How much road biking should a mountain biker do?

[Sweetpea]

I keep reading that road biking really improves endurance and climbing off road. I've been road riding from my house and around the Back Bay in the a.m. doing maybe 12 miles? at about 15 mph? Something tells me that that's not enough...

[Fired Yo Momma]

I ride out their on the roadie as well. I ride out their after work about 500PM and I only ride their more because the days are getting shorter. I do about two loops their if I can. It has really helped me with my MTB climbing and endurance.

[allison]

Good question...

I expected some returns after road biking as well, but don't think I've noticed any.

I recently haven't been riding with any regularity, but previously was commuting to/from work 3xweek (9 miles round trip) and riding at lunch a few days a week as well... plus a few road rides here and there on Sunday's.

[mp3]

I don't think 9-12 miles at a time, essentially an hour of riding, will make much of a difference. I think 3-4 hours at a time, either at a constant pace or with plenty of hills thrown in, a few times a week will do it. I saw improvements on the MTB in a couple of months -- riding faster for longer. To keep my climbing legs, off road climbs on the mtb seems to work for me.

[kevinator]

Lunchtime rides and commuting are excellent starters, but you really need more saddle time, plain and simple. And before you think about targeting specific areas of fitness (ie. intervals). To begin, LSD - "long, steady distance" rides. Anywhere from 2-3 hours (working up to that, of course) in the small (39T) ring with cadence above 85rpm, once a week. These will increase your stamina for those multiple hour mtb rides while pushing cardio fitness to the next level. Once you establish your "base" you can decide what to try next. Lots of material and advice available from this community and others. It's a great change of pace and once you get accustomed to the handling of the bike, the speed is addictive. Not to mention the difference in workouts - hurting you in a completely different way. Have fun and ride safe.

[Jordansrealm]

You should ride your bike whether it be on the road or on the dirt every moment of every day for the rest of your life.

Then drink lots and lots of beer for recovery.

Sound like a plan?

[Pho'dUp]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I keep reading that road biking really improves endurance and climbing off road. I've been road riding from my house and around the Back Bay in the a.m. doing maybe 12 miles? at about 15 mph? Something tells me that that's not enough...

Why don't you ride Newport Coast Rd? That section from Bonita Canyon to PCH and back has got plenty of long hills. I ride a loop with that section, 30mi, 2 hours from my house and I think it helps.

But the 4 hour ride with constant effort I think is where the real benefits are. I hope anyways. I'm giving up a day on the mountain bike to do this!

[genusmtbkr5]

As soon as daylight savings ends, can't ride the parks as much so I ride the road more. My commute is 19 miles each way and I try to do it in less than an hour. You will get faster and used to pedalling longer at a higher cadence.

[Pho'dUp]

Originally Posted by genusmtbkr5

As soon as daylight savings ends, can't ride the parks as much so I ride the road more. My commute is 19 miles each way and I try to do it in less than an hour. You will get faster and used to pedalling longer at a higher cadence.

Wow, all the wilderness parks mush shed a small tear Gene. I bet they miss you lots and lots in the winter.

[J_Sims]

Originally Posted by Jordansrealm

Then drink lots and lots of beer for recovery.

Sound like a plan?

I call this carb theorapy... and yes it is necessary after every ride to replace those ever necessary carbs...

[allison]

Originally Posted by Pho'dUp

Why don't you ride Newport Coast Rd? That section from Bonita Canyon to PCH and back has got plenty of long hills. I ride a loop with that section, 30mi, 2 hours from my house and I think it helps.

But the 4 hour ride with constant effort I think is where the real benefits are. I hope anyways. I'm giving up a day on the mountain bike to do this!

How do you guys find time during the week to ride 2-3 hours on the road??

I can, just not all at once. Especially once it gets dark at 4:30 pm. I'm fine with riding trails with a light, but I don't trust vehicles enough when drivers can't see.

[mp3]

Originally Posted by allison

How do you guys find time during the week to ride 2-3 hours on the road??

I commute and throw in "bonus" miles. The number of days/week decreases in the winter unless I have a 24 hour race in Feb or a multi-day race in April.

In winter I use an old HID Flamethrower for headlight and have 3 "rear" lights: helmet, backpack & bike.

[PacMan]

That's my main concern too--cars!! Road riding + cars + dark = no bueno.

I am looking forward to my first loooong road ride though.

Holy crap, did I really just say that??

[Pho'dUp]

Originally Posted by allison

How do you guys find time during the week to ride 2-3 hours on the road??

I can, just not all at once. Especially once it gets dark at 4:30 pm. I'm fine with riding trails with a light, but I don't trust vehicles enough when drivers can't see.

Right now the first half of the ride it's light out. But I afterwards I wear reflective clothing and use 5 lights. Helmet light (so I can point at drivers to make sure they see me), front blinky light, 3 rear blinky lights. Yeah I feel stupid but visible. I may just ditch the road M-F and just do Harding truck trail at night instead and take my chances with the kitties.

[allison]

Originally Posted by mp3

I commute and throw in "bonus" miles. The number of days/week decreases in the winter unless I have a 24 hour race in Feb or a multi-day race in April.

We can do that now, before it gets dark on our way home... but, I'm not interested in riding around on the skinny roads (where we have decent hills) with no shoulder after dark.

But, once Nov. 3rd rolls around it's gonna be dark at like 5. Since I get out of work at 4:30... not a lot of time for additional miles

And, unfortunately I only get an hour for lunch...

[Kid A]

Q: How much road biking should a mountain biker do?

A: NONE
B: ZERO
C: ZILCH
D: NIL
E: ALL OF THE ABOVE <----CORRECT ANSWER!!!

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I keep reading that road biking really improves endurance and climbing off road. I've been road riding from my house and around the Back Bay in the a.m. doing maybe 12 miles? at about 15 mph? Something tells me that that's not enough...

[SIZE=6]ZERO!!!!!!!!!![/SIZE]

If you want to improve your endurance / strength ride a SS OFF ROAD Or just put in more saddle time on your current rig.

[Sweetpea]

I agree with you guys that road riding would be O.K. except for the cars on the road part. I guess that I could ride from the Back Bay to the end of the bike path in Irvine a couple times a week. I think that's about 30 miles. I've done it before. I used my HID light and was glad that I did because there were several hikers and dog walkers out there dressed in black, in the dark, and almost invisible.

Rather than go out at night, you can go out early, before work. If you want to ride the bike paths in the Back Bay area, the YMCA at University and Irvine allows anyone to use their showers for $2.

[S54MCoupe]

You guys crack me up.

Almost ALL of the fast XC guys ride a lot of road, plain and simple.

But then again, they all wear lycra and shave their legs, too... so what do they know, right?