OldTryGuy

There comes a point in time when no more improvement is possible. I doubt you have reached that point so continue to add time and miles.

I do not do sprints, intervals, hills(live in SW FL) or things most experts here say to do to get faster other than miles and riding with faster riders. I ride 1 to 3 times per week, very rarely 4 times, but make sure the miles count.

Read some books, follow the expert's instructions, put in the time and effort and you should/will get stronger and faster.

Good luck and keep it fun. Don't hurt yourself.

NOTE: How fast you get will depend on training/riding effort and genes. My training effort for last year's Ironman
Florida was nothing extreme and I managed a 19+mph average for the 112 miles. This year I am riding with faster guys and looking for a 20+mph average. I don't have the killer instinct in me so I accept the fact that the results will be less than if I trained properly.

GlennR

My mom lives in West Palm Beach and I found a bike shop that rents Specialized Tarmac's so one of these days i'll bring my gear and rent a bike. From what i've seen between the long straight and flat roads I should pickup a few mph riding down there. I guess for me it would be like riding to Jones Beach which is a 28 mile round trip and the only elevation are the 3 bridges as you hop across Great South Bay. There's little to no wind protection and I like to do it when I have a head wind on the way out. It drops my mph but the ride back is really fast, i've done it averaging 26mph with is scarey if there are others on the path.

modelmartin

No matter how fast one is, there will be someone faster. The ego hates that but will have to deal with it.

Who? Me?

qcpmsame 

Amazon.com: The Time-Crunched Cyclist, 2nd Ed. (The Time-Crunched Athlete) eBook: Chris Carmichael, Jim Rutberg: Books, surprised no one has recommended this one, Dudelsack's thread last spring covers this type if training using the sufferfest system. If your time to ride each day/week is an issue this could help you out.

BTW, how's that classic bug of yours running right now? That is one sweet looking Vdub, gotta love that one!

Bill

BlazingPedals

Nobody wants to hear it, but the bike matters too. Getting faster might require more than one course of action.

GlennR

Thanks.... honestly i put more miles on the bike than the car for the past few years. I've owned it since new, so given the option of taking it out for a 2 hour drive to nowhere, I rather take the bike for a 2 hour ride.

As of now, the car has 472,000 miles in 40 years and the bike has 4900 miles in 3 years.

GlennR

I'm nowhere near the limits of the bike. It will be a while before I need a better bike.

Gerryattrick

This thread rings so many bells for me.

I've thought of riding further but I guess I am not that much into cycling that I'd want to frequently spend more than 3 hours on a bike in a day.

I like the idea of being able to ride faster if I wanted to but speed is never a priority or a target on my rides.

The ability to fly up hills like Froome would be great but I can get up all the hills on my rides OK (except one, which I could only just climb when I was 20).

At the end of the day it depends on motivation, and only the op knows how strong that is in his case. I don't have that motivation.

In my view increasing the distance involves putting a lot more miles in, increasing speed/climbing ability involves improving technique and putting in a lot of hard work, even pain.

volosong

You're beating yourself up too much. Your numbers are good. These "A" riders? Are they half our age?

I almost always ride solo, only doing a group ride when I can get up early enough on Saturday to get to the starting point on time. The other year, when I was in way better condition that I am this summer I went out on the local bike shop's Saturday morning ride. They all start out together, going a an easy 10-12 mph pace for about five miles until we are outside of town. Then we split into two groups, slow and fast. Or, "B", and "A". All three groups meet up for the slow, warm-down back to the shop. It was my first Saturday morning group ride and I felt pretty good about myself and went with the "A" group.

I fully expected to be dropped . . . but in the first quarter mile??? They took off like they had jet packs strapped to the back of their jerseys. Of course, that first stretch was a minor grade, and I don't climb very fast. They left me in the dust. Did get a bunch of Strava PRs.

Earlier this summer, I went on one of the rides and went with the slow group as I watched amazed as the fast group split off and went on their way. I fell into a nice little pace line of about five riders and we were working well together. (I have rarely ridden in a pace line, so welcome the chance to learn about being a part of one.) I rotated through a few times when after about two miles I was at the front again. I felt pretty good and kept the lead for longer than normal. Finally, I pulled off and wondered why nobody came past to take the lead. I looked back and noticed everyone about a half mile behind me! Huh? What happened?

The wind was good, so I just kept going. All the way back to the meet up point where I was the second or third arrival. Turns out that over the winter, the ride changed and they now break up into three groups, fast, medium, and slow. Without knowing it, I went with the slow group.

I make sure I go with the medium, intermediate group from now on. More my pace/speed.

You're doing fine. If you want to get faster, you just need some more saddle time. That's all.

p.s. Nice bike. Yeah, it'll be many years before you "outgrow" that one.

NVanHiker

15 mph average and 1000' of climbing? Am I the only one in here that ASPIRES to numbers like that?

GlennR

It's 15mph over the entire ride.

I have one hill that's a 8% just over a mile long and I can tell you I barely make it up riding a compact crank and a 28-11, but i do and recover. I try to do at least one like that a ride but on my Saturday ride I did a second a little steeper but shorter. On the rider back I knew the best ride home was over Mt. Misery and thought of a few ways around it. But decided it was better to try and fail than to avoid. I rather get half way up and then do the "walk of shame" the second half, but i made it up and was really pumped after.

Now that I know I can do it, i'll have to do it again.

I remember long easy 4% grades used to be a lot harder but over time I now cruise up them. This is the the time of the season that we should be our strongest and I plan on pushing on each ride.

