I want to ride faster

[SadieKate]

I think average speed in the flats is a rather vague number to use as a measure of fitness. On a climb, that you do regularly, then it can be really useful since aerodynamics & wind have a lesser effect.

Wow, I'm just muddling through this thread. Since all I have is flat roads to ride, my shorter ride times over a season and in flat time trails don't mean anything? The same 33 mile ride ridden over the years has gone from a 2.5 hour effort to a fairly consistent 2 hours. Why wouldn't this be a measure of my fitness?

Using calculators for climbs has an important limitation - when you plug in the numbers, % grade, etc - the assumption is that the climb is steady, and I've yet to see a climb of any significant length that fits such a description.

The Sierras and the Cascades are full of long, steady climbs.

[maillotpois]

The Sierras and the Cascades are full of long, steady climbs.

yup. monitor pass 5 - 7 miles (depending on which side you do), ebbets 4 - 8 miles and carson from turtle rock about 12 miles. I think there's some sustained climbing to be found here in the sierras.

plenty of 3 - 6 mile climbs we can do routinely as well.

[SadieKate]

Iron Mtn -- 20 miles with only a couple very short dips.

[maillotpois]

who you callin' a "short dip"?? I am significantly taller than you, I'll remind you...

[jobob]

Hey, you girls have fun, and send me postcards.

I just hope to make it up that steenkin' Sierra Road this coming year.

[SadieKate]

Bubba's three rules to riding faster:
1) Ride downhill
2) Ride downwind
3) Ride with someone slower than you

He's accepting donations in compensation for these words of wisdom.

Hey, you girls have fun, and send me postcards.

I just hope to make it up that steenkin' Sierra Road this coming year.

Shorter of the two dips speaking: When do I get to ride that "steenkin' Sierra Road"?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

"Short dip"....too funny!!!

[RoadRaven]

The same 33 mile ride ridden over the years has gone from a 2.5 hour effort to a fairly consistent 2 hours. Why wouldn't this be a measure of my fitness?

It is the perfect measure of your fitness.

The same course, in similar conditions, repeated at intervals over the year (or measured at intervals over the year if you ride it often).

Half an hour is excellent improvement!

[SadieKate]

Thanks, I know it is. I was being a bit sarcastic at the statement that average speed on flat ground isn't useful.

[jobob]

You? Sarcastic?

nahhhhhhh ...

Geeze you'd think my 2000th post would be something erudite and worthwhile to befit the occasion.
nahhhhh ....

[indysteel]

Since we're on this topic, I'd like to bring up my current speed issue. I got my road bike at the end of July. By September, I was averaging between 16 and 17 miles per hour for most rides, assuming that it wasn't too windy and/or the route wasn't too hilly. Now that the weather has taken a turn for the cold, my average rides have gotten slower. I managed an average of about 16.3 the other day but the winds were calm. I dress for the weather and don't feel overly cold once I'm warmed up, and I certainly feel like I'm working hard. Is my slower pace just a function of the cold, the density of colder air, and how much harder my "engine" has to work in the cold?

[KayTee]

Indy, it's the cold weather. Our bodies have to work harder just to keep us warm, let alone pedaling hard. I, too, ride way slower in the cold.

[SadieKate]

I find that it takes much longer to warm up. I don't feel cold but my legs can feel like lead for twice as long as a normal warm-up.