since getting my road bike last month,i would like to start to be able to get fitter/faster,so i can ride it as it was intended.the problem is that i am really unfit/slow (partly due to depression/laziness).my last ride of 27 miles took me 3 hours 😳 🙁 on the road bike (i know).

the thing i don’t understand also is when i used to drink/smoke i was a lot faster on my bike 😕 (i don’t ever plan on going back to drinking/smoking by the way 😉 i used to be able to ride 100 miles plus (this was when i did smoke/drink!) (around 2002-03 when i was 27-28).

i don’t plan on racing by the way,i just want to be able to ride my road/mtb a bit faster. thanks in advance for any help/advice 🙂

Simple answer is really… do more, do faster and do longer…

It takes time and you won’t really notice the effects yourself (unless using a Garmin/HRM etc) but it will come and you’ll get quicker week by week.

From my experiences of depression, one way to get fitter and faster and to feel better about yourself is to put the computer/gps in a drawer and just ride for the pleasure of riding. If you constantly strive to better yourself, what target are you setting? Is it realistic for someone that’s been off the bike for a while? Is it realistic for you? Why do you feel you have to compare yourself, especially if you ride for pleasure and not in a chain gang or in order to compete?

No one is watching you, and no one is making notes about your progress except you. I know that a lot of it is self-esteem, and only someone who has experienced depression can understand the need to improve/compare and compete with the rest of the world. The reality of it is that more people will be impressed that you are getting on a bike and cycling 27 miles in the first than give the first hoot about how long it’s taken. I think you’ve done well to be where you are, so put the stopwatch away and ride for its own sake, proud of what you’ve achieved so far. The benefits will come faster than you think, and you don’t need to worry about targets.

+1 measure

Try Strava, and find yourself a couple of nice circular routes from home, say 20/40/60 miles. Ride them and then see your uploads. Also ensure you’re correctly fueled.

since getting my road bike last month,i would like to start to be able to get fitter/faster,so i can ride it as it was intended.the problem is that i am really unfit/slow (partly due to depression/laziness).my last ride of 27 miles took me 3 hours on the road bike (i know).

the thing i don’t understand also is when i used to drink/smoke i was a lot faster on my bike (i don’t ever plan on going back to drinking/smoking by the way i used to be able to ride 100 miles plus (this was when i did smoke/drink!) (around 2002-03 when i was 27-28).

Well done for getting back on the road bike and making a start. I started back on the bike a good few years ago after a very long absence and having raced and tt’ed back in the past. It did take a while to get back to anything like my old level. Mrs Kilo would kick my arse every time we went out but sticking with it and trying to ride as much as possible without going out and doing reps and intervals brought improvements. Don’t let what you could do in 2002 and 2003 be your marker for now, fitness goes quickly (I’ve been on reduced training for 6-8 weeks and feel like an old man every time I get on the bike at present) and that was a long time ago so it’s going to be a bit of a slog to start off with. I would also suggest, if you’re not doing it already, riding with others. Local road clubs may be beyond you at the moment but there may be slightly more “relaxed” runs like CTT runs which after a few weeks may be achievable. When I re-started the biggest boosts in fitness I got were from buying a fixed wheel bike and joining a club again.

good luck

9mph average?? Seriously?

The best way to get fast is to lose weight not many people couldn’t afford a few less kilos. You can train for 12 months to gain a few watts or diet for a few weeks to get the same increase in power to weight. So diet and keep riding as much as you can and by riding I mean you can feel your legs working not just glass cranking along.

You need to look at both diet and exercise.
If you’re serious – you could start with a decent turbo trainer. Attach a speedometer and cadence device using a bike computer to record your progress.
Incorporate some interval training. Job done.

Don’t look at the exercise bit without reassessing your diet.

But whatever you do on the bike – should in some ways be enjoyable.

nikxl – Member
9mph average?? Seriously?

Do you think this would help him or make him feel worse ?

I mean is he out for 3 hours or is he riding for 3 hours. If he’s stopping either for a break or for other reasons he would be better served building up the distance.

Reckon ditching the computer is a good way to go initially. And stay away from Strava!

Maybe think about doing some simple fartlek like intervals on a bike. Just ride along and spot something in the distance (lap post, tree, brow of a hill) and ride hard until you get to it, then when you get there just do some easy spinning until you decide to go again. Really mix the pace up a lot. Can be more beneficial than just grinding out the miles.

