balto charlie

I'm posting here instead of the training forum because I think it relates to daily commuters. I've tried going hard for most commutes this year and have hit the wall. I've been told by some knowledgeable bikers to back off the speed. Most folks ride at 80%(me), which is not good for improving your biking ability. At 80%, you work your legs hard but do not give them time to recover. This is important for those of us that ride daily. They said to ride hard for a ride then have recovery rides at (I think) 60% max heart rate. They said to ride at a pace that most folks could ride, no heavy breathing etc... I find it very hard to ride like this, as I like to ride hard. I'm not trying to become a faster rider or even a super long distance rider BUT I do want to ride often and ride fairly hard. Currently I have been riding close to 200 miles a week, almost 2700 for the year but am now backing off some on speed and distance. So if anyone else is having similar problems you also may want to back off the speed a bit. I'm gonna hate it when someone tries to pass me!

Nightshade

Not to be a smart pants but remember the story about the
turtle and hare.

Fast ain't were it's at,mate. True and steady is where it's at.

For reasons that escape me way to many cyclist think they have to
ride flat out everytime they hop on a bike. What load of crap that is!!

Cycling is enjoying the ride. Cycling is getting there cheaply. Cycling is
the health benefits from calm excercise. Cycling is supposed to be fun.
Cycling is NOT about how fast you can wreck your body.

Slow down , mate. You're not going to leave the planet anytime soon.

timmhaan

my morning ride is about 9 miles, which i usually do in 35 mintues with traffic and all that. i ride a fast pace between stop lights and intersections. i figure with all the starting and stopping my HR average is pretty low - even though it peaks at various times.

HiYoSilver

Read the science of cycling. You need a training plan. The key is balance.

It's unclear what the issue is? What is your goal?
-- improve ease of riding?
-- improve pace of riding without heavy breathing?
-- improve ability to ride in higher gears?
-- improve your distance at cadence XYZ?
-- it almost sounds like your goal is unclear: a. not trying to be faster, but b. hate it when someone passes me. So what is real goal? be faster or be satisfied with your progress irregardless of whether someone passes you or not. Commuters in general are more like touring cyclists than like road racers.

How are you monitoring your progress now?
-- do you track time/distance/avg speed/physical condition/notes on weather,health, etc?
-- is the 200 miles all commute, or is some of it rec riding?
-- how much time do you allow for recovery?
-- do you use a heart rate monitor to guage your individual progress?
-- are you conditioning in the winter?

Roody

I think it's a great idea to incorporate training techniques into your daily commute. I do that myself. However, as you are discovering, rest days and active recovery are an important part of training. As commuters, it's hard for us to schedule rest days because we must cycle every day, regardless of what our bodies are telling us.

There are a few things I do to promote recovery. The first is to plan for active recovery days during which I limit my cycling to only the actual commute, with no extra cycling. I have a short commute, so on these rest days I only ride for about 35 minutes total. On recovery days I remind myself that if I owned a Porsche, I wouldn't drive 125 mph on my daily commute, and I don't have to "race" on my bike either. Sometimes, on my day off from my job, I try to do all my sedentary activities in one day. This gives me one day of complete rest, while still accomplishing things like house work, bill paying, etc. Lifting weights (upper body and core) is a good activity for those days too. Additionally, I try to cross train one day a week for some of my aerobic exercize, so I can give leg muscles a break while still getting a cardiovascular workout. I like to row on these days; I think swimming would also be a good choice. A final idea: if you live close enough, commute by walking to work once in a while. Walking (or running) helps you to get more balannced use of lower body muscles and is mentally relaxing too.

I think it would be a good idea to learn a little more about training methods, both general and cycling-specific. If you have a good grasp of the simple fundamentals, you can design your own training program that also incorporates your commute.

oboeguy

I rode a good 70+ miles yesterday with more than a couple of hills. I made a point today of taking it easy on the commute. Recovery (active or passive) is very important!

Saying you can't slow down is silly. Slow it down, use easy gears. The least important thing in the world (beside the score at halftime ) is who you pass or who passes you on your commute.

balto charlie

I don't ride as fast as possible. I ride at a good speed. Here's is what was told to me:

"If there's one trait that distinguishes pros from recreational riders, it's
how they pace their training. Professional riders can go fast because when
they train hard (or race), they go like lightning. But when they train
slowly, they go very, very slowly.

Conversely, most recreational riders train at a moderate pace -- fast enough
to feel like they're accomplishing something but not so hard that they're
suffering unduly. You'll hear some coaches refer to this pace -- about 80%
of max heart rate -- as "no-man's land." Like the shell-pocked wasteland
between dug-in armies during World War I, you don't want to be there very
often.

Why? Because no-man's land delivers a double whammy. It compromises recovery
and improvement.

At a moderately brisk pace of around 80% of max heart rate, you're not going
slowly enough to recover. You need a pace around 65% of max to pump
nutrient-rich blood to your leg muscles without stressing them further.

Unfortunately, when you're languishing in no-man's land, you're also not
going fast enough to improve. That takes an intensity of about 90% of max.

When every ride is done at a medium pace, your results are bound to be
mediocre."

So all I'm trying to say is that I need to slow down the pace and let it fly only once in a while. Roody and others state it well, recover, rest, cross training. I like the feel of the ride in "No Man's Land", until I hit the wall. I justhave to teach myself.
FWIW In years past I was always doing multiple sports, kayaking, climbing, biking. I injured my hand climbing in early spring. After hurting my hand all I could do is bike, so I biked toooo much,to fast, to soon.