How to improve my average speed?

[HLaB]

Normally in the early morning rides I just tend to have a banana and a cereal bar with a cup of tea, and take 750ml of electrolyte drink and a cereal bar in case I need it for an 20 ride.

That's reasonable for a 20 miler for your weight, hopefully you are remembering to use it. I'm a bit lighter than you at present, last year I weighed the same. I am 4 years younger than you but older folk 'kick my ass'; depending upon the event/ terrain etc I average anything from 15mph to 25mph. Its seems to be harking back to training for you, good luck

 

[kiwifruit]

That's reasonable for a 20 miler for your weight, hopefully you are remembering to use it. I'm a bit lighter than you at present, last year I weighed the same. I am 4 years younger than you but older folk 'kick my ass'; depending upon the event/ terrain etc I average anything from 15mph to 25mph. Its seems to be harking back to training for you, good luck

Thank you

 

[nickyboy]

@kiwifruit I've been thinking about your question and think it should be pointed out there are many different factors which I have experienced which have helped me increase my averages and overall performance for want of a better word. For me there is no such thing as one cyclist being better than another, we are all simply cyclists with differing abilities which are influenced by a wide range of factors.

I'm 65 and frankly enjoying the form of my life - a fact not a boast. I enjoy two types of riding, simple bike rides bowling along at +/- 80% of effort and on a flat ride this will average 15/16 solo and around 16-19 with a group and dependent on how we feel on the day. I should say flat here is what some consider hilly. My other pleasure is climbs and hills, sometimes I just enjoy riding them, other times I go for it. For example on yesterday's easy ride of 32 miles, 2500 feet avg 15.1 and included two of my favourite local climbs. Last Sunday I did the club hill climbing challenge and rode 20 miles, 3084 feet, 10.8 avg, knowing the climbs I had to do I ambled along between climbs.

So what are all the different factors which influence our speeds? The first has to be time. I'm four years in to retirement and ride 150/200 miles/week. Every mile helps. My rides vary between 30ish miles for training to 70/80 for a ride and cafe with friends. I've changed both my pedalling and climbing technique. Lost weight. Learned to relax more on the bike. Three years ago I bought a new bike, it makes a huge difference. March 2019 I invested in very good wheels and tubeless tyres, again it made a huge difference, around 2-3mph on the flat. Get your head right, know you can do it. Much good cycling is done in the mind. The last thing is pain! To get better one has to be prepared to ride through the hurting. I don't mean physically damaging oneself but pushing on when your legs are screaming stop, the breathing is hard and all you want to do is stop - next time it will be easier. This aspect is best achieved with a group which runs at above your personal average or comfort zone.

To my mind all of the above influences speed and performance. Different riders will pick out different aspects. I am not suggesting to get better people have to buy better bikes but I am saying in my experience a better bike and good wheels does considerably improve the rider's overall performance.

We cycle in very similar terrain. I'm younger than you but, weighing 86kg, I am probably a fair bit heavier. I also can't commit to more than about 100 miles per week. I'm probably slightly slower than you; 32 miles at 2500ft I'd do at about 14.5mph

But there the differences end. Like you, I ride through the hurting on climbs, where you're gasping for breath and the legs are screaming. I also upgraded to some reasonably fancy wheels and I use Conti 5000 tyres which aren't cheap but the roll well. What I find is that for two hour rides I can push hard for the full two hours without getting fatigued. Longer rides (which I'm not doing atm) I can't. So doing 4 x 2 hour hard efforts a week is pushing my fitness and I'm probably 1mph quicker than I was a few months ago. If you want to get fitter you really have to get outside what's comfortable (which, of course, isn't what everyone wants from their cycling)

As an example of this I ride with a guy. He and I have been similar pace for past few years. He has a place in Florida and goes there for months. While he's there he's taken to riding with younger cyclists in a chain gang. Initially he was shot out the back as pace was 20mph+ for 60 miles. But he stuck at it and now he copes with the pace. When he comes home he murders me, I can't keep up. The chain gang isn't a relaxing, social ride. But his improvement in fitness is huge

 

[RoadRider400]

If you can cycle at 15mph for a few hundred metres then you have the potential to eventually achieve that over 34 miles, it just takes some hard graft. When I first started road cycling a year ago I asked a very similar question to you. Its just a case of keep putting in the miles week in week out and eventually the average speed will start to increase. Dont think too much about your speed when out there, just put in the effort but most importantly remember to enjoy it.

It might not sound like it but increasing your average by 1.5mph over 20 miles is good going. You will not become a 15mph rider overnight. It will take some time.

 

[Kevfm]

What's the difference in average speeds between what people do solo compared with a group run? As a beginner of less than 3 months experience I've only ever ridden solo. I'd be interested to know if I could keep up on a group run or if I need to up my game a bit first.

