How long did it take you to get fast? What is considered fast?
09-04-15, 03:21 PM
#26
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I agree that 'fast' depends on conditions. I think 30mph average is pretty good for a MUP with joggers and baby strollers, for example.
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09-04-15, 03:24 PM
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If you can hold 250-300 watts/h you'll be alright mate
That being said. Avg speed means jack, watts is where it's at. Speed breaks down with wind, gradients, bike+rider wt, glycogen, hydration, electrolytes, etc. Speed will always fluctuate by terrain but a watt won't
That being said. Avg speed means jack, watts is where it's at. Speed breaks down with wind, gradients, bike+rider wt, glycogen, hydration, electrolytes, etc. Speed will always fluctuate by terrain but a watt won't
09-04-15, 03:25 PM
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Fast is relative, but IMO to be considered a "fast" cyclist you need to either be on a pro circuit somewhere or can ride as fast for as long as they do. Anything less than pro level speed means you're not fast "enough".
09-04-15, 03:28 PM
#29
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Here's a couple good benchmarks:
Fast climbers can sustain 1000 meters elevation gain / hour up extended climbs. In strava it's the VAM score.
If you have a power meter, 3.5 watts/kilo is beginning racer fast.
Fast climbers can sustain 1000 meters elevation gain / hour up extended climbs. In strava it's the VAM score.
If you have a power meter, 3.5 watts/kilo is beginning racer fast.
09-04-15, 03:46 PM
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OP,
Two things:
First, if you want to get faster, ride with faster people. This is one of the more commonly things said here, and it is well nigh universally true.
Second, I defined fast as being able to do 25 miles solo in an hour and fifteen minutes (hold 20mph for that time). I couldn't do it until my second season of cycling. Holding 20mph for an hour seems to be a pretty common goal.
Two things:
First, if you want to get faster, ride with faster people. This is one of the more commonly things said here, and it is well nigh universally true.
Second, I defined fast as being able to do 25 miles solo in an hour and fifteen minutes (hold 20mph for that time). I couldn't do it until my second season of cycling. Holding 20mph for an hour seems to be a pretty common goal.
I am 50 years old and in my first season and currently average just under 19 mph on a 20 mile ride with a couple of decent hills mixed in.
I am shooting for 20 mph by end of the year but not sure I will make it.
I am fairly competitive by nature and very happy with my progress.
I guess some people may feel I am slow and others may feel I am fast.
It's all good and I for one just want to keep improving little by little.
09-04-15, 07:56 PM
#32
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Like everyone else has said, it's really hard to give a mph. If you join a club, hanging with the "A" group is a pretty good gauge.
Too bad for me, our "A" group has a guy who can hold 25 mph for 50 miles and then run a marathon.
His last century started with 35 in his group and he finished alone..
Compared to him, we're all slow.
Too bad for me, our "A" group has a guy who can hold 25 mph for 50 miles and then run a marathon.
His last century started with 35 in his group and he finished alone..
Compared to him, we're all slow.
09-04-15, 08:13 PM
#33
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I'm not a fast cyclist, and not a slow cyclist. My biking friends tell me I'm a half-fast cyclist.
09-04-15, 08:40 PM
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It took me 2-3 years to become fast relative to my (not that fast) club.
So if you look for a slow club to ride with, you will get fast, faster.
09-04-15, 08:47 PM
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Most recently about 3 months training seriously on top of a good base got me 3.5W/kg FTP, 20 miles in one hour was not hard in flat terrain, and my 4+ hour endurance pace was 17 MPH.
6000 base miles got rid of 60 pounds middle age spread which was my plan for a 30% gain up-hill but didn't make me any faster on flat ground.
After three weeks of not riding due to a broken collar bone it looks like it will total four months to get back to where I was.
10/60/20 minute weekly peak power (at 62kg 220W is 3.5W/kg); although the better 60 minute numbers are 1:15-1:20 20 MPH threshold rides not all out.
Weekly time riding
Six hours a week seems to be enough for decent performance over shorter distances, although it takes 10+ to be aerobically strong.
20 MPH average for over an hour solo on flat terrain is a good start for adult males.
6000 base miles got rid of 60 pounds middle age spread which was my plan for a 30% gain up-hill but didn't make me any faster on flat ground.
After three weeks of not riding due to a broken collar bone it looks like it will total four months to get back to where I was.
10/60/20 minute weekly peak power (at 62kg 220W is 3.5W/kg); although the better 60 minute numbers are 1:15-1:20 20 MPH threshold rides not all out.
Weekly time riding
Six hours a week seems to be enough for decent performance over shorter distances, although it takes 10+ to be aerobically strong.
I'd also like to know what pace is considered good.
Last edited by Drew Eckhardt; 09-04-15 at 09:22 PM.
09-05-15, 05:22 AM
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Well ... I started cycling seriously/avidly 25 years ago.
I'm still not fast.
I'm still not fast.
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09-05-15, 05:27 AM
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I just mapped the route I used to cycle from Winnipeg to Portage La Prairie and back (162 km) and Google tells me that the elevation change is "mostly flat". Not even 1 metre.
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Last edited by Machka; 09-05-15 at 05:31 AM.
09-05-15, 05:37 AM
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09-05-15, 07:01 AM
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Flat is Manitoba ... where you'll have about 0 metres elevation gain in any distance you choose. Oh ... right, I almost forgot. You might encounter an over pass somewhere in there, depending on the route you choose.
I just mapped the route I used to cycle from Winnipeg to Portage La Prairie and back (162 km) and Google tells me that the elevation change is "mostly flat". Not even 1 metre.
