siulonbow

Hi,

It was a great experience riding bike around after work, it makes me feel better physically and mentally. The whether was great the last few days, and I have took advantage of it and ride more than I thought I can be able to. I realized that riding on the street is harder and more tiring than I remember when I was still in school. I think I am out of shape! I ride about 3-4 miles a day, but then got tire from riding. I wondered how long does people usually ride and how can I be able to push myself to ride more efficient. By saying efficient, I mean ride faster and further. I usually ride an average speed of 7-8 mph, but I know a lot of biker can ride faster than this.

Also, I bought a roller trying to practice my strokes and endurance. I found that riding on the roller is harder than riding on the road. On the road, I can rest but on the roller, i must pedal fast or shift into higher gear to stay balance. I wondered if anyone can give me hint in how to improve.

hairnet

Just keep riding, the more you rider the faster and farther you will be able to go. By the way, what is a roller?

g3ck0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiCdm...om=PL&index=19

Nbob

The best thing you can do is add a little more distance and a little more speed every few days.
e.g. next week go 4.5 miles, the week after that go 4.5 miles but try to maintain 9 mph, the week after that go 5 miles at 9 mph then next go 5 miles at 10 mph. Then try bigger increments as you improve - go 2 miles more, then 4 miles more next week etc.

Also ride some intervals - go as hard as you can for 4 minutes then slow/coast for 2 then hard again for 4 minutes. Start with 2 reps and then add more as you improve.

Next do some hill reps - find a nice steep climb, go up as far as you can then turn back down, go up again and try to go an additional 25 meters or so beyond where you went the first time, then another 25 meters beyond that next time.

For your stroke - keep a low cadence at first and think about keeping a steady even stroke then gradually increase your rpms.

You might want to put the rollers away until you get a little better. Think about getting a trainer - it has one fly wheel that goes against your rear wheel. It's on a stand that clamps ( or screws in ) against the quick release and holds your bike up so you don't have to worry about balance - way better for intervals and stroke practice.

siulonbow

I have heard people on the forum are saying great things about the roller, is it suppose to be similar to the trainer?

seb1041

Let's not get carried away here.

If the OP rides 8mph, intervals can wait.

Same goes for hill repeat.

Give yourself time, cycling takes time to improve. Ride a little more each time like other have said and keep the roller for the winter months.

Humongous

Dude, when I first started out, and I'm talking after not riding for 10-15 years, I got a mountain bike and pedaled to work every day (about 5 miles each way with lots of short 5-10% grade hills).

After the first week, my legs were perpetually fatigued. I could hardly walk up stairs without my legs feeling like I was walking on Jupiter. Regardless, every time I got on the bike, I felt compelled to go balls-out until I got tunnel vision. Guess its just my competitive nature.

Anyway, after a month or two, the fatigue slowly dissipated and my legs felt "normal" again. A year later, its all history. People now fear me for my ability to "drop carbon" on my ultra-sexay CAAD9. And women love me for it.

AngryScientist 

just remember, if you start feeling bad about yourself, there are fat lazy people everywhere who would never think of getting on a bike and making a solid effort.

stick with it, increase your distance and speed gradually and you will get stronger. if you are experiencing any pain, consider seeing your local bike shop for some fit advice, which may also help you improve.

roadiejorge 

Pharmr

keep it up and you'll be riding double what you're riding now in no time....with a bit of effort on your part the improvements will come quickly......remember "it never gets easier, you just go faster"!

siulonbow

Wow, thanks a lot for the great encouragement. I will follow the schedule that one of the poster has posted, it is a very very good advise. I wondered by increasing the speed from 7mph to 9mph, does it mean that I should shift to a higher gear (harder to pedal) or lower gear but pedal faster?

Bah Humbug

That's the really important part. I'm about to be in the same boat as you, but I did distance running in high school, and while I was the slowest on the (very fast, except for me) team, I got a lot of respect for sticking with it and finishing, and got a lot faster over time. Good luck!

lxpatterson

Good job riding to work! That's how I got started cycling, just riding to school, running errands and so on -no rides longer than 5-10k. Look into doing some longer rides with friends on the weekend or even just riding to get coffee for fun. Depending on what kind of cycling you're interested in, I think you can be on level with the "average" serious cyclist in about 1-2 years.

coasting 

it's great seeing a new cyclist catching the cycling bug. with a bit of encouragement we can turn him into a hard core addict.

as for getting better etc. don't think about it too much. just enjoy the rides, go to different places, ride a bit further and for a bit longer gradually and you'll enjoy it more and more. the improvement will come naturally and you'll just want to go further and further. don't make it a chore, put the rollers away and go riding in the fresh air.

youcoming

[quote=Humongous;8813109 People now fear me for my ability to "drop carbon" on my ultra-sexay CAAD9. And women love me for it.[/QUOTE]

You just wait till I get my ultra cool Project One, I'll come up to Ottawa and crumple your aluminum can. Oh yeah i started the same way as you, no need in doing little steps, jump right off into the deep end I say.

mushwars

Its nice to see people on here that are not as good as Humongous. Don't worry OP, I get dropped all the time, infact some noob in street clothes passed me on my way home from work, he thought it would be cool to pass me 10 mph faster than me, I was going 20 and he shoots by at atleast 30! Keep up the good work Mr. OP.

Randochap

Listen up, dude. I have such a uber-competitive type-A Canuckian personality, I got on my iron horse and cycled into Jupiter's orbit and fittingly rode up Mount Prometheus. Here's a shot I took with my Olympus:



It was a Promethean feat of endurance. My next ride will bring fire back to earth for the benefit of all. This chick, Athena, is hot for me.

mushwars

lol, "credit: NASA/LPI" ... WOW you work for NASA!!??

Nbob

Here is a good comparison of roller vs. trainer :

https://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/...rs-vs-trainer/

Humongous

That looks like a pic from the inside of a cadaver's bunghole.. You sure you didn't accidentally use your colonoscopy photo?

bikeybikebike

did you have fun? then you're doing great

brains11

what i find that helps is that you cycle more miles a day or
more times a week so that you can get used to it i cycle 22 miles a day it helps alot
and im now fitter and stronger

brains11

it helps if u cycle more miles a day

Porsche917LH

My personal favorite training program is a 5k warm-up followed by a 10k sprint and 5 minutes easy. I then do a 40k and 9 reps up a huge hill (3 standing, 3 sitting, 3 mixes) followed by easy to home. I normally adapt it based on how much energy I have.

siulonbow

I am sorry, when you say 5K, what does that referring to? 5 kilometer? or 5000 rpm??? I want to follow what riders usually do to train themselve. Please forgive me if my reply is harsh. Thanks