90 minutes would severely limit my route choice.
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Can confirm.
I enjoy a long ride mostly for the chance to be in a new place in my bike. It’s a fun and rewarding way to express the fitness I’ve gained, too.
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What do I get out of long rides?
Lost, I often get lost!
That’s part of the fun and what makes them long!
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Some places are easier than others to get motivated to go for long rides. I live in Colorado now. Used to live in Chicago. It’s a lot easier and more motivating to go for long rides in Colorado. Being outside with friends anywhere is great… and better when the scenery is stunning 
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When riding for 5-6 hours I typically do a stop at a gas station to refill bottles and eat some real food. But should be fine without a stop for 4 hour if you have two one liter bottles (500 ml/hour).
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My rides have progressively got longer, my recent long ones this year have been almost 12 hrs with a bunch of 6-8 he training rides to build up. There are many people doing much longer rides than that!
I like seeing the world go by, I find the speed of a bike to be just the right balance between the scenery changing quickly but slow enough to take in. I also like point to point rides as I find travelling under your own steam rewarding.
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Sometimes they can be really boring… </Unpopular opinion>
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getting to smash my face with pasta and haribo’s
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the adventure of a mega ride, looking back thinking “I can’t believe we did that” (maybe since I don’t come from endurance background as a kid, simply covering lots of ground in a day amazes me), love a big kilojoule burn and then eating a big awesome dinner (very nice to experience coming from being overweight in my 20’s), and just an awesome feeling of accomplishment…and, they’re necessary if we really want to race long races!
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That is heavily dependent on where you live and what time of year it is.
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Absolutely, this will depend on the temperature/weather.
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Even in Summer (UK) I can normally ride 4 - 5hrs with two 750ml bottles (very low sweat rate) although on the warmer days its not ideal. I’ve only ever been on two rides where it was a real problem. The same day two Marines died on one of the Moors. Hottest day of the year. In the UK top up at any Church (I felt the need but never done it) In France and Spain there are fountains.
Out of long rides? Great base endurance, me time away from the rat race, sights you would never see any other way.
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Long rides teach you a lot about yourself, mental and physical. Great for building and maintaining base fitness. Back to back long rides teach you a lot about fueling, how the tired empty legs feeling might just be lack of carbs.
Nothing is constant on a long ride, tired legs might feel great an hour later.
5-6+ hour rides might become small adventures when you have to find an alternate route or a water stop.
I’m always using 950ml bottles, one per hour I sweat a lot. When it’s colder I might stretch 3 bottles for a 4 hour ride because I can then do it without stops.
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Long rides give me space and time to think. They provide peace, a connection with nature, opportunities to hear the birds chirping, and to stop for ice cream along the way. Riding my bike is literally the best thing I know, so riding far is basically just prolonging the joy. During the summer months when the weather is good, I will regularly do 30+ hour weeks for months on end. Last week, I finished a 9 day block that totalled 46 hours, and I’m sure I’ll get some similar blocks in before summer is over.
I literally cannot think of anything I’d rather do than ride my bike. This isn’t to say that I don’t have days when I feel fatigued or periods during my rides when it feels very difficult, but that’s the case with all endeavours. The important thing is that even when it feels hard, there is nothing else I’d rather be doing, so even the tough times are enjoyable in their own way.
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time flies when you are on the bike.
what can you get out of it.
you are not a couch potato training your middle session.
you see the world.
you get bragging rights on strava
riding is like a good movie… sometimes i look at the head unit and see 45 minutes are already gone.
2 hours is the bare mininum… i don’t ride less than 35-40k on any day.
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You get to spend time with your friends, and some experience riding in groups. More endurance is just a bonus.
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Hey, man, if 90 minutes is what floats your boat right now, stick to that! Never feel the need to do something just because others do. Do what makes you happy and what works for you. That said, don’t avoid trying new things either. If nothing else, trying something new you’ll actually KNOW whether that new thing works for you or not. And over time you may also evolve or change. Be in the moment, without judgement of yourself or others. The rest is irrelevant.
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All of the above. Lots of time to ponder life, to see interesting places and things, see some wildlife, spend time with friends, get a good workout, lots of good controlled (and some less than controlled) breathing, and carefree “cheat meals” after.
Longer rides are a lot more appetizing once you’ve gotten a good base fitness and figured out your hydration and your carb intake strategy. The long hills don’t seem as long or steep, the heat doesn’t seem as hot, your not having to work as hard just to keep up with the group.
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Hearing people say, “I don’t even like driving that far”.
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From a training point of view, long rides fatigue the slow twitch muscles and then recruits your faster twitch muscles to do some aerobic work.
I’m going to go against the grain here and say that I don’t care for regular 5 hour training rides. Long rides can be fun in the right context: a century or fondo with friends, a big gravel event, etc. I have enjoyed some 4-5 hour gravel rides with friends. You can really get out to the middle of nowhere if you live in the right place (NM at the time).
For regular training by myself, I will get bored after 2-3 hours. I need podcasts or audio books to get me through.