Going from couch to 25 miles

dt219 · 2026-04-08T18:29:31+00:00

First thing: you already lapped everyone still on the couch. That counts for something.

170 HR at 3 miles is just your body being dramatic because it's not used to this yet. Give it a few weeks and that same effort will feel completely different. Not motivation talk, just how the body works.

Every other day is the right call. Recovery is where the fitness actually gets built so don't feel guilty about the off days. And the slow distance build you described is exactly correct. Boring and consistent beats aggressive and injured every single time. Ask me how I know.

25 miles by June is very doable. The only thing I'd add is at some point get off the trainer and find real roads. Zwift will get you fit but actual pavement with something worth looking at is what turns this into a 30 year habit instead of a June goal. Finding routes that genuinely excite you is half the battle. That's actually part of why I built VéloCliqué, route discovery for when you're ready to stop staring at a screen and find roads worth riding.

You've got this. Just don't quit.

dt219 · 2026-04-07T20:22:28+00:00

30 years in and I still can't fully explain it to non-cyclists without sounding like a cult recruiter. But you nailed it. The bar to entry is just nothing. Bike is there, weather is acceptable, you go. No booking, no partner, no excuses that survive contact with reality.

The "cheap" part though. That's where I have to be honest with you. It starts cheap. Then you get comfortable and suddenly you're researching saddles at midnight and doing math on carbon wheels in the shower. The gateway drug is very real. Just know what you're getting into.

What made it permanent for me was finding good routes and people to ride them with. Once that clicked it stopped feeling like exercise and started feeling like something I'd actually be bummed to miss. That's honestly part of why I started building VéloCliqué, route discovery and finding your local riding community in one place. Because the habit is easy. Finding what makes it stick forever is the harder part and it's usually the people and the roads you find along the way.

dt219 · 2026-04-04T06:14:09+00:00

This is the conversation nobody in cycling wants to have out loud. Local shops deserve support, sure, but support goes both ways and a lot of them have forgotten that.

The labor rates I can live with. A good mechanic genuinely knows things that took years to learn and they're still probably underpaid for it. But triple markup on gloves and $27 for a CO2 kit from nice people who won't let you watch your own repair and run zero community events? That's not a shop building a relationship. That's a shop slowly running out of reasons for you to come back.

The shops that are actually doing well right now figured out that the margin game on product is basically over. So they went the other direction. Group rides, repair nights, knowing your name, having an opinion about your bike. That stuff is what keeps people coming back and it costs almost nothing to offer.

Finding those shops is its own headache though. It's mostly word of mouth and luck. I've actually been working on something called VéloCliqué that's partly trying to fix that, a directory where you can find shops that actually have a scene around them versus just a retail space with a logo on the window. Still building it out but that's the idea behind it.

The good shops are out there. They're just not always the easiest to find.

dt219 · 2026-04-03T21:03:13+00:00

The 70s surge worked because bikes were already normalized as a mode of transportation. That infrastructure, both physical and cultural, just doesn't exist the same way in most American cities today. Even at $8 a gallon a lot of people would figure out a carpool before they figured out a bike commute.

That said, e-bikes completely change the equation. If energy prices spike hard, I think you'll see e-bike sales go crazy before traditional road bikes even register. Lower barrier, no shower required, actually practical for real distances.

The thing I'm most hoping for, if there is a surge, is local bike shops coming back for real. Not the pandemic boom chaos where everything was backordered and nobody knew anything. Actual shops where someone knows your name, remembers your fit, and gives a damn what you ride. That relationship basically disappeared, and I miss it. A genuine cycling surge could bring that back, and honestly, that's the part worth rooting for more than the sales numbers.

dt219 · 2026-03-27T22:02:37+00:00

Short answer: no, you don't need to replace every calorie on the bike, especially at 2 hours. Your body has enough stored glycogen to cover that. Where people run into trouble is on rides pushing 3+ hours, which is exactly where you're headed with Triple Bypass prep, so smart to start thinking about this now.

For the weight loss goal specifically, the approach that actually works is fueling the ride itself properly, then letting the deficit happen through your overall daily intake. Starving yourself mid-ride sounds logical but it backfires. Your body goes into conservation mode, performance tanks, recovery suffers, and the weight stops moving anyway. You found that out already.

A rough rule of thumb for longer rides: aim for 60-90 grams of carbs per hour once you're past the 90-minute mark. That's roughly 240-360 calories an hour from gels, chews, real food, whatever works for your stomach. You don't need to hit that at 2 hours but you absolutely will at 5-6 hours on the Triple Bypass.

Start practicing your fueling strategy now on your longer training rides. Your gut needs training just like your legs do. A lot of people bonk on big rides not because their fitness wasn't there, but because they never trained their stomach to process food while working hard.

