Originally Posted by
MX_2_Spandex
Trying to improve my speed I have started riding with a group that is well above my skill level. On a 55 mile loop I am on for about 24 miles of it. After that I get dropped and struggle for the next 30 riding with a couple individuals that just happen to be going the same direction. I do this with them once or twice a week.
Would you rather be in a group that is slower and the workout is about a 6/7 on a scale of 10? Or ride with a faster group but end up spending a good deal of time solo after getting dropped? Over the last month I have accepted option 2 but feel I will never be able to keep their pace... Damn hills...
Improving speed requires speed work - if you're intent is to get faster in group riding VS riding on your own - TT.
Of course, speed work in a group also greatly aids your individual efforts, since group rides are often like doing intervals, just that you don;t often know when the interva l will happen and how soon the next will come - the group pace is usually out of any one rider's control...
so I choose option 2
Q's
1. Are there a significant number of racing oriented riders in the group?
2. Is the route regular or does it vary a lot?
3. How large is the group?
Ride pace and objective willvary depending on seasonal objectives. If you just started with this group ride a month ago, and the 'racing' riders form a significant group of the ride - you hit it at the point where these rides can still be at a high level. With a lot of racing riders, the wkends that they don't 'race' they will ride hard for maintenance - so group hammerfests in the summer months will still have a steady hard pace.
As the fall and winter approaches the pace of rides tends to slacken, as the race calendar winds down. Winter often finds smaller groups and steadier, slower tempo rides.
Stay with the group. As you improve over the coming months, the group will also begin to slow for the winter.
Then all hell will break loose again as the new season approaches...
As you 'learn' the route, you'll find ways to manage your effort (if you're thinking and not just reacting) so that you can make it over the hard patches in better form.
Work on your technique - riders are a combination of aerobic capacity and power - find what works best for you, so that you can manage yourself better,
Don;t be afraid to sit in 100% of the time. Don't take pulls if you can't. Others in the ride will figure out that you're doing your best, and give you plenty of slack to fit in.
Review your gearing - many riders do not have optimum gearing for fast/hammerfests/race. One needs a tight step gear range in the gear ranges where the hard efforts happen. It makes no sense to have a gear that is too high, except for sprints, when you can never get to, or participate in the sprint (at the expense of not having an important gear when you just might be able to hang on...). It makes no sense to have a 34/28 if you get shelled when you use it. If you have large jumps in gear (8 to 10 gear inch jumps) in the ranges where the efforts really happen, then you can't optimize/maximize your own effort by finding the best gear for the moment.
Get tougher mentally - pick a point in the ride when you normally allow yourself to become weak mentally, and bring 'determination' to your effort - see how that improves your performance over that short segment. You may get shelled later, but start the mental improvements right from the first hard effort - then move onto the next - and so on.
If you never, ever finish this ride with the group, that's ok. All your other rides will get much easier and be more rewarding/fun.
Competitive riding is about suffering, sacrifice and self-determination as it is about anything else. Competition is about speed. Like Jens says "Shut Up Legs!"