Cycling: Increase Your Endurance For Relaxing Enjoyable Long Distance Bike Rides

Endurance is lasting power. One way to build up your endurance is to try to go farther every time. Since I do not bike all year round I need to start with shorter bike rides and build up my endurance. Instead of letting the bike rides become easy I keep increasing the distance little by little until I don't want to go any farther. One bike ride a week is enough for my endurance to increase. When attempting to increase the distance it is a good idea to go at a comfortable pace. You want to be able to reach your destination.

Go too fast and you will tire out before you get there. So you need to pace yourself even if it seems easy or too slow at first. Stop if you feel you need to. Taking a short break can make the rest of your bike ride a lot easier. I prefer not to stop but I will walk for a little while if I am getting too hot or too tired. Long bike rides can be torture if you are not ready. So you should start with a distance you know you can handle and build up to the longer bike rides.

You may want to break up the distance. When going for really long bike rides I will find a nice place to rest like a free public beach. There is no point in making the bike ride harder than it needs to be when you are biking for fun or exercise. Since you will need a lot energy you should bring some food with you.

Challenge yourself but don't torture yourself.

Water is probably the best drink for bike riding and biking near large bodies of water is a good way to avoid the heat. If you are worried about the heat stay near the water for as long as possible. You can also soak yourself in water. Wet hair and clothes can keep you cool for a while. Biking near tall trees helps because it provides you with some shade. While biking home from a park on a hot day I get hot in the same location every time. Where you bike is important when it is hot out.

Another way to avoid the heat is to go biking in the morning or at night. Avoid biking during the hottest parts of the day when possible. If you try to make it home for supper you may have a hard time dealing with the heat. Waiting an extra hour can make a big difference. Biking home at 4 so I could make it home by 5 was really rough on me. So I switched and started biking home around 5. It made the bike ride a lot easier on me.

Even if you have great endurance the heat can get to you if you are not careful. The sun can also get to you. Use lots of sunblock and try not to spend too much time in the open sun or it can make you feel sick. If you are going to be outside for a while spend some of your time in the shade.

While using the Google search engine you can select the maps option. Enter a location and run a search. Select the get directions option and then the bike picture. Next enter the location you want to start from and click the blue "Get Directions" button. It should provide you with directions and the distance.

To find new places to bike you can type in general terms like "provincial park" but it is business oriented. If you search for "beach" you will mostly find businesses with the word beach in their name. You can change the route by clicking on the current route and dragging it to another road. To add destinations you can right click and select the Add Destination option.

I often use Google Maps to plan my bike rides. It is easy to find nice places to go to and alter the distances.