Training & Nutrition - I Need To Increase My Avg Mph--but How?

Been riding road bike since 2004 and i can't seem to be able to increase my avg. There's days when i can get around 15-16mph for a 20 mile ride but that's about it. I'm not out of shape or overweight it just doesn't seem to be getting any better. I've read the threads from the older riders just cranking at 25 mph and i'm just like holy cow that's amazing, how do i get there? My current rides consist mostly of gradual hills and some steep climbs, mostly rollers and obviously some flats where my speeds avg around 22 to 24 mph. I've been riding a lot this winter but i want to rock in the spring and summer, any suggestions from riders who've experienced this before and have gotten better?

are you riding fixed gear now?

There are too many factors at play here to give good advice on this one ... schloe mo is just on the tip of iceberg here ... give us more info about your bike, i.e. gearing, tires, riding position ... ect.

And why exactly do you NEED to highten your average speed? :)

BTW there´s a rule to this you know : The older you get the faster you used to ride.

Nah, it's simple. Just ride faster!

do hill intervals. they are all you need since if you do enough of 'em and take the proper time to recover, the flats are so fcuckin' easy that you will just GO!

there's more detail to it than that, but that is the general idea. you gotta do hills. often.

don't stop for lights?

buy this. (http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/135362637.html)

44x21 for 57 gear inches if those are 27's. It's san fran I guess, but man, I don't feel so bad about my 52x20 any more

buy this. (http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/135362637.html)

The back wheel has a huge cog on it (21 tooth) this so bike is really fast.

haha. Someone should buy that guy a 40 tooth cog so he can go even faster (maybe a 36 tooth chainring too!)

See Macka's thread. Basically it boils down to doing intervals, within a structure of a program that allows for adequate rest and recovery. If you ride the same steady pace, even if it's a reasonably difficult pace, you're not going to get much faster. You've got to ride easy when it's time to ride easy and hard when it's time to ride hard.

Steps to get faster: 1) buy a HRM 2) buy a book on training with HR, 3) go out and try to hang on group rides with faster guys. 4) rest.

+1

The man speaks the truth. Intervals with the proper amount of rest inbetween should do the trick.

Dante

hey big al, people who want to get faster on road bikes usually do two things:
1. long yet moderately paced endurance rides to build stamina and develop form
2. intense interval (and / or hill climbing) sessions to build explosive power.

I'd also recommend making sure you're properly fitten on your bike, and to learn to spin like hell. All of this put together will make you faster. Don't worry about what sort of bike you ride for now, though, this being the fixed gear furom, I would plug your using a small-geared fixed gear to develop a smooth pedal stroke.

And hey, 52x20 isn't small for SF. My commute to work takes me up Page street from Gough to the panhandle. I really like my 46x19, it means there are only two blocks that I have to ride out of the saddle.

C TO C - 62 CM
TOP TUBE 59 CM
STAND OVER 34.5 CM

THATS A TINY BIKE!!!

one of the best ways to get faster is to ride with people faster than you.
find a regular training ride and go out and get your butt kicked by the hammerheads, you'll be surprised at how fast you improve.

Hah, I've been rockin the 18 tooth freewheel lately with my 40 tooth chainring. I wasn't digging how my knees were feeling so now I just spin like crazy or just cruise, it's quite relaxing and fun. It's also a lot better for my infrequent off road jaunt.

Take the reported speeds with a grain of salt as well.
Speaking of which: Anyone know L.A.'s average on-bike speed for the whole TDF?

And hey, 52x20 isn't small for SF. My commute to work takes me up Page street from Gough to the panhandle. I really like my 46x19, it means there are only two blocks that I have to ride out of the saddle.

Yeah, maybe I could justify 52x20 if I was in SF, I'm in flat flat chicago. That rig is my grocery getter, though, so stop and go riding + my crappy knees = low gearing. As for the guy that wants to get faster, go on more group rides instead of slugging away solo. Makes it easier (ok, pretty much mandatory) to keep your pace without cheating, and pulling = interval training, at least if the group is small.

