Some Questions

[Sheherazade]

Things are going pretty good- each day I ride is an improvement over the previous day. This morning I got in 6.23 miles at an average speed of 13.1mph, which is as well as I have done since I started riding ten days or so ago. Now for the questions-

Is it preferable to go for distance or speed as far as goals go? I am finding the "right" cadence for me and I can maintain it for the most part.

What on earth am I going to do about these hills? They are killing me (and my average speed)! Does anyone have any training ideas for hills?

Thanks!

wendy

[latelatebloomer]

Hi, Wendy! From my 15 months of riding, the answer seems to be "TITS" + patience. TITS is shorthand "Time in the Saddle." You're asking your body to re-formulate herself - you break her down a little each time you ride, and she says, "ay yi yi, I better get stronger if this madness is going to continue" and she does - but it takes time. I think one of the really knowledgable women around here said the rebuild actually takes 2 or more weeks? It sounds like you're doing fantastic!

(Of course, gearing smarts are important for hills. Can't help you there, I'm still in gearing kindergarten.)

[Geonz]

DON"T OBSESS about average speed!!!! Just my humble opinion, but your perceived effort is far more accurate a measure of whether you're working out or not. Wind and hills and temperature and mood and whatever will affect that little number... and it starts to rule you. I'd go for the *cumulative* mileage, 'cause that's always headed in the right direction :-)

[SnappyPix]

Sheherazade,

I definitely agree with LLB & Geonz - don't concentrate on your average speed at all - it can vary so much from ride to ride, depending on conditions - traffic, wind, terrain.
Just enjoy your time in the saddle - there'll be plenty time in the future (if you choose) to think about average speed, cadence, form, etc. etc.
Whilst these things are important - so is finding your feet (pedals?!) and just riding your bike because you enjoy it. Ride because you want to ride, you'll soon be eating up those miles and you'll almost certainly find that as your cycling muscles start to develop, so will you average speed.
If you do a keyword search on hills, you'll find lots of advice for improving technique, shifting, cadence, etc within this board. I NEVER look at my clock when I'm climbing a hill - why would you want to do THAT?!! I know I'm going slow, don't need a damn computer to tell me that!

[Sheherazade]

DON"T OBSESS

I would do well to remember this On another forum, in a thread disucssing cycling "burn out", a poster advised turning off the computer and just riding for the enjoyment of it. I can certainly see where an obsession with the numbers would cause one to miss the fun of cycling; a forest/trees sort of thing. I am thinking the only number that really matters is time- enough of that, and all the other figures fall into place.

Thanks!

[MomOnBike]

Sometimes I think that our bike computers should show some sort of happiness value number. We (you know, the anal must-chart-everything types) could chart and compare & discuss to death our happiness values & everyone would be satisfied.

Perhaps if we were to just chart that anyway? 'Most any random number would do..

I may have mentioned it before, but it's a little known fact that bicycle tires flatten hills. It takes quite a few repetitions, though... Just find a hilly route & compare average hilly speeds with each other. Comparing hilly & flat averages is much like comparing apples & oranges.

[Sheherazade]

We (you know, the anal must-chart-everything types) could chart and compare & discuss to death our happiness values & everyone would be satisfied.

I certainly know that type- I am an accountant with a number/trend fixation! This morning I got ten miles in without fixating on the numbers other than wanting to do the ten. It was an extremely enjoyable ride; there were a couple of club groups out there who just ran off and left me but I was really happy doing the best I could do. I am getting a lot of satisfaction out of cycling- more than I thought I would. It's becoming hard to imagine a day without the bike. I am thinking of buying an inexpensive hybrid for grocery store/neighborhood sorts of runs. Or maybe a mountain bike

[Geonz]

Think E-bay and something like a vintage Schwinn... I have a wonderful 1968 Racer that does not ask to be stolen, but has big old fenders and big old baskets (well, smaller ones now since the truck hit us and bent the big ones and Stan only had small ones in his garage) and actually, Racers were designed to go pretty fast. (I believe it's a higher gear than the other bikes of that vintage, and maybe a teeny bit lighter.)

[DirtDiva]

Nah... Buy the mountain bike.

[tulip]

Former racer here...you would think that I would obsess over speed and cadence. I probably would if I had a computer on my bike. My solution is to have no computer. I just ride.

LSD--not that kind! Long Slow Distance is key to building endurance. The first year go for LSD and next year you can build on the base for speed.

The hills will come with time, but proper form and technique will also help. One of these days we'll go for a ride and I can help you with that. Although at 13 MPH, you're not too shabby, and I hope I can keep up!

[Geonz]

Thnk twice about going out with other riders who say they are doing LSD... their definition of "slow" can be pretty intense :-) I get mine in leading a slower ride on a heavy bike.

[RoadRaven]

Forget averages... while interesting to look at, they do not take account of head or tail winds, or hills and should not be how you measure your overall performance

Train according to time; do not make every ride a fast one - long, slower paced rides (eg, 90 minutes at 65% if you have a heart rate monitor), and slow active-recovery rides are vital in your training programme. Time you set yourself will depend on the type of riding you do.

Have a couple of courses you do that you can record PBs on... eg an 18km flat course, or a 25km hilly course. Record weather conditions and try to ride that course on similar days/conditions. I find that the best way to measure personal improvements.