PatrickGSR94

Posting this in road cycling, not because I have a road bike (hoping to get one soon) but because I pretty much only ride my current bike (link in sig) on paved roads.

I bought the bike second-hand in 2006, just because I wanted something better than my old big-box store early 90's MTB, which was a whopping 45 lbs! But I probably didn't even put 100 miles on it until this year. Now I'm coming up on 400 miles since the first of May. I haven't tried long rides yet, mainly just riding in my general area for fitness, 10-15 miles at a time, both with other people (casual) or by myself. 2 weeks ago I did 20 miles, my longest single ride to date.

Problem is that no matter what the terrain, no matter if it's generally flat, or lots of hills, I just can't seem to do better than 11.5 to 12.5 MPH average. I know that's DOG slow compared to seasoned roadies, but hopefully I'll get there some day. Can I?

I've been on this fitness kick for the past year or so now. A year ago I was in the 215 lb. range. Today I'm down to right around 190. Most of that I attribute to running, barefoot running at that. I was never a runner before a year ago. But barefoot running has given me a new outlook on life and a love for being active and trying to lose this flab and get in shape. I broke the 200 lb. barrier in April, and in May started really getting into cycling.

Back in May 2011 I did the Ride of Silence with a local club. That was my first ever group ride. I still had knobby tires on my bike. It was pretty hard for me, and I was dead last coming back in. This past May I did it again, and was hoping to be a little better due to my running, and have my bike a little better equipped. I wasn't dead last, but not far from it. It was still pretty hard for me with all the hills in my area.

I'm guessing it's mostly just my (lack of) strength at this point, but I've been hoping maybe the bike might be at least somewhat to blame. I did a charity midnight ride a few weeks ago, 16 miles, and averaged 12.8 MPH. I just cannot seem to do better than that. I'll fly down some hills at 28-30 MPH and then fall on my face down to 8 MPH trying to get up the next one. I hate it!

So while I've been much more active this past year than really I ever have in my life (32 years old), still the only workouts I'm doing are running for 30-40 minutes, 3 times a week, and cycling anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour a few times a week (sometimes with son in trailer, sometimes by myself). I'll be stretching my funds thin when I do get the road bike, so a trainer probably won't be an option for at least another year or so. Any words of encouragement or other suggestions on what I can do to get stronger and faster?

slowride454

yes, it is your strength. the bike has nothing to do with how fast or slow a rider is. As far as improving? Ride lots more. more like 400-500 miles a month at the least. Intervals and hill climbs will add to your strength the most.

RacerOne

First off, congrats on the lifestyle change and weight loss, keep it up!

Second, you didn't mention what type of bike your new one was, I'll assume it's a mountain / hybrid with semi slick tires. If that's the case, a road bike will be faster but not that much. The speed you want is in your mind, hiding behind a wall of pain that can only be pushed back by riding your bike harder for longer distances. There's no getting around it, it hurts at first to go fast. Then after a while, what used to hurt doesn't hurt anymore but you still want to go faster so it still hurts. When you get to the point that you think is fast enough and you've been doing that speed for a while it won't hurt anymore.. but other people will still be faster so the hurt will return. ;-)

grwoolf

Most likely, it's not that you are weak, but you need endurance. It might be splitting hairs, but being a "strong" cyclist has very little to do with leg strength. Put me up against a NFL linebacker who can squat 500+ lbs and my skinny "weak" legs will crush him in almost any road cycling situation. Sprinting is the exception where you need raw power. For almost everything else, it's about how long you can put out power. It will be hard to get much faster doing 30-60 minute rides a few times per week. Try to work in 1 or 2 longer rides per week (at least 2-3 hours) and you will almost certainly see results. As already stated, the bike has almost nothing to do with your speed.

PatrickGSR94

My current bike is linked in my signature. Go to last page to see its current state. I just weighed it the other night and it came in at 28.2 pounds without any water bottles. I call it a "hybridized" MTB since it's not really a hybrid as far as today's hybrids go.

400-500 miles a month, I just don't have the time for it. Not with a stay-at-home wife/mom and 2-year old son. I do well to put in 100 miles a month, which I did in May and June, and will probably do this month, possibly even a bit more since the weather is finally not blazing hot. I probably could if I commuted to work, but I just don't feel very safe doing 30 miles round trip on nothing but hilly, 2-lane roads with no shoulder and fair amounts of 40-50 MPH traffic (only one traffic light in that whole commute). Not to mention I don't feel like spending 3 hours on the bike when it only takes 40 minutes total round trip in the car, with the rest of the time spent doing other things at home with the family.

My wife doesn't have a bike right now, hoping to get her one soon so we can all go out together, but as of now I have to find the time to do it by myself, or when I haul my son around in the trailer. Hauling 60+ extra pounds behind me certainly slows me down, too! But I guess it's more of a workout.

Bumer

Lots depends of type of terrain you ride on.

For starters don't get discourage, make a plan for yourself, like get faster, or ride longer, being able to go up steeper hills.

