1st 25 Mile ride, need to go FASTER!

[Tuckervill]

Okay! I'll read all the threads and put one on my xmas list!


Thanks!
Karen

[Kathyrides]

Congrats on a cool milestone!

Riding lots and doing harder work ie intervals is key to getting faster.

In '04 I did my first tri and averaged 12 mph and now I can do 20 and am close to 21.5 in a time trial. There seems to be a learning curve and once you get it and work hard you will get faster. Seems strange to say but to learn to ride faster you need to ride faster...question is how? Do little bits at harder effort ie you'll be going faster. In time your body adapts and you will get faster at all distances.

Trainer and a good plan to train in off season will help. Spinnervals DVDs are a good workout and they have ones that emphasis different things. Base building and ones geared for power like hills would be good.

I think for some women, it is hard to push yourself to a place where it is uncomfortable but doing that will help you improve more. When I race, do intervals, it hurts to ride my quads and hamstrings hurt and want me to slow down, learning to push on helps you get faster.

[silver]

I have no mileage goals.
Karen

Tell me you did not just type that!!!!! Blasphemy!!!!

Miles are EVERYTHING!!!

(Really, really just kidding!!! )

Bikerchick2: I'm just joking with Tuckervill. But more cycling will make you faster. I personally wouldn't try to do hard intervals more than once a week. Like others have said....mix it up, one longer ride each week, one interval ride, one easy ride, one hilly ride, etc. Although I do ride a lot, it's not about chasing to get more miles.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm not racing or into super long distances or anything like that. I have no mileage goals. I just want to bike for fun. Which, for next year, I want to have fun doing a century at the end of the season.

But isn't wanting to ride a century a mileage goal?

Tip for beginner riders:
I am a slow rider. But one little trick I figured out a while back helped me raise my average speed in a simple way. After my first six months of riding, I thought I was working hard on all my rides. Then i realized that after every uphill I struggled up, I would coast down the other side and keep coasting a long time to rest my legs and enjoy the scenery. I would coast until I needed to start pedaling again. I changed that habit so that I would pedal whenever I could, even when going slightly downhill, where I used to coast. It wasn't a strain on my legs at all, but it kept me going faster overall.
I hadn't even realized I was doing so much coasting until I actually focused on it.

[Tuckervill]

But isn't wanting to ride a century a mileage goal?

Tip for beginner riders:
I am a slow rider. But one little trick I figured out a while back helped me raise my average speed in a simple way. After my first six months of riding, I thought I was working hard on all my rides. Then i realized that after every uphill I struggled up, I would coast down the other side and keep coasting a long time to rest my legs and enjoy the scenery. I would coast until I needed to start pedaling again. I changed that habit so that I would pedal whenever I could, even when going slightly downhill, where I used to coast. It wasn't a strain on my legs at all, but it kept me going faster overall.
I hadn't even realized I was doing so much coasting until I actually focused on it.

I think in context of this thread, I meant no 3000 mile years or whatever. I think if I sign up for a century, I will be motivated to ride enough to make me capable. But I'm not going to get all stressed about it.

I used to do that, too, Lisa...coast to get my heart rate back down I don't have to do that anymore (well, I may because I haven't ridden since October). I like coasting, though. It's FUN. I try not to if I want to have a speedy ride.

My philosophy of fitness is

• Never do anything in one session that will make me not want to do it again.
• Never get caught not having any fun.

Karen

[Zen]

What's the hurry?
Everybody's in a hurry. just enjoy the ride.

[lph]

Because riding fast is fun too.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My philosophy of fitness is

• Never do anything in one session that will make me not want to do it again.
• Never get caught not having any fun.

Karen

Good philosophy! A lot like mine. Happily, I love to ride often, and almost always have fun doing it.

If someone likes to ride fast- that's good!
If someone likes to ride slow- that's good!
If someone likes to ride both fast and slow- that's good!


Sometimes a problem happens when people ride together and have differing pace. Fast riders get frustrated, slow riders get dropped out, etc.
I play oldtime music with lots of other people. My DH and I tend to enjoy playing at an easy speed (just like the way we ride bikes...and other things! =8-O ) Anyway....we have a private joke when we get unhappily stuck playing with people who zoom through playing a fiddle tune at 100mph....we say "well at least it's over with a lot quicker!"

