lot of hill work.


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## peeguu (Apr 27, 2011)

i have wondered about this from time to time. but later on i figured the amount of time i've spent on the road is relative to the amount of calories i've burnt. i wouldn't think an hour on a bike path is the same as an hour on city streets or hard trails or hilly terrains. the way i see it, as long as i got good sweat going, felt the burn in the legs, and met a set goal for the ride, then it's a good, LONG, and productive ride..!


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## bwheelin (Apr 4, 2008)

long ride for me in terms of time is 1 hour. this includes riding, walking over certain obstacles, walking up hills when my lungs get weak(I have lung issues), and sitting on a log to administer inhaler and have a beer.


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Aug 28, 2009)

In general, a long ride is anything over 3 hours, road or trail. I generally average 9mph on the rough trails, 11mph on smooth trails, or 18mph on the road. A 2 hour ride for me is about normal, stopping in the middle for about 10 minutes for a bite and a breather.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

*long?*

Totally depends on the ride/trails. The trails I ride here in Wyoming are near 9,000 with lots of elevation change. I did a 23 mile single track ride a few weeks ago and I considered that "long" because of all the climbing. Last week I did a 30 mile ride of mixed fire road and single track in the same area. The 30 mile ride didn't zap nearly as much energy since 2/3 of the ride was on graded dirt roads.


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## Corbinworks (Aug 15, 2011)

8 Miles on and off road..this last weekend I did 16 wasn't too bad...


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## TiGeo (Jul 31, 2008)

If I can get a 25 mile ride on my road bike that is great, long for me would be over 30.


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## mhwong529 (Jun 4, 2012)

For me, a 20 miles on road ride will be consider as a long ride if there are no water and food support. With water support and all the stuff, 40 miles will be consider as a long ride.

I hate carrying a backpack while I am riding, a lot... For long ride though, I usually carry extra water and energy bars for emergency use.

btw, i am new in this forums and the world of "bicycle". Nice to meet you all!


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

You don't need a backpack to carry 20 (or 40) miles worth of food and water on the road.


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## Caffeine Powered (Mar 31, 2005)

b-kul said:


> does anyone else judge their rides by time not miles or is that just me? i like to go *3-4 hours so* maybe i don't even know, *10 miles or so*?


You need to space your coffee shop stops further apart 

Since all of my MTB's lack computers as do most of my road bikes, I use the same measurement you do... a clock. :thumbsup:

3 hours is just getting started and I don't endurance race. Whether it's the MTB or the road bike consider a long ride more than 4 hours.


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## shatooi (Jun 4, 2012)

25+ is a lot for me. I have neck problems so once i hit that 20 mile range, I start to experience pain. Otherwise I could probably go another 25.


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## edubfromktown (Sep 7, 2010)

15+ mile urban assault ride with avg speed above 15 MPH
~30+ trail miles / 3,000 calories (some of this depends on elevation and relative level of difficulty) 
Advanced MTB trails I figure roughly at 3:1 or more, so 10 of those miles is at least 30+ trail miles.
40+ mixed road and trail miles
50+ road miles
On multi-day events, day 2+ rides feel more strenuous to some extent...


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## Corbinworks (Aug 15, 2011)

edubfromktown said:


> 15+ mile urban assault ride with avg speed above 15 MPH


Same here when I ride in the city, My speed is like 11 to 13mph..


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I think long for me is a ride that goes over two hours. I hit three or so on most of my weekend rides. I rarely break two mid-week.

"Long" can mean so many different things, which is really what's fun about these threads.  It's not necessarily a challenge for me to finish most of my long rides, or even to finish them strong. But it's long enough that I do need to eat during the ride and I can't do the whole thing at a tempo pace. At least, unless I've trained up to it.


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## Jezandu (May 29, 2012)

24 hours.........I consider that long enough for me!


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## drwpc97 (Aug 22, 2011)

bout 20 miles, i guess is long for me....50 milers are always fun.


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## mhwong529 (Jun 4, 2012)

AndrwSwitch said:


> You don't need a backpack to carry 20 (or 40) miles worth of food and water on the road.


when i am riding with my road bike roommate who don't wanna carry a bag for those long distance trip, i am his "support car"...


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## Hocky (Jan 26, 2011)

I think 30 trail miles is a pretty long ride distance. 20 is starting to get tired, 30 is about done.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

Thirty seems to be general consensus. If I can get in an 8 mile ride after work and still have time in the evening for other stuff I am stoked. A 30 mile ride is good on a weekend when you can devote the day to it.


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## dedmann (Dec 6, 2011)

ya 30 miles of up and down in the boonies is enough to make anyone hungry


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## Three08 (Jun 7, 2012)

3 hours is about my limit.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

mhwong529 said:


> when i am riding with my road bike roommate who don't wanna carry a bag for those long distance trip, i am his "support car"...


