54 year old, overweight guy here, who loves to rec cycle, and looking to get in better shape.

I mostly ride a Trek Domane SL5, which I absolutely love, but here's my problem. I pedal for like 30secs, then cruise for like 10-15 secs, and pedal again, rice repeat, i.e. I'm very rarely continuously pedalling for more than a minute. Does anyone else have this issue? It's got to be inefficient. Part of it seems to be mental, perhaps part fitness. It could be I just need to get disciplined, and force myself to go for longer periods. Perhaps use a different gear?

Open to any and all suggestions...

It is inefficient. There's an easy way to learn to pedal all the time. (Easy but you can get hurt doing it.) Set up a bike as a fix gear. Now, not pedaling while you are moving simply isn't an option. I was told many moons ago as a young, beginning racer to set my second bike up fix gear to learn to pedal correctly and smoothly. I did. I fell in love with the simplicity and purity and still ride fix gears nearly 50 years later.

Don't take this lightly. Fix gear can do wonders for poor pedaling habits but they can be a cruel mistress; as in causing instant crashes for minor mental lapses. And please don't even think about riding them on roads without brakes. Yes, popular but dangerous. Do as I was told by my club race veterans years ago - have and use two good working brakes.

Another caution - you might like it. And end up like me with half of my bikes and more than half of my miles fixed. Fix gears are dangerous. Kinda like cigarettes and heroin. Some of us can't quit.

What is your cadence? (crank rpm)?

Aim for a cadence of 85-90 rpm even if it means dropping to an easier gear. Your 'all day' effort is likely at a slightly higher cadence but low effort. A low rpm, high power works your thighs (quads) more. A low effort but higher cadence "spin" works your entire leg. It takes some practice, keep at it.

How is your pedal/shoe interface? This matters! Could you tell us which shoes & pedals you are using? Something like how far back your cleats are on your shoes can make a difference in how much “all day” comfort you are getting from your cadence/pedal stroke.
Also how is your saddle height and setback? Too high of a saddle or too far forward can make for uncomfortably aggressive cadence where you are needing the front part of your foot (toes) and not able to push/pull with the back of your foot (heel/arches) in a continuous way.

I've been cycling since the mid-80's and I think I may have dealt with this issue, but not sure. It's been so, so long -- I just don't remember.

I can't give any good advice, other than just keep cycling and don't think about it and eventually you'll be spinning all the time.

Be aware this is incredibly annoying to anyone riding around you. Both the speed surges and the sound are annoyances. I say that only because the knowledge may provide incentive.

I'm thinking your doing this for a reason, and the most likely reason is pedaling is uncomfortable. That's something to fix.

What happens if you make yourself pedal constantly for five minutes,?

Get a basic bike computer and try to maintain some sort of average speed. Bump that speed up until you can't coast and maintain it.

For those who are not Trek loyalists, this is a Domane SL5. I would not be comfortable on this bike, and I don't describe myself as 'overweight'. It is probably not the most comfortable ride experience for the o.p. They could (temporarily) opt for a less aggressive replica road-race bike. Or they could commit sacrilege and modify the ergo's of their current bike with a steertube extender but I don't really see how they can HTFU and become a model spinner just by following the well meant advices given upthread.

I don't think anyone has yet suggested what I am about to suggest, along with the suggestion for a better fitting bike: choose a course that forces constant pedaling. A gentle rise will penalize a rider for coasting very severely. So will a moderate headwind. Finding a course that rises constantly over 1/2 to 1 mi. might be easier to do than to arrange for a headwind on command. All the o.p. needs to do is challenge themself to finish the course without stopping or slowing down.

When I coach kids, I need short phrases - "point left, turn left", "keep your chain on the curb", "look at every car". My phrase for this one is "keep your pedals turning".

You are halfway there already. You know what you are doing. You know it isn't right. You know what is right. You know why the right way is better. My suggestion is to start by keeping your pedals turning. Even if you are tired and coasting, force yourself to keep the pedals moving. Once you have that, you will learn to choose gear ratios that optimize what your feet are doing.

I remember when I started commuting to work. There was a time when I got to work and home with one stop each way (coffee, bathroom, etc.). Then I got to only stopping on the way home. Then I got to keeping my pedals turning the whole way home. This was a struggle because getting home doesn't necessarily have a "start" time like getting to work does. After that, it was just a matter of building speed over time and watching how I very gradually started to choose higher and higher gearing.

Bikes work fine with coasting, so this isn't a safety issue or anything. Just personal fitness and efficiency. Keep at it, but don't go crazy. Even very experienced riders will coast in various situations, such as certain turns and downgrades.

I understand ya but really, it will take care of itself. Just keep on going. Enjoy your ride. Latter on after you are in better shape and lost a few pounds you will want to ride faster. Its then that you will pedal more.

For me my local rides are up and down. I get so spent just getting to the top that I dont pedal on the way down. Even on the flats I am preparing for my next little climb. What that means is a 10 mile ride is only five cause I am only pedaling half the ride.

Just last fall I did a two hour ride. A rancher freind of mine pulled over in front of me for a little conversation about planting GMO Deer corn on a small patch (200 acres). When I got home my wife said that was a long ride. Yep... Two hours on a five mile ride. Pedaling or not I'll take it...

