UKC

I'm getting very frustrated with my cycling speed - it seems to have stuck at around 13mph for ever! Any tips for getting the average up?

Using Strava for reference, I've been looking at my last 12 longer distance rides (solo sunday stuff):
Total distance = 947 km
Average distance = 79 km
Elevation = 7,755 m
Average elevation = 646 m
Average speed = 21 km/h (about 13 mph)

For comparison purpose, this averages an elevation of 8.1 m per km, if my sums are right.

It doesn't seem to make much difference whether I use my winter beast (a low cost Forme with mudguards/heavy-tyres, etc) or my lighter carbon bike (which is around 3kg lighter), I just seem to plod along at the same pace.

In addition to the longer rides, I do 2 speed sessions at the gym each week (20 mins @ 90rpm, averaging 134W), plus climbing, swimming and running. I'm pretty time-poor (family, business, etc), so other than my sunday ride and the climbing, I squeeze the rest in during my lunch hour)

Physically, I'm a bit of a short-arse (172cm/5'7") not massively heavy (67kg), but have never been particularly athletic. Obviously, I'm not I'm not looking to win anything here, I'd just like to get the average up to closer the 15 mph mark - any tips??

In reply to FrankBooth:

Join a club, cycle with others, kill yourself trying not to be dropped.

I don't think you're ready for structured training.

In reply to FrankBooth:

I just changed Endomondo settings to auto pause when standing still.
My average speed went up straight away, as i have to cross a few roads on my way to work

In reply to FrankBooth:

Do shorter rides on flatter routes so that you can work on speed rather than distance.

If you have a cycle computer that allows you to set up training rides then use that.

A counter intuitive suggestion:

Training out on the road introduces a lot of extra variables but it obviously has the advantage that it's more interesting (a lot more interesting) than a turbo trainer. Get a cyclecomputer that has both a cadence meter and a heart rate monitor.

Now work out your heart rate training zones and a suitable range for your cadence, say 80 - 100rpm. Set the computer to beep when you go outside these zones. Then go for a ride say at HZ 2. It doesn't matter whether you are going up or down hill, aim to keep your heart rate within that zone. What this does is make you use your gears more efficiently as you'll be changing up and down much more than you think you should be doing.

Over time your body will become more efficient and you'll pick up speed.

In reply to Mikkel:


Hey! I like the sound of that!

In reply to Bob:

thanks, Bob. I use a basic Garmin Edge 200 at the moment, and don't think I'll be upgrading it too soon, but I've also got a HRM somewhere so I might just dig that out and give your suggestion a go.

In reply to FrankBooth:

As above, ride with other people it will drag you to their level and be fun.
Put the miles in, make sure you have energy drinks for anything over an hours riding. Attack all hills.

Enjoy yourself.

Cheers

Toby

In reply to FrankBooth:

From BikeRadar's review it seems that the Edge 200 doesn't have wireless capability like the more expensive 500/510 & 800/810 models. I've the 510 and it wirelessly connects to a HRM and cadence meter so I get real time info on both in the one unit. You could get most of the functionality using one of the cateye models for cadence and whatever HRM device you have though you wouldn't get the alarms.

Here's an intro piece on HR training zones http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/heart-rate-monitor-training-for-cycli...

In reply to FrankBooth:

Gym bikes are rarely accurate but a power output of 134W for 20 minutes is quite low which suggests you simply need to get some more training under your belt, the good news is that you should be able to get faster quite quickly. Do you ride every Sunday? If not start doing so. Start riding with a group. This will automatically get your speed up due to the slipstream effect of riding together but it will also motivate you to push yourself harder and to ride further. Just doing this should get you to a better position in no time.

If you find yourself riding with a traditional cycling club, it is likely that they run time trials one evening a week during the summer. Give those a go. Ten miles takes a very good rider 20 minutes (I'd make 30 minutes your first target). You'll find that your 20 minute power goes up very quickly as competition gives you motivation to push. It takes great discipline to give a truly maximal 20 minute effort in training. The easiest way to learn what it feels like to give this kind of effort is to time trial, even if you have no interest in taking your racing any further.

In reply to FrankBooth:

If you live in Britain you've probably been battling the wind to some extent too. Been particularly windy this winter - it does impact my average mph. One particularly windy Sunday a few weeks ago I was down to < 13mph but on the rare nice day the following weekend I was > 15mph. Solo both times 1000m ascent+ 50 miles.

In reply to FrankBooth:

Keep your bike computer on average speed mode. If your average speed dips below your target pedal harder.

13 mph is pretty slow, you should be able to get up to 15 mph quite quickly.

In reply to FrankBooth:

Rule 5...?

Mikkel's suggestion sounds sensible, as I can't see how your average speed is so low on a road bike; I average more than that on my clunker of a mountain bike, with upright stance and knobbly tyres... Although, as Humphrey says, the winds so far this year have been brutal.