Why? Tell him to get over himself.

There's only one person for whom I'll carry supplies. And we've set a date.


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## fee (Jul 6, 2012)

workdays: 30km mtb 70km road
weekend: up to 100km/200km


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## bob13bob (Jun 22, 2009)

depends on trail conditions, and elevation climbing plays a large role too.


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## trabo (Jul 7, 2012)

I think I might be a good barometer for you guys.

I am 6' 230 pounds, about 25 of which is fat. I am out of shape but athletic, and have a running base. 

I bought a Haro Steel Reserve 1.1 the other day and rode 10 miles in an hour and 15 minutes without sitting down (much). 

It completely kicked my ass, but that was my ride and it was tough for me. I was also in the city, fyi, running curb to street to curb, etc in Los Angeles.


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## bikeriderguy (May 2, 2006)

Impossible to say without factoring in elevation. We do a lot of rides that are only 15 miles that have 4000 feet of climbing and we do rides that are 40miles that have 2000 feet of climbing. Which is harder? Personally I wouldn't worry about it too much. When trying to build base fitness you want long easier rides. When trying to build your strength go shorter and more intense


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

Went riding yesterday and did 20 miles. Didn't plan to go that long but my legs were fresh and I got the fever! Didn't feel long although on some days 20 miles would feel long.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

6 months ago there was no such thing as a long ride. 20, 50, 100 miles was never long enough.

Now, 25 miles road or 10 miles singletrack is a long ride.
Chemotherapy kicked the **** out of my endurance.


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## Trail Ninja (Sep 25, 2008)

AndrwSwitch said:


> Why? Tell him to get over himself.
> 
> There's only one person for whom I'll carry supplies. And we've set a date.


Congratulations!


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## OhioPT (Jul 14, 2012)

bikeriderguy said:


> Impossible to say without factoring in elevation. We do a lot of rides that are only 15 miles that have 4000 feet of climbing and we do rides that are 40miles that have 2000 feet of climbing. Which is harder? Personally I wouldn't worry about it too much. When trying to build base fitness you want long easier rides. When trying to build your strength go shorter and more intense


Yep, elevation is a huge part of the equation. Here are 2 examples of "road" rides I recently did on my 26" wheel mtn bike with 1.95 K-Rad hybrid tires.

The first is a 40 mile ride along a rails-to-trails route in Pittsburgh with a group of 5 riders of varying endurance levels. Total elevation gain was only 323 ft and it took us 4.5 hours to complete. Going by miles and time alone, it sounds like a killer ride, but I wasn't very tired at the end.
Three Rivers Heritage Trail 8-25-12 by donrambo at Garmin Connect - Details

The second is a ride around the lake in my neighborhood (all road, no trail). I just recorded 1 lap, but I usually ride 2-3 laps for a quick after-work workout. Each lap is only 5 miles and takes around 23 minutes. Sounds easy right? Well, there is 913 ft of climbing each lap. That's almost 3x as much elevation in 5 miles, as the whole 40 mile ride we did in Pittsburgh. I feel way more fatigued in 10-15 miles of this riding, compared to the whole 40 miles of the flat Pittsburgh ride.


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## JoePAz (May 7, 2012)

Most of my rides are about 2 to 3 hrs. Any less feels to short and any more fells long since I really don't have time run longer than about 3hrs. I plan this winter to do some longer rides when I have time to ride for 4-5 hours and not have it get really hot. I have been riding from dawn to 8 or 9am to avoid the heat of the day. As for miles that is 15 to 23 miles depending on the trail.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

Trail Ninja said:


> Congratulations!


Thanks!

Hope everything works out with chemo. Events beyond one's control screwing up life are pretty lame.


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## LarryWallwart (Sep 5, 2012)

Local trail near my house is 5.5 and I can do that in under an hour. So there and back is 11 in under 2 hours. So as you can see this is not a difficult trail. But 1.5 to 2 hours is long for me right now. Hopefully my stamina will let me ride farther.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

Ever ridden with a complainer? Someone who doesn't wanna be there? That makes for a long ride lol.


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## zachvii (Aug 20, 2010)

I agree that elevation is key for my rides. I recently rode 18 miles and gained 3000 ft and that was plenty for me. Total ride time was little over 2hrs.


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## irishpitbull (Sep 29, 2011)

Currently about 25 mile 5000ft gained in about my max ride. Chris Eatough's program is gonna change that for me.


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## Olioliolioooooo (Sep 23, 2012)

I wish I had the time and effort to ride more.
I'll have to fix up my bike first, of course.


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