Maintaining a rolling speed

[WellyWonkey]

Hi livpoksoc. Sounds as though you made the same mistake as me with being "drawn" to the hills. Everytime I went out I ended up in the Peak District thus becoming deflated with my progress. I then changed my training loop to one which was a lot flatter which in turn built up my stamina. My average was 10.5 mph until I changed and is now 15.5 mph (in 6 months). Even if you have to do a shorter, flatter loop 2 or 3 times on the same training day is more beneficial than struggling up and down hills. That will come later when your legs have toughened up.
Also, if you haven't got a track pump already then get one. Proper tyre pressure is crucial, the little mini pumps aren't good enough for the pressure you need. I'm still a bit weighty myself but have lost 2 stone in 6 months but my rolling speed definitely improved after I looked after my pressures better. Hope this helps. Keep up the good work, it does getter easier and more enjoyable :-)

 

[livpoksoc]

Hi livpoksoc. Sounds as though you made the same mistake as me with being "drawn" to the hills. Everytime I went out I ended up in the Peak District thus becoming deflated with my progress. I then changed my training loop to one which was a lot flatter which in turn built up my stamina. My average was 10.5 mph until I changed and is now 15.5 mph (in 6 months). Even if you have to do a shorter, flatter loop 2 or 3 times on the same training day is more beneficial than struggling up and down hills. That will come later when your legs have toughened up.
Also, if you haven't got a track pump already then get one. Proper tyre pressure is crucial, the little mini pumps aren't good enough for the pressure you need. I'm still a bit weighty myself but have lost 2 stone in 6 months but my rolling speed definitely improved after I looked after my pressures better. Hope this helps. Keep up the good work, it does getter easier and more enjoyable :-)

Thanks for the encouragement! I checked the elevation profile of my current loop & there are very few flat sections & no flat sections longer than half a mile so that may be part of the issue. When I did ldn2par, I walked up a couple of tough hills so I've tried to be more disciplined & stay in the saddle for these.

I'll be looking at the maps this evening to figure out what I can change & see if I can find a quiet 20 & 50 mile circuit near me which has few hills, then add in my current 35 mile to it to give me some climbing practice tied with a long ride, at the end of July.

 

[KneesUp]

It's the inclines that are the killer. I've recently started riding again, and some roads I commute on look flat - every day I think they look flat - but they're not.

You soon get used to it though, but make sure you have low enough gearing if you live somewhere hilly. I gave up cycling when I moved to Yorkshire because I didn't know then about long-cage derallieurs or triple cranksets (and there weren't compacts) and it was just too damn hard to get anywhere: I've always had dodgy knees so hills and high gearing just killed me.

I now don't think anything of my (albeit short) commute which gains 50ft per foot cycled on average even on my ancient mountain bike with knobbly tires - it's surprising how quickly you get used to it if you stick at it. I've nearly completed building a drop-bar bike with a 42-32-22 on the front and 12-28 on the back giving me super-low gears (the small ring on my MTB is bent and chucks the chain so I don't use it at the moment) and I'm looking forward to adding a few more hills to my commute by putting on a little loop.

So yeah, stick with it and make sure you have the correct gearing.

bikehike is great for plotting a route and checking how flat it is. And flattestroute does a decent job of finding you the flattest route, but obviously that means it sometimes sends you down main roads you might prefer to avoid

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Only thing I can add is that one change I've made is to add a computer that does cadence to the bike. It allows me to get better feedback with how I'm peddling and by changing gear to keep to a target it's upped my average speed (along with practice, getting fitter etc. etc.) might be worth a go. I think following cadence has now been replaced with heart rate monitoring which has been replaced by wattage meters, but I went for the cheapest option and it seems to have helped.

The basic thing is if the peddling feels easy, snick up a gear. If it still feels easy you're now going faster :-) . Might be a basic thing but I know that's the issue when I cycle with my wife, she'll spin the peddles, but we'll end up with a low average because she's not then upping the gears.

 

[Soltydog]

Its hard to compare ave speeds with others, for instance I'm 17.5 stone & my commute is a 36 mile round trip & I've been known to average 17/18 mph on good days, but I have less than 500ft of climbing & very little traffic for most of the route, so once upto speed its easier keeping there. Chuck in a few hills & more traffic & my average would come tumbling down. Try not to beat yourself up with figures, just keep riding & enjoy it

 

[RhythMick]

I'd say well worth checking that the brakes aren't running, the wheels rotate without obvious drag/grind/play, the pedal spindles rotate freely and the cranks too. Basic bike checks.

It is most likely to be weight, I'm 15st 8 myself and struggle on hills. Definitely true that the more you do the easier you find it. Within reason.

If you're struggling where you didn't last week, perhaps fighting off a cold?

 

[GrumpyGregry]

[QUOTE="vickster, post: 3154098, member: 10217"]That's pretty hilly compared to London and Surrey. Not sure what the total climbing is on the ride 100[/QUOTE]
Depends on which parts of Surrey... 71km y'day, the vast majority of it in Surrey, with 1216 metres of climbing.

 

[vickster]

The bits that ride London covers, less elevation, twice the distance

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Its hard to compare ave speeds with others, for instance I'm 17.5 stone & my commute is a 36 mile round trip & I've been known to average 17/18 mph on good days, but I have less than 500ft of climbing & very little traffic for most of the route, so once upto speed its easier keeping there. Chuck in a few hills & more traffic & my average would come tumbling down. Try not to beat yourself up with figures, just keep riding & enjoy it

This would be OK for a normal ride, but the OP is worrying about the Ride London which is theoretically 100 miles and an 8 hour 30 minute cut off. I'm guessing the 8 hours 30 is in the worst possible situation (i.e. they are closing the course based on the last rider let go having 8 hours 30) I can't see how it would be done another way, although I guess they may exclude if your chip timing comes over 8:30, seems harsh, but I don't know how they are doing their rules. 8 hours 30 at 10.6 mph average is just over 90 miles, so that's coming up short without factoring in stops. So in this situation the OP needs help upping average speed to make the finish in time.

It