How to improve my average speed?

[vickster]

And it's good fun too (club group riding)

It’s not something that has ever appealed to me in the slightest but I’m not that hung up on speed, just getting out there for an hour or two. However, the OP may find it useful and enjoyable

 

[lazybloke]

There's something about motivation too.
Cycling to work is always slower than the ride back home.
A sense of occasion? My fastest sustained speeds are always during events like charity sportives.

Competition? If you see a fast cyclist ahead, try keeping/catching up.

 

[winjim]

Best speed improvement I ever had on my very unscientific Strava calculated regular little loop was when I bought some new shoes that actually fit me, compared to the old ones which were a size too big.

 

[sleuthey]

Hi all, I've been cycling since 2015 and cycle 3 or 4 times a week and my average speed hasn't improved much from when I started around 12mph on a 20 mile loop, now I average around 13.5 mph on the same loop. Yesterday I did a shorter route with less gradients I just manage 13.6mph. Looking at my strava data most of my rides give my watts output of around 145 watts. Yesterday I was looking at a rider stats who I was following his watts output shows 116watts and averaging 15.6 mph on a 34 mile loop. I just want to improve my average speed to 15mph anybody could give me some advice?. Hope it make sense my eng!ish is not the good. Thanks.

Tell your speedometer that you have larger tyres than you do

 

[Sharky]

Firstly, Kent is very hilly. There is hardly a stretch of road that doesn't go up, then down every 100 yds. What part of Kent are you in?

Once you've ridden a route a few times and have got to know the ups and downs and assuming you are riding at "tempo" (a bit breathless), then average speeds will hardly vary. Only the weather is a factor. Over a season, you can expect average speeds to vary by about 2mph, but there should be no significant variations. Average speeds will increase very gradually over the years if you ride through all 4 seasons and start mixing with others in group/club rides.

My training loops on the North Downs give me an average speed between 12 to 14mph. Very occasionally on a perfect day, I might just get into a 15mph. But from this platform, I can ride our club 10 mile time trials on a flattish course and return 20-21mph.

You would be very welcome to try our 10's down in Grain if/when the lockdown is over.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Quite simply if you want to get faster you need to train harder. If we keep doing the same we’ve always been doing then our fitness will initially improve then plateau. So you need to do some rides that really challenge you. Ones that really work your heart and lungs. Ones that really work the leg muscles.

 

[Slick]

There's something about motivation too.
Cycling to work is always slower than the ride back home.
A sense of occasion? My fastest sustained speeds are always during events like charity sportives.

Competition? If you see a fast cyclist ahead, try keeping/catching up.

Funny how someone always has the opposite experience when someone posts their experiences I'm definitely the opposite as my speed and motivation is much higher when going to work, so much so I can actually feel my legs stiffen in the last couple of hours of the day as my mind starts to plan the ride home. All my imagination of course but I've always put it down to being more of a morning guy with even my leisure rides being planned for as early as possible in the day because I feel the motivation drain from me the longer the day goes on.

 

[lazybloke]

Funny how someone always has the opposite experience when someone posts their experiences I'm definitely the opposite as my speed and motivation is much higher when going to work, so much so I can actually feel my legs stiffen in the last couple of hours of the day as my mind starts to plan the ride home. All my imagination of course but I've always put it down to being more of a morning guy with even my leisure rides being planned for as early as possible in the day because I feel the motivation drain from me the longer the day goes on.

We're all motivated by different things!


How about ruling out things that don't make a difference? My 12kg nearly 40 year old steel bike rebuilt on a budget (eg a set of wheels for £26) and with leather toe straps on the pedals, isn't slower than my modern, lighter, campag-equipped bike. The only advantage i see in the newer bike is indexed gears and no rust.

Edited to add: both are road bikes!

 

[Sharky]

We're all motivated by different things!


How about ruling out things that don't make a difference? My 12kg nearly 40 year old steel bike rebuilt on a budget (eg a set of wheels for £26) and with leather toe straps on the pedals, isn't slower than my modern, lighter, campag-equipped bike. The only advantage i see in the newer bike is indexed gears and no rust.

I can verify that. I have a single speed bike and a geared bike. I regularly turn out faster average speeds on my training loops than on my geared bike. But the hills hurt a lot more on the SS.

Another rider (who used to be on here) had an old fixed bike for time trials. Regularly turned out 23/24's for a 10. Then I believe he came into a bit of money and equipped himself with a decent geared TT bike - but didn't go any faster.

 

[rogerzilla]

A turbo trainer can speed you up a lot if you do 20 min sessions at TT pace.

 

[Edwardoka]

I was thinking more pain in the lungs and the burn in the legs and buttocks, not joint paint or an impending heart attack. One would hope that anyone would just the tiniest bit of gumption would recognise the difference.

Joint pain is obvious, yes. Cardio, not so much.

I won't go into it too much (he says, going into it too much) but I had a wakeup call on one of my first rides back after a year off with injury.
A two hour slightly hilly ride, nothing too extreme. Felt slightly winded and tight-chested but otherwise as good as you'd expect for one coming back from injury and significantly heavier than pre-injury.
None of the normal sensations telling me to back off. No lactic acid, burning muscles or gasping, except the usual sensations on steeper climbs. I put being winded and tight-chested down to being unfit and my clothes being too tight.

Looking at the numbers after the ride showed I was in Z5/Z6 for the entire 2 hours. My average HR was 181, max was 196. (For comparison, my pre-injury numbers were ~145 avg/160 max, if fresh, and lower if tired, and my theoretical max HR was 182).

Cardiac stress test in the hospital showed that my heart was ok, but that I was redlining very easily and pushing my heart far harder than I realised.
I now watch my HR like a hawk when out on the bike rather than relying on feel. (And I'm never taking health for granted again.)

 

[Joffey]

What's is your perceived effort? Are you coming back feeling like you have had a really hard ride or aren't your legs feeling it at all?

You might just need to get used to riding at a higher intensity. I'm 106kg and ride Z2 heart rate (130-140bmp) and average 16mph - if I want to go harder I can and pick the average speed up but I don't really want to flog myself when just enjoying the scenery!

 

[Archie_tect]

Depends on the bike for me. 12mph average on the tandem with Mrs A_T equates to 14mph on the hybrid and 16mph on the road bike.

 

[C R]

Bike change made a big difference for me. In my old steel hybrid my overall average speed is around 13.5 mph, in the new aluminium road bike it is about 15.5. Not particularly fast, but noticeably faster in the new bike. I think the main factor in my case is riding position.

 

[kiwifruit]

Have you ever joined a cycling club to train with quicker cyclists? Maybe consider that when it’s possible again. Riding in a group will get your average up. Most faster groups will go further than your 20 miles tho.
How hilly are those 20 miles?
How’s the road surface?
And how busy? And how many junctions?

Certainly the above about lights and traffic is true. My average speed increased at the start of lockdown. Now it’s back to where it was as the traffic has got heavier

Joining a club never appeals to me