hshearer

Think back to the time when you started really putting an effort into your cycling. How many months or years did it take you to develop most of your fitness/speed/strength/endurance? And how much of an effort were you putting into it?

I ask because I'm wondering when (if???) my husband will be able to comfortably ride with me! I took up recreational cycling 2 years ago, although I'd been commuting by bike all my life. I was putting in about 10 hours a week, and I feel like I saw most of my big fitness gains within the 6 months, although I'm still noticeably improving.

Just under a year ago, my husband picked up a bike for the first time in about a decade. He wasn't doing any other exercise, but is thin and young. He put in about 4 hours a week, but in the last 2 months has picked that up considerably and is training side by side with me on a trainer, about 10 hours a week.

Unfortunately, we are still very mis-matched in fitness when it comes to real rides. He'll be trying to hold my draft in zone 4, and his legs will die, while I'll be puttering along as upright as possible, oblivious to his pain. Not exactly ideal. We ride very similar bikes, so it's not the bike. Thoughts? What was your experience like when you first started taking cycling more seriously? How did your spouse cope?

ericm979

You may just be genetically better for cycling than he is.

But if he was only doing 4 hours a week and just stepped up to 10 the last couple months, he is just starting and has a lot of room for improvement. Also your commuting all your life, unless they were really short slow commutes, have built up a base of fitness even before you started training. Since he's starting from sedentary he won't have that.

Until he gets faster, you can use some tricks to ride with him.
Do your rides together on your recovery days. That way you won't care if you're going slow, as that's the goal. When he's not too much slower than you are, you can ride together for part of your long endurance rides. They'll be faster paced for him of course, so he'd be doing a more intense ride. Meet up part way through your ride, so you're already a bit tired. You can also ride the same loop, only you take a side road and do some extra miles, then catch back up later on. On climbs, you can ride to the top at your pace, then go back down and ride up with him.

I got back into cycling at age 40 having been off the bike for 8 years and not exercising for the last three of those. It took me a over year before I could do a century, and it wasn't fast. I've gotten much faster in the 9 years since. My wife didn't start riding until I'd been doing it for a while so we had a large discrepancy in speed. I used the tricks above to ride with her. But I had to remind myself to be patient- she tends to slow down a lot when she's tired, so we did some rides where we were going pretty slow by the end.

She's decided that she likes running better than cycling, so we don't get to ride together any more.

Carbonfiberboy 

I didn't pick up biking again until I was 50. It took me 2 years to get so I could really ride. About 5 years to get fast. Wife used to ride with me on my recovery days, but it became obvious she wasn't ever going to get fast enough to ride anywhere interesting with me. We eventually bought a tandem and love it.

Pat

That is odd. I would think that he should at least be able to hang onto your wheel. On the average, guys are significantly stronger cyclists than women of their own age, ability and training level. There are physiological reasons for this. And yes, it is not fair. But then again, the ladies live around 5 years longer than men so maybe it balances out.

But that makes your marked level of cycling superiority rather perplexing.

In cycling, it seems that training trumps talent. I suspect that you train with greater intensity and it really shows up on the road. Of course, you might just be a freak of nature too. But the former seems more likely.

hshearer

So, a couple years at minimum to acheive top fitness seems to be what I'm hearing, and that's been my experience, too. 2 years later, and I'm still getting faster, bit by bit. It sure takes a long time, doesn't it?

I do kind of suspect that my years of bike commuting put me further ahead of him on the training curve than I'd initially thought, even though it was only ever about 15 (intense) minutes twice a day. Now that I think about it, that works out to spending about 2.5 hours a week on a bike, which isn't nothing. I guess I'm just being impatient, hoping that a couple months on the trainer would be enough for my husband to catch me. We are tracking a couple stats, to keep motivated that we're making progress. Tricks like ericM suggested have been helpful.

Pat, I would have thought he could hold my wheel by now, too! Admittedly, I probably do train with more intensity, but he puts in a good effort, too. I think one day he must overtake me if he keeps at it. I'm sure looking forward to the day when he can hang on to the local group ride so that we can spend more weekend time together. I'm also hoping he's able to blast out of the gate in spring and really experience how fun riding can be when you're in good shape. I don't want him to be disapppointed if he's still the slowest guy in the group ride after all the work he's been doing over the winter!

