Originally Posted by
vinnyvincent
I've been working toward that sweet spot where my legs aren't burning too much and I'm not huffing and puffing. I'd say currently I'm a little faster when I rely more on cardio and ride at a higher cadence. Do you think it would be more beneficial for me to focus on increasing cardio, or since my cardio is already a little better, would I maybe get more benefit from training my leg muscles?
I guess I am just trying to figure out which area would be best to focus on first.
Maybe I should look into local riding clubs? At first I didn't think I'd be into that kind of thing, but it is starting to seem like it makes sense to help push myself harder.
It sounds like you are aware of the balance between cardio and leg power and are getting a good ride in each time you go out.
Maybe mix in a longer ride a bit out of your comfort zone once a week and push it a bit harder on your normal rides.
When I started riding again to get back in shape I knew what cadence worked for me so I simply rode each day where I was pushing myself just enough so that I was working hard enough that I would not be able to hold a conversation without being out of breath.
I did 15-20 miles per ride back then and after a short time was averaging around 17 mph. I was on a new aluminum road bike though so if you are on something naturally slower like a mountain or hybrid with bigger tires you should expect to be a bit slower.