Hi Kim

I know it's frustration if you feel you're not progressing fast enough but what's the hurry?

I'd agree with some of the other posts when they say it may take up to a year to be able to ride for long distances at a brisk pace, but if you think about it, it's bound to. Cycle fitness ,in general, is all about endurance and unfortunately there's no short cuts to having a good endurance base. It all takes time.

Riding with a group or with someone who's slightly stronger than you is a good idea as it does help you to push yourself, however you must make sure you take things gradually, otherwise you'll end up working too hard and burning yourself out. Your motivation will also suffer as you start to associate cycling with discomfort and struggle.

My advice would be to take a chill-pill and not be too hard on yourself. Why not try adding on 5-10 minutes to you ride each week to increase the duration, but unless you want to specialize in sprinting, don't worry too much about the pace for the time being as this will come over time as your strength develops.

Remember, slow and steady wins the race ( when it comes to endurance training ) The improvement will be gradual and you may not feel like you're progressing but give it time - months rather than weeks - and you'll be amazed at how well you're doing.

Oh yes ,and enjoy your riding.