I was talking to a friend of mine last night and he asked what plans I had for today. I said we didn’t have too much planned, but part of my day would definitely include a big ride. Then he asked me an interesting question….“What exactly is a big ride?”
I know that I’ve used the phrase “big ride” many times, but until this conversation I never had to go on to explain what I considered that big ride to actually be. The thing is, it can mean something totally different depending on what time of year it is and where my riding is at. On top of that, a big ride to me might be a walk in the park for another cyclist, or something totally un-imaginable to another. So maybe a “big – for me -for right now – ride” is more like it.
Right now, for my fall riding season, I’m scaling back on the weekly distance that I was accustomed to in the Summer. So at this moment a big ride for me is anything over 2 hours or 40 miles (60kms). At a different time of year, like that of spring and Summer, I’d probably classify that big ride as one in the 3 to 4 hour range. Anything over that I would classify as a “big big ride” or an “epic”.
It’s all what you’re used to. There used to be a time when I thought anything over an hour was a big ride. For those ultra distance type riders, they probably think a few hours on the bike is simply nothing at all. We all have our gages and we all have our definition of the big ride.
I’d love to hear back from you and find out what your definition of a “big ride” is. Let us know, and let us hear how it’s changed through your cycling career or over a cycling season.
Enjoy Your Ride, whether it be big or small.