catfish

my traning buddy turned into FRED over the winter he spent way too much time laying on the couch eating pizza and cheeze cake he now looks exactly like Fred Flintstone, i got him to to go for a road ride yesterday he has been on the trainer a few times a week for 1 month. I wanted to get in 80-90 miles but thefre was no way Fred could do that miliage.

First I thought ID just drop him and go alone, he was able to keep a steady 8-12 mph. I was looking to ride at 17-20mph

I got the idea to get out ahead of him about 1/4 mile or so then duble back and get behind him a 1/4 mile or so then catch him and get ahead again. This worked for both of us it kept him interested and me at a pace i needed to train at.

finished the day at 65 miles fo me and less for him as i picked up some etra mielage circling arround.

RainmanP

I have found this a convenient way to get extra miles and speed when riding with a slower rider. Do a couple of out and backs, chat a minute, repeat as needed.

Rotifer

Has anybody else notice how their sweat is different when they are burning off fat? I call it the sweat of the damned.

mike

All I can say is "that poor Fred".

Imagine your buddy literally riding circles around you. He must have had a Prosac moment.

Gus Riley

I can't agree more! I train with a fellow who is new to cycling and loves it. But he is new, in fact I have loaned him a bike and a helmet. I've done the circle back routine and he has told me in so many words that he doesn't like it.

Last thing I want to do is discourage him. So I drop the bike into a lower gear and work on my spin. He's younger than I and with consistant riding, will develop well enough soon enough and his speed and endurance will increase.

I get enough days out by myself to satisfy my need for speed and hammering so as a riding buddy, he's working out just fine.

Greg

I have a new riding buddy similar to this also.

He has slowed my average speed quite a bit but I can't help but drop him hard on the hills.

I don't want him to get too cocky.

catfish

if i understand a couple of you, than you think it was bad to circle my training partner? ya missed something because i didnt give you all the info , he is not new to cycling and when he is in cycling shape i have a problem keeping up with him he took it upon him self to get into the bad shape he is in, he wanted to ride yesterday he knew it was my long fast day. the choice i had was to DROP him or circle him he rather enjoyed th ride and meeting up each circle about. We stoped at the 30 mile mark for a bagal and a rest , he just kept going at his own speed geting his training in and i got mine in we both got what we needed

I wasnt interested in lowering my gears and riding slow, he wasnt able to go fast on this day like i said it worked fine for both of us and Poor fred didnt need any prozak

Oxymoron

When I was on a road trip I overheard my brother call me "the Turtle". We only averaged 12mph. I ride everyday, but only five miles at a time. I guess I'm not in as good shape as I thought. When you ride slow like me, the people you're with go fast and then stop and wait once and a while. The problem then is that they are rested up and I am tired because I never stop if they start going as soon as they see me. Man, those are some bad sentences...I'm not getting graded am I?

Clay

cycletourist

Hey Oxy,

there's nothing wrong with going 12 mph. I do it all the time.

hillyman

Catfish,How did you keep your mileage up over the winter?I got lucky and had a mild winter this year, but I can't handle trainers. May have to get out my Fred suit next winter

Gus Riley

You're right I did miss that. With an experienced rider I might do the same thing. Until they griped about it...then I'd have to temporally drop 'em, just to egg 'em back into shape!

hillyman

Hey Gus,What part of Illinois are ya at ?

LittleBigMan

Cycling blood is thicker than water, because you may need an additional training buddy to do circles around.

fubar5

Sometimes I'll drop my buddies going up a big hill, and then I'll go back and get them. They get so ticked!!! When we hit the flats it's payback time and they kill me!!
Yesterday we went out for our Thursday road ride, two laps around the base. The first lap was and easy spin that only went up to 23 MPH. Then on the second lap, AGH!! I was pulling around 26 MPH and I looked down at the shadows of my buddies to see if they were still with me, and I notice they were riding side by side. That sent my warning alarms ringing! I knew something was up! A few seconds later they both sprinted ahead in effort to drop me. They both have better sprinting legs than me so they rocketed past, but I was able to get back in the paceline. I few mintues later my buddy Baker pulled off the front, so it was my turn to pull AGAIN!! I had just settled in and he attack again!! My buddy Duke was quick to follow. This time I didn't get out of the saddle and try to ctach up, I knew their steam had to be low, so I just kicked up my pace a little and caught them soon enough. Then they attack going up the one and only hill on the perimeter road. Well hills are my domain so blew past them going up. Then it was a kinda easy until the last stretch of road to the hospital where we started from.. WHOOOSH!!!! We were in an all out sprint for the finish!! Duke won, I was second, and Baker was last. I love rides like that.

phoenyix

I've had this problem of slower riders here now for a few years now. I've tried various schemes to get two of them to speed up. So far haven't had any success in speeding them up. Most of the time they are at 7-8 mph every so often they hit speeds of 10 - 12 mph. They also don't go up hills much faster than 2-3 mph., for the most part I have just decided to grin and bear it.

Gus Riley

hillyman,

I'm up here in a little town west of Peoria. Where you at?

Stor Mand

I'm a "newbie" (7 weeks) and not really built like a biker so I'm a bit slower than those I ride with. I generally average around 12 - 13 mph but on a steep hill, 3 - 5 mph. I've tried the stand-up-and-power-up-the-hill thing but it just wipes me out, so I just try to keep my cadence up and putt up the hill.
Personally, I don't like to hold up anyone or have them circle back but it's also a good thing to do. What if the slow person had an accident or something? The lead bikes would never know without circling back. So in a way. circling back is probably for the best.

fubar5

That's tough man!!!

beowoulfe

You guys are animals

catfish

We had somewhat of a mild winter here too. so i was getting in some weekly miles. Most of these miles were in a base building mode

3X per week i teach a class at the gym using trainers early winter was base building then moved up into a interval program my self and the others that participated got a flying start this spring on the road.