CliffordK

Each person is different. I do a lot of commuter miles. So, for me, it is all about the destination. Last Saturday I towed a loaded trailer for 150 miles. It beat me up... and I'll admit the overall speed wasn't so great

Shorter rides, and unloaded rides are a bit quicker, but I generally don't focus on speed alone.

Elessar

I don't consciously intend to track anything. I know, I know, "If you don't aim for anything, how do you know if you hit it?" I'm just happy to be riding. I have an old Garmin Etrex GPS that tells me all that stuff that a bike computer will report and I usually use it but I'm more interested in simply riding. I'd be most happy riding all day and taking breaks wherever I find myself for lunch or in the shade of a tree.


My wife and I did 12 miles yesterday on my new birthday bike and it was pretty rough because of the new set up that'll need some tweaking. We wend out a month ago to just noodle around and found ourselves completing 18 miles without really trying and ready to go more...


We just love to ride for the simple joy of riding.

bbbean 

2 questions are of the paramount importance:

1) What was your goal?

2) Did you accomplish that goal?

If you can answer 2 with a resounding yes, then 1 is largely irrelevant. Miles, speed, watts, calories, time, fun, getting away from it all, getting groceries, etc. just be sure you can answer #2 with a yes.

Ogsarg

Don't forget frequency. A serious cyclist who is an acquaintance through work told me that how often you ride is just as, if not more important, than how far or how fast.

I'd second other opinions here that it's best to gradually work up your speed and endurance without getting hung up on numbers. For me, my distance improved very rapidly at first and slowed later on and I'm fine with that.

If you have a goal of riding x miles or speed, allow yourself enough time to work up to that. Don't assume cause you went from riding 10 miles to 20 miles in a few weeks that it will be the same time to go from 30 to 60 or 50 to 100.

canklecat

There's no single method that accomplishes everything, or works for every rider.

After resuming cycling in August 2015 I just rode within my comfort zone. Progress came very slowly. I rode farther, but couldn't seem to get stronger or faster for challenging stuff -- hills, and the sprints occasionally needed to stay safe in traffic.

Over about 18 months my average speed increased from 9 mph per ride to 14 mph, but I was stuck. Riding farther wasn't helping. Staying within my comfort zone wasn't helping. I was still struggling with the same challenges on the same places on the same routes every ride.

In June this year I got my first road bike in more than 30 years and began interval training, following the methods suggested by trainers for folks my age/condition. I pushed beyond my comfort zone. Tackled hills and sprints at painful and exhausting levels of effort. I chose quiet routes, away from traffic and other cyclists, for HIIT.

My average speed went from 14 mph, to 15 and now 16 over distances up to 60 or so miles (the farthest I've had time for this summer). I'm a bit faster on hills. My recovery has improved most significantly. I need fewer and shorter rest breaks and can often recover while riding, without stopping, just by easing back on the effort for a few minutes. Two years ago I often needed 15-30 minutes to rest and recover from asthma wheezing. Big improvement for me.

Now my casual rides on a hybrid feel much more enjoyable. I can cruise for miles without feeling much effort. Hills and sprints come more easily with quicker recovery, less gasping for air.

That's what worked for me to ride farther and faster without it being a painful chore. I don't want to be exhausted, with legs and lungs burning and body feeling like jello, while riding in traffic, after every half-mile 2% grade climb, or every sprint to get through a busy intersection before the light changed. That's dangerous. That's the recurring problem I wanted to fix. And HIIT helped fix that specific problem, whereas just riding within my comfort zone didn't.

But the HIIT itself has been painful. After three months of HIIT two or three times a week, distances of 10-20 miles, I'm cutting back to once a week for awhile, and just riding farther and more casually for awhile.

Gerry221

Thanks guys...great advice.

The message that is coming through loud and clear, is miles.

Was speaking to a colleague from work, she is a super serious cyclist, she said the same as you guys. Basically get the miles in the saddle and in to your legs....speed will come as a result.

I had kind of made my mind up. My plan is an hour a day after I finish work. Usually home for 5:30pm. Out by 6. Can do on average about 13 to 14 miles in that time.

I have planned to do this for 1 month. Just focus on my cadence and build up some stamina....my legs still burn at the slightest incline

As a side note....any advice on food?

I am currently weighing in at 300lbs. Big guy....I know. I so want to drop a few stone. I have lost 22lbs in the last few weeks.

Any advice on what I should eat, to help with the cycling and also to assist in the weight loss?

Peace & love

Machka 

If you're only riding for an hour, don't eat anything extra. In fact, you probably don't need anything extra on rides up to about 2 hours.

But do bring water, just plain water.

