I want to go faster, but how?

I started riding a road bike in March. I ride a few days a week between 10 and 25 miles, and go on longer rides (50-60 miles) on Saturdays with some guys from work. No matter what I do, I can't seem to average higher than 16 mph. If I'm in the city, it seems traffic lights are the culprit, and as soon as I get out of the city, it's climbing time. Why do the fast descents never make up for the slower climbing?

Anyway, I know that to go faster I should ride more, do intervals, etc. I guess my issue is I FEEL like I'm going faster, but my bike computer tells me otherwise. I want to feel like I'm improving.

There are other signs I am getting better - I can ride longer and am better at climbing hills. Is it silly for me to worry about the average number on the computer?

The biggest thing you can do to increase your speed is learn to spin, rather than mash on the pedal - read the thread about learning to spin and saving your knees. I know I was able to increase my speed by about 6 mph on avg when I learned to spin! And I can now spin my bike up to about 28 mph on a level road!

To be able to spin you have to have clipless. Toe clips or platform pedals without clips won't work. Basically, you pull UP on the backside of the pedal rotation to increase the power that gets transferred to the pedal. You manually move the pedal through it's entire rotation, rather than letting the leg take a break for the back half.

Try pedaling with just one foot clipped in and see what it feels like. You have to force the pedal all the way around the rotation, rather than stepping on it when it comes to the top and front.

I just got my bike in March, and it is only now that the muscles in the back of my legs are more sore than the ones in the front after riding! That means the spinning is getting better! I can tell because I am also getting faster!

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Originally Posted by SimpleCycle

I started riding a road bike in March. I ride a few days a week between 10 and 25 miles, and go on longer rides (50-60 miles) on Saturdays with some guys from work. No matter what I do, I can't seem to average higher than 16 mph.

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Simple ~ it sounds like you are doing everything right. The biggest thing that stood out for me in your post is that you have only been riding since March. Patience, girlfriend! Most of the "really fast" people (guys and gals) in my bike club have been riding for years. When talking to some of them about increasing my speed, they have all told me that a lot of it is just years in the saddle. You'll increase, but you do have to give it time. They are right. I've been riding for three years and this spring was my fastest yet (until my accident).

I don't know your age; if you're younger you'll improve faster than me (I'm 44), but you're doing great to average 16mph already with hills! I didn't start averaging that until my second full year of riding. Riding with people who are a little bit faster than you and learning how to draft properly are great ways to increase your speed, as is some lower-body weight work to increase your muscle power (but that's mostly an off-season thing to do).

Just keep on keeping on, you'll get there! :)

Emily

To increase speed you need to do interval training. You can google or yahoo interval training on a bicycle for more information. Interval training slowly and safely helps you develop speed and leg strength. What's this means is that you pick a distance, say 20 miles and within that distance you will be riding moderately with a comfortable cadence of 80 and then for a short distance (to be increase over time) you will step up the cadence to 100 - 120 without changing the pedal gearing. As your speed improves the gearing goes up and strength develops, etc. There is a whole science to this and lots of books written on the subject. To improve pace up a hill, you would use the same method. Don't be afraid to stand and power up short hills. High cadence and lower gearing works best up long hills.

Also learn to ride in a paceline (again the google thing). A definitely plus on long rides or in a headwind. Also use a heart rate monitor. This way you know if your are stepping up your effort. You need to know your min/max heart rate. You should alwys ride toward the lower equation but during interval training, push your heart rate up towards the high end, back off and see how quickly your heart rate returns to its normal pace. You can measure improvement when the time difference is very small.

I think you should get a heart rate monitor and learn to do intervals with it. Ow....

Also you might read some of the cycling books out there:

Lemond's book
Armstrong's book
Carmichael's books all come to mnd.

Thanks, gals. I have a heart rate monitor and have only just begun to use it. But I do remember intervals back from my running days. I came to road biking via Spinning class, so we did intervals there and worked on spinning. I probably should work on my pedalling technique. When I concentrate on it, I automatically go faster with less effort.

Thanks for the training book suggestions too. I'll definitely check those out! My goal right now is to complete El Tour de Tucson in November (109 miles), but the goal I have in the back of my mind is to finish in 7 hours, which is averaging 15.6 mph for the whole event, including stops. I know I can do it, but having a good training program will be key.

You have only been riding 3-4 months... and you can average 16 MPH? With hills? You are doing GOOD for someone new to cycling!