Are you someone who would work well with a training program? I can be quite lazy and lack motivation but if I’m following a structured training program with a bunch of things to complete in a week then my obsessiveness outweighs my laziness and I tend to stick to it. There’s loads of stuff online.

Do you listen to music when riding?

If you don’t, then start. If if do, pick some encouraging tunes. I cycle faster and longer to Daft Punk than I do to Kate Bush.

Just ride along and spot something in the distance

I do this too. Sprint between two lamp posts, then try to manual the next gap. , and repeat. Fun and very tiring.

Do you listen to music when riding?

Really? I can see your point of music being a motivator but with if you live anywhere with where there’s traffic. I wouldn’t recommend it.

How about getting a cheap cycle computer with a cadence sensor and trying spinning? It’ll get you fit and see yourself being able to hold a tempo for longer distances is a great feeling.

The spotting thing is good as well, or you can just try and attack every hill you ride up.

Your post has a strong undercurrent of self-criticism. You might want to think about whether that helps or hinders you…
I ride because I enjoy it. Because I enjoy it I want to ride more. Because I ride more I get stronger and faster…
So I would find a way to make riding something you want to do as often as possible…
That might mean not pushing yourself to go fast but just go out and ride, it might mean ditching the computer so you just focus on enjoying the ride and not comparing yourself to others or your own previous experience…
I would just keep in mind the virtuous circle that riding often will bring – better fitness, mitigate the impact of the depression… but without telling yourself it’s all about being faster cos that will come in time anyway

Maybe think about doing some simple fartlek like intervals on a bike

I think intervals is the way to go – the only problem being that they are hard and that can be enough of a disincentive to just go out for a long ride instead- which can be just junk miles.

Certainly for running, intervals gets fast results much quicker than just churning out miles, and there is a nice feedback loop that, once you are started, gives you a buzz because you are making progress so quickly.

trundling along on your bike enjoying the surroundings is not going to get you anywhere (apart from literally) as it will do nothing for your fitness, and so not lift you out of your laziness/depressive rut.

I can experience a similar rut but have the advantage of bad ears (narrow eustachian tubes) and so need to exercise to keep them in check – which is my incentive to keep exercising. However I do fall foul of the junk miles because they are easy trap if I am not careful.

Hey OP – road bikes are where it’s at these days! (Actually, I say that because I’ve not ridden my MTB for 2.5 years.)

Just go out and ride. And ride some more. If you fancy stopping and staring at the sky, stop and stare at the sky. The more you ride, the faster you’ll get to your preferred sky staring place..!

The more time I spent trying to measure my progress on the bike, the less pleasurable it could become. I found when in my own dark place, what I really needed was distraction free time in the fresh air going at a pace I was happy with.

As I rode more, I got fitter and stronger. It’s the future – ride a bike, ride a bike, ride a bike.

How practical would commuting to work be on two wheels?

The first week commuting by pedal was a killer – but my fitness plateaued.

The first week commuting by pedal was a killer – but my fitness plateaued.

your fitness topped out after one week of commuting ?

two things, sounds a bit glib but not meant to be,
a. ride more miles & b. ride more hours.
Even when your mind is saying “cant be bothered” and making up excuses not to ride ,force yourself. you know you want to…. 😀
+1 ourmaninthenorth too.

If you can afford it I’ve found owning a Garmin 800 and downloading other peoples routes such a revelation. Takes you to places that you’ve never seen before even on your own doorstep.
I’d suggest, packing some nice things to eat and some extra warm clothes and simply go for a bike ride more often and progressivly further.

Find a club. 27 miles in 3 hours is not your full potential even now. Riding with others will push you a bit, then you’ll get an idea of how fit you really are. When you get this, keep riding with faster people and just stick to them as long as you can. You’ll soon start becoming fitter as they push you on.

Ride.
Keep riding.
Everyday.
You’ll get fitter, faster, and you’ll feel happier, I promise. 🙂

Go on then!

Find a club. 27 miles in 3 hours is not your full potential even now.

This and the self critiscm advice, which by the way Bradley Wiggens and Victoria Pendleton (and I) suffer from too.

Despite riding for 18 months and achieving a 19mph average over the Summer, and considering myself pretty fit, doing my first 100k’s and first 100 miles, I went out on Sunday for my first club ride and struggled to stay on the back at times. An average of 17.4mph for the ride doesn’t tell the story – these guys were riding at 23mph constant on the flats – and this was the easy ride. Its inspired me to ride with them again and perhaps join the club.

I could have been critical of myself and usually am, but this time after the ride with my aching legs I was able to tell myself I just been “pushed” for 84k over varying terrain and survived – I couldnt have done that 18 months ago despite 12 years on MTB’s.

