zymphad

They are too cool, too dumb to use bike lanes.

Also have never seen any bikers take up a full lane when there is ample space in the bike lane here. Only see that downtown Boston where its safer to do so and traffic is stupid slow with lights every 100m.

Frankly I don't think there are any highway or large roads around here where you can do that without causing enormous traffic jams and road rage if if you had slow bikers moving at only 30 mph... (snail slow compared to road traffic). Would not surprise me if drivers drove by with doors open to knock down the bikers. Wouldn't phaze me at all if large groups of bikers did that here.

Maybe Texas is cycling heaven where they have no road traffic to cause accidents and road rage from snail slow 30 mph cyclists.

How nice for them. Can't think of any road around me that is as flat and nice as those roads.

Also noticed a dude was riding the brightest pink bike. Paused and rewind, yup it's a dude.

10 Wheels

It was not a Bike Lane. The Club had a rider killed when he was pace lining on the shoulder and fell into the road way.

Since then the club double rides in the road. It is safer. The cars have two lanes on the left to pass.

This is the crap that is on the shoulder ( same road as on the video). The riders use racing tires with no flat protection.

gregf83 

You realize the ones that are coasting are completely spent? They like going hard also, it's just when they go hard it's 3 or 4 times harder than what you consider hard so it doesn't last long.

DaveWC

You've described my rides to a T. Although I do do intervals sometimes and that simulates what those riders were doing... going all out for a period of time and then coasting/soft pedalling to recover.

caloso

Going all out all of the time is an excellent way to train.*














*if your training goal is to not be particularly fast.

revchuck 

My solo rides are usually in the 17-18 mph range. I pulled my stats for the year off of Garmin Connect and for 8,022 miles my average was 17.0 mph. That includes everything - trainer time, recovery rides (goal is <100 watts, <100 bpm), intervals sessions, team rides, races (not many this year), and lots of base miles.

DaveWC

I assume you're right, but I also assume that you mean "race fast". I mix in some interval training and recovery rides but I've also found that just going all out has increased my speed over time. I don't doubt that it would not prepare me for the changes in pace in a race but I figure I'd do okay in a time trial, which is where my interest lies, though I have no intention of racing.

Silvercivic27

Going all out is not a good strategy in a time trial either.

jdon

easy... distance/time x 1.41 = solo average speed

Elvo

25 mph on grades 0-5%, 30 mph on 5-10% grades, 4 mph on 10-15% grades

spdntrxi

15-17mph… I try to look for hills and tend not to hammer down them.

RJM

Solo rides are awesome......kind of meditative and life centering.

OP, I ride slower than a lot of people but I ride a bunch, so I am happy.

mkadam68

+1

What SilverCivic means is that you're not getting maximal gains for your time invested, even for time trials. Sure, you'll get faster by going "all out" all the time. But, at some point, you'll reach a maximal gain, and that will be less than if you had invested in a "proper" training program (if I can call it that?) and stuck to it. Also, it will take you longer to reach that maximal gain.

Of course, in the end, it's certainly your call: how you train is up to you.

furiousferret

Never fast enough...

Dudelsack 

12 MPH. I think that translates into 17 kph, which sounds way faster.

Homebrew01

Count how many cars pass them in the open lane to their left. Not exactly a lot of traffic.

caloso

Time trialling is all about FTP, which is basically how much power you can put out in an hour. (Well, and aerodynamics, but that's an even greater thread derailment.). You can boost your FTP by pushing it up from below with long steady rides. But it's even more effective to pull it up from above with short, hard efforts.

Take a look in the 33, where there is a stickied thread called The BF Workout Cookbook. There are a lot of great interval workouts there that will help with boosting the FTP.

And, what's most important of all, in my opinion, is plenty of recovery. Like hour long rides where you get passed by little old ladies on beach cruisers.

So, that's why I don't have a good answer for the OP's question: my solo rides are all over the place.

Homebrew01

Caloso, I didn't understand your post for a second until I realized you were giving an on topic useful answer.

itrsteve

Depends on the ride. I've had a few hour long, flat efforts in the 21mph range but rides with the rolling hills and variations tend to be around 17-18. With that being said, you can't go "all out" every ride either.

caloso

I try not to make it a habit.

Homebrew01

^^ just that we had veered so far off topic, I forgot what the thread was about.

UnfilteredDregs

How exactly do recovery rides help versus just sitting on your ass physiologically speaking?

Homebrew01

Sometimes if my legs are tired, they can feel lousy and sore, and a very easy ride can make them feel better. I don't know if physiologically one is better than the other though.

Grambo

+1. I always attributed the benefit of recovery rides to just dilating the blood vessels in my legs leading to better blood flow and shortened recovery time. Not sure if there is any real science to support this notion but going for a mellow spin the day after a race or hard training ride just seems to work for me.

revchuck 

From what I've read, it gets the blood flowing more quickly to remove waste products from your muscle cells and supply needed nutrients for them to rebuild. My personal experience is that it removes or at least lessens the soreness in your legs after a hard ride.