In reply to FrankBooth:

I suffer that same issue, but found riding different routes got my average up to 15mph in UK . I work in France and when I ride there I can easily achieve 16 mph average. So I guess its down to a more flowing ride in France compared to stop start in UK .

In reply to FrankBooth:


Think the 200 has virtual partner on courses like the 500. Follow your course route with the virtual partner from last time you rode it. Try and beat yourself by 400m each time.

In reply to alan ashmore:

Funnily enough, on holiday in France last year I averaged around 15 mph (25kph) on shorter routes (30km). On the longer routes (60+ miles) though my average goes to pieces.

In reply to FrankBooth:

When I was cycling regularly, doing over 10 000 miles a year, we would train for racing by long endurance rides in early season, then short fast evening rides in the Spring. It is too easy to find oneself stuck in one cadence. 15mph sounds very slow - sorry! We would expect to average that on a leisurely Sunday club ride - and 20mph for a 12 hour race. One factor that is perhaps critical - those early season training rides would be on a low gear, mid sixties, fixed wheel. Really gets your legs turning at a faster rate.

In reply to FrankBooth:

Good question and good info in the question!

First off, do you ride in proper road kit, lycra all over? If not, do that first. Do you try and have an aero position, on the drops or the hoods, with your elbows in, knees brushing the top tube? That also helps, as well as resting your forearms on the bars on long straights. Aero is important!

Your speed sessions at 134W sound a bit easy. 20 min intervals should be 95-105% of your threshold, and at 67kg, 134W means 2W/KG, which is pretty low. Are you sure you can't go harder? Try starting off at 150W and maintaining that. Increasing fitness means one thing...pain I am afraid. It will be uncomfortable and you will want to stop. So get a sufferfest video and mtfu! Hehe.

Try doing hour long rides with an ave heart rate at 85% of you max, that is threshold/sweetspot stuff and perfect for time pressed MAMILS, loads of info on the web about threshold training, which seems to be the best way of upping your form with limited time.

Good luck!!

In reply to FrankBooth:

13 mph isn't too bad for a hilly ride, solo. On a hilly ride I'm usually at 14.5 mph and can average 17 mph on a flat ride, when riding with a faster buddy we can do 17.5 mph on a hilly ride if we try. We are both 58 by the way.

You could probably improve your average, as somebody else says above, by attacking short hills. This means speeding up to the beginning of the hill as well as blasting up it and maintaining that speed over the top.

Teaming up with a faster rider will do you good as well.

In reply to JLS:


Great advice - you will get dropped, man up and try again, eventually you will be able to keep up at the back, then next thing you will be part of the group and your average speed will have increased.

Just pick your group to start with obviously.

In reply to FrankBooth:

My contributions, for what they're worth.
Reduce your distance and go for effort to get the average up. Once you know you can manage a highre pace, increase the distance again.
Get a trip computer of some kind that shows you an average and a current speed at the same time. If your current speed drops below your target average, make sure you catch up by at least matching the difference for longer.
Fight for every half mile increment - if you're on 13, go for 13.5. If you look to finish on 13.4 do everything you can to reach 13.5

In reply to FrankBooth:

If you have a velodrome near you get down there for some basic training, a weekly velodrome training session will increase your average speed within a couple of sessions

In reply to FrankBooth:

Try changing gear

In reply to FrankBooth:

Unless you end up with Jelly legs, that sounds like you are not eating/drinking enough

In reply to JLS:

Great advice. My average speed seemed to be stuck at 22-23kph for ages.

Typically, towards the end of my weekly rides, I will find myself on the long flat road along the coast back towards to Barcelona. Typically, riding on my own on this road, I will get swallowed up by a chain gang belting along at an average 35 kph (22/23mph). The last two or three times it happened, I killed myself to stay on their wheels until I got home.

When I went out for a 100km ride last week, I was delighted to see my average speed (riding on my own the whole time) had risen to a solid 25kph.

In reply to Pids:

God yes, I used to ride with the Bristol Chain gang now and again. 44 miles in <2 hours. If I made it through the warm up section of anaerobic gasping awfulness I was fine on the hills (where a lot got dropped) then I'd struggle like mad as they pulled 30mph on the flat sections towards Clevedon. Going round corners flat out with some guy leaning on you on the outside did wonders for my cornering and bike handling skills.

The other nice thing was we never got beeped at or grief from other road users perhaps due to the speeds but no doubt the waves of testosterone washing back caused any aggressive car drivers balls to shrivel and drop off into their foot well.

Didn't do it that often as, it was hard, it was scary and you had to phyc yourself up to do it and I was never quite strong enough for the speed they did on the flat.

Great benchmark of your fitness to see how far you'd get before being dropped though.

Cheers

Toby