hello all,

im looking to improve my fittness, just started riding a month and a half ago. my goals right now are to improve overall leg strength and sprinting ability.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2109787


thats my normal "short ride" that i try to do 3 times a week, i may switch it up and take a detour during it, but i always climb that first hill you see.

my question is, is that a "good sized" hill that would allow me to climb other hills with ease? when i approach the base of the hill (marked by a sign at the bottom) i start the stopwatch i have on my computer. to the peak of the hill it takes me around 10 mins 20 seconds, with my fastest being 9min 56 seconds.


im wondering if this is a good training process, or should i be riding more flat roads or making longer rides. my schedule is pretty tough during the week, so any ride longer than 15-20 would have to be done on weekends.

thanks in advance for any advice given


(ps im hoping my time should be getting better, i just bought clipless pedals and shoes which should be arriving this weekend)

bump?

I'd make a loop of it and lap it 2X, as you're going to get better aerobic/strength benefits if you can make an hour out of the ride. You're pretty new, so it's best to get your muscles and ligaments used to the cycling motion. When i first started riding, I'd do rides of 15 miles, over hilly terrain, and they'd take me around 1 hour; now I'm just a bit faster.

Oh, hilly riding is always preferable to flat riding. Hills force you to crank hard, whereas it's too easy to coast for a bit when the terrain is flat.

So, basically, continue on as you're doing and report back as your times drop. Good luck.

thanks for the post dr who...i actually bought pedals and shoes and put them on my bike this weekend...had an incident towards the top of my timed hill ride where the hardware on one cleat fell off but my time was 20 seconds shy of my personal best, even on very sore legs....2 days later i just hit the same road and beat my personal best by over 30 seconds! pretty excited i seem to be reaching a new level of riding..im hoping by the end of aug to shave off another 30 seconds and make it up in 9 minutes flat

also on that ride my avg speed is around 14.2 mph (for the whole trip not just the timed part) and i just got back to see i put up an avg speed of 17.1 over the same distance


ill be sure to post back any progression.....btw what is a good average speed for a 22 year old male riding half flat half hills?

Average speed is one of those things that you should just ignore, because it's contingent upon so many different variables, including traffic, weather, etc.

If you're in reasonably good, but new-to-cycling, shape, that 14.2 MPH average sounds about right, especially in an urban area. I'm a Cat. 3 racer and I have all the fancy training gadgets, and if I'm in the city riding hard, I still only get an average speed of about 16-17 MPH with all the stopping and slowing-down that I'm forced to do.

I'd just continue to do timed loops of the ride and make a diary of it to trace your progress. It's not really useful outside of being a motivational/tracking tool, but it's nice to go back and see how far you've come once you've made it.

And if you keep up with the cycling, you'll hit levels that you would never have imagined. When I started riding four years ago, I sucked, I was slow and I was the last one up the hill. Now, I still suck, but I'm regularly able to beat-up on all my bike-riding friends, and few things feel better than bragging rights. ;)

Also, in a few months, consider going out on a bike shop club ride so that you can ride with other cyclists. You'll get pushed harder and learn a lot. Just make sure they know that you're a novice so that if the ride is an 'A' ride or a 'Big Guns' ride, they can point you to something more suitable (i.e. no-drop, slower-paced, etc.) Don't take offense, but it takes a while before you can get the strength and ability to pilot a bicycle in a paceline at 28 MPH.

^^ thanks for the advice...since the pedals and tune an avg. of my recent rides has been around 15.5-16, a definite improvement.

quick question, what is a Cat. 3, a class of rider?

and what is a no drop ride, just a slower version of a fast paced ride?

^^ thanks for the advice...since the pedals and tune an avg. of my recent rides has been around 15.5-16, a definite improvement.

quick question, what is a Cat. 3, a class of rider?

and what is a no drop ride, just a slower version of a fast paced ride?

Cat.3, or Category 3, refers to USA Cycling' racing categories, those being Pro-1-2-3-4-5. To be a 3 takes a certain amount of time in the saddle and training – not everyone who races is fast and strong, and not everyone who is fast and strong races. If someone tells you that they're a Category 3, you'll have a pretty decent idea of how well they ride, but like many things in the cycling world such as average speed, it doesn't mean a whole lot. Click here for more information on racing categories. (http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=580)

A no-drop ride is a ride that waits for slower riders at the tops of hills or at predetermined points. Because of that, they're great for novices who may lack the fitness of other, more experienced, riders. That's not to say they're a good idea if you're completely out of shape, because it can pretty annoying to others if they're forced to wait constantly for someone who came out to the ride totally unprepared, but from you've described, it sounds like you would do well on a beginner-paced group ride.

It doesn't hurt to try, though. Call up some local bike clubs and shops and meet other riders.