In 2010, my first year of randonneuring, on my first 400k, there was a dude who rode like that. Making matters worse, he had a super loud hub, which was a new thing back then. Our group of about ten stuck together the whole way. After about 100 miles of hearing pedal-buzz, in rural Ohio north of Columbus, we collectively snapped and killed the guy. Then we ate him because we were hungry and the next control was 30 miles away. Actually no, we didn't but I know we were all thinking about it. Killing him, I mean, not the cannibalism part. I just threw that in for some drama.

Don't be that guy. Pedal your bike.

Good suggestions but getting your peddling correct, if there is such a thing, won't fix your shape. Your diet is 99.9% of the equation.

Don't know what to suggest. Other than you need to realize that those of us that don't coast much will think of you as a slacker when we overtake and pass you!

Do you stop pedaling because your legs tire? You are probably pushing too high a gear ratio. Since you are able to coast for so long so often, then are you on a eBike? If so, the same thing, shift to a lower gear and just enjoy the pedaling.

It's conditioning and probably too high a gear. Drop into a lower gear and (sorry) just force yourself to keep pedaling. It that's too tiring, try a still lower gear. Just moving your legs around in a circle takes strength and energy, much less making the bike go forward. And it specifically takes aerobic energy, make you breathe harder, but that's the whole idea! Bicycling is an aerobic sport which will improve your lungs, heart, and blood vessels.

An interesting aspect of bicycling is that it's really all about riding up hills. Sounds stupid, but that's how it is. So if you're coasting, you're obviously riding on the flat. Thus the easiest mental fix is to ride up hills. You'll have to pedal. Seriously. When I started riding again at 50, I set myself a goal of riding uphill to a local shopping center. Not that I wanted to shop, it was just a goal. Took me a whole summer to be get so I could ride the 7 miles and 500' of vertical to get there. I thought I'd have a lung up. But once I could do that, the world was my oyster. I could ride anywhere. Goals work.

One more question that occurred to me is about your saddle tilt - is it level or tilting forward? A level saddle can keep you planted better to allow you to focus on more continuous cadence. Also, if you aren’t doing group rides where they do some drafting, you might want to try it. To effective all accelerations need to be “smooth and progressive” as race car driver Jackie Stewart used to say.

By cruise I assume you mean coast. Riding the rollers would cure that. Not easy to get started though.

There's not enough information in your post to know why you're doing that, so there's no way to know what to change in order to "fix" things -- or even to know if something needs to be fixed.
The suggestions you've got thus far may work but they may not.

Suggest you re-think being overly concerned with solving an "issue/problem" of a need to force a change in your present recreational bicycling technique in order to obtain Efficiency Über Alles.
You state that you currently love riding your bicycle, so what if your current pedaling technique causes conniptions for some enthusiasts and performance aficionados? Do what works for you and meets your bicycling comfort and enjoyment level.

just keep riding, try other gears, find a place with no intersections or distractions, get clipless shoes and pedals and force yourself to keep pedaling. this does not seem like a terribly hard problem to solve if it's mental. if it's fitness.... use an easier gear and go slower!

Or, depending on why, harder gear and go slower. We don't know why he's doing what he's doing.

true, i assumed he was finding it “hard” to pedal and becoming out of breath.

but maybe he’s finding it too easy to pedal, is spinning past a natural cadence, and then stops. not enough info.

Thank you thank you for all the suggestions. To go through a bit

1. Why am I doing it? I'm not 100% sure. I think some combo of habbit, laziness, and fitness.
2. Why do I care if I enjoy cycling?Good challenge. I'd like to go further on my rides. I'd like to go faster, and it feels ineffienct
3. Is it the bike? Possibly, though I think I've done this for as long as I can remember including on my Trek DS3 which I've not ridden for a few years. It may be worth me playing around
4. Pedals? I don't use cleats and never had. Been tempted, but everyone I know who has them has fallen sometime, and I don't trust myself not to put my hand out when I fall (and break my writs again when I last fell over cycling).
5. Gear changes? Yes, I think I need to play around a bit more find a gear/cadence I'm comfortable in.
6. Forcing myself? Yeah. I think there's something to this. On a shallow uphill I do on the Bay Bridge for 2 miles, I go the 15 mins mostly without taking my foot off.
7. And General Fitness/Weight? Yes, absolutely know there is no substitute for that.
8. Being killed by my fellow cyclists? Yet another reason to solve this..

Regarding the mental part, try some biofeedback with whatever monitoring devices you might have (computer, HRM, power meter, etc.), shooting for specific speed goals, or maintaining a certain heart rate range. Just riding by feel apparently doesn't do it for you.

Fitness - if you are coasting because you feel exhausted / out of breath, you need to find a better way to curb your enthusiasm and pace yourself better. Biofeedback (especially a HRM) may be the trick there too. If you are coasting so you can get your weight off your butt and onto your feet because you are uncomfortable, then look to fix any fit problems you might have, and possibly an equipment change like a saddle or handlebar. This sort of issue tends to work itself out as fitness and time spent on the bike accrues, but not always.

or find a long gradual gentle climb

have a few for you : Deckers Creek trail in WV … Connellsville to Ohiopyle section of the GAP … Harmon Creek to Dinsmore on the Panhandle trail … each has around 10 miles of almost non stop climb - gentle but it will keep you pedaling …

that should fix it

you are in the Bay area ?

riding in that area reminds me of riding in western PA - lots of ups and downs … lots of shifting … rarely a dull moment … keep on riding and (hopefully) consistent cadence will be in your future