Originally Posted by backinthesaddle
I've been riding for a year now. Over the past two months I've hit a level where I can cycle 50 miles without getting very tired, and can climb 1000 - 1500 feet without huffing and puffing.
But I'm slow. Everyone passes me.
I'd like to be stronger/faster. I think the answer at this stage is more interval training, fewer of the long slow rides that I did to develop endurance.
Any specific suggestions??
As additional info: I'm 5' 9'' and weigh (now) 195. I've lost inches but only 5 lbs in the last year. I think losing weight would help, but so far instead of losing of just been melting fat and adding muscle. Many years ago in my cycling prime I weighed 155.
Intervals will help you get faster, as will things like hill repeat intervals. Tempo riding - where you ride at a higher-than normal pace for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes - is also good for helping you get better at dealing with the lactic acid. There are specific HR ranges for this, but generally a tempo ride is one where you are riding a fairly fast cadence, your legs are hurting but not dying, and you are breathing hard but you can keep it up for that amount of time.
This is the first year I've consistently used a heart rate monitor and a real program, and it's worked fairly well for me. Knowing what HR ranges I should ride in for a given benefit is useful.
I also regularly ride with a group where some people are faster than me, but be careful doing that or racing this time of year. Everybody is pretty much at their peak right now - you want to hit them in March when they're still asleep a bit.
Finally, if you aren't dropping a lot of weight, look at your on-bike and recovery nutrition. I'm convinced that if you aim to replace the carbs you burn along the way and soon after the ride, you won't be hungry and can go without replacing the fat. I'm an accelerade/endurox guy but everybody has the drink that works for them.
Good luck.