Will extending my commute improve my distance rides?

[Krypton]

I commute 5 miles there and 5 miles back, but wondered if extending it by a few more miles would help me ride longer distances on a weekend?

Or would it need to be a significant amount of extra miles to make any difference.

I usually do around 25 miles on a Sunday, but would like to possibly build that up to 50.

Any advice appreciated.

 

[jimboalee]

To extend your potential distance, you will have to grow more blood vessels in your muscles. The way to do this is to stress your muscles more than you did the last trip out.

Doing this delays the onset of fatigue.

A short exhaustive hill climb of a quarter of a mile is equivalent of 3 or 4 miles on the flat at the speed required to finish a 100km Audax. 15 mph ish.

In doing the hill climb, you will encourage the muscles to grow and blood carrying arteries to grow.

Alternate days of hills and flat. You will notice you can cycle further on the flat quite quickly.

 

[lukesdad]

Maybe if you could cut the days you commute and extend the distance on the days you do ride. This would allow you time to recover and increase the distances. Maybe Mon Wed and Fri. No matter how much you want to improve , doing the same every week, week in week out will not benefit you unless you increase speed.

 

[Randochap]

Push a little harder; rest a little longer.

 

[jimboalee]

Krypton.

To improve endurance, the cardiovascular system needs to improve. Capillarising the muscles betters the carriage of oxygen and fuel for instant use.

Adding miles will help, but pushing harder, especially up hills accelerates the process.

User will know Barr Beacon. In preparation for the Castleton Classic in 1995, a few climbs to the top after work was enough to condition my legs for the Audax.

Krypton. Advise if this is too much like a first session at a gym.

 

[jimboalee]

Krypton.

To improve endurance, the cardiovascular system needs to improve. Capillarising the muscles betters the carriage of oxygen and fuel for instant use.

Adding miles will help, but pushing harder, especially up hills accelerates the process.

User will know Barr Beacon. In preparation for the Castleton Classic in 1995, a few climbs to the top after work was enough to condition my legs for the Audax.

Krypton. Advise if this is too much like a first session at a gym.

What RandChap said.

 

[magnatom]

Last December I changed my commute from a reasonably sedate 5 miles each way to a relatively hilly 11.5 miles each way. There isn't a huge overall amount of climbing, but there are a few steep climbs (17%) that get the blood pumping.

I've found I am now considerably fitter, and it paid off on this years Etape Caledonia as I managed a time I could only dream of before (official 4 hours 30, but taking into account a puncture, 4 hours 15mins, i.e. 19mph!).

What made the difference? The longer distance or the hills? A bit of both of course, but to me it feels like the hills have made the biggest difference. I noticed at the Etape how much stonger I was on the hills than before, being able to power up the shorter ones and to plug harder at the longer ones. So, if you can, extend the commute, but fit a few hills in if you can!

 

[Krypton]

Jimboalee, thanks, but that has to rate as one of the oddest replies I've had here to a cycling question here - I don't really want to go faster or become a champion hill climber, just go a bit further on a Sunday - at a nice steady pace. I appreciate how that might help in races and things, but I'm more of a leisure Sunday rider.

Unfortunately we don't really have any hills to speak of round here either, but I guess a couple of miles isn't really enough then? Maybe I'll see if I can add some more - would building it up to 10 miles each way per day help?

 

[jimboalee]

Jimboalee, thanks, but that has to rate as one of the oddest replies I've had here to a cycling question here - I don't really want to go faster or become a champion hill climber, just go a bit further on a Sunday - at a nice steady pace. I appreciate how that might help in races and things, but I'm more of a leisure Sunday rider.

Unfortunately we don't really have any hills to speak of round here either, but I guess a couple of miles isn't really enough then? Maybe I'll see if I can add some more - would building it up to 10 miles each way per day help?

You might not be thinking this now, but I will warn you, and many others on this forum will agree, when you have extended your evenings and weekends, you WILL want to ride further, and further, and further.

It happens to all of us.....

In about five years, you will be wondering why you embarrased yourself by saying you are 'a leisure Sunday rider'.

 

[asterix]

would building it up to 10 miles each way per day help?

Yes, without any doubt. Not having hills to use is a shame but what Randochap says would compensate somewhat. Hill climbing is also helped enormously by being confident. There's nothing worse than arriving at the start of a climb thinking it'll beat you; you need to arrive thinking you can kick the sh1t out of it.

 

[ianrauk]

You might not be thinking this now, but I will warn you, and many others on this forum will agree, when you have extended your evenings and weekends, you WILL want to ride further, and further, and further.

It happens to all of us.....

In about five years, you will be wondering why you embarrased yourself by saying you are 'a leisure Sunday rider'.

Please explain why you think being a Sunday leisure Cyclist is embarrassing?
Why do you have to be so elitist in all your posts? It's becoming very boring and very tedious.

 

[jimboalee]

Please explain why you think being a Sunday leisure Cyclist is embarrassing?
Why do you have to be so elitist in all your posts? It's becoming very boring and very tedious.

Notice the 'Wink' emoticon following the sentance. That's what they are to be used for.
The 'Wink' emoticon means "I'm not being serious".

Why do you have to be so critical in all your posts? It's becoming very boring and very tedious.

 

[ianrauk]

Notice the 'Wink' emoticon following the sentance. That's what they are to be used for.
The 'Wink' emoticon means "I'm not being serious".

Why do you have to be so critical in all your posts? It's becoming very boring and very tedious.

The OP asked a simple question, you bogged the thread down (once again) with a load of your mumboJimbo.
What do you expect?

 

[Becs]

I commute 5 miles there and 5 miles back, but wondered if extending it by a few more miles would help me ride longer distances on a weekend?

Or would it need to be a significant amount of extra miles to make any difference.

I usually do around 25 miles on a Sunday, but would like to possibly build that up to 50.

Any advice appreciated.

I think you'll manage 50 easily if you take it steady, especially if it's not hilly. I started commuting 5 miles each way, then did a couple of 35mile one star CTC rides (very slow with long lunch break) and found they were very doable. Within a month or 2 I was doing 50 milers, a month or 2 after that my first 100 (albeit a very slow one). I think what made the difference was cycling with other people at weekends (in a Sunday leisure fashion :-) that could push me a bit. I am not a natural sportswomen and have moderate asthma so if I can do it I'm sure you'll be fine!

 

[jimboalee]

The OP asked a simple question, you bogged the thread down (once again) with a load of your mumboJimbo.
What do you expect?

I don't know what you lot can see, but this is what is at the top of my screen....