AzTallRider

I'm not saying this isn't generally true, but it the first female rider in this year's El Tour de Tucson finished only 2.5 minutes behind the first male rider after 103 miles. And she looked like she had just been out for a morning fun ride.

hshearer, is he getting enough z2-3 base miles to build up his aerobic system? If he is trying to keep up with you, then even drafting he may be always up in the zones where his underlying aerobic system isn't being developed, which will tend to cause him to jump into the higher zones much more quickly than he should, causing him to lose steam more quickly and not be able to hang with you. He'll never improve his fat burning capacity, which would add to the limiting nature of his fitness, since burning carbs is more limiting duration wise. When you are trying to get fitter/faster quickly, you tend to jump straight into faster rides. I know I did when I got serious 9 months ago after a year of commuting. Now, under a coahes guidance, I'm doing those z2-3 base miles to improve my underlying system, so I can hang with the big dogs without burning out. Since he never got those years of basic system development you have, I suspect he is trying to take a short cut that isn't working completely. He may have to "slow down to get faster".

I've heard a lot of people say it takes 7 years to obtain top endurance conditioning, but I believe you can get a long way in a couple of years.

cmcintosh

I've been road biking for four and a half years. (I'm 20) I've always put a ton of effort into going to the gym, eating healthy, etc. and absolutely failed at it consistently for years. I only really biked in the summer, in good weather, a few days a week if not once a week, 20-30 milers and sometimes longer. It baffled me.
Just last spring I moved to a less convenient location a little north of the city (a whole six miles, but this state is TINY) and it was between commuting to school, work, or anywhere, by an hour and fifteen minute bus/train ride, or a 25 minute bike ride.

On top of not realizing I was burning roughly 1000 calories a day biking (because it didn't feel like it!) just riding every day, going on longer rides outside the city (one RI-CT ride, one Boston-Portland, ME, and smaller training routes) I lost about 40 lbs and I've consistently kept off the weight. I can actually eat worse than I used to when I ran 3-4 days a week and went to the gym. We'll see how the winter treats me, but it's amazing to think that it got me this conditioned in just months.

jnsmith0123

I have been doing regular biking for nearly 3 years to burn the extra fat I am getting from fast food like Pizza and Past. I love pizza most and hence to burn all those extra cheese I am biking regularly as well as do exercising in gym. I exercise a lot to stay healthy and fit and to maintain the shape of my body.

DannoXYZ 

Well, it may not be just fitness, but technique as well. If his legs are dying, he's most likely using too big a gear. It's a very common beginner mistake. Have him practice spinning smaller gears and use 2-3 gears lower at all times. His legs will need to exert less force for the same power generation and will last a lot longer before fatiguing.

Also training regimen should be examined. Are each ride of the week different to optimally workout the muscular, aerobic and energy systems? He'll need at least one sprint day, one short interval day, one long interval day, one tempo day, one hill-climb day, one real endurance (3-4hr) day and two rest days per week to complete a microcycle. Then those are fitted into macrocycles of 3-6 weeks in length.

One good thing to do is get a baseline of both your fitness levels. Do a 10-mile TT individually and see what your times are. You can track your progress this way by doing that TT once a month.

Thomas O

I started biking last May. ( I am 48) My first ride was 12 miles and it kicked my ass. I did my first century ride in August. A very hilly and windy ride. I still had some left in me at the end of the ride. I put about 1500 miles in last summer mostly long steady rides and I also do spin classes regularly.
I totally admire you and your husband for doing this together. I have been trying to get my wife involved but not much luck. Be patient with your husband and enjoy your time together. Don't make it competitive or you just might take the fun out of it for him... Just my 2 cents

IbisTouche

Have you tried to ride a tandem. At a tandem it doesn´t matter that the partners have different condition or strenght. We started tandeming at that reason and our sportcycling (brevets etc) are all on our tandems, while our touring and offroad is on single bicycles. My stoker and partner also ride a single bicycle together with me but at a tempo like the one you describe. Try a tandem!

hshearer

Thanks for all the great tips. We are doing most of these things (intervals much like Dannoxyz said, lots of time in zone 2/3 when on the trainner like AzTallRider suggested). I think those base miles to build aerobic fitness must be key... I guess it's just going to take some time. Tandem would be a fun addition to our herd, but not for a few more years, I think ($$$)!

