Ive gone and done it now!!!!

[Philk]

To start with im not the fittest person on the planet.
I got back into cycling as a means to get healthier and potentially make the next 10 years of my life more liveable.

so I read all about people hitting average speed of 18-20mph over 50 miles. this is my target and would like to be at this stage for an audax next year.

At present i am managing 15 miles with an average of 11mph.
so i felt a good milestone would be a 26 mile charity ride, this is in a couple of months. I want to complete this in 2.5 hours max.

so any advice appreciated.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Just keep cycling, as you get fitter you'll go further and faster. I think the maximum average speed for an audax is 30 kph so don't go too fast!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Train

I think taking the train could be considered cheating by some!

 

[Mark_Robson]

Train

+1
Short but to the point.
The more miles that you ride, the easier it will get. Just keep plugging away and you will get there.

 

[BrumJim]

18-20mph over 50 miles is serious shifting. I think you either have to be born like that, or train like crazy to get there.

I currently average from 13-17mile/h over a 6 mile commute, and I'm a reasonably fit late '30s guy. 15mile/h over 50 miles is a serious aim - may even try to reach that one of these days. Remember that there are diminishing returns for power vs speed - doubling of speed increases wind resistance by 4 times, and at higher speeds, most of the work is being done against speed.

So don't be too ashamed of only getting into the 15-17 range. Is mighty impressive from where you are now.

 

[gbb]

18-20mph over 50 miles is serious shifting. I think you either have to be born like that, or train like crazy to get there.

I currently average from 13-17mile/h over a 6 mile commute, and I'm a reasonably fit late '30s guy. 15mile/h over 50 miles is a serious aim - may even try to reach that one of these days. Remember that there are diminishing returns for power vs speed - doubling of speed increases wind resistance by 4 times, and at higher speeds, most of the work is being done against speed.

So don't be too ashamed of only getting into the 15-17 range. Is mighty impressive from where you are now.

Agree 100%

Age may come into it as well. Ive been riding regularly for the last 10 years say, just solo riding and at my best, with an awful lot of effort and riding 100 miles a week, a mix of short fast commuting and longer fitness rides....i could get up to nearly 18mph average over say 40 miles. But the effort was really really noticeable. It certainly didnt come quick or easy. Thats where age may come into it, recovery time etc etc.
I'm lean and fit but found as i started really pushing along on a regular basis my knees would start showing it...not too bad, but you know its not right.

In the end i got fed up of pushing to the limit and now settle for a 15 to 16mph average...and even at that speed not too many people overtake me.

The effort needed to raise your game from 15 to 17mph is significant (based on my experience and age...50 at the time)

Go for it anyway...your body will let you know when its beginning to stuggle.

 

[Alien8]

It's not just about getting the miles in.

If you're starting from a relatively unfit position then it's likely that initially you will make rapid improvement however if you don't increase the effort you put in you will eventually plateau where you can cycle reasonable distances but without increasing you average speed.

For a target of 18/20 mph over 50-miles I would say age and disposition to cycling would not be the limiting factor - it will be whether you have the mental desire to work hard enough to reach that point. It's a perfectly reasonable aim.

With respect to your 26-mile ride within 2.5hours - I think you'll be fine.

 

[Rob3rt]

Id be looking to complete that charity ride in about 1:30 or faster if you want to count it as a substantial milestone towards a 50 at 18-20mph (which should be doable for most with some training and a well planned route, i.e. avoid stops, built up traffic etc). But then again we all have to set our own mile stones suited to us.

Maybe you should just get some distance in your legs before you worry about speed though, then start to do it faster and faster, throw in some intervals etc.

 

[MLC]

Philk,

Well done for putting yourself forward for this. Not really knowing how fit/unfit you are I would say that around two hours with a possibility of sub two would not be too hard a target with two months of training. That would be a 13 mph average and I bet you would finish in front of a fair few people with that as well.

Forget about 18-20 averages for now as most have said on here it really does take some going to average that over 50 miles although certainly not un-achievable if you are prepared to pay the price.

There are two things you need to do base training then interval to up the speed.

26 miles is not that far and on a flat route most people should be able to complete it. To make it easier and make sure you do it smiling rather grimacing get your base miles in. You are doing 15 miles add say between 7.50 to 10% on to that 15 then another 7.50% to 10% on the higher figure and so on you will in no time at all gone further than 26 miles. These are slow steady miles so don't push your just getting used to the distance and your bum used to being in the saddle. If you could get up to say 35 miles slow and steady then ...

you add intervals.

When approaching intervals I prefer the most simplistic and logical approach if not the best scientific approach. This may be right or it may be wrong and I am sure there are those better informed than me.

If I had your ride to do and I wanted to do it at an average of say 17 mph I would add intervals so you train at above race pace in little blocks say 2 mins at first at 18mph. e.g. go out for a 20 mile ride build in 5 or six of these intervals with your usual pace as the relaxation time in between then very slowly and steadily over time increase the time of the interval and the pace that the interval is done at.

After that you will be well outside the realms of 26 mile of charity rides I leave it to the pro's as you are in the realms of heart rate training etc etc and then it starts to get v. complex

Good luck

 

[Philk]

thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Ive been out pretty much every day this week , getting some miles in. and like an idiot realised that my average was taken across 70 miles lol

so reset the trip computer and went out on a 14 mile run, average was 12.3mph with a killer hill and a horrid head wind.
At one point I was flying along and very rapidly catching a group of cyclists up the road before they turned off, I was keeping a pace of around 20mph along a 3 mile flatish stretch at around 8 miles into the ride, and was feeling ok.

The negative im hitting now is im starting to break my get fit buddies.
As they ride hybrids/MTB and are starting to struggle to keep up.

As for hard work Ive never been adverse to that lol.

 

[Philk]

As im an analyst for a living, I thought i would trak progress

 

[gbb]

It's not just about getting the miles in.

If you're starting from a relatively unfit position then it's likely that initially you will make rapid improvement however if you don't increase the effort you put in you will eventually plateau where you can cycle reasonable distances but without increasing you average speed.

For a target of 18/20 mph over 50-miles I would say age and disposition to cycling would not be the limiting factor - it will be whether you have the mental desire to work hard enough to reach that point. It's a perfectly reasonable aim.

With respect to your 26-mile ride within 2.5hours - I think you'll be fine.

Thats also true...at that time i really pushed my speed up..i really wanted to, and really worked at it, and enjoyed it. Then at some stage i got a bit fed up of it all and relaxed...maybe lost that mental desire. So with the right attitude...you can do it. Actually, the right attitude is a must.

 

[Rob3rt]

What sort of bike are you riding btw? Dont recall seeing it mentioned, because some quick set up idea's might make you a tiddly bit faster from the get go!

 

[Philk]

Im currently riding a Specialized Allez Elite 10 and very quickly falling in love with it.
I think the main problem is the motor ie ME
Im just very unfit as i really haven't done any exersize since 1987.