Otherwise, I recommend My Fitness Pal. Enter your details, indicate how much you want to lose, and start watching your calories.

caloso

Is it feasible to ride to work? The you have your bike with you at the end of the work day, no excuses not to ride, and a bit more time that you'd otherwise spend in the car or on the bus.

rumrunn6

when / what is the last thing / meal you eat before you ride 6-7pm? (for example lunch at 12pm?)

gregf83 

Michael Pollan's advice is reasonable: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

You don't need anything special for cycling. Try to avoid eating while riding. Take some food but you may be surprised that you can ride without eating. The fitter you get the longer you'll be able to ride without any extra calories.

Gerry221

Usually have chicken with salad at 12. Fruit and water mid afternoon. Coffee. Then a bowl of cereal before I go out.

rumrunn6

dinner when you get back? I've read that some cereals are high in sugar which would be ok to start the ride, but you might feel a rebound loss of energy when your blood sugar drops. any sign of that? if so, you could add some kind of protein source

pdlamb

Logging your food intake is usually what makes the biggest difference in weight. Weight Watchers will help you with dietary choices and on-line logging; Myfitnesspal is a free way to log things on-line.


Be careful with what you log. For instance, a loaded 1 pound baked potato shouldn't be logged as "plain baked potato." You've got to add the sour cream, cheese, bacon, etc., in addition to properly accounting for the size of the potato.


I've had good luck with a fairly rigid cardiac diet (i.e., whole grain breads/cereals, no added salt, low fat, minimal red meat) while using WW to tell me when to stop. When you're as obese as I was, the "off" switch on hunger doesn't work reliably.

Iride01 

There ought to be a competition for the thread topic that gets the most posts in the shortest time. This is a contender! Sorry I can't add anything to the topic. It's all been said.

caloso

Try skipping the bowl of cereal.

fietsbob

Is it a particle or is it a wave? amplitude, frequency, or location..?

jeromeoneil

I'm a guy that deals in metrics and analytics all day long, and honestly, I don't like "average" (arithmetic mean) as a measure of just about anything. The mean is not a robust number, meaning one long red light or construction delay and your "average" speed just got tanked, while one good long downhill makes me look like Greg LaMond.

I wish there was a computer that would report the median value of all the speed samples it takes. That would be much more useful and meaningful I think. It would still give me an idea of how fast I'm going but eliminate the outliers when I'm stopped or taking advantage of gravity.

tramptrade 

For me it's both. I am working to increase my distance under max load, while also working to increase my speed over a set distance / grade under the same load.

I am conditioning for a multi-week tour next summer, so I like to load my bike heavy and haul my dog around in her trailer. In the past 3 months I have increased my speed over a set course by nearly 30% (approximately) under a touring load.

Iride01 

I'm right there with you on that. However many cycle computers already can be set to eliminate non-moving time or times you have zero cadence from their averages.

But truly, I'm impressed that someone else understands the difference between average and median. But to be specific, I think you are referring to "statistical median" which is different from simply "median value"

johnnyspaghetti

I would say 10 to 12mph faster down hills but usually have Penny the poodle who at that speed is at a easy trott. We do 3.5 mi. & 8 mi. rides every other day snow, rain or shine unless its too cold for her feet (below 15F)

jeromeoneil

It's my job. I swim in data and stats all day long, and frankly, I kind of like it. The difference between a statistical median and the simple median value is hair splitting beyond even my own pedantic heart's desire. I just want a robust stat that isn't going to be swayed by outliers. That would make me happy.

Dave Cutter

I go by miles myself. My goal remains the same year-to-year.... 2000 miles. Not anything heroic... but nothing to sneeze at either.

To get my miles in Midwestern weather... sometimes it's pretty darn cold. Sometimes it's sizzling hot. I occasionally ride in the rain. I ride when the pollen has me sneezing and chocked up. But most often I ride in beautiful weather while detoxing my body by sweating like a pig at a hog roast. Every ride... is always a good time.

Sometimes I work-on cadence. Sometimes I make an effort to maintain good speed (I need a good location to do that). On an occasion I've practiced curves and/or descents. I've practiced bunny-hops... and once I even practiced falling from my bike (onto the soft grass in the backyard).

What I practice most... is good form. Body forward, elbows bent, 3 point perch, head on a swivel. Geared low enough to have a decent cadence... geared high enough to ride at a good speed. Head clear, aware of my environment, appreciative, and content.

brianmcg123

Most computers only compute moving average. Sitting at a long red light will have no effect. But the slowing down for stops will.

I know my Garmin can be programmed to pause if going under 5mph.

jeromeoneil

It's still a crappy metric. The reason they use mean rather than median is that you have to keep every sample in order to produce the median whereas you can keep an average by only tracking two numbers, the sum of all samples and the number of samples.

Starting and stopping sampling is there specifically to work around the non-durable nature of the mean.

bikejrff

Ride the rides that you end up enjoying the most. I guess that's why most of my rides are solo.