How do you build up your average speed. I do plenty of mileage so thats ok. When i go for training rides should i always be pushing? Puch really hard one day and then recover the next? Or train hard for a few days and then recover for 1 day? Will that help? How Can i get really good legs without joining a gym and doing weights? Are there any good trainig books? I have the lance training one but its not that great.

Not that I am an expert, but let me deposit a few general ideas.

First--say February, March--you work your way through some base miles to gain some spinning souplesse and basic endurance (seems that you have already done that).

Then--say from April onwards--you begin to do different types of rides. You do a bit less of basic endurance work and more resistance and interval training (i.e. closer and over your anaerobic threshold). Thus you are gaining more pedalling power and will be able to be tougher on yourself. All other things being equal, that means you are becoming faster. Of course, you throw in a little recovery ride--and perhaps even day off the bike--here and there.

You often hear that shorter but more intense work-outs are more productive than longer, ‘lazier’ ones. Yet, I like my (weekly club) rides to be long (at least 100 km/62 miles). During group rides it is harder to stick to some schedule (slower vs. faster riders, different tolerance/pain thresholds, irregular intensity, etc.), but somehow I am convinced that the group rides have made me faster overall. In any case they often happen to be faster--and more stimulating--than my solo exploits.

It is difficult to go beyond these generalisations, since all our situations/abilities/etc. vary.

Much can be achieved on intuition, but I would say that a heart rate monitor, as well as some good reading, is needed to underpin and fill in your specific work-outs.

I don’t know the Armstrong Training Bible, but I would think that it contains some good clues as to the different forms of training and how to combine them. I have worked my way through some pro training literature (in Dutch, unfortunately) and learned more than I will ever need. But with a bit of fantasy, you can adapt the pro stuff to everyday life+level cycling.

Have fun!

Pushing harder helps. You might try pushing in different ways.

You know ride as hard as you can for 3 minutes and then recover and repeat.

Another way to push is ride as hard as you can sustain for about 30 minutes.

Another thing to do is attack hills.

When you use a slightly different technique, you are building up a different component of conditioning.

Also another way to get stronger is just go out and put on miles without really thinking of riding hard. Quantity has a quality all its own.

And don't forget easy rides either. Easy rides are really a must for anyone in an intense training schedule. I guess they help people recover not only physically but emotionally. If you go out and always ride till it hurts, pretty soon the bike becomes an instrument of torture. And things go stale. Going out and relaxing and enjoying riding is vital for sustaining your interest and motivation.

In my opinion, the best training book out there is The Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel. The difference between it and most others is that it contains more on training technique and scheduling, rather than workout technique and routines. There is a lot of good workout information, too. And, it looks like VeloGear has it for a steal, right now. Almost any bike shop with a book section, or large bookstore will probably have it, if you want to thumb through one.

I emphasize training "technique and scheduling" above because any work-out regime has the capability of producing results if carried out correctly, or failing to produce results if not.

Joe Friel designed bike training programs for folks training for our ( ExperiencePlus!) bike tours. We recently decided to make Joe's training programs available for any bicyclist to download them.

At the following URL, select the training packet that is appropriate for your age, exercise level and the difficulty of ride you are training for:

https://www.experienceplus.com/readin...ing/index.html

and download the packet documents. The packet includes a 3 month, day-by-day training calendar, articles written by Joe Friel on bike handling and fitness and a liist of other books Joe recommends.

Enjoy!

Ian Wells ExperiencePlus!

Why do you say the book you have is not that great? Tell us what you don't like about it.