First step I would take is figure out your real average speed. Find some flat trail with no hils or downhils. Ride if for 10, 20, or 30 miles.
Do some hill training, ride your flat route again. As you do that more and more, you should see increase in average speed.

BTW, another reason you are "slow" is because your tires are 26"
I was riding few times with my neighbor who has 26" while I was on FS 29" mtb. I could see him starting to working spinning those pedals, while I was still in casual warming up pedaling mode.

tagaproject6

Keep riding...you'll get there!

AK404

Thirty miles, round trip? That's 15 miles each way: I can cover that in less than an hour. It used to take me longer, but I just kept going at it every day. "Small gains, every day, don't stop trying," just like the other guys said.

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/...t-have-a-bike/

Hit up the Commuting forums sometime: they'll give you invaluable advice on visibility options and how to properly commute to work (and beyond).

Do this sometime, Patrick, as an activity: on a weekend or something, ride to where your workplace is. Take a note of the time and speed you were going. Take note of the traffic, get to know the road; check a map for side streets and alternate routes, if that's what you have to do. Do this every Saturday and Sunday, tracking your time and how much ass you're hauling every time; if you have a cycling computer, start logging the results on your PC. If you don't have a cycling computer but do have a smartphone, use Strava: no stops = keep pedaling!

Noize4

It's altitude changes, traffic conditions, and that hybridized mountain bike of yours, period. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I've been doing it not as long and am heavier than you- 6'1" and 205 lbs. You're definitely in better shape and stronger than I am. My averages are all over the place on my road bike, assuming 15-20 miles:

1) No traffic, very little climbing, I can maintain 19mph.
2) My typical ride with some climbing mixed in early Sat or Sun with low traffic, I am right at 16mph.
3) Identical route to #2 middle of the day having to deal with stop signs and traffic, I drop to 13mph without fail.

My hybrid is about 10 lbs heavier than my road bike, and I run 28mm tires instead of 23mm. That slows me down 1mph pretty much exactly everytime.

I have no doubt that if you had a road bike and we rode together, you'd at least keep up and more than likely leave me in the dust. I'm only 200 miles away, and you have a place to stay and are welcome to test my theory anytime. I'll even lend you my road bike to prove it to you. Don't let the metrics bother you, you're doing great!

Elduderino2412

train using intervals. If you want to get faster you need to push yourself, and probably ride more. You need to get a road bike too. It will make a big difference in speed.

StephenH

Keep on riding. Get a better bike. Lose weight if you have any spare. Get good lights if you need 'em so you can ride all winter, too. Do long rides, fast rides. If you hate hills, go ride hills. Ride with other people whenever possible.

If you have a suspension, see if you can lock it out, supposedly, that wastes power. Use thinner tires/ slicks as opposed to fat tires/ knobbies. Your "average speed" should be your rolling average as shown on your calibrated speedometer/ computer, not total distance divided by total time. Your saddle should be high enough that your legs are almost straight at the bottom of the stroke.

This is the "road cycling" forum, not to be confused with a "road bike forum" or "racing forum" or "experienced people riding fast forum", by the way.

TrojanHorse

Bottom line - you need to ride more. If you think you have no time now, wait till your child is involved in 42 after school activities! Get up early on the weekends and head out - you can get 40-50 miles in and be back by 8 am; you can't possibly be missing that much family time before 8 am. that's almost 200 miles a month with just Saturdays. mix in some 20 milers during the week and you can get to 3-400

It's tough, I'll admit, but it's eminently doable. It would be a lot harder if your wife worked and traveled for business and you had 2 kids.

merlinextraligh

Did you see what he's riding, a 28lb MTB with slicks. The bike is definitely slowing down the OP. He definitely can get faster from more miles, intervals, and riding with faster people.

But no matter how strong he gets, he's still going to be slower than he would be on a good road bike, with a good aero position. The extra 10-15 lbs he's lifting, alone, makes a notable difference on hills, not to mention the aerodynamics of his position on the bike, and the rolling resistance of the tires.

milkbaby

Ride more... 400 miles since May 1st is less than 100 miles per month. Some people bike commute more than that in one week. If you rode 100 miles a month at 12 mph, that is less than 8.5 hours of riding a month or barely over 2 hours per week. How much time do you spend on the computer or watching television, is it more than 2 hours per week? Can you take some of that time instead to ride? How about waking up early on the weekend to get in a long ride before the family gets up? You can always do more than you think. Good luck and enjoy the ride...

PatrickGSR94

Yeah that's another thing I suck at: going to bed early and getting up early.

And yeah the tire size thing is another reason I want to get a road bike. I parked mine in a LBS the other day next to all the road bikes and road hybrids and was like, holy crap my tires (diameter) are tiny!

Oh yeah, the average speeds I mentioned above, 11.5 to 12.5 is actually the rolling average as reported by my computer. It doesn't take into account time stopped at 0 MPH.

And yeah I've been participating in the Commuting forum almost since I first joined BF. The problem is that I live in a town outside Memphis, and I work in another small town farther away from Memphis. The only, and I mean ONLY connections are hilly, 2-lane roads with no shoulder, or the interstate (bikes not allowed, wouldn't want to anyway).

