Pathetically slow? How long to improve?

[Seal]

Well I hadn't thought about the other users slowing us down. That is a factor to an extent. We ride West to East starting on the outskirts of Purcellville through Purcellville which is usually a mob scene and onward to Ashburn. We have to stop for a lot of traffic crossings. Leesburg can also be mobbed.

My aerobic fitness is not amazing. I did a couch to 5k several times on the treadmill last spring but got sidetracked w/achilles problems whenever I tried to go outside on pavement or hills or did any speedwork. And we are talking a very slow couch to 5K like average running speed about 4 miles per hour. I also worked my way up to riding 30 miles on the indoor bike at the gym over last winter but that was taking 2 hours. I've ridden bikes since I was a kid but the bike prior to this sat in the garage for 8 years before I dragged it out and almost instantly decided I needed a new one. I have only been riding in earnest since July adding a few miles a week to the long ride. First was on my sucky hybrid and now on my lovely Ruby.

I essentially walked in and took the Ruby off the shelf after trying a billion different bikes and not finding anything that worked w/my short torso and longish legs except that bike. They offered to send me to a fitter who works with triathletes but they didn't offer a professional fitting at the shop and I got the feeling it would be extra.

My core isn't horrible. I did private pilates last year 1-2x a week. I'm now doing the pilates on my own and doing fewer exercises but doing the main core ones more frequently. I also take two horseback riding lessons a week. The biking started as a way to just improve conditioning/leg strength and thigh tone for riding the horse. Occasionally I get to the gym for some inner and outer thigh machine and leg press but I prefer to be outside if at all possible.

My fitness goals were to have stronger quads and actually be ready for ski season for the first time in my life and to not feel like I was having a heart attack when biking with my 30 year old friend who actually has asthma but who also usually somehow manages to kick my ***.

So what I'm hearing is maybe I need to figure on it taking years to make a very pronounced dent in the VO2 max and that its a cumulative effect. I had sorta hoped it would be a fast learning curve but will just keep plugging away and will probably give the bike fitting a try too. Also those 2X20 intervals sound very doable for lunchtime rides while teleworking which as the sun goes down earlier and earlier will be about all I can get in during the week. I had been doing all out sprints for 30 seconds at a time with a few minutes of recovery in between. the 2X20s sound like a different beast.