It has taken me about 800 miles logged on my bike (since October 2004) to get to the point where I can average around 15-17 MPH.

I have learned that to get faster... I had to learn how to spin... and I had to just keep riding. More time in the saddle = improvement.

I had about 2 months where I had to take a step back from cycling as much, and as hard... because of some knee issues... so I had to slow down... and learn how to spin. I can't believe how much better I have gotten because of it!

So, give yourself some time... but you are doing really great as it is!

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Originally Posted by SimpleCycle

Thanks, gals. I have a heart rate monitor and have only just begun to use it. But I do remember intervals back from my running days. I came to road biking via Spinning class, so we did intervals there and worked on spinning. I probably should work on my pedalling technique. When I concentrate on it, I automatically go faster with less effort.

Thanks for the training book suggestions too. I'll definitely check those out! My goal right now is to complete El Tour de Tucson in November (109 miles), but the goal I have in the back of my mind is to finish in 7 hours, which is averaging 15.6 mph for the whole event, including stops. I know I can do it, but having a good training program will be key.

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It's not as hard as you think - remember that the 15 mph is an avg which means there will be times you're riding much faster than that. I did my first century in May, I hoped for 7 hrs, figured closer to 8 and planned on 10. It took me 7 hrs! and that's living in Abq which is very similar in terrain to Tuscan! (I can NEVER spell that name!) I think you can do it and I think you'll do just fine!!! and I think you need to tell us all about it when you're done! :D

I think you are doing grand! Getting in and out of the city and stop and go does make a huge difference. My group rides and solo rides are 15-17 average
but in my 23 mile triathlon I averaged 18.5 race conditions and no stop and go make a big difference
so if you are averaging 16 at times you are going much faster!!

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Originally Posted by CorsairMac

It's not as hard as you think - remember that the 15 mph is an avg which means there will be times you're riding much faster than that. I did my first century in May, I hoped for 7 hrs, figured closer to 8 and planned on 10. It took me 7 hrs! and that's living in Abq which is very similar in terrain to Tuscan! (I can NEVER spell that name!) I think you can do it and I think you'll do just fine!!! and I think you need to tell us all about it when you're done! :D

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Oh, I'll certainly report in. It's not until November though. I'll have more training by then, and I certainly intend to practice all the hills invovled ahead of time! Boy, Tucson looks flat when you're right in the middle of it and the mountains look like they are in the distance, until you ride 10 miles in any direction!

Corsair, what were your longest training rides before your century? Thanks for the encouragement. Now that I've decided to do El Tour, I have a goal to work towards. :)

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Originally Posted by SimpleCycle

Corsair, what were your longest training rides before your century? Thanks for the encouragement. Now that I've decided to do El Tour, I have a goal to work towards. :)

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I ride to work - 6 miles each way. When the weather turned nicer I added a 12 mile min ride at lunch which bumped my weekly avg to 120 miles a week. I didn't follow the rules (who needs stinkin rules anyway! LOL) so my first long ride was 25 miles, then 52, then 74, then a century. They were about a week apart give or take. Once I did a century I did a second one 4 days later just for grins and giggles. I also seem to ride the next day too - anywhere from 25-50 miles depending on if I ride alone or just can't say NO to riding with some friends!! You'll be surprised how it isn't the "miles" anymore it's the "time" once you start riding distance. as in: I have 4 hours...ok I can ride a 1/2, or geez I only have 2 hrs....I'll ride 30 etc etc.

DOn't be a slave to the 'puter - it sounds like you are getting faster, but because of the conditions it's not showing up in your average. This is mostly the math reality - if your average is 12 mpg, but a certain section of road makes you slow down to 10 mph, then you have to go 14 for the same stretch to make up for it. But, if you're trying to average 16, then to balance out dropping to 10 you've got to go 22 mph and then you might be dropping those buddies of yours :-)
I'd look for a different progress monitor -- though you've been doing that and see all that evidence that you're getting stronger :) I have a four mile loop I go out on and I worked to get my average on that up to 16 mph (four miles in fifteen minutes). It lends itself to intervals 'cause there's a bitty hill at the very beginning to CHARGE on up - but those corners still slow me down 'cause I'm a real weenie.
And for me, stroke technique has always been a key ('specially on hills). Keeping things really efficient while charging is what really makes the difference -- spinning faster doesn't help me at all, but making sure I'm getting something out of every part of the stroke does.
It really sounds like yo'ure making good progress, though, and probably are getting a lot mroe endurance that may not even show up on those "averages."