Also, some people never get fast. I've decided this is my fate. Nothing I've ever done, bikes, running, crew, organized sports, whatever has ever gotten me over a certain aerobic plateau. Being in better shape has for me always meant I could jog 8 miles instead of 4 without feeling a** whipped, or cruise on the bike at 17 mph for 5 hours instead of 3. Even when I spent 2 months hiking at 6-9k feet, I couldn't maintain a significantly higher jogging pace in Florida 2 weeks later. It's possible I just consistently make the same mistakes in training for every sport, but being a weekend warrior I mostly just put up with it and do more endurance stuff.

I don't have hardcore exercise physiology theories or anything to back this up, but I think sometimes we need to accept that we all don't have pro-athlete genetics, and spend a little less time flogging our weaknesses and instead cater to our strengths.

Speaking of which: Anyone know L.A.'s average on-bike speed for the whole TDF?

Last year, I thought it was 26.something mph for the whole tour. I could be wrong though.

Dante

Take the reported speeds with a grain of salt as well.
Speaking of which: Anyone know L.A.'s average on-bike speed for the whole TDF?
+1 Once a week there's the obligatory "I sprinted up to 45 mph on the flats and..." :roflmao:

Go find some BIG hills, ride up em', come down, rinse / repeat.

So older or recreational riders claiming an average of 25 might be a stretch then?

There are too many factors at play here to give good advice on this one ... schloe mo is just on the tip of iceberg here ... give us more info about your bike, i.e. gearing, tires, riding position ... ect.

word.

you've gotta think like a road racer.

speed is increased in lots of ways. the practical hardware stuff - bike in good shape, bearings are fresh and smooth, tires are in good shape, tire pressure is appropriate, etc.

bike fit - you've got the right size frame, the right saddle position and height, handlebar height, etc. a bike shop with fitting experts can help you with this.

also, what are you wearing? losing the jeans and tshirt for some good bib shorts and jersey (and stiff cycling shoes with clipless pedals) goes a long way.

physical training - you may not be out of shape, but you may not be as in shape as you can be. to jump to the next level, you need to riding with a heart rate monitor and actually "training," as it were. find your anaerobic threshold and do training rides where you ride for an hour within that range. do sprint training. do intervals - 2 minutes at 90% hr, 2 minutes at 50%. repeat till you vomit.

examine your diet. are you getting enough carbs? too many? protein? eating at the right times? packing in some last minute carbs before you ride? some HRMs measure calories burned. compare that with your intake. how do you stack up?

taking vitamins? people swear by A, C, E, fiber, potassium, iron, omega 3. it's different for everyone, so either do some experimenting, or talk to a sports doctor, if you wanna get serious.

are you properly hydrated? drinking while you ride? using carb boosts like gel or gu while you ride? any and all might be helpful to you.

join a cycling club that has a trainer. if you can't dedicate that much time, at least pick up a book. an old favorite of mine is davis phinney's "training for cycling," but there are lots out there.

So older or recreational riders claiming an average of 25 might be a stretch then?

Might be, might not.

26 mph average for over 2000 miles, day after day with a peleton to break the wind
vs.
25 mph average for a 35-50 mile ride with plenty of time to recover afterwards. I suppose it can be done. Very tough but maybe...

Dante

See Macka's thread. Basically it boils down to doing intervals, within a structure of a program that allows for adequate rest and recovery. If you ride the same steady pace, even if it's a reasonably difficult pace, you're not going to get much faster. You've got to ride easy when it's time to ride easy and hard when it's time to ride hard.

Steps to get faster: 1) buy a HRM 2) buy a book on training with HR, 3) go out and try to hang on group rides with faster guys. 4) rest.

+1 on the group rides.
I can't hang with the local guys yet. Yet.

Been riding road bike since 2004 and i can't seem to be able to increase my avg. There's day's when i can get around15-16mph for a 20miler but that's about it. I'm not out of shape or overweight it just seems like i just can't take it to that next level. I've read the threads from the older riders just cranking at 25mph and i'm sitting here at 38 going holy cow that's amazing, how do i get there? My current rides consist maily of long gradual hills and some steep climbs, mostly rollers and obviously some flats where my speeds avg around 22 to 24 mph. I 've been riding a lot this winter in central new york but i want to rock this spring and summer, any suggestions from riders who've experienced this before and have gotten better?


