Originally Posted by hhnngg1

It's pretty easy as to why others go fast:

They:
- Ride more miles than you
- Have been riding longer than you
- Might have better genetics
- Are willing to suffer a lot more than you
- Have better gear

Once you start knocking those elements off one buy one (except for genetics), you'll be wondering why everyone else seems so darn slow on your training rides.

If you don't race or train specifically to max your speeds, it's very hard for a recreational rider to have the speed of competitive racers, unless they came from another sport with good x-over (competitive runners make pretty good cyclists) or are very talented.