Do you want to ride like Floyd Landis and the other Tour de France cyclists?

Production models of many of the bikes, equipment and apparel are available at many bike shops, such as PerformanceBike.com. But, to truly ride like Floyd, you will need a bit (okay, a lot) of talent and a great deal of time.

How much time? Most professional cyclists ride between five and seven hours a day. Even on rest days, a four hour ride is not unusual. Rain or shine. The reason is that nearly all professional races cover distances in excess of 100 miles. Even riding at 25mph, a pace that is sustainable by professional cyclists, covering such differences requires four hours of riding – with no stops.

Of course, for your efforts, you will essentially receive a blank check for calories. One estimate, published several years ago, suggested that professional cyclists consume about 7,000 calories per day – the most of any professional athlete, save for sumo wrestlers. Nonetheless, nutrition matters because riding that much takes a toll on the body. Landis showed this last Wednesday when a lack of proper nutrition resulted in him cracking (or in cycling terms, “bonking”) in the mountains.

For people without the luxury of having five to seven hours of free time every day, cycling still brings many benefits. The activity is low impact, burns lots of calories and builds cardio fitness. Plus, it can be a great social activity, with multiple clubs existing in most cities.

On behalf of the NetSweat staff, congrats Floyd!