How to get faster? or maybe just ride alone?

[Geonz]

The faster "fast" is, the more the 'little' things matter, such as gear and aerodynamics.

[indysteel]

One other suggestion I have to help you stay up with the faster group is to warm up before the ride. At least for me, that makes a huge difference in eing able to keep up on group rides. My ideal warm up is--for whatever reason--9 miles. Even if I can just get 4 or 5 miles in, however, I do much better and my legs thank me for it.

[Trek420]

It's the only thing I don't like about the sport (other than the whole starting waaaay too early in the morning thing) is the layering of "I ride ___ mph and 35 mile rides and you ride ____ mph and 38 mile rides so we can't ride together"

Most of us ride too slow .... and too fast. Fast people rarely slow down or do recovery work, slow folks (self included) rarely challenge ourselves to kick it up a notch.

I will never be fast but I gain strength and endurance by trying. Find a ride with a faster group that you know the route. If you get dropped circle back and meet them for the recovery meal. Just start with them and hang on as long as you can. Maybe its 5 minutes, then 10 then 15 then .... can you find another rider in your pace to do this with you for company?

Many "no drop" rides are slower pace, faster rides are "keep up or else". Sometimes you have to make your own fast ride with a drop option. As long as you're safe that is know the way back to the coffee shop.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I dont' know if you are riding on the road or mtn biking, but for me, I just ride. I ride with some guys that are just crazy fast, but I go at my own pace. Compete against yourself, set goals based on YOU not THEM. If you are shooting to maintain 12 mph then shoot for that. Don't try to do something like 'keep up with them' if they are doing 20 mph and you can barely do 15 mph (and I say this in MY frame of reference!!!) I ride in a time trial once a month (with a commuter bike with baskets and all! talk about funny!) and it's to compete against me. *I* want to become better. And my goal for that is to 'just be faster than last month'. So it doesn't matter how slow I am. And in a time trial...ha...no one is going to wait for you!

Riding with a slower group won't make you faster. Or it didn't make me faster.

What I do is, for a ride with people I know are going to dust me, I tell them right away "I'm going to probably hang behind so don't worry about me. You don't have to keep stopping. Just yell when you are making a confusing turn." If it's a road ride I get a map ahead of time and it's alot different than mtn biking. So if they want to stop and wait for me, I know I told them to not do that. And what you'll find is that they stop with the intent of 'waiting for you' when really they are looking for a quick breather (haha!). Another thing that made me faster is NOT to stop with them. I just keep riding. And soon people get the idea that I am not stopping.

Either case, measure your 'getting faster' against yourself. I've been making a huge mistake on the East coast by trying to figure out how well I ride compared to others. That's not the right thing to do because you'll never progress. You look at some of the top athletes and they all are focused on their PRs, not beating someone else. Their goals just happen to blow the doors off of everyone else's time.

So if it's a ride that is established, take your base time and then try and shave some time off of it. Do you have a bike computer? That also is what made me faster, I could see how fast I was going and soon realized, like Zen said, there was much coasting going on!

Just my two cents. Helps me realize what's important. It took me a while to realize this and it's helped me a lot. Not only did it make me 'ease up' on myself but it also made me assert myself as to my ability (aka knowing what I am capable of).

[ACG]

As always the TE's have offered me wonderful advice. Thank you

My group has a no drop policy.

However, the guys who want to do the faster ride have commented that if you can't keep up, maybe you should bail out, go home or pick a ride more suitable. I have opted to ride the fast ride when I know some of my friends are going, they won't drop me and will work with me.

I want to keep my skills up which is why I'm trying so hard.

It has now gotten to the point that a few of us are working on an in-between rides.

Because I work a 9-5 job. I can only ride twice during the week to train.


So thanks again, all your suggestions have been great to read.

[aicabsolut]

What about evening rides during the week? There's still daylight. Short 1-1.5 hr rides are a good time to work on interval training. Where do the other cyclists in your area go after work? Are there any weekday rides? There must be something else you can make it to at least once a week. That will help. Then there's the early morning training ride, but I like my sleep too much for that , but there may be some small groups who train then. You don't have to train with others before or after work, but if you find some buddies, then you can get information on where it's safe to ride during the commuting hours.

[Trek420]

My group has a no drop policy.

However, the guys who want to do the faster ride have commented that if you can't keep up, maybe you should bail out, go home or pick a ride more suitable.

Sounds rude. I think you need to find another group

[Becky]

My group has a no drop policy.

However, the guys who want to do the faster ride have commented that if you can't keep up, maybe you should bail out, go home or pick a ride more suitable.

Sheesh, really? That's just mean.

[GLC1968]

However, the guys who want to do the faster ride have commented that if you can't keep up, maybe you should bail out, go home or pick a ride more suitable.

That doesn't sound 'no drop' to me!

[DebTX]

What a perfect thread for this newbie to read!
I was just reading a listing of group rides in my area, and kept seeing the phrase "no drop" and had no idea what it meant. Their slowest group though was 12-15 mph, and I don't think I'm there yet (probably more like 10-12).

So I'm guessing, "no drop" means that one poor soul would have to lag behind with me? I'll probably keep training until I can get to an average of 12 MPH (with hills included). Then maybe I'll look toward a "slow group".

[aicabsolut]

What a perfect thread for this newbie to read!
I was just reading a listing of group rides in my area, and kept seeing the phrase "no drop" and had no idea what it meant. Their slowest group though was 12-15 mph, and I don't think I'm there yet (probably more like 10-12).

So I'm guessing, "no drop" means that one poor soul would have to lag behind with me? I'll probably keep training until I can get to an average of 12 MPH (with hills included). Then maybe I'll look toward a "slow group".

Depending on how many hills you face (and how slowly you go on the hills), you can probably keep up with that group. Remember that with the benefit of the draft, it is much easier (takes less energy) to maintain speeds a bit higher than you'd be able to on your own. Although you may be expected to take a pull, you really don't have to as a newbie--you can just sit in the group or pull off quickly when you get to the front. So if you think you could make it on the low end of the pace solo, you should have no problem with a group. I just threw that in there about hills, because you won't get nearly the same benefit of drafting uphill at a slow pace as you do on the flats, but you may get some (if you can really stick on someone's wheel). So, if you have a lot of hills to deal with, then the group could be a struggle. Alternatively, if there aren't that many tough hills, you'd probably find that a no-drop group like that will regroup at the top of the bigger, longer climbs, because the group will inevitably be split up. In that case, you shouldn't worry about joining the group either.

[BarbaraAlys]

aicabsolut wrote:

Depending on how many hills you face (and how slowly you go on the hills), you can probably keep up with that group. Remember that with the benefit of the draft, it is much easier (takes less energy) to maintain speeds a bit higher than you'd be able to on your own. Although you may be expected to take a pull, you really don't have to as a newbie

In the clubs I've been in, the beginer groups (cruzers, novice, 'tweeners") don't form pace lines that give you the bennies of drafting. I've been riding for a few years now and have never felt confidnet enough to get close enough to benefit from someone's pull.

However, don't feel like you can't join a group because some poor person is going to have to wait with you. They volunteer to do that, and often are the kind of people who enjoy watching newer riders develop. I think that one of the best ways to get your speed up to that first threshold of 12mph is a group. The comradery, the advise, the conversation distracting you from your biking worries, all help you get more confident.

Barbara