I am a 53-year old that has been cycling again for 5 years. On a flat course riding solo I started out averaging in the 16.2 mph for 30 miles and worked up to 18.8 and plateaued.

This Winter I did a 16-week training program consisting of 2x per week of 30 min core/flexibility and 60 min of riding a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. Initial 20-minute time trial was 18.4 mph, end of 8-weeks was 18.6, and end of 16 weeks was 19.3. The class leader is a credentialed coach and he thought a 10% increase in wattage was a reasonable/attainable goal for me which equates to 19.2 mph.

I am realistic and know that with my athletic ability I will never be a racer, my goal was just to get better so I can keep up with my riding group on long rides in hot weather. I was ecstatic with my progress but have nothing to compare it to other than a Computrainer 2 mph guarantee for a 20-week training program which if I remember correctly is 3x per week. Depending on your starting speed, 2 mph could be a huge wattage increase both in real and relative terms.

So how did I do? I attended almost every session and some optional weekend sessions and worked hard to perfom the drills in the training zones specified which was very challenging. Cost was $400 because I took advantage of the early bird discount and committed to the whole 16 weeks.

The great thing about a trainer based programs is consistency. No doubt an increase from 18.4 to 19.3 is a good gain. How that translates that to the road? Remains to be seen....

The other question is: How is your heart rate? If you're increasing power while at the same time, avg heart rate is decreasing, that is definitely a good thing!!

I think you did a damn fine job. I think you did amazing on your own also. Increasing your avg speed by 2.6mph over a 30 mile course is pretty damn good. How long did that take? I am sure someone will get specific here but when you add in the wind resistence at these speeds thats impressive. Any gains that can be made over the winter and especially (no offense) at your age are great. I am 38 and have a hard time seeing those kind of results. I think you may be selling yourself short on the no racing thing. I would be curious to hear how you do back on your 30 mile course.

When you do get back to outside riding try some hill sprints or any sprints for that matter. The claim to fame with sprints is that we train our bodies to go faster over a short period they will naturally go faster over a long period. This is a commonly recomended technique in running and swimming as well as biking.