Do I ride enough?

[slapfan1]

I currently ride 18 - 20 miles a week. I ride 10 at the begining of the week and 8 or 10 more at the end. I dont know if im riding enough. Another problem is the time that I have for riding is diminishing between work and fam its hard to ride twice a week. Would I be ok riding 10 miles a week. Keep in mind I want to start racing at the racers and chassers events.

[Upchuck]

That's a subjective question. Are you talking about XC or DH racing? If you're going to race XC for the fun and experience of racing, I'd say you're riding enough. If you'd like to be competitive and hope to be in the upper 50% of the class, you'll need to put more mileage/frequency in to your program.

What are your goals with racing?

[Cowgirl]

i would recommend getting in some more miles...if commuting is possible for you that is a great way to get some extra miles in between work and family...base miles are very important if you plan on racing in the future. If you can't be out of the house riding you can also try and pick up a indoor trainer for your house and try and squeeze in more miles that way. Depending on the length of the event you participate in will dictate how many miles you will need to get in.

[tbowren]

It's all relative. The worst thing to do is start riding too much all at once because you will overtrain and burn out. If you are getting stronger and feeling healthier then you are headed in the right direction.
One option is to get a stationary trainer and find 30min in the evenings to spin when time permits.
I don't know how much you used to ride to know how far you have come. I also don't know how difficult the "racers and chassers" event is.

My gut reaction is you are riding enough for where you have been, and not riding enough for where you think you want to be.

That doesn't mean you can't compete in the event, do your best, have fun, and set the bar for you to improve on.

[ericfoltz]

If you want to be competitive, you need to log more miles. When I was racing XC I used to log 100-150 miles per week.

Try to get out Tues, Thurs, Sat.

[slapfan1]

I want to race xc and I am competitive. Thanks for the input it looks like i have to get a trainer.

[Solo]

Originally Posted by slapfan1

I want to race xc and I am competitive. Thanks for the input it looks like i have to get a trainer.

Maybe get some lights and sneak out once everyone is asleep? I have a couple friends who log most of their training miles on the road at night. It's a lot easier to hammer out a quick 50 miler at night when there's no traffic and you're not worried about stop lights.

[LncNuvue]

How hard are you riding? In what HR zone? How much elevation gain per ride? When you are riding is it lots of climbing and challenging stuff? You don't need to answer all of these. If you have limited time just make the most of it while on the trail. You can also throw in some weight training to supplement.

I'm a recreational rider and try to ride 3 days a week totaling 35 miles average and 6K worth of climbing per week. I find this is a good amount for me to grow. Anything more and I feel like its too much (probably mostly mental) anything less and I get real itchy to ride. I also like to weight train 2 days a week.

Fun body weight exercises when home with 30 min to burn:
http://www.mtbstrengthcoach.com/bwdemos.html

[slapfan1]

I am puting some weight training i have the opportunity to do so at work.

[Winger]

Some people are born with natural ability and can be off the bike for months & return as strong as ever.

I wasn't one of them. I'd say I'm marginally competitive in sport. I ride Tue/Thu/Saturday for roughly 15/15/30 miles. If I'm off the bike for a week I take a huge performance hit.

That's why I'm sticking to my day job.

[CPATCRASH]

No. Ride more!

[dubjay]

You could just go out there race as you are. You should be able to gauge if you need to ride more or not to be competitive right away.

And once you start putting in the training miles, it'll be nice to see the progress you make. The differences before & after will inspire you to keep on going.

[Blue Rat]

Originally Posted by slapfan1

I want to race xc and I am competitive. Thanks for the input it looks like i have to get a trainer.

If you really want to gauge your competitiveness, up your class in the next race that you do. If you're consistant in the beginner class try sport, if sport has you reigning supreme on the podium try expert, and if you're killing the field in the expert class start knocking down doors and looking for pro sponsorship.

The point to all of this is that your training should be commensurate with your desired level of racing. To excel and move up in the world of bike racing you'll need to log plenty of time in the saddle plus a whole litany of other items ... diet, weights, cross training etc.

There are a lot of "naturals" who really do well with limited training, but once you start progessing past sport you'll have to pay your dues.

Scott

[drclark]

The other thing about racing beginner is that sometimes your bike handling and DH skills can make up for lack of endurance/training (depending on the course). By the time you move up to sport the distance is usually a bit further, pretty much everyone is a decent rider.

When it comes to training, its not just about how many miles you put in but the type of miles. I ride about 120-140 mi/week, but I probably would not be too competitive in xc because it is mostly commuting to/from work on the road with each trip about 10-11mi. I would probably be suffering on climbs still.

drc