Originally Posted by
furiousferret
Get on Strava, find guys in your area that can challenge you. Even spend that hour to drive if you have to. There are guys out here that skip our local ride and drive 90 minutes to Simi, Swami's, or Como. When you are hammering at 30 mph and still getting gapped that plateau disappears real quick. If you are coached online find a mentor to ride with that can help you out with nuances of riding.
Yeah I understand that I'll have to do that as well. Right now there is only one person that I ride with and he can only challenge me on sprints. I do enjoy riding with others when possible. Last year a bunch of cyclists started renting places out here during the Spring for a week to train since the weather is generally nicer compared to their frozen lands. I bumped into them one day and ended up riding a ton that week.
I'll join up with the group that's an hour away but it will be limited time. My work is nice in that it allows me to get out and ride but for the most part I can't schedule what time of day that will be, sometimes it's at 9am sometimes it's at 2pm. Most of the group rides tend to be in the early evenings which I simply can't do as that's when I'm needed here (generally).
All that being said, I do think that I'll be able to find a mentor to ride with every couple of weeks once I get closer to his level.