Don't lose any sleep over average speed. Where I live I rarely average over 16-17mph even on fast solo rides - but when I go down to flatter terrain with the racing studs I'm having no problem hanging in - or even putting the hurt on - the local racing crowd lately. All this about guys averaging 22-24mph? Take it with a HUGE grain of salt. For all you know they're in Sausalito on flat roads in 80º windless conditions. Not central NY with one grinding 12-18% upgrade after another and 20mph headwinds. Which is why my 16mph average speed doesn't seem to hinder me on 22-25mph group rides south of here. Because essentially I'm in better shape than most of those guys. And I'll bet you are too.

Want to get faster? See the thread referenced above.

So older or recreational riders claiming an average of 25 might be a stretch then?


I nominate this comment for 'Duh' of the year award.

to quote (or possibly misquote) Greg Lemond - "average speed equals an average rider" don't sweat it. ride. if you want to ride faster, find people to ride with

This fascination with average speed is a fred phenomena. Forget it. Want to get faster? Ride with FASTER RIDERS. And you'll be too busy trying not to detonate to worry about the average speed. You'll also learn what it's REALLY like to ride at average speeds of 22-24mph - and how full of baloney 99% of the claims to that effect on boards like this really are. Do half the mopes here really know how fast an average speed of 24mph is? That's about the average speed of half the vets races I participated in for a decade were. That's FAST for amateur/recreational racers/riders. The FASTEST race I ever rode in was a 1-2-3 crit that averaged 27.8 mph for about 30 miles. We were going up the backstretch UPgrade @ 30mph most laps.

And forget about the Tour de France. We are not pros. We are WEENIES. Those guys get PAID to be MUCH faster than anyone here could ever dream of being. Trust me on that.

That's Not What I'm Saying It Seems Verifiable Based On What I've Read That People Are Doing These Avg's And I'm Not So What Am I Doing Wrong.

That's Not What I'm Saying It Seems Verifiable Based On What I've Read That People Are Doing These Avg's And I'm Not So What Am I Doing Wrong.


Initial Caps.

It's time for that English > Fred dictionary again.

I'm going to CVS to pick up some Frededrin Nose Spray. And another box of Ti hollow point bullets so my wife can shoot me again.

do hill intervals. they are all you need since if you do enough of 'em and take the proper time to recover, the flats are so fcuckin' easy that you will just GO!

there's more detail to it than that, but that is the general idea. you gotta do hills. often.

thanks, i do have a ton of hills where i live, just gotta push harder

[QUOTE=patentcad]I nominate this comment for 'Duh' of the year award.[/QUOT


oh yeah, not helpful....

See Macka's thread. Basically it boils down to doing intervals, within a structure of a program that allows for adequate rest and recovery. If you ride the same steady pace, even if it's a reasonably difficult pace, you're not going to get much faster. You've got to ride easy when it's time to ride easy and hard when it's time to ride hard.

Steps to get faster: 1) buy a HRM 2) buy a book on training with HR, 3) go out and try to hang on group rides with faster guys. 4) rest.

thanks for the insight merlin

thanks, i do have a ton of hills where i live, just gotta push harderNot just harder, but as hard as possible so that when you reach the top of the hill, you're completely spent. If you're not gagging up a lung and a half at the end of each interval, you're not improving your speed as quickly as you possibly can... ;) One good training tip is to ride with others of comparable fitness. You'll notice that the ones pushing themselves that little bit more will get faster quicker. :)

Not just harder, but as hard as possible so that when you reach the top of the hill, you're completely spent. If you're not gagging up a lung and a half at the end of each interval, you're not improving your speed as quickly as you possibly can... ;) One good training tip is to ride with others of comparable fitness. You'll notice that the ones pushing themselves that little bit more will get faster quicker. :)

thanks danno, i know i've been holding back on some hills, gotta push hard ans re cover on the flats. Big thanks......