[RoadRaven]

Just agreeing with everyone else here - time on the bike/ consistent riding is crucial to your improvement.
Pushing yourself hard (by trying to ride a known course faster, or drafting others who ride faster than you so your pace is lifted) is important to.

Something that I didn't see clearly said here though is do not try and do every ride fast. Do not treat every ride as an attempt at your personal best.

This will tire your body and leave you "over trained" which will actually have a detrimental effect on your overall fitness.

Rest days (no riding) and/or recovery rides/active recovery days (gentle riding where your heart rate is not lifted by much at all... flat courses, or hills ridden at a slow steady pace with minimal exertion) are just as crucial to improving fitness.

[Melalvai]

Sometimes a problem happens when people ride together and have differing pace. Fast riders get frustrated, slow riders get dropped out, etc.

That can be a disaster when it is spouses with different paces! The male ego in particular doesn't like his wife sprinting ahead...

[kelownagirl]

This female ego gets po'ed with the hubby sprints ahead too...

[RoadRaven]

Is most of the benefit just for cycling, or can it help my fitness, too? I'm not racing or into super long distances or anything like that. I have no mileage goals. I just want to bike for fun. Which, for next year, I want to have fun doing a century at the end of the season.

Do you think a trainer would be worth the money for me?

Hi Tuckervill... I missed this post when I first arrived in this thread.
Just want to confirm that yes, a trainer would maintain/support/improve your fitness.

I understand you having no mileage goals... I guess you are thinking you have a distance or a time goal... (I have goals in all three categories - just greedy I guess )

A trainer will help you with endurance over winter... estimate how long you would like to take to do your century and then ride for that ammount of time on a regular basis on the road or on the trainer - don't worry about speed so much, this type of biking will help your body get used to riding for the duration. As you keep doing it you will find you ride further/more strongly in the same ammount of time.

Keep smiling - I like that its all about fun Thats how it should be

[aicabsolut]

Something that I didn't see clearly said here though is do not try and do every ride fast. Do not treat every ride as an attempt at your personal best.

This will tire your body and leave you "over trained" which will actually have a detrimental effect on your overall fitness.

Rest days (no riding) and/or recovery rides/active recovery days (gentle riding where your heart rate is not lifted by much at all... flat courses, or hills ridden at a slow steady pace with minimal exertion) are just as crucial to improving fitness.

^^^^ very good to remember.

Ride with people faster than you at least once a week and try to hang on. Sit in and draft when you need to rest. Skip taking pulls at first if that's ok with them, or spend a very short time at the front. The competitiveness really helps me push out of my comfort zone, much more so than trying to structure my own intervals. (Just don't pick people who are TOO fast, because then you'll be inclined to say F* it and quit, as you'll be OTB in mere moments.)

[wawaski]

Here's what I've found...a LOT of things come into play when you're trying to ramp it up...going to a different bike will help, the geometry will give you more pedal to power so to speak. Believe it or not even switching tires gave me over a mile per hr more. I was on some "bullet-proof" tires, went to Michelin Race-Pro and voila! No punctures so far either.
The spin class that was suggested is great as well...you can get a killer workout without all the distractions of the "open road". Friend of mine that rides the SF to LA AIDS benefit ride every year was trapped indoor all training season a few years ago due to incessant rain. she opted for spin classes and did the best/easiest ride she'd done to date.
I ride in windy Texas, a usual 10-15 mph headwind is the norm, after several years of riding I FINALLY made a 15.3 mph average on a 22 mi ride a few weeks ago. Ya gotta remember though, I'm older than dirt. Another thing that would do no harm would be squats !
Good luck!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I ride in windy Texas, a usual 10-15 mph headwind is the norm, after several years of riding I FINALLY made a 15.3 mph average on a 22 mi ride a few weeks ago. Ya gotta remember though, I'm older than dirt.

So what is your concept of "older than dirt"? I would define it as a cyclist over 80 maybe (which I hope to be one day).