My advice, start with smaller distances and build up to the longer ones, make small targets, (20k, 30k, 40k etc) don’t stress yourself everyday and make sure you enjoy it. Mix up some short hard rides (I rode flat out for just an hour yesterday) with some longer easier one’s when the Sun is out and enjoy the scenery.

Keep at it, and good luck!

Really? I can see your point of music being a motivator but with if you live anywhere with where there’s traffic. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Op could try singing? 😀 . I’ve went out with a harmonica in my mouth before. Quite hypnotic and good for getting into a rhythm, but you do get ‘looks’. Especially from the guy who stopped me and asked for the time. Whuzzy wuss wazzz whazooo wasn’t the answer he expected 😀

RaceFace, maybe it’s the road bikes fault? That type of riding isn’t for everyone (bores me to tears, for example) so how about planning yourself a nice on/off-road route you can ride from your house on the hardtail? I don’t do a lot of rode miles these days, and what i do do, are part of a fitness/bike handling loop. There’s about 10 mins road/path to start, followed by between 30-120* mins of various off-road challenges form basic single track to really technical stuff and 15-40* mins road on the way home.

Your goal is to able to ride your road/mtb faster? Then ride the mtb.

From my experiences of depression, one way to get fitter and faster and to feel better about yourself is to put the computer/gps in a drawer and just ride for the pleasure of riding. If you constantly strive to better yourself, what target are you setting?
<snip>

Why do you feel you have to compare yourself, especially if you ride for pleasure and not in a chain gang or in order to compete?

<snip>
put the stopwatch away and ride for its own sake, proud of what you’ve achieved so far. The benefits will come faster than you think, and you don’t need to worry about targets.

Hell yes. Well said.

Find a club. 27 miles in 3 hours is not your full potential even now.

Yep, I ride a lot and regularly night ride, but a couple of years ago I joined my local club for a night ride. 33 miles later 😯 And this was MTBing… I had no problem keeping up, but never went back.

Trained for a triathlon from a pretty low low base level this year and it went something like this…

FInd a steady loop you can do in 1-2hrs, nothing too dramatic climbing wise. Do it, time it but don’t over do it (once a fortnight-ish) then do shorter midweekrides pulling your tripes out on steepish climbs etc but make sure there’s a payoff like a good downhill/pint at the end/’race’ against a mate. Basically doing intervals but without the science and analysis/timings then re do your longer loop and marvel at the improvement. Move the distances up incrementally once you feel happy with the times on the longer loop. Keep it fun. Also enter an event, nothing serious but enough to bring a bit pride/ego into the equation.

Will be starting again myself in the new year

Big hills, beast you self on them in a gear that is a bit harder than you are comfortable with until you feel like you can’t ride any more, than ride it again even harder, repeat until you are a wreck, wobble home, eat sensibly, have a rest day and then do it again.

Maybe.

How is being depressed while on your bike making you slow? I don’t understand that bit.
As for being fitter and going faster – ride more and ride faster. Little by little though. It will come as far as it will.

Stop mincing and ride your bike faster. You arent going to get any fitter or faster pootling along at 9mph.

So which one is it – depression or laziness? For one of them to need to get a grip of yourself and give yourself a shake, for the other exercise will provide an effective solution.

Hey, I got fitter accidentally by commuting on my bike. I didn’t really think that 6 miles each way would have a huge effect, but daily, it did. 60 more miles a week than I had been riding.

The fitness then became a thing of pride and joy. Longer rides became so much easier and faster. I took up CX racing (and do ok) and did the Three Peaks this year. Was good for mtb too – I’ve eased off worrying about getting uphill as it’s no longer as hard and spend more time thinking about downhill.

Oh the other good thing about commuting was that I wasn’t thinking about the benefits (apart from saving train fare) so they crept up on me. If you start to do something you have to give it at least three weeks before you can expect results and not give up before then because ‘it’s not happening and it’s all tooo hard’.

Good luck!

thanks for the replies everyone 🙂 will definitely try out the fartlek idea (as well as going for it on the hills).

i should have added that i only recently got my road bike (have ridden nothing but mountain bikes until last month when i got the road bike.

as for the weight issue i’m only a 9 stone 5ft 5 lightweight 😉

i don’t suffer with depression when riding,but i must admit to making excuses about going out on the bike (this has been going on for a fair few years tbh/have done previous posts about lack of motivation over the years).

thanks a lot people 😀