how can i improve?

[batsheva]

hi,

i wonder if all you ladies can advise me?

i recently started cycling 6 weeks ago-- and i want to get better-- but how?

is the key to it long long rides or short and hard uphill rides?

which will improve my capacity for distance and my speed most do you think?

i have pushed myself to do longer distances up to 25/30 miles in a day with a break between, but dont feel like i am improving any--

is time in the saddle-long rides the way to go or short, tough ones?

all advice gratefully received-

batsheva

[mimitabby]

my dear hubby; who has done over 4700 miles this year says hills hills hills.
he also says saddle time.
the saddle time tunes your butt but the hill climbing makes you faster on the flats(and the hills)

does that help?

[stacie]

Wow Batsheva, it sounds like you are already off to a great start. I think with time, you will naturally improve. It's important to vary your rides. If you continue to ride the same pace, you won't get faster. Try doing some intervals. Ride with groups that are faster than you. Be okay with getting dropped. Each week, try to hang on a little longer. If you can't ride with groups, have a goal for each ride. I do a long slow distance, a tempo and an interval ride each week. I'm in FL also, so there isn't much in the way of real hills. I'll ride bridges to work on my climbing, but it really is very different than riding flats. I haven't found it to be especially beneficial to my overall riding.

[smilingcat]

Great question. Have you been exercising regularly before you took up cycling 6 weeks ago?
If not, you should concentrate on getting your stamina and energy level up. Don't spend too much time worrying about going up a "killer" hill or anything like that.

The training you should concentrate most is what we call base miles. two to three thousand miles of just riding. Ride at moderate level, get your HR up, but not so much that you can't talk. Keep up at the elevated level for half an hour and gradually increase with each week. By the time you finish with the base miles, you will have gained enough stamina and your strength would be much improved. You may not realize it but it will be there. Once the base miles are covered, you can start mixing your training ride with hill reps, sprints and other thing to improve your strength and anaerobic "burst" energy level.

During this initial stage of training, you can mix hills if you want; but, its only to break the monotony of training. The thing to remember is try to have fun.

Wish you lots of luck and just ride for the fun of it.
Smilingcat

[redrhodie]

Just ride.

[batsheva]

okay-- well some slightly gentle slopes, but they kill me all the same...
i do the I4 pedestrian overpass bridge which is the steepest thing around here also--

and no, i have done zilch exercise at all ever before the bike and i smoke ** per day so am carbon monoxided up which dont help any-- it's like all you nonsmokers cycling half way up Everest - literally--
yeah - my own fault...

i am going out with a group of twice a week bikers on the west orange trail this week- i passed the 'bike police inspection' this week when i met them by accident on the trail and was invited along :-) i have warned them i am a beginner and wont keep up but i will turn around early after i am dropped so we all get back to the car park around the same time-- maybe i will work towards going further each time before i turn around to mark my progress - it feels like i am going backwards right now--

of course the best thing i could do to improve would be to stop smoking, huh?

batsheva

[jobob]

of course the best thing i could do to improve would be to stop smoking, huh?

That could help.

And think of all the money you'd free up for bike stuff.

[batsheva]

just worked out how to get a small sized pic that is not too big in megabytes to upload here--

it is a pic of my hot red bike which i bought six weeks ago--
isn;t it so gorgeous?
i love riding it already.

it is a 47cm cannondale synapse fem triple - alloy with some carbon bits and pieces around it-- ultegra small-reach shifters (although they are still a huge reach for me) and 105 front and rear derailleurs- fairly ordinary cranks and wheels-- will have to stalk ebay for some improvements to those :-)

i know it;s not a $5000 bike, but i love it and it was the best i could afford (well, more than actually!)-- and i think it is limited by its engine (ie. me!) not its components right now!!

[missymaya]

Hey bat,
I was like you not too long ago (minus the smoking part). It takes time in the saddle to build your stamina and strength. Even though your riding the flats more than the hills around here, it helps build that base endurance so when you do hit the hills, you can last.Also, remember to take the hills at your pace to where you pushing it, but just enough to where it works you.
West Orange is cool, but if you want hill training, go to Clermont (which I think west orange runs into) but get some miles in first.

[RoadRaven]

which will improve my capacity for distance and my speed most do you think?

is time in the saddle-long rides the way to go or short, tough ones?

Hey there... to improve your distance, you have to improve your endurance. So do 1-2 loooong rides a week - but don't increase your rides by more than about 10% a week.

