[Closed] Road riding, what am I doing wrong?

Exactly crikey... jumping red lights is fair game though, yeah?

[i]jumping red lights is fair game though, yeah? [/i]

No.

Why? It can have disastrous impacts on your average if you get it wrong.

EDIT: This isn't something I really do... but you have to love the image of the desperate MAMIL risking life and limb to get his Garmin stats up.

OP if you want to in faster I'd say try a chain gang or time trials.

For many mtb riders it's hard to maintain a high pace, and to know what pace you can sustain. It's hard work finding out but you can improve a lot. I heart rate monitor may help.

Then ride faster inbetween lights, and stop kidding yourself.

Some people cunningly set things up to discount any time stopped or rolling below a certain speed.

Dont think so, but even if it did, I was below 10mph only twice on the whole ride probably when I had to stop for 2 red traffic lights, which cost me all of about 10 seconds over the whole ride. So whether it does or it doesn't, it wouldn't make a difference.

Indeed. This is my latest piece of hardwear for timing my rides (I do allow thirty seconds to get out and on the bike)
[img] [/img]

mboy - I was wondering more about the guys you're comparing yourself with.

FWIW - if you do the same ride a lot... junctions, traffic and red lights can all play a big part in how your average works out. Time stood still means a lot of hard work to get the average back up... especially if your ride is under 2 hrs.

jumping red lights is fair game though, yeah?

it's necessary in Edinburgh for your own safety, to protect yourself from people walking out of control dogs

pick a gear you have to roll not spin and learn to enjoy the pain. Just because you have the low gears doesn't mean you should use them.

Is contradictory advice to what I was given! ARGH!

If your having trouble turning big gears to get speed you need more strength. I am not saying ride everywhere at one rpm, but sometimes it makes sense to slightly overload the muscles to build a little power, other times spin, in time you find you can spin bigger gears.

16 mph over 50 miles is actually pretty good solo. You will find the to add another 2 mph to your average over that distance is a big deal and to add another 2 again really is going some. Very few people could average 20mph for 50 miles solo.

Try some short rides, less than 20 miles and really try and keep in a high gear, get your average up to 18mph for shorter runs, then start increasing the distance while keeping the intensity.

Much as I hate to say it, have a look on strava or sign up and load up a few rides - look at the middle of the pack and compare yourself, broadly, to that as a measure of what a decent rider might achieve.

Works for me; I don't worry the top of the list at all but I can get some idea of where I sit amongst average riders. Look at a few folk who seem comparable and view their rides - I assume it'll tell you how long they take for a whole route and you can therefore compare a whole ride rather than just 1mile sections

(when you're comparing, also look at how many people rode with those you compare yourself with - the weekend chaingangs presumably end up dominating most bits)

Only other advice I have is to have a massive family row a few hours before a ride - added 1mph to my average 🙁

The other thing to remember is that there are no prizes for a high average speed.

Winning is not losing, and vice versa.

i've just had a rummage around on Strava.

i've checked all my fast mates.

16mph average is fine.

clip in, ditch the baggies, take the peak off your helmet (ffs), take some food/drink, drink strong coffee, spin easy gears.

"this advice is worth what you paid for it"

ahwiles - really? It wouldn't put you at gold in a casual sportive...

I'd say 18mph was acceptably quick solo over distance. 20+ on a long ride would be amazing.

It wouldn't put you at gold in a casual sportive...

i don't really know what that means, all i did was have a look on strava - at my fast mates' solo rides.

the most recent one even included a few KOM's - and an average of 16mph.

Are they just doing zone based endurance training / recovery rides on those averages though?

all i'm trying to say is that an average of 16mph seems ok...

16mph is fine (good even).

Fair enough... for me, I don't think it is.

I find a heart rate monitor really helps on the road as it shows how hard you can push. I'm fat and not fit and did 49km with 745m of climbing(Skipton to Rochdale) yesterday in 2:02. Hills slow me right down but I don't find it hard to sit at over 30km/h on the flat.

The Southern Yeti - Member
Fair enough... for me, I don't think it is.

I suspect some of you just aren't trying hard enough!!

Why are you so concerned about how you compare to other people? Do you enjoy road riding? Would you enjoy it more if you were faster on Strava or whatever it's called? If you don't enjoy it, why are you doing it?

Are you racing?

If it's any consolation, I have absolutely no idea what my average speed on the road is. I'm probably much slower than most of the folk posting above, but it doesn't really bother me. I'd just leave the Strava warriors to it and enjoy the ride.

Anyway, that's just my take.

[i]Fair enough... for me, I don't think it is. [/i]

Are you racing?

Are you racing?

Me... road racing? Not at the minute... should it matter?

I'm after a sub 5 hour 100 miles though.

.

I'm not asking in any kind of sarcastic or sneering way, I'm just asking. The interest that some folk have with average speeds seems to be associated with people who don't race, and in my racey days, no-one was ever concerned with averages, just who got there first.