With our bike computer on the trainer bike, about once a month we're recording our results for top all-out sprint speed, and (on different days) also for a 5-minute time trial effort [I couldn't convince him a longer effort would be more useful, so we agreed on 5 minutes ]. I am also recording what gear we're in for our long zone 2 rides, and noting when we make the move up to a bigger gear. I'm hoping to see those numbers starting to converge as he gains on me, but so far, my results have been improving more or less in step with his. I can update this thread with a graph of the results a the end of the winter if anyone is curious (though I may need reminding). Any other numbers that would be interesting to follow?

Carbonfiberboy 

Have a look here:
https://www.tandemmag.com/classified/

Only consider 8 or 9 speed bikes. We bought a 3 year old bike sight unseen and had it shipped as part of the purchase price. Of course we did a lot of research before we pulled the trigger. $3,000 and we'll ride that bike the rest of our lives. We hope.

Stoker has gotten stronger, faster, on our tandem in one year than she did in many years on her single bike. We don't know why. We suspect that since I am stronger and more talented she can do much longer and hillier rides on the tandem than she ever could on her single, and it's the 3+ hour hill rides that really build strength, IMO. I've always noticed that when I'm doing 70 mile rides in February I have a great summer. We are hoping to translate that to the tandem.

Which is another thing you can try on your singles: go long once/week. Make sure he paces himself so that he can finish, but barely walk at the end. Take him out for a beer after. Over the years I've trained up a lot of guys by babysitting them to the finish. If they came back for another dose, they always got stronger. Has to be a minimum of 50 miles, 2500' climbing or more. Bring Tums for him when he cramps. I see you're in Ontario, but talking about riding outside, so you must get some clear roads sometime. Riding in the rain is good for the skin, but falling on ice is bad.

Chini563

When I made the upgrade from aluminum to carbon I felt the difference of the ride and I found myself enjoying the ride so much more and with the upgrade came the dedication! I have no spouse but I believe she would have been on my wheel or me on hers no doubt, we would've been enjoying each others slipstream! Cycling is also a team sport! We probably would've sought out therapy too! j/k Good Luck

sjvcycler

It took me 2 years to get to where I could hold on in a draft of 20+ mph. If its just you and him riding when he falls off that may be the problem. You may want to make some friends and try to get him more rest between pulls. When we do fast rides we usually have at least 4 or 5 people. I've also heard that that only way to get faster is to ride with faster people, so I think you are doing the correct thing. Just give it more time.

This is the one of the group leaders I ride with. Below is one of the rides that took me about 6 months to keep up with. I keep up with them now, but its not easy.
https://connect.garmin.com/activity/51089411

fishermba2004

I think it was Joe Friel who said people tend to get faster as cyclists for about seven years with most of the gains in the first three years coming from physiological adaptations and most of the gains in later years coming from other factors.

When I'm riding with slower groups I tend to sprint up the hills and coast back down to the group. You could also ride a mountain bike with knobby tires. It's a great equalizer in my case.

Russcoles11

Seems to me that what you want is to spend time with the other half whilst riding. Tricks like riding up a hill at speed then coming back down to ride up again will just be annoying and may well be a bit disheartening (no matter how well meaning you are). If he doesn't seem to be catching up in fitness, maybe you should try a tandem when you ride together? The important thing is that you're riding together and no-one feels they are being held back or feels they are holding anyone back.

hshearer

Russcoles11, that's very insightful... Yes, excessive 'I'll ride ahead and circle back' is certainly damaging to the male ego, in addition to defeating the point of going for a ride togther!

I do have a good news update, though... my husband is now riding in the same gear ratio I was in when we officially started our winter training program 12 weeks ago. Since I was comfortably keeping up with the group rides at that time, I know that when he shows up in spring, he will be pleasantly suprised to find himself able to take the lead in a pack of guys who used to drop him within a few miles. Our relative speeds are also going to be much closer, and his endurance willl be hugely improved. I'm so happy that we'll be able to spend that time together now!