Hills will improve your strength and endurance and will support both your goal to improve your speed.

You can do interval training or sprint intervals (a search for intervals here or in google will give you lots of descriptions) to help with your speed and increase your lactate threshold which will help you increase your speed.

Ultimately, riding fast will make you faster. But don't ride fast all of the time... you must have active recovery rides, or a day off the bike occasionally - this is an essential part of improving yourself.

Have a fast tempo ride every 6-10 days.
And choose a course that you can ride which has fairly predictable conditions and ride it once a month as fast as you can. Make it about 18-25km long and preferably as flat as possible. Note the weather and wind each time and keep a record of each attempt - "what attempt?" you say...
Every 3-5 weeks, ride that course as fast and hard as you can - this will measure your endurance at speed and will demonstrate your improvements.

Ultimately, riding, any riding, will assist you in your goal... but making 2-3 rides per week specific will help you reach your goals faster.

KSH has a good suggestion to use your speedo to watch and measure cadence. I don't have a cadence counter on my speedo, but I do have a heart rate monitor and I train with that.

[indigoiis]

Hey Bat,

I am a former pack and a half a day smoker. Granted I wasn't biking at the time, but quitting was a huge deal to me as I am sure it will be for you. To make it easier, check out the following sites:

Start here: www.whyquit.com and read Noni's story.

This one: www.howstuffworks.com - search on "nicotine" to find out how nicotine works in the bloodstream.


Then go here:
quitsmokingonline.com - it is a free "book" / "course" to help you quit smoking.

Then here:

www.quitnet.com - a community of folks just like TE but for folks quitting smoking;

and this one:

www.cognitivequitting.com ... a great site for finding out about addiction and cigarettes, and why we have a tough time quitting.

[SchwarkCycle]

Hey Bat,

I am a former pack and a half a day smoker. Granted I wasn't biking at the time, but quitting was a huge deal to me as I am sure it will be for you. To make it easier, check out the following sites:

Start here: www.whyquit.com and read Noni's story.

This one: www.howstuffworks.com - search on "nicotine" to find out how nicotine works in the bloodstream.


Then go here:
quitsmokingonline.com - it is a free "book" / "course" to help you quit smoking.

Then here:

www.quitnet.com - a community of folks just like TE but for folks quitting smoking;

and this one:

www.cognitivequitting.com ... a great site for finding out about addiction and cigarettes, and why we have a tough time quitting.

I am so glad you posted this info - I think Bat has gotten some good advice on how to improve, but the best advice is to first and foremost- quit smoking.

[RoadRaven]

oh yeah... quitting smoking should help too

(although we have a pic in a history book of the Tour de France of a cyclist having a cigarette after a race in the early 1900s, because it was thought to aid recovery!)

[batsheva]

well, nitric oxide in cigarette smoke IS a pulmonary vasodilator actually-- so there is some logic to this actually-- if you ignore the carbon monoxide issue!

thanks for all your advice on base miles and the type of varied riding to do to improve-- i went out today and had a good ride, although short as it was so hot and was definitely managing better speed--

the cadence thing is an issue also i think-- i think i maybe should get a cadence computer as i think i 'give away' too much power spinning too much-- i tried today pushing bigger gears and did so much better, not so cardiovascularly knackered - tho' i can feel my leg muscles complaining a little more this evening...

thanks again everyone for all your advice - i was really touched my your repsonses...

plan: try no smoking for 24 hrs before my first 'group' ride thuesday morning so i am not carbon monoxided up-- that should get my VO2 up by 15% right away... will report back if it made any difference!!!

batsheva x

[batsheva]

oh my gosh!

it was the big annual LBS sale today...
went and bought a cadence computer so there are nasty wires to the rear wheel of my bike now... and also bought some 'gels' seeing as they were reduced...

WHAT A DIFFERENCE ON MY RIDE!!

instead of struggling 12-13 mph and it all being tough i was sailing the same route at 16-18 mph with some proper fuel (i eat a minimal carb diet for medical reasons generally) and the cadence monitor which showed I was wayyyyy overspinning at 115-120-- keeping that in the 90-95 range by pushing harder gears with some glucose in my legs-- a 4mph jump and i coulda kept going much longer than the 15 miles i did only time ran out...

cadence and glucose - WOW!!!!!

oh-- even though i thought my stock saddle was fine on my bike, i somehow managed to come home with a new one -