I just mapped the route I used to cycle from Winnipeg to Portage La Prairie and back (162 km) and Google tells me that the elevation change is "mostly flat". Not even 1 metre.
IMO fast is to be able to average 24mph on flat ground for 1 hour on an out 'n back route. That was my goal for the longest time but I think that age is catching up to the point that I'll never get there. The closest I got was 23.5 mph on a 30 minute ride.
09-05-15, 07:09 AM
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When a 15mph headwind that hits you like a brick wall and makes you want to turn around starts feeling like 5mph then you're getting there.
09-05-15, 08:26 AM
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You didn't mention what kind of 5k/10k runner you were, but I'm guessing you were a pretty good one based on your own expectations about cycling. So you likely the aerobic capacity to be a decent cyclist. But cycling uses a different set of muscles than running, so in this respect you are a relatively beginner, even if you'd run for 25 years.
This is probably not a great example, but Lance Armstrong, with all his aerobic capacity, only managed to run a 2:59 on his debut marathon in NYC, and this with Joan Benoit Samuelsson pacing him no less. I say 'only' because that time seems quite pedestrian when compared to the best in the world.
This is probably not a great example, but Lance Armstrong, with all his aerobic capacity, only managed to run a 2:59 on his debut marathon in NYC, and this with Joan Benoit Samuelsson pacing him no less. I say 'only' because that time seems quite pedestrian when compared to the best in the world.
09-05-15, 08:46 AM
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If you can hold 250-300 watts/h you'll be alright mate
That being said. Avg speed means jack, watts/kg is where it's at. Speed breaks down with wind, gradients, bike+rider wt, glycogen, hydration, electrolytes, etc. Speed will always fluctuate by terrain but a watt won't
That being said. Avg speed means jack, watts/kg is where it's at. Speed breaks down with wind, gradients, bike+rider wt, glycogen, hydration, electrolytes, etc. Speed will always fluctuate by terrain but a watt won't
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09-05-15, 09:07 AM
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All I had to do is buy a red bike.
09-05-15, 09:30 AM
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You didn't mention what kind of 5k/10k runner you were, but I'm guessing you were a pretty good one based on your own expectations about cycling. So you likely the aerobic capacity to be a decent cyclist. But cycling uses a different set of muscles than running, so in this respect you are a relatively beginner, even if you'd run for 25 years.
This is probably not a great example, but Lance Armstrong, with all his aerobic capacity, only managed to run a 2:59 on his debut marathon in NYC, and this with Joan Benoit Samuelsson pacing him no less. I say 'only' because that time seems quite pedestrian when compared to the best in the world.
This is probably not a great example, but Lance Armstrong, with all his aerobic capacity, only managed to run a 2:59 on his debut marathon in NYC, and this with Joan Benoit Samuelsson pacing him no less. I say 'only' because that time seems quite pedestrian when compared to the best in the world.
If the OP is running 15min 5ks he'll be a fast cyclist in short order.
09-05-15, 09:49 AM
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It's much easier for a fast runner to become a fast cyclist than vice versa. There's a little more technique to economical running and it takes a quite a while for tendons and muscles to adapt to the pounding associated with running.
If the OP is running 15min 5ks he'll be a fast cyclist in short order.
If the OP is running 15min 5ks he'll be a fast cyclist in short order.
It took me about three years to get fast. "Fast" meaning what I considered to be fast when I started. I also came to appreciate what levels were beyond that "fast", and where I was in relation to them, which meant that subjectively I was getting slower as my fitness increased. I'd expect that process to happen a little more quickly if you get into competitive riding, maybe a couple of years to find your level.
09-05-15, 10:44 AM
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I'd say about 4 W/kg is fast. Takes me about a year to get there, starting from zero.
09-05-15, 07:07 PM
#47
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I consider fast is avg nearly 15mph over 85 miles which I did on today's ride.
09-05-15, 07:53 PM
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16.49 mph, 98.97 mi only 1,256ft of gain though.
Is that fast for Beatle age? (64)
Don't think so.
To the OP's original comment. I was in pretty good shape from climbing and mountaineering when a couple of years ago osteo arthritis started making it obvious I was going to have to find a different form of play, so I was starting from a high aerobic fitness level.
Two years into the cycling and I've come to the conclusion that it's like darn near every other form of physical endeavor or craft.
It takes three years to build basic competency and five years or better to master.
Don't be afraid to experiment with subtle changes in bike fit. a few mm or degrees can make a big difference in efficiency. That took better than a year to sort that out and as you learn to use/develop different muscle groups it changes.
Is that fast for Beatle age? (64)
Don't think so.To the OP's original comment. I was in pretty good shape from climbing and mountaineering when a couple of years ago osteo arthritis started making it obvious I was going to have to find a different form of play, so I was starting from a high aerobic fitness level.
Two years into the cycling and I've come to the conclusion that it's like darn near every other form of physical endeavor or craft.
It takes three years to build basic competency and five years or better to master.
Don't be afraid to experiment with subtle changes in bike fit. a few mm or degrees can make a big difference in efficiency. That took better than a year to sort that out and as you learn to use/develop different muscle groups it changes.
09-05-15, 08:35 PM
#49
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Buy Joel Friel's Training Bible and follow it. I'm still slow but I wasn't the slowest guy on the 100K today. I was third slowest, but that's better than slowest.
09-06-15, 06:16 AM
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Fast is whatever speed feels exciting or scary to you until you get dropped or passed by someone faster. It took me 1 1/2 years to go from zero fitness to a sub 5 hour century. I feel fast but I know i'm only in the top 20% (wishful thinking most likely) of riders in my area. Set a personal goal and use a specific training routine to reach it. There will always be someone faster than you so don't harp on comparing yourself to others.