Last Updated on December 20, 2022

For advanced bikers, cycling is more than a simple leisure activity. This holds regardless of the riding discipline that they practice.

Bikers tend to make cycling their lifestyle of choice which means that it is part of their routine as a means to get fit. This is because as a plus, biking takes you places you never thought you can go to.

As bikers advance, it becomes more than just a stroll along your favorite countryside. Bikers start setting goals, beating records, or, ride more aggressively, to bring the hobby to more interesting levels.

As this activity becomes more demanding, so does the demand for fitness. At this point, you should determine how many miles are needed for one to ride daily to meet your fitness requirements.

So the answer to this question depends on several aspects. This would include your goals, overall wellness, your fitness level, and the type of riding discipline that you do.

So stick around as we tackle each of these aspects that would influence how many miles should one bike in a day.

Table of Contents

Factors to Consider When Biking

As discussed earlier, there are many things to consider when it comes to your biking miles. Let us break down each of them to understand them better.

Biking goals

Many ride a bike to keep fit or to maintain weight loss. This is the number one reason why people engage in biking in the first place. Compared to jogging, biking tends to be lighter on the body when it comes to wear and tear.

Especially for those who are trying to lose weight, this activity does not hurt your knees to. And when it comes to the distance for people who need to stay fit and lose weight, it will all be based on the calorie requirement that needs to be shed for each ride. This makes riding a mountain bike a great idea if you want to continue your weight loss program and track how many calories you lost daily.

Weight loss can be attained by biking a certain distance regularly. There is no need to push to the limits unless you are training for something bigger that would require a certain level of fitness.

For your daily rides, you can cycle 5 to 6 miles as a start. This will take around 30 minutes for new bikers. And if ever you would need to improve your routine, you can then add more miles to your goal.

You can combine this routine with any HIIT or any cardio activity t optimize the results. But once you build up your riding stamina, you can elevate your game by hitting routes, loops, which involve more challenging terrain and longer distances.

You can easily monitor your progress through GPS cycling apps. This shows that biking is not just a leisure activity but is a starting point to lose a few pounds and become a healthier average cyclist.

Joining organized rides and century rides

An organized ride is like riding milestones for bikers. But preparation is needed for these kinds of rides.

If you are thinking about joining, this is where you need to elevate your daily goals and go hard. It is hard to join this kind of activity if you are not prepared for it. Many things can go wrong during the ride.

Century rides would require a rider to bike 100 miles. With this, you can bump up your daily routine to 10 miles a day, and increase the distance each week as you progress in your training. There are even times when you need a road bike to tackle hilly terrain while losing weight.

Stamina and endurance are the keys to reaching this goal, that’s why hard work and focus should be of top priority when preparing for your first century ride.

Overall Wellness and Fitness Level

Knowing your state of health is crucial in determining the number of miles you should bike every day. Younger riders can bike miles and miles per day and can push beyond their limits. But that is given if they are in optimum health condition.

However, if you are past your prime, the need to be mindful of your rides should be of utmost priority. But it doesn’t mean you can improve though.

There are still opportunities for the older riders but the progress would be slower for some. If you have some kind of medical condition, you can consult your doctor if you opt to ride beyond your limits.

One’s fitness level is also a factor regardless of age. There are older riders that can easily hit century rides without breaking much of a sweat. But this is only possible because they have been keeping that level of fitness for many years.

If you are someone who is physically active and is fond of exercising a lot, riding 10 miles daily does not pose much of a challenge. That is because your high endurance is a key factor and as long as you know your limits, you can keep pushing. You should also combine cycling with other exercises such as push-ups, curl-ups, or jogging.

But if you are just starting, always assess yourself first. It is best to be aware of your limitations and how far you can go beyond. Pushing yourself too much might put you in danger and this includes your riding buddies as well.

Riding Discipline and the Bike You Ride

Your riding style and the type of bike that you ride is also a determining factor when it comes to the miles that you should ride each day. Roadies can be very mile specific, cross country riding can also be distance specific but that would also depend on the type of terrain that they ride.

For those who like trails and are doing enduro and downhill mountain biking, the physical demands are also quite different. This time around, it is not about the miles and how far you can ride but how quickly you can get to the finish line.

You can monitor your progress by keeping tabs on your run times. Especially for enduro, the faster you go, the greater the demand on your body is. You can easily monitor your runs through GPS apps and save your progress.

For trail riders, it is also best to combine your rides with gym workouts. HIIT and other endurance-building exercises are the best recipes to improve your trail riding. That is because riding trails require your whole body, especially your core to be able to take the demands that are needed when riding out on trails.

Riding Terrain

As discussed in the previous topic, the terrain can also be a big factor in how many miles you should ride daily. Even for roadies, since they are not just pedaling on flat terrain for miles.

Many routes include steep inclines which would test the rider’s fitness. This is especially true for cross country riders wherein terrain, distance, and time is a factor.

Conclusion

The true meaning of riding your bike is setting up goals regardless of your riding discipline. This way it will make the experience more challenging and will keep you excited and wanting more. If you take this approach, this will turn your hobby into your lifestyle and passion in no time.

Keeping tabs on the miles you ride per day or the time it took for you to finish a certain route, will help you determine what goals you must set. However, you must be mindful of your limitations as well and the many factors that come along with them.

But no worries, since your benchmark and milestones will stack up eventually as long as you continue riding your bike every chance that you get. Its returns are endless, you will be able to build your stamina, strength, and your overall mental wellness as well.