 

[PaulSB]

What's the difference in average speeds between what people do solo compared with a group run? As a beginner of less than 3 months experience I've only ever ridden solo. I'd be interested to know if I could keep up on a group run or if I need to up my game a bit first.

The rule of thumb is that it is 30% easier to ride in the centre of a group. Solo I can average 15/16 depending on the route. In a group I can hold my own at 18/19 over 70/80 miles though we do usually average around 17 as that's where we feel happiest.

You should be able to find a club with a group run that suits whatever speed you are currently riding at. My number one tip is do NOT ride at the back. Newcomers always do this and struggle. Get in the middle of the pack around the 4/5/6 position to get the most benefit from group riding.

 

[vickster]

What's the difference in average speeds between what people do solo compared with a group run? As a beginner of less than 3 months experience I've only ever ridden solo. I'd be interested to know if I could keep up on a group run or if I need to up my game a bit first.

Most clubs of any size have different groups with different average speeds. Check your local ones (of course they’re not allowed to operate club runs at the moment)

 

[Sharky]

The difference is huge. Riding behind somebody takes a lot less energy. But also takes quite a bit of skill which needs to be learned. You need to make excessive efforts at times to stay on somebodies wheel, then once in the slipstream it becomes easy and you can recover. Also making note of wind direction and riding on the sheltered side of the rider in front.

But don't wait for some mystical sign, join a club and get some first hand experience.

 

[johnnyb47]

It makes a massive difference riding in a group. If you look at strava rides of peoples segments, the daily top ones are at usually virtually the same and realise they've been riding in a group. Last year i cycled with a group who where much stronger than me,and they where kind enough to let me just sit on there wheels for most of the ride.. I found my average was a lot higher than i would normally do if solo. Riding behind i could just about keep up with them without breaking into a quivering wreck. When i took the front lead though i felt i was holding them back..

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Huge difference. Remember years ago a cyclist overtook me and I tucked in behind him. I ended up 1 mph faster and my HR was 20 bpm lower. That’s huge; you could go from breathing out your arse, to holding a conversation. Even greater effect in a larger group.

 

[neil_merseyside]

Riding in a group shelters you, so you'll cope with a step up in both average speed and distance, it rubs off on solo rides afterwards. I went away to Spain just before the C19 madness and rode with a social group out there - I was quite stretched as it was way faster than my usual group, I barely coped/then coped/then enjoyed over 6 weeks, so now my solo average has improved by 2-3mph and I can climb better (though still too heavy to do it properly...).
When group riding is again allowed (and actually safe) I'll go out with faster groups to be stretched again.

 

[Kevfm]

Thanks for the replies (an slight apologies for hijacking the thread). I'd definitely benefit from a group from the motivational side as well as the physical one and it sounds like fun. I should be OK with some of the speeds mentioned although I'll need to up my distances a bit. I'll look into a local club when C-19 allows.

 

[derrick]

What's the difference in average speeds between what people do solo compared with a group run? As a beginner of less than 3 months experience I've only ever ridden solo. I'd be interested to know if I could keep up on a group run or if I need to up my game a bit first.

This is a group ride i did a few years ago.https://www.strava.com/activities/301362611 To do this solo i would average roughly about 16mph.

 

[Racing roadkill]

In a group, if you know what you’re doing, you can save 40 percent of your effort by draughting. However, your average speed then flatters to deceive. Your output was lower, than when you were soloing, but your speed was higher. This is a prime example of why taking an average speed as a metric for performance / improvement in performance is pretty much useless. You can’t argue with VO2 max, power, lactate threshold, Max H.R. you can argue with average speeds, it’s easy to blag those.
Today I did this, solo.

Horrific headwind, no draughting. 2.8 W/Kg, gets me 15.7mph average speed, on a fairly flat course.
However, this

at 2.4 W/Kg, with a few ‘lumps’ in the course, on the same bike, with no headwind and lots of draughting gets 18.7mph average. That’s 3mph faster difference, with 0.4 W/Kg lower output, and it included a couple of climbs.

 

[NotAsGoodAsMyBike]

For me, my average speed is better when I’m actually focusing on cycling (instead of thinking about work, pretty landscape etc) - I find it‘s all too easy to zone out and pedal away for miles without actually pushing down particularly hard on the pedals. Structured training on the turbo helps (I use Sufferfest or TrainerRoad in the winter) but sometimes it can be as simple as deciding that today I’m going to stand out of the saddle and push hard up every hill (or alternate the hills standing and seating). Varying a route can help too as it stops it becoming too familiar.

I have only come back to regular cycling recently after medical issues kept me largely off the bike for a couple of years. I’ve lost what little thigh muscle I had and no core strength either. Building it back up is helping improve my average speed but regaining muscle/stamina is hard and at the beginning, even cycling for more than 90 mins was a challenge because of the pain in my neck from my rubbish posture on the bike. Good luck!