From mashing to spinning
 

I started riding a little more than 4 months ago and love being able to go out and ride for hours on end. When I first started, I was out of shape but improving. I started out as a masher for the first 2 1/2 months, but with the help of a cycling computer have been really trying to focus on developing a faster cadence. Usually when I am riding, my cadence stays above 90 and oftentimes between 100 and 110. it has made a definite difference on how my knees feel after a long ride.

The one thing that I noticed though is that my average speed seems to have dropped off a bit. On some of my shorter rides I used to see 17 to 18 mph averages but on Sunday I did a 75+ mile ride with only a 15.5 mph average.

I am just wondering if others who went from a mashing style to a higher cadence style of riding also saw an average speed drop as they made the transition. I can definitely put out more power with a bit lower cadence but I know that knee pain will return. Just wondered on the BF thoughts.

average speed means nothing in any regard. Just ride and love it.

Your longer ride may have a bit of a flaw to it. I notice the same problem when I do longer rides vs. shorter rides. My longer rides I don't keep the same speed because I tend to ride with hilly terrain and don't typically keep the same speed within the last 5 miles of my ride.

Average speed doesn't mean anything in particular.

Your spinning will help you in conditioning, more than mashing. With good pedal form, you'll be able to do more things than before as a masher in the big gears.

Let your spinning be a result of good pedal form. Once you've mastered the various aspects of pedalling, you will be able to deploy it as conditions demand.

+1

+1 again

All things being equal --the longer your ride gets the lower your average speed drops. What you see on your speedo while "hammering" isn't even close to what you see at the end of your ride as your average.

A common mistake by noobs is to say they average 20 mph (pick a rediculously high nember for a noob) on there rides. When in actuality with all there stops for rests at the top of hills or after blowing themselves up on the front of a paceline (that they shouldn't be in front of--and then get spit out the back) is really more like 16 mph.

It's good to adopt the spin. Now try this when you reach a gear that spinning 110 Rpm try shifting up and spin that one at 95-100. Rinse and repeat.

When I first started riding I used to mash and was pretty fast but I noticed I couldn't maintain that mashing for too long especially when going through routes that had rolling hills. Shortly thereafter I began spinning and while my average speed went down, my endurance improved over time and I rode longer distances. Mashing isn't bad, you just need to know when to mash and when to spin. I agree about average speeds not being good indicators of how well you're doing since there are so many variables that contribute to calculating that number.

gotta spin to win.

As a 54-year old with mash-damaged knees I feel qualified to say

SPIN, SPIN, SPIN!!!