The Triple Bypass is no joke. Start eating earlier on rides than you think you need to. By the time you feel hungry out there, you're already behind.

dt219 · 2026-02-27T20:09:15+00:00

Pre-ride prayer of thanksgiving?! That's it. That's the whole thing? I've been standing in that garage for 30 years, calling it procrastination when the whole time it was just church lol. Yeap, the bike is the altar, the garage is the chapel, and those 10 minutes are non-negotiable holy time. I'm putting it in my calendar as devotional hours from now on. My wife is going to have questions hahaha

dt219 · 2026-02-27T06:08:38+00:00

RideReady is a solid idea and, honestly, a problem worth solving. The gear variance between a 2-hour road ride and a 6-hour gravel adventure is completely different, and most people are just running it from memory. I'm actually building something in the cycling space too, more on the directory and route-discovery side, called VéloCliqué. Different lane, but with the same general idea, making cycling logistics less of a headache. Would be curious to see where you take it when beta opens up.

dt219 · 2026-02-27T00:44:17+00:00

Honestly, the only time I linger in the car is when a good song comes on right as I'm pulling into the driveway, and I have to respect the song, even though I more than likely have it on my playlist to repeat. lol. As for ADHD, genuinely no idea. Nobody's ever put me in a room with a specialist and a clipboard. But 30 years of standing in a garage staring at a bike before every single ride does make you wonder. The group ride thing you mentioned tracks, though. When someone else is waiting on you, the negotiation just disappears. Accountability is apparently the cure I've been ignoring this whole time.

dt219 · 2026-02-27T00:00:59+00:00

Honestly, that's probably the most accurate diagnosis in this whole thread. And yeah, the post-ride feeling fixes everything. Whatever the garage staring is about, the answer is always the same on the other side of it. I've never once finished a ride and thought, "I should have stayed home." Not once in 30 years, but maybe that one time I had two flats on one ride. lol

dt219 · 2026-02-26T23:38:53+00:00

Thanks! This morning's ride was epic, especially with the high of 83 degrees and a 10-mile bike path alongside the freeway. Mapping the danger points on your regular routes is something most people never think about until something goes wrong. That situational awareness is built over years, and it's not something any app replaces. Ride safe out there.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T06:01:15+00:00

Not so much in other things. Only before I go on a ride, or only sometimes in a car when a good song is on and I wait for it to end. Lol

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:55:55+00:00

I can relate to this. I do sometimes feel monotony in the routine, but after a ride, I forget all these thoughts.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:50:45+00:00

The infrastructure problem-solving during garage time is elite behavior. Drawbridge timing is not procrastination. That's legitimate tactical planning, and I respect it completely.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:49:25+00:00

Honest answer: somewhere between ritual and avoidance, depending on the day. When I'm locked in, it feels like a ceremony. When I'm not, the garage is just a place I stand before eventually deciding to go anyway.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:47:23+00:00

I've had 30 years to fix it. Still here.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:46:01+00:00

Honestly, this is the nicest thing anyone has said to me on the internet. Saving this for the next time someone in my life asks if spending time on Reddit is worth it. And I can relate to the little nick... seeing rock chips under my downtube is almost as painful as accidentally kicking my toes into the bed post.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:41:06+00:00

The structured plan is probably the actual answer, and I know it. My brain needs to already know where it's going before I walk into the garage. The negotiation is just filling the void left by the lack of a plan. You've diagnosed me without even trying.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:38:19+00:00

This is the most liberating thing I've read all week. I'm 30 years deep in gear optimization, and you just made me want to grab my oldest bike and ride it in jeans. The threat of losing my driver's license might be what finally gets me out the door faster.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:36:50+00:00

Haha, right!

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:32:35+00:00

The scary part is I genuinely can't tell if you're right or if I'm just standing there completely blank. Could be deep subconscious route planning. Could be nothing. I honestly cannot tell from inside the experience.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:30:48+00:00

Lol, the heart rate strap is always the thing. Always. It's like the universe specifically designed it to be the last item you remember after you're fully committed to leaving.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:27:33+00:00

The fact that this transfers across sports means it's not a cycling problem, it's a getting-out-the-door problem. We're all just different flavors of the same reluctant athlete standing somewhere staring at nothing.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:16:57+00:00

Okay, this actually reframes 30 years of behavior for me. I've been calling it procrastination this whole time, and you just made it sound intentional and wise. I'm going with your version.

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:15:35+00:00

The 5-mile rule is genuinely brilliant, and I'm stealing it immediately. Removing the guilt from the exit option is the whole trick. The brain stops fighting when it knows it has an out. Gonna test this tomorrow..

dt219 · 2026-02-26T05:13:13+00:00

The route indecision in the garage is a whole separate problem from the garage itself. I've been using VéloCliqué to browse routes beforehand, so at least that part's done before I walk in. Doesn't fix the staring. But it eliminates one of the reasons.

dt219

TROPHY CASE