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Did 11.8 miles tonight dragging butt . Do you guys work legs every night or every other night ? The guys I ride with are younger and in much better shape. I need to catch up with them in performance .
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You can't go hard every time you ride. Mix it up.
short rides, intense effort. 45 - 60 minutes, 80% effort with a handful of intervals that hurt and push the heart rate way up there.
Moderate distance, high effort. 60 - 90 minutes, 60-80% effort. No hard intervals.
Long distance, moderate effort. 90-120 minutes, 50% effort. 1 energy bar at an hour so you don't bonk.
Easy/Recovery. 30-45 minutes. spinning easily, minimal effort.
Day off. Sit on your ass and enjoy a cold one. Usually should follow a hard day.
Mix it up depending on your goals and fitness levels. There are much more formal training plans if you dig into it, but they all boil down to my summary.