When you begin cycling, you don’t really put in a lot of thought on how much distance you should be covering. And it’s natural because you start slow and only focus on sticking with the cycling regime for as long as you can.
However, when finally, the day comes for you to start covering a minimum distance to keep you in good shape, increase your stamina and improve your overall cycling speed; it’s important you set a goal and combine all your efforts into making it come true.
To unleash your true potential as to how far you can ride your bike can be determined by how much you can ride with paddling at a moderate pace for an hour. Measure the distance and speed on your smartwatch or fitness tracker on your smartphone to make a note of the same. Ideally, a beginner cyclist should aim to cover a minimum of 10-12 kph.
Here are a few points to keep in mind to set and stick to an average speed as a beginner:
1. Initially Ride on Flat Terrains, Eventually on High Terrains
Focus more on riding on flat terrains rather than jumping onto bumpy mountains and hills. This will help you pick a pace initially and get used to it. Once you have a good hang on riding with absolute ease and comfort on flat roads without having to worry about your minimum distance and speed, you can switch to riding on higher terrains.
2. Don’t Underestimate the Weather
The weather contributes to your cycling speed greatly. The minimum distance you cover on your bike comes shooting up and crashing down when it’s windy and you need to push yourself extra to cut through the wind. Similarly, when the wind isn’t too strong you can push yourself to paddle faster and go at a lightning speed effortlessly.
3. Focus on Paddling Faster and Not Longer
Your focus should always be to paddle faster rather than paddling longer. This will result in increasing your average cycling speed plus you can cover more distance in less time. However, do remember to start your cycling workout slowly and gradually speed up. Make it a rule to cycle at a low or moderate speed for the first 15 minutes and put all your intense energy into a high-intensity workout for the next 45 minutes.
4. Experiment and Measure Your Cycling Workouts
Make sure to include a mix of high-intensity training, polarized training and moderate paced cycling training at an equal balance. This will enable you to measure your effectiveness as a cyclist in a holistic manner. You should not exhaust and strain your body with only intensive training. It can cause your body to become fragile and uncomfortable. Take it slow but be consistent with the workouts.
5. Be Mindful & Considerate Towards Your Overall Health
Taking proper precautions is super important when you begin your cycling sessions. Especially for a beginner, it’s natural to become over enthusiastic and try to achieve a month’s goal in a week. But this can cause more harm than good. In order to keep going, you need to make sure your body is receiving proper nutrition, rest, and sleep. A healthy combination of all the elements will keep you in good shape physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Wrapping it Up,
A good enough distance is any distance that you feel you can comfortably cover without draining yourself up completely. You need to push yourself only to a level where your body doesn’t get resentful towards your physical goals. Strive yourself to become better not all at once but bit by bit.
