Exercise rides.

[Stumpalump]

Most days my rides are just the neighborhood dirt roads and trails. Some days I ride easy for an hour or two and other days I just bomb and crank everything for about 40 minutes. Overall it seems like the same exertion but what kind of ride is better for exercise? What kind of ride do you do for just the workout?

 

[xjblue]

Just for the workout I hit up the local weekly race series on week nights after work. Something about just being in a race has me putting more effort in to the ride, even if I'm bringing up the rear of my category. Two separate series with venues fairly close to work make that convenient.
I've read longer (couple hours plus) casual to moderate effort rides are great for burning fat, while short intervals of high effort are great for building strength.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Oh man...volumes of books have been written to answer that question. It totally depends on your objectives. Physical adaptations (fitness) is all about stress and rest. The type of stresses you place on your body determine the level of rest required for those adaptations to be "absorbed." They type of stress also determines the type of adaptation you derive from those efforts.

Again, it totally depends on your objectives. When I was competing in road racing at an elite level, it was largely about developing top end power and repeatability. Now that I'm an old fart, and mostly ride big self-supported multi-day stuff, endurance is more important, so fewer, longer rides are best.

Ultimately, within that stress/rest balance, most people don't put in enough stress (workouts) for the results to stick. You're either getting fitter, or less fit. There is no stasis. Few people "over" train, so the short answer here is one given by Eddy Merckx decades ago:

Ride lots.

 

[keezer37]

I've got nearly 10k miles of 3.5 hour rides logged. Have something to complement riding for exercising. Something to work your top half. I'm in my sixth season now and my bottom half is noticeably more tone that my top. I plan on getting a rowing machine toward the end of this summer. I think rowing during the off season and as a complement to the riding season will work out well.

 

[jayspies]

I'm firmly in the "old fart" category. For me, cycling is a two-fold activity - the sheer pleasure of being out in nature on two wheels (which is my main driving motivator), and the ability to help keep the Michelin man at bay by getting the heart rate up. I am not and have never been a competitive cyclist, so I'm never riding to "train". That being said, I would much rather gear my rides toward enjoyment and ride them as hard as my body and mind want to let me, knowing that the caloric balance sheet will likely end up in my favor. If I'm out of breath at the end of a climb, I did it right. If I'm not, I ride harder on the next one. I ride a fatbike 24/7, so the former is usually the most common denominator. I have 2 kids, 12 and 8, so about 2 hours (including driving to the local trailhead) is about the timeline of what my rides are by necessity compacted into. I would love to have the ability to do multi-day bikebacking runs, but kids/family (for now) dictate otherwise.