BTW.. .some of the A and AA riders are in their 60s but I know they've been riding for 20+ years. They're also 160lbs and very fit. I'll never be that light, i'm around 200lbs, but I can still do better. I've not peaked yet.

Bandera

If you were a Junior in his 3rd season my advice would be the same:

Cycling performance is highly specific and requires adaptation, a development program and quality seat time.
Join a club, get a coach and participate in development rides.
You don't have to race but it is crucial that you get a proper fit and work on your program.

If that sounds un-appealing do your own thing, don't concern yourself about other's rides and proceed.

BTW: "I plan on pushing on each ride."
Get a coach, that's not the path to progress in performance.


-Bandera

OldTryGuy

You want to average more than 26mph**********

OldsCOOL

I couldnt agree more. This is the reason for a fresh build over last winter. Did my times improve? Significantly.

GlennR

I had a pro fit and had a re-fit after a year.

My son was coached by LITC for 6 years and is very knowledgeable, so I could work with him. But I see guys that are "training" and it looks more like work than fun. I don't think I could commit to a rigid schedule.

That was 26mph on the return with a strong tail wind. Heading out with a head wind it was more like 14mph.

Bandera

Working w/ your son sounds great, join his club and get a good group to ride with as well if he is local.
A serious program to develop the endurance, strength and speed required for improved cycling performance certainly is work, no getting around that.
If you don't find the fun in a cycling club's activities, like the sing-alongs we did "back when" on base mile rides, get some basic coaching and work on a program that you can tolerate. Or just ride your bike.....

-Bandera

GlennR

He was coached by LITC for free since he was a student. I could pay them but honestly they train for triathlons and i'm not that committed. He stopped working out with them a few years ago when he went away to college, spent a year in Israel and attend graduate school. He's not competed for a few years but is still a active rider/runner.

Two years ago, for Father's Day, we competed in the Montauk Triathlon where he did the swim and run and I did the ride. We calculated the time i'd be so he knew when to be at the transition to take the chip. When i got there, he was nowhere to be found. A few minutes later he showed up, he was in the bathroom and didn't expect me to be so fast. We lost 3 minutes but still came in 2nd.

That's me, my son's coach and my son.




I learned after that you need to zip your jersey to show the team logo when pictures are taken... sorry i'm a rookie.

Bandera

Cycling Clubs, pick a local one:

USA Cycling Clubs - USA Cycling

GlennR

I'm a member of the Massapequa Park Bicycle Club. They have rides every Saturday, Sunday, Tues and Thursday and attend some. Only problems are some are A and AA and they don't leave till 8:30am. During the summer i'm up and ready to ride by 7:00am. That way I can do longer distances and still be back by noon. But riding with them teaches me new routes and I meed new friends.

tsl

Yeah, but you're the only guy I know who rides recumbents because they're fast.

Everyone else I know who rides recumbents, chooses them for other reasons and just pokes along.

OldTryGuy

Club riding is excellent.

Tell you what though, no way could I be coached and enjoy my bicycling the way I do, so more power to you if you go that route. I might be able to be better than what I am, but FUN is my 3 letter word that I always keep in mind. During my triathlons, marathons, half marathons, 10K and 5K events, I just can not force myself to give it my all any longer.

Now riding with the guys is a different story, , just can't let those young guns show me up.

spdracr39

My biggest improvements have come since I started incorporating zone 2 Heart rate rides into my schedule. I ride 4-5 times a week I do 2 100% zone 2 rides. Monday 25 miles zone 2 at an average of 15 mph on the flats. Tuesday is kinda like intervals in that I add 1000' of climbing that is split into 3 hill climbs around my MUP but all the flats are in zone 2. I try to hit the hills hard. Thursday is another all zone 2. Saturday is a group ride usually 2-3 hours of fast paceline riding averaging around 20-22 MPH. Then Sunday is a 15-20 mile zone 1 recovery ride. The zone 2 rides started out at about 11-12 mph 2 months ago but are getting progressively faster. When I started this routine 2 months ago there was no chance of me keeping up on those Saturday rides.

Biker395 

Bicycling is many things to many people. Some like to analyze it to optimize their performance ... some couldn't care less. There's room for both and everything in between.

I know this much. I would have a hard time keeping up with anybody if it weren't for all the commuting I do. There's just no substitute for riding a good distance on a consistent basis, particularly if you're in the 50+ age group. I'm lucky in that I can ride as hard or as easy as I like on my commute. I can make it a time trial or a casual spin, and I've done both, depending on my mood.

All the other advice is good. Interval training is probably the fastest and least painful way to get faster. Other suggestions:

Weight: For climbing, it's mostly about power/weight.

Free speed: Pedaling technique is huge. I know that when I focus more on pedaling technique, my climbing speed increases a mile an hour or so, with zero extra effort.

kingfishr

You will be good at what you train. If you train for long rides at 15 mph, that's what you will be good at. If you want to be faster you have ride faster, and there is no alternative to intervals. Sorry. If you max out at 16 you can't begin riding at 18 for more than a few minutes, and then you have to slow down. That's an interval. And if you want to go faster than 18, then ride at 20mph for a couple of minutes and then recover for 10 minutes. That's still an interval. Do that a few times every ride and you will soon be able to hold 20 mph for longer and longer. The alternative is to ride in a group where you are protected most of the time and then when you are in front you pull for a couple of minutes and then drop back into a protected position again. That's the same as an interval.

crazyb

Internet speeds, don't believe everything you read.