Longer rides and stopping

[Markymark]

Want to start doing longer rides at the weekend.

Would I find it easier to do say 40 miles non-stop or 60 miles stopping to eat mid-way?

 

[black'n'yellow]

only you can answer that.

 

[oliver]

for me 40 in one go works a lot better - as i really can't be bothered to get back on the bike after a lunch stop!

 

[Lanzecki]

for me 40 in one go works a lot better - as i really can't be bothered to get back on the bike after a lunch stop!

That'll be the 5 course lunch, and a bottle of bubbly. Not to mention the Port afterwards.

 

[tyred]

I have never found it a problem to stop and then get back on to the bike but I guess everyone is different. I have often fitted in a few miles of hillwalking in the middle of a ride.

At this time of year, it's worth carrying a fleece top or something if you intend to be stopped outside for any length of time as I feel I very quickly cool down.

 

[PK99]

Want to start doing longer rides at the weekend.

Would I find it easier to do say 40 miles non-stop or 60 miles stopping to eat mid-way?

depends on what sort of distance you are used to doing

 

[martint235]

As said it depends. I can ride 70 miles non-stop but for 100 I'll need to take on water and food

 

[Markymark]

That'll be the 5 course lunch, and a bottle of bubbly. Not to mention the Port afterwards.

A port before sunset, I'm not a barbarian! It would be a whisky after lunch.

I guess 'find easier' was vague, I would mean which should I start aiming for to build up stamina or is it simply a case of what suits me?

I've done 45 miles non-stop before on my hybrid - bit hilly and bit windy but I was knackered at the end of it!!

 

[Sittingduck]

If you want to build stamina, I would just try and get out and get the riding time put it. If you feel like a break then have one. Equally, I see no real reason why you couldn't fuel on the move. Drinking is fairly easy but eating just needs a bit of practice and selecting and storing the appropriate foods.

After a while you will figure out what works best for you

 

[Rob3rt]

Training rides = no stopping.

Riding in such a way with your main goal being to increase your stamina sounds to me like a training ride, i.e. no stopping.

 

[Davos87]

Stop....................and smell the roses.

 

[Herzog]

As Rob3rt wrote, if it's training ride I don't stop. If it's sightseeing etc., then there are usually loads of stops for photos, food...

However, these days I have very little time for the latter.

 

[MattHB]

Nothing wrong with stopping, after all, how else would get cake?

just don't eat too much or your blood will get used for digestion and not for supplying oxygen to the muscles.

 

[Kins]

Unless your an elite sports person, If you did two 15 miles, with a 10 minute break, of the same intensity as one 30 miles it would make next to no difference, fitness wise, having that break. There is a university study website somewhere that shows the difference with breaks of continuous aerobic exercise (various not just cycling and studies all sorts of people from elite to people just starting) that shows what length of break actually effects the aerobic benefits. Its negligible under 30 minutes if I remember it correctly.

 

[Rob3rt]

But it would have turned a 30 minute session into a 40 minute one hence making the session less time efficient!