cloudysmom

Hi, I've been a lurker here for a while and finally decided to jump in. I'm looking on some advice on how to overcome the physical and mental blocks I have so I can ride with my husband so I don't feel like I'm holding him back. We are both 52. He regular rides and trains for the one day STP and the Ramrod ( if your from the PNW you'll recognize these rides as fairly killer) I have ridden the two day STP (Seattle to Portland) with a couple of times and avg 15 mph for the ride with him pulling me all the way. This year we are going to do the RSVP (seattle to vancouver) and for the first time I joined the local club and am doing some training rides every weekend. I am riding in the 12-14 mph group (tho we do seem to avg a bit more that that) because I didn't want to always be dropped on the hills because I am so sloooww. I don't seem to have a problem with the distance we're doing a century tomorrow. I quess what I'm really asking is how do I improve my speed I would like to keep riding with this group because I really enjoy their company. I would like to manage at least 18 mph avg by the august. I could manage one other 3-4 hour a ride a week do I just go out on the flats and ride as fast as I can by myself or what? I usually ride in the middle of the pack when I ride with the group.

CbadRider

I have found that I get faster by riding with people who are faster than me. Do the people in the front of the group ride a bit faster than those in the middle? Or maybe ride with a faster group a couple of times a month.

MinnMan

Going from 15 MPH to 18 MPH in a few months is a pretty ambitious jump. It takes time and dedication to build speed, particularly above about 17 MPH average.

Gaining speed is a combination of a lot of factors, some of which are easier than others. Putting in the miles, week after week, is a prerequisite. I'd guess that you'll need to average north of 150 miles/week to make progress. Making some of those days hard days, with sprints or intervals, is something to consider seriously. Working on your technique (see recent "pedalling circles" thread for one example) is another.

Good luck, but don't beat yourself up too much if you don't get to 18 MPH. It sounds like you are already capable of very challenging rides. I know lots of people who have been riding for years and who put in the miles without ever getting particularly fast. Make sure you are enjoying the rides- getting faster should just be a fringe benefit.

rm -rf

Due to wind resistance, it takes a big increase in power to go from 15 mph to 18 mph. For instance, on this bike calculator, using the default settings, 100 watts is 15 mph, but 160 watts is 18 mph. That's 60% more power!

But there are other ways to increase your speed. From the same calculator, riding in the drops instead of the hoods, at 100 watts, you get 16.2 mph, and 120 watts gets 18 mph.

Average speeds can really be affected by hills. Even a slightly slower climbing speed can reduce the ride's average speed, since the slower pace takes a longer time.

Except for shallow grades, hill climbs are mostly about fighting gravity up the hill, not wind resistance. So it's all about power. I seem to do best on hill climbs with alternating between standing at a slower cadence and sitting with a high cadence.

I do much better riding hills with a group. Trying to keep up with the faster climbers, I work a lot harder than I would training by myself. So keep with the group ride, and see if you can climb with the faster riders as the weeks go by. The usual advice to get faster is to do intervals once a week, pushing hard for a period of time, then pedaling easy, and repeating. It's hard for me to commit to this kind of structured training, so I use the group rides for a similar purpose, pushing as hard as I can on the hills.

sarals 

It is a good jump to go from 15 to 18! It does take time, yes, but you can do it. You said you ride mid-pack? Can you ride mid-pack with a faster group, and stay there for a significant distance? If you're comfortable doing that, getting on the wheel in front of you, and I mean right on the wheel, and staying there, is a "cheap" way to go faster - let them pull you. However, to do it on your own is going to require more fitness. Ride more often and for longer periods of time (not worrying so much about mileage), do intervals (look that up), and climb more. Sprint away from stops and try to maintain whatever speed you get to for a hundred yards or so. Warm up before you ride. Hydrate before and while you ride! And get rabid (that's the fun part)!

berner

And don't forget to report back on the "Did you Ride Today Thread". If you kicked butt on a particular day, open a special "I Kicked Butt
Today" thread.

B. Carfree

STP is as close to dead flat as a ride comes and I assume RSVP is also a pancake. "Back in the day" when I did double centuries in eight hours, my wife could hold my wheel all day long as long as the terrain was flat even though she couldn't ride over 20 mph on her own. If your drafting technique/spacing is up to snuff, you should be able to stay with almost anyone on a flattish ride. Is your husband a "good wheel"? Maybe both of you could use some time on the rollers in order for you to better hang on to him. Maybe he is too trim to offer a good draft. Nothing like a baggy T-shirt to make him a better leader.