As noted above, average speeds while training are dependent on route, traffic conditions, other riders and so on, and are usually highly exaggerated on the internet.

I did a sub 5 hour 100 miler as a training ride from Manchester over to Scarborough, door to door, all traffic regulations observed. I rode back the day after, but that took 6 hours. I didn't really mean anything to me, but position in races did.

.

Out with a small group with the club yesterday we did 70 miles at a rough average of 15 mph.Hilly route in the north pennines with more than one 1 in 5 climb.
The other guys in the group were on compacts and unbelievably a fixed single speed.I was on a triple and was off the back on every climb.
The bottom line was that they had stronger legs than me and had been riding a road bike for far more years.
I know in the short time i've had the road bike that my strength has increased but to keep it going i'll have to put the hard work in.
The ride really made me think about the gearing i was using and how to improve my leg strength.

My interest in averages is a way of comparing myself... with myself. It also makes a difference in the bike leg of tri races.

As you point out in a race, you win by getting to the finish first.

Averages may be more relevant for TT's...

16mph over 50 miles is pretty good going IMO (depending on how many hills). As others have said 20+ is fast, I have some mates who can ride that over long distances but they're ridiculously fit (raced age group triathlon for GB for example).

Sounds to me like you're spending too much time in the 34T. I live in a not particularly hilly part of Hampshire and spend very little time in the lower chainring. Try upping your cadence to 90-95 and staying in the 50T as much as you can. If your cadence starts to drop too much in the 50T then try to grind it out for bit if it's a short hill, if it's longer get into the upper range on your 34T and try to stay as high as possible.

Oh, and without wanting to sound like a ponce, go to the gym and do some squats and lunges to get your leg strength up.

I don't race, never have, and fundamentally I'm a lazy bastard. Strava is a decent tool to keep me trying fairly hard on the few rides I get in. I don't try to beat other people but I do look at my own times to see whether I'm going OK ( - CBA with a HR monitor or anything like that and I ride alone on the road when I've got a spare 90 mins just to keep fit)

:worksformesmiley:

druidh you hustler...as if we don't know you're a seasoned racer of Sportives!

[i]My interest in averages is a way of comparing myself... with myself[/i]

I think there is a philosophical difference between racing and time trialling (..and possibly with triathlons..)

Racing isn't about comparing yourself with yourself; it's about putting your self, your ego, your ability, on the line, and seeing how you measure up. It's about competition with the unknown quantities of others, and it's about being able to lose and come back stronger.

No hiding, no running red lights to bump up that average, you either can or you are an also ran.

So would only being able to average 16 mph make you a "can" or "an also ran"?

The average wouldn't mean anything, and that's kind of the point I'm trying to make; it's not a significant measurement, because if you are racing, you don't spend time getting high average speeds, you train and race as well as you can.

So would only being able to average 16 mph make you a "can" or "an also ran"?

and this is the question, the fittest rider isn't necessarily the winner, it is about knowing when to use what ability you have and when not to.

Road riding, what am I doing wrong?

forgetting to ride your mountainbike?

Maybe there's something lost in type... so yes, you have the grit, the ego etc etc... how many miles does the average race cover and what's the approx duration?

Yes you might need to sprint at points, push yourself beyond what you ever believed possible but does the pack slow to 13 mph to compensate for the 30 mph sprint?

Genuinely interested to know what it takes to be a racer...

mrmo - Member
the fittest rider isn't necessarily the winner, it is about knowing when to use what ability you have and when not to.

Why not compare average speeds of Sportives and Road races?

Not sure if that's a good indiactor or not Al, but... the couple I just looked at suggested an average speed over 2 hours of about 25mph.

Yes you might need to sprint at points, push yourself beyond what you ever believed possible but does the pack slow to 13 mph to compensate for the 30 mph sprint?

No. My local races slow to 21'ish and rise to 32'ish. The average pans out to about 25/26.

I still think a good benchmark test is to ride a 25 mile TT, a proper one not one using your own rules and timing. Under the hour is 'good' in my book.

Correct - but when I turned this on its head to suggest that the road racers weren't necessarily the fastest riders around I got widely criticised.

On the road they generally are.

[i]Genuinely interested to know what it takes to be a racer..[/i]

It's about knowing about how to use your ability.

In some ways, and without meaning to sound derogatory, time trialing and by extension the bike leg in triathlon are like road racing with the tactics and intelligence taken out.

It's not just about power, or outright speed, or physical ability, it's about brains, about tactical sense, about being intelligent as well as fit.

It's about learning that if I take this corner in a certain way I will maintain or improve my position in the bunch. It's about knowing which wheel to follow, about which break to go with, about how much work to do in said break, about which guys to chase down, about riding in a team rather than as an individual, about ...and it's a cliche.... chess on wheels.

It teaches you that physical fitness is only part of the story, and that intelligence and tactical awareness is a major part of racing.