started riding July 2021, big heavy hybrid bike, made steady endurance gains, 15mi, 30mi, 40mi, 50mi, metric century, 1000 miles for the year. avg pace well under 13mph.
bought a road bike for 2022, zwifted all winter, built up to 100 miles a week, did a century for the first time on labor day weekend in 7+ hours. avg pace 13-ish.
Zwifted over the winter - increased to 150 miles a week, 2023 came out with the goal of doing a 160 mile “race” in August, did 3 or 4 centuries and one 140mile ride (11 hours), DNF the event due to mechanical, took a prolonged break and then started back on 100 miles / week through September.
very lazy winter heading into 2024 - zwifted but without a serious goal, did a century a month but only at 50% FTP - it was pretty painful.
Dad calls me in Feb - says he wants to do a weeklong ride in TN/MS in October, I say cool. Lots of elevation which I have no way to train for in Indy.
So I start doing group rides to train up my power level and all the group rides advertise “no drop” but are kinda sorta lying. I’ve been doing a 30ish mile ride on Mondays since March and a 50-ish mile ride on Saturdays since May. I am FULLY cooked by the time I get home from those rides.
I’ve tried to add a Thursday ride or even spin sessions on off days and I just don’t have the energy for it. I’ve also changed jobs this year and the new job is quite a challenge.
So there you go - that’s my biking career in a nutshell.
Also and I don’t mean this to be combative all of the advice I’ve received so far just doesn’t work for me and maybe that means cycling doesn’t work for me but I constantly feel like I’m “fighting” this hobby and tbh the only reason I started it was because my dad likes cycling and he gave me a couple bikes. I love the fitness side of it because unlike running or walking, I can ride on a bike pretty much “forever” but progressing to the point where I can enjoy this hobby with other people - that’s not working at all right now.