I actually did plan on trying the home-office commute this weekend. I fully expect the round trip to take at least 2.5 hours. Hopefully one day, probably on a different bike, I could get it down to maybe around 50 minutes each way. IMHO that would make it more doable. Another problem, though, is that my wife takes another little boy to preschool during the school year Tues-Fri, so she leaves about 6:40 and isn't back to the house until about 7:20, which means I can't leave the house until at least then, and I really need to be at the office by 8. Maybe next summer I can give it a try, since we do have a shower here. We will see. But after seeing that video of the dude blaring the horn behind the cyclists forever, that's exactly the kind of thing that worries me: people getting impatient behind me as I'm huffing and puffing up a hill, since they can't pass me until we get past the hill.

I plan on riding more at night once I get a better front light. The one I have now is just horrible.

slowride454

I am in your same boat with regards to time. My wife works weekends, but otherwise stays at home. 2 year old son. 50+ hours a week at work. 2-3 MBA classes per semester. I still manage about 400 miles a month. I will admit though, the more I ride the closer I am to divorce.

PatrickGSR94

The only time I have to ride during the school year is weekends or at night (after I get a better light), or occasionally during lunch at work if I take the bike to work.

I don't see my son at all in the morning as I leave before he gets up, and I'm lucky to see him 3 hours in the evening before he goes to bed. I love cycling, but I love my son and wife more, so spending time with them takes priority.

But things will change. Son will get older, will be getting up earlier, staying up later, will eventually be able to go on some rides with me, etc. So we'll see how it goes down the road.

Carbon Unit

I would do intervals once a week, hill repeats once a week and at least one long ride per week. Mix in a few recovery ride in between and you are on your way. When I first started riding, I was told by a cycling coach that it could take 5 years to get in cycling shape. I thought it was BS but so far he he has been right. I make gains faster in the gym lifting weights than I do in cycling. Getting faster on a bike is harder than I thought it would be.

PatrickGSR94

Know of any links or resources off-hand for some good interval or hill workouts? I'm not even sure how those work, other than finding a hill and going up and down it a bunch of times.

*edit* n/m I found some stuff on bicycling.com. What's best to keep track of time during intervals? My computer only lists hours and minutes, not seconds.

RollCNY

Just a thought:

Before jumping into intervals and hill repeats, look into cadence, figure out where you are, and figure out where you want to be. It is a personal thing, and different styles vary for everyone. Riding fast is based on strength, and aerobic condition, but there are many skills to be learned, and a style to develop to do it consistently.

PatrickGSR94

I usually try to maintain about 90-100 RPM, but for some reason I usually try to maintain speed longer when I start a climb, end up working too hard, tiring out, and then when I do drop down gears I end up going much slower and pedaling much slower. I'm not very good at keeping a consistent cadence.

The gear spacing of my 8-speed 12-28 cassette and 22-32-46 (or is it 22-36-46? not sure) triple isn't helping me maintain a very consistent cadence, I don't think. Some of those gear changes towards the low end of the cassette range will alter my cadence quite a bit.

antimonysarah

When I got my first road bike, I found I averaged at least 2mph faster on it than my similarly-equipped city beater mountain bike, even though that particular road bike turned out to be a terribly bad fit for me. A faster bike will be a one-time speed boost, though -- the only thing that will make you get faster after that is time in the saddle. I do think you sound like you'd have more fun on a road-geometry bike (I'd suggest something designed for fenders/racks so that you could use it on the commute if you wanted).

One wacky idea: buy a second bike (used is a lot cheaper), probably a used road bike, and lock it up AT WORK. Ride at lunch. Don't spend much on it, especially if you have to lock it up outdoors.

bike56

Conditions have so much to do with your averages,terrain,wind,bike.Your doing great.A friend of mine works in a bike shop and started checking peoples computer when they brought there bikes in for service.The average speed was between 8 and 14.The only riders with high averages were racers.A cat 2 rider always had 18 to 25.When these same people were ask,they always overstated their average,except the cat 2 guy.I suspect that if you get a nice road bike,you will be passed very seldom,and I also suspect that only the racers on this forum truly reach high averages consistently

tagaproject6

One thing you can use are road markers, light posts, telephone poles(if they still have those), fire hydrants,bot's dots, etc. If those markers are pretty evenly spaced out, you can do intervals at every mark. E.g., go as fast as you can for 6 markers, rest at 3, go again for 6, etc.

PatrickGSR94

hm interesting... one thing I forgot to mention is that my current bike really is too small for me. I bought it from some guy locally and didn't know enough then to know that it was too small. It's like an 18" frame I think, where I really need more like a 19.5" or so. So that's another reason for wanting something else, and I'm heavily leaning towards something from a LBS that can be properly fitted. I think I need something around the 56 to 58 cm range, based on 5'11" height and 33.5" leg length.

I'm guessing with a frame more suited to my size I'll be able to pedal more efficiently... plus the fact that I plan on doing the clipless shoes and pedals, whereas I only have platforms on my current bike (have some clipless MTB pedals on the shelf but no shoes or cleats to use with them).