BagoFun

I recently did a 200+ mile tour in 7 days, on an old MTB with skinny tires. Was able to average 15 mph through interval training on shorter distances for a few months prior. The distance isn't where your focus should be, you already know you can do it. Rather just get regular miles in, and do exercises to increase cycling strength and stamina.

That was my strategy at least.

Leebo

Touring is usually about distance and not speed. Try some 4-6 hour rides at moderate pace. 50 miles is a reasonable goal for a bike touring day. Add some weight and hills in your rides as well.

nycbusi

I try to hit gravel and dirt as much as I can on my routes. Living on an island we have a coast with beaches and some of the paths are gravel/dirt/packed sand. From a distance perspective if I am looking out of the 50miles, maybe 3miles are like this. So not a super amount.


100miles... yikes... I wld need a pair of padded shorts for tht.

nycbusi

wanted to thank everyone who replied. I have been scaling back on the gears. Not riding at the top and trying to get more rotations. I haven't really increased in speed, but I think it will happen over time.

Abe_Froman

Yes, you absolutely need to be in a more realistic gear. You're never going to use the top gear for anything unless you are going down a steep slope, have a 50mph tailwind, or are a professional doing a sprint (downhill or with a tailwind still....).

At 10-15mph, you should probably be somewhere in the middle or easy half of your gear range

edit: there are actually multiple reason for this. You WILL be faster for longer keeping a reasonable cadence. Faster cadence keeps lactic acid from building up in your legs, and transfers much of the workload to your lungs. So you'll be faster, your legs will burn less, but you will breathe harder. More importantly, at least for me, it is MUCH easier on your knees.

Jean3n16

I have to agree with everyone else. I didnt get faster but hitting harder gears or fiddling with my bike. I got faster by moving my legs!!

Road Fan

I think this, possibly combined with just pushing harder and spinning faster in his main gear, is the simplest and cheapest thing he can do. Both of these force his legs to work differently and harder. A bigger engine does not violate the laws of physics!

For a gearing change those IRDs are fine, but a 1-tooth change it the small end is a pretty big change overall. Maybe go for a 12 tooth freewheel rather than an 11-tooth.

to the OP: Basically you will go faster if you can spin faster than you are now, gear for gear. You can build this capability by stressing yourself and recovering, just like with weight training. There are many strategies for it, but if you just get yourself a cheap speedometer or speed/cadence cyclometer, you can find our your average speed over a certain course, and push your cadence slowly up until you're waking up tired in the mornings. Ride easy for a few days till you feel energetic, then try the build up again. If you get a 5% increase in speed or cadence, reliably measured, you've done quite well. That's a lot of increase in watts!

There are a lot of technical strategies, but the above will get you started and let you see if you want to follow this path.

Don't expect to see rapid speed gains in a week!

Timequake

Pedal harder.

HvPnyrs

Someone much more gifted and famous than myself is supposed to have stated 'it is much better to Spin the Big Gears'.
PROPERLY TRAIN YOURSELF, to spin the Big Gears, FOR HOURS AT A TIME Without COASTING.

Start by using this technique for an active rest/recovery ride of 30-60 minutes. The morning after to minimize/heal sore mucles -
Hypnotize yourself into believing your bike is a 'fixed gear', in that, if the wheels are moving - so must your feet be moving! - Again, COASTING IS FORBIDDEN.
Change gears to be able to maintain a High RPM CADENCE (80-100 avg)
KEEP PEDALING PRESSURE LIGHT -
An Extreme visual to keep in mind (this is what finally made me 'Get It!' )
IMAGINE Your Baby Girl's Hands Between Your Feet And The Pedals. THIS IS THE GOAL FOR THE ENTIRE RIDE.
. Spinning The Big Gears comes only with Power coupled with supple riding Techniques


I feel an Important Question is very notable by it's Absence.

OP, are you using foot retention?
If not, it is understandable to me why you may be stuck in the Low (50-60) RPM Pedal Smashing "Twilight Zone".
At minimum I would suggest a pair of "Power Straps" on your pedals. Better (for India) would be a set of TOE CLIPS and Straps.


/

Reynolds 

I'd take a different approach than most here. What worked for me and many others was to build a strong base, by riding many hours a day, many days a week, not too fast and with few stops, for a long time. This will condition the body to endure long rides and do better use of its reserves. Speed will increase "naturally" - not competition level speed, but faster than before. Intervals and very hard efforts can be added afterwards to reach a given rider's potential.
Of course you need lots of time to do this, it's not for everyone.

ThermionicScott 

+1. "Base miles" and recovery are key.

fietsbob

Motor pacing pushes the air away for you. https://www.google.com/search?q=john...+paced+bicycle


https://www.google.com/search?q=john...w=1661&bih=982




'/,

caloso

Or you could, you know, get a fixed gear. That's old school training. Build up a fixed gear road bike with moderate gearing (say 70-75 gear inches), and go for long rides in the country. But these rides are not to build speed, it's to lay a solid base of endurance on top of which you'll build speed and power with shorter/harder efforts.

HvPnyrs

+1 to you, as well as @Reynolds

A past graduate of the LSD (Long Slow Distance) School myself. It was how I trained for the first, second, and third Pacific Coast Tours in the late '70s thru early '80s. As @Reynolds alludes it does require wide open roads and a fairly hefty commitment of weeks and/or months, which increasingly clashed with demands of Family and Profession.

Flash forward a few decades. My understanding is that the concept of 'Base Miles', is still just as important/critical (if not more so) as 'bitd' of "Tie Dye, Bell Bottoms and Earth Shoes". But now 21st Century "Base Miles" are more Condensed /Targeted and incorporate the concept of active rest days techniques?

Sigh, Having commited to a car less lifestyle in the heart of Downtown L. A. The closest I can get to Classic LSD training regimen is fond memories of the big sky and wide open roads of the exurb in the High Desert, North of L. A. where I once lived. While grinding out the miles on my rollers... Sniff, 'snivel'... it's just not the same.


/

HvPnyrs

Most Strongly Agree

Although my personal circumstances don't allow an n+1 at this time. Plus, not so sure my knees would like me anymore, if I got another SS/fixie:
:
Rereading my post above, I can see the effects of pulling an all nighter and No Sleep. The first sentence was meant to be a tongue in cheek response to the previous post ("pedal harder").
I now see it could be taken as advising the OP to keep pushing Big Gears, which was the opposite of my intention.

In my Most Humble opinion I feel OP has put TOO much emphasis on low RPM Power (possibly because, not using retention, concerned feet will Fly Off the pedals) as many inexperienced cyclists do, a common training error, severely neglecting high RPM 'Base'/foundation Endurance training.

A solid foundation of high RPM Endurance with PROPER Training/Rest Techniques built over time (ex: HIIT, Hill Repeats, Sprints and Active Rest etc.) Will turn into High RPM Enduring Power, in my personal experience.