Hard Rides
 

Did 20 mi @17.6 mph yesterday in 80 deg and hi humidity. That was more difficult than the 50 miles in 3 hr 5 min last week. Am still a long way from my 20 mph goal for a full hour...

good effort. Do you have a route that has no (or very few) stop lights and stop signs?

A few years back I did a 18 mile hour. I was chasing some fast riders in a training ride. I thought I was gonna die. Never did that again. Good luck. :)

Oddly, I had the opposite.

I thought the pace was easy on my Wed. pm ride, and we only pushed really hard on one 2-mile section. We were in a small group that usually rides quite fast, but toward the end we slowed down a bit to wait for one of the guys. So I thought it would be a slow average speed, but Strava says we moved quite well - doing 23 miles at 19.2 mph, and feeling fresh afterward.

The temperatures here were cooler, and I think that made the difference. The same ride in the weather we had until recently would have felt much harder.

http://app.strava.com/rides/20224112

I always wonder how much climbing is involved in rides like these. I love rides like this where I can test my limits and from what I read they are necessary to better health and improvement. The other day a group of us did a 26.7 mi. ride with 2500 ft. of climbing at 15.78 mph. At age 66 and being 10 lbs overweight (still) I'm a pretty mediocre climber but the group was pretty good and that forced me to work. Afterwards I felt great.

The heat and humidity in the desert SW (A real monsoon has brought real humidity for a change) has really effected my average times. Usually about 2 MPHs. I thought I was just old and worn out. Then a cool evening came in and I was young again. Your post is a challenge to me to HTFU! I needed that this week. Thanks.

I live in the Las Vegas Valley. It is still kind of secluded compared to your part of the world. We have some 40 mile stretches that people ride. Depending on the wind, 20+ is too easy and 7 can be heroic.

Too many numbers around here. Just sayin'.

I train for the hardrides and it is over a shorter distance--You normally do 20 miles so try a 5 miler with more speed and a few slopes. You will have to warm up first before the 5 miler and that can take me 10 miles. Only another 5 and you will have done 20.

What a stupid idea.

I live by the Chesapeake Bay - flat with very few traffic interruptions. If I added hills my speed would probably drop to zero! I am always amazed how good, strong (mostly young) riders of both genders can be so fast. I don't expect to live long enough to build enough strength to do a 20 mph hour....

I averaged 18 mph over 32 miles chasing a faster group, about 1400' of climbing. Based on my experience 24+ years ago as a runner I would describe that as near race pace.

Here in Richond TX most of the time I spend riding is in the mid to high eigthties on morning rides. Sometimes the low nineties when I finally get myself out of the house. I usually average 13 miles an hour for 15 miles. There's usually a good enough breeze to slow me down. I've been pushing this year to go faster without much results. Anyway the heat makes it harder. I would like to see how I would do when it's in the mid seventies but that's not very often here.

Averaging 20 mph on your own without group support can be pretty tough! Good luck getting there!

20 MPH on an hour ride solo is a tough tough goal. I approached it once last year (19.6 MPH on a 19 mile course with 1000 ft of climbing and maybe 4-5 red lights), but I was in the best shape I've ever been, late in a year where I logged 7000 miles.

From your description, you can probably do well to work on both increased speed and distance without thinking too hard about a 20 MPH ride. Add some interval training if you really want to increase your speed, but also dedicate yourself to logging those miles. There's no substitute for having a lot of miles in your legs.

I agree that wind and climbing figures would help to determine effort.

When making claims of distance/speed I always include a Strava link to (a) show the validity, and (b) include climbing data.

See you on the Sea Gull? I've registered, and was hoping to finish at a decent speed.

I did the Bay-to-Bay century (fairly close to where you live) last year at a 19.2 mph average (pacelining the whole way).

True. I'll use this thread as my motivation to chase that goal :D

http://app.strava.com/rides/21778589

:D

I think the term is "bonked"? I tried to ride my age (66) last week. Don't know if I started out too hard (16 mph), didn't eat right or what but I was completely exhausted by mile 52 and couldn't continue. Bummer...

Duncan - Can't do the Sea Gull am outta town. It's a good ride, tho.
JH