How To Increase your Bike Mileage
Are you trying to ride longer and hit your first century ride? Or maybe you are just looking to ride longer to hit a goal or simply to ride with your local cycling club. Everyone starts somewhere and progression is natural in the sport of cycling. But don't worry, if you want to ride longer here are a few simple tips to get you to your goals.
1. Slowly Increase Your Mileage
In order to adapt to the longer mileage you need to slowly increase your biking mileage overtime. Don't just go from 10 miles to 100 miles, this is a mistake. You will not only suffer on that long expedition but you won't enjoy the experience. So slowly increase your mileage and ride intensity weekly at a comfortable pace (Ex: 5-10 miles extra per week is a good start).
2. Pick the Right Bike Route
If you are simply just trying to increase your mileage make sure that you pick the right routes because not all cycling routes are the same. The minute you add elevation and terrain into the mix it is a totally different experience. So if you are comfortable with riding a flat 20km route decrease the distance if you are planning on riding a hilly route because the effort will be way more intense.
Related: The 5 Best Biking Trails to ride in Canada this summer
3. Make Sure you Pace Yourself
If you want to go longer you need to make sure that you pace yourself. You can't expect to be hammering your max wattage and holding that for a long ride. So take it easy and pace yourself. You don't want to hammer it to your turn around point and then realize that you are out of gas or as cyclists call it, "bonked". So remember, if you want to go long sometimes you have to go slow!
Tackle your Next Long Bike Ride!
If you are looking to increase your cycling mileage use these three helpful tips to tackle your next milestone whether it be an extra 5 miles or a century ride. Remember, slowly increase mileage, pick the right cycling route and pace yourself on the ride.
Keep on being relentless!