Of course, my preferred solution to this all-too-common problem is to get a tandem. With a tandem, the weaker rider never prevents the stronger one from putting out all the effort he/she wants to.

cloudysmom

Thanks everyone for your good advice. My husband is a Great wheel and I guess what it comes down to is that I just need to improve enough to to left him pull me at 18 or 19 mph for 190 miles. I do great with just him but if we get with a bigger line I get twitchy because I don't trust my bike handling skills in crisis situations. Moving up to the next group is is what I'll probably do and hang on the back and just work to ride myself up to the middle and try not to worry too much about getting dropped because I do really enjoy riding my bike. I'll alsl work in some fast miles and intervals during the week.

Kurt Erlenbach

The one factor I've found that seems to correlate directly to speed is weight. If I could drop about 15 pounds, I would gains at least 1 mph over a two-hour ride, maybe 2 mph.

Ridinmurray

WOW, I didn't post this thread, but sure appreciated the advise as I'm in the same boat.
I ride twice a week with a bike shop group which has started me doing all the things you've recommended & it is working, but it is a slow progression as you've stated. I will ride a route of 25 or so for a while & then increase my pace on the same route working on 17+ by myself & 19 plus with a small group. This has increased my avg only by 1 to 2 mph but it is increasing. Thanks again.

PatW

Right now, you sound like a proficient cyclist. If you can knock out centuries at 52, you are well ahead of the curve.

As mentioned above, going from a 15 mph average to an 18 average is a big jump.

I am not sure what is meant by "average". For me to get an 18 average, I pretty much have to cruise at no less than 19 mph and most of the time at 20 mph.

As mentioned previously, going from 15 mph to 18 mph takes a large jump in power output.

A warning here. I have never pretended to be anything more than a strong recreational rider. But when I have been in "good" shape, I was about as strong as an elite female cyclist. There is no way that I have ever been anywhere near an elite male cyclist. My point is that given similar training, physical ability and age, a guy is going to be considerably stronger than a woman. For cycling, I figure if a lady can draft me and hang on, then were are just about equal. Don't expect to take pulls for your husband.

First thing, do you have a bike that is suitable for performance riding? You don't need a top dollar bike, but your ride should weigh below 20 lbs. Another thing, most guys are bigger than most women. A woman's big advantage is less weight. She can ride a lighter bike without beating it up than a guy can. But when you see couples, often the guy has the lighter bike.

Second thing, life ain't fair. Women tend to have more body fat than men. Losing weight will help with climbing and acceleration. You don't have to go crazy on this. If you can drop 10 or 20 lbs, it is a good idea. Now, that being said, I have known very strong lady riders who were rather plump.

Third thing, in order to ride faster, you need to ride faster. Just adding miles at 15 mph won't do it. You already do that and you are not fast now. You need to go out, warm up, then push yourself for a few miles, slow down, recover and do it again. Since you want sustained power, you don't want to do really hard intervals. You want to push yourself but stay below your anaerobic threshold.

Also with intensity, you need caution. Going out and beating yourself on every ride will just beat you up. You can ride every day. Just do not ride hard every day.

AzTallRider

Hanging onto the back is much harder than hanging in with the group in the middle. Having people behind you maximizes the draft, and the accordian effect doesn't hit you as hard. Dealing with the surges on the back can wear you down and you end up dropped. Start near the front, and regain that postion any time you stop at a light. Accelerate hard for the first few seconds after a stop to ensure you don't get gapped. In other words, do everything you possibly can to maintain that draft!

Coupling smart group techniques with doing faster intervals on your own can get you that 3mph increase.

cloudysmom

thanks again every one for your replies. to respond to a few points. I'm 52 yo, 5'4", 125#. Losing another 5# wouldn't be a bad thing. I ride a motobecane gigi pro probably more bike than I need. It's fairly light but like someone mentioned it is heavier than my husbands bike. When I say avg speed that is what the bike computer says over the course of a ride. Anything under 40 miles is usually a little above 15 mph. Yesterday on the century I ended up doing 13.6 mph. I felt really good when I was done. I think I'm just going to keep riding and trying to improve and do the best I can. Thanks again