This is a chart of what gear ratio we're maintaining our zone 2 heart rate in... yesterday he decided it was 'big ring time' (there's that ego again!), and I was shocked that he was able to maintain zone 2 despite such a big jump, but he completed the 2-hour workout, which included 4x10 minute intervals in the next biggest gear (5 minutes rest in between)... CLEARLY he was holding back on me! I'm also suprised to find that I've continued to improve... I thought I was already in pretty good shape after a lifetime of commuting and 2 years of riding for sport most days, but there's no sign of plateauing yet, so here's hoping that continues!

hshearer

If you'll pardon me resurrecting a 2 year old zombie thread about a wife (me) wondering how long it will take for her husband to catch up with her on the bike, I thought you may be interested in an update. We've both kept at it, with me maybe putting in 15 hours a week, him 10 hours a week. I've now got 4 seasons of riding (2 were racing), he has 3. Well, we went for a computrainer session recently. I averaged 253 watts, he got 175 (about a 40 minute TT effort). We weigh about the same. So, I think the verdict is in; we are at opposite tails of our respective bell curves, and it seems like we may not ever overlap enough to be good training partners. This makes me sad, but I think I will just need to be more understanding that when he says he's tired, he really means it, and do my recovery rides with him, not my training rides. I've got to admit I have been quite frustrated at times about how he could possibly not be keeping up with me, always assuming that guys should be at least as fast as women, and I thought that he was just being lazy. When the guy is faster that his wife, this just seems natural, but when it's the other way around, well, let's just say I know he's been pretty frustrated with me sometimes, too!

For any couples with similar power outputs, for what it's worth, we found our best equalizer was me riding an upright hybrid and him drafting off me on his road bike, although even then I was still slightly getting away from him. Adding panniers with a day's worth of clothing and supplies for longer trips helped to keep me to an appropriate pace. And I found a great database on the Ottawa Bike Club's website that has thousands of time trials over many years... riders were improving their performances steadily for about 5-8 years, in most of the individuals I looked at. Gives me hope for my own time trial performances (I am just starting to try that), and confirms that my husband will continue to improve, too.

howsteepisit

Wait, you are putting in 33% more training time, sure you are getting to a higher level of fitness. I think that either your hubby is not as interested in getting to a high level of fitness, or he has other constraints on his time. MAybe he really does not want to "train" but would rather just ride for enjoyment? Have you talked about what each of you gain out of cycling?

krobinson103

It tok about six montbs before I could rid a six hour century easily. It will take much longer to beat that and not feel like dying.

gregf83 

Very few competitive guys train with their spouses so you'll just have to find other things to do together. I don't think there is a simple solution other than meeting up at the end of a ride for coffee.

You will likely to continue to improve at a higher rate than your hubby, particularly if you are competing, as you will derive extra motivation from your success on the bike. Your husband, on the other hand, will mostly experience frustration in any competitive endeavors and probably prefers strictly recreational riding.

You could also try a tandem if you want to ride together.

wphamilton

+1. I'll do 2 or 3 of my 16 mile loops pretty hard then call home about 8 or 10 miles out. My spouse can ride out to meet me and we'll ride together at her pace.

squatchy

You asked about other metrics to measure to see about gains. Here's one that is not very polluted by other variables. Take a time measurement of how many minutes/seconds it take for your heart rate to fall back to a resting rate from a certain % of max. Example,,,,,, if 170 is max and 60 is resting rate during the day(not early morning bed resting rate) time your recovery to see how long it takes for your body to drop ffrom 170 to 60. "Recovery speed" is a good indicator of health gains and other factors such a wind, terrain, rest, nutrition won't show up quite as much. I do this for my self every now and again to see my progression. My lady friend was supper slow when we started riding together. In our first year she has improved more than I because she ran hard to ride with me while I had to lag back to give her a chance. She has grown tremendously. I on the other hand have note grown as much. I started running out in front of her to get my intervals in and then drop back to ride with her. Or we would climb and I would do intervals on the climb and drop back down the hill each spin cycle. Just try to help him to work on different things each time you go out, such as cadence, or pace or continuous effort ect. You'll probably have to ride some without him as well

Machka 

+1


hshearer ... if you and your husband really want to ride together, get a tandem.