How to get better at cycling
 

Hello All,
I am a 37 year old male from NYC who loves cycling. I bought a 2020 Specialized Roubaix Sport, last year, and I have been riding either 12, 15, or 35 miles depending on the day of the week.
My question is, how can I get better at cycling in terms of speed. Are there any gym workouts I can do?
Any tips will be greatly appreciated.

‘Thank you!

Join a Local Club and have fun riding with them.

step one : dont buy a POS specialized over priced dentist bike LOLOLOL ROFL !!!!

This is going to sound snarky, but it's not. The way to ride faster is to ride faster.

The time honored way is through intervals. There are a zillion different variations based on time and intensity and how to measure that intensity, but they all break down to the same principle: you break up your training rides into segments where you ride hard for that portion of time, then recover, then ride hard, then recover, etc.

Another way is to ride with faster people, especially a group, although that may not be a good option right now.

Gotcha. I’ll take this into consideration unlike the other replies that were useless lol.

not your money so don’t worry about it.

Enjoy the bike. I'd be happy to have one as nice as that.
Ride more and you will get faster, but as caloso said you do have to push yourself harder from time to time.

Pretty soon someone will come on and post how you shouldn’t care how fast you go, that you should just enjoy the ride. To which I say, faster is funner.

Saddle time, you just have to put the work in. Find a club and ride with them. Just pick the group where you're not the fastest. When you are one of the fastest... move up to the next faster group.

Include some hills, they make you stronger.

There are always group rides leaving from Strictly Bicycles which is just over the GW Bridge on the NJ side. Take the subway up and ride over the bridge. Groups head north on 9W all the way to Bear Mountain. Plenty of elevation and distance to challenge yourself.

Ride longer, more often and harder! The more you will ride, the better you will get. The hardest is to get out of your comfort zone and stay there as long as you can. For me, it's all about riding out off the saddle (attacking climbs) more often.

I don't believe you should be worrying about going to the gym, but if you really do, there are a few key exercises that can be done. I remember seeing a GCN video about this a few years ago.

If you have time and/or losing weight matters then riding for a long time at lower power (base miles, as it were) is a great way to build fitness and lose weight without putting undo stress on your body. Increase your time a bit each week. Give yourself some recovery time every once in awhile.

I'm no racer or expert but I was really surprised at just how useful volumes of moderate level endurance riding can be. Do 3 weeks of 8-12 hours with nothing more than 75% of FTP (if that) and I'd come out down a few pounds and a higher FTP when I did decide to work. It was like some kind of voodoo magic.

Intervals work great, too. I like 40s/20s intervals and 4min-8min intervals. I'll do, like, 7-10 40s/20s efforts and then recover for 5-10 minutes and then do it again. I'll fill the rest of the ride with low-endurance level stuff. Total ride time is 90-120 min. Or 6min/3min 5x with the rest low-endurance level. 90-120 min total ride time.

For strength exercises, I mostly do planks or something similar to work my core and shoulders.

Agree with all the advice just incrementally adding longer rides, intervals or hilly rides in the mix, and if you normally average X mph of Y miles long try to push to 1.1X and 1.1Y etc.

If you want to throw in some structured training, I've had success using the workouts from The Time Crunched Cyclist - it has sections aimed at racers but also at riders just aiming to do longer rides like centuries.

Doing group rides is a good way (once those come back) to find riders at slightly above your comfort level - this site shows centuries rides and fondos (long, hilly group rides) around the country and lists the Time Crunched Cyclist workouts

Ask a silly question, get silly answers.
Of course potentially getting fitter via working out in the gym can produce results in other activities.
Specific and measurable results such as an unquantified amount of additional speed on a bicycle?
Thats silly :rolleyes:

Btw, ditch your POS orthodontist bike...

:foo: Why the seemingly unprovoked bike hate? Can y'all show me, on this doll, where Specialized touched you?

Yeah, I came onto the thread to ask if by "better" the OP meant go around corners easier; ride safer in traffic; do cool tricks like wheelies and jumps; ride with no hands for a really long time; or just go faster.

And the answer to all of them is to just get out and ride your bike. If you're new to bike riding don't go looking for gym workouts* or anything boring like that, get outside on your bike and enjoy being outside and riding a bike.


*though it must be said any core exercises you care to do during your regular week won't hurt; core stability will help make you more comfortable while getting maximum power output in your most aerodynamic position, all of which translates into you going faster.

Thanks guys!
For the ones who provided good feedback, I’ll take it into consideration.

they are all right. Same as basketball or any other sport, ride with faster riders, get dropped, ride with them again, kinda hang on, ride with them again, you hung on but literally died, then finally, you hung on. Lance said, "it never gets easier, you just get faster" ride hard. Thats it, HARD

I thought Cervelos were dentist bikes? Or maybe it was Chiropractor, I'm so confused. Way to contribute positively to the thread though.

Just vary up the overall intensity that you do a ride at and then have certain parts of that ride that you sometimes go all out on. Like maybe a particular climb. Or a 1/8 to maybe 1/4 mile stretch of flat.

Then also throw in a 3 or 4 hour ride if not longer every few weeks if not more often. What ever you do just ride more. Don't be in a hurry to match the speed of others that have been riding forever.

Who seriously hates Spesh?
I recently owned one.
I just loved the ridiculous Spesh dentist reference in the equally ridiculous ‘what heavy objects can I lift in the gym to get faster on a bicycle’ thread.
Ohh wait. Working on your core muscles will get you into the TDF :thumb:

My wife has a Specialized, and i have a Trek and a Cannondale.

A bicycle is a tool. Pick the one that does the job for you. Given a choice, some people will always pick the heaviest hammer.

Get a trainer and start a training plan of your choice. Trainerroad, sufferfest ect. I would also join as many group rides as possible. No sense in having power but no group/bike handling skills.

I have found a structured training plan has really helped me improve my speed. I have an indoor trainer that I use perhaps 3x a week (less as it warms up nicely) so follow a low volume structured plan from TrainerRoad. It gives me a lot of motivation during the winter and when the weather isn't great to go outside.

Isn't that the reason for training, if you don't race? Because it helps you go faster and farther and that's where the fun is. I spent this winter riding on Zwift during the week, while still doing Sunday rides outside when possible, so that I can go right back to riding good rides outside without having to build back up to it.

I was wondering the same thing, I am involved with a bike rehabilitation program for critically wounded special operators and specialized seems to be a preferred brand for our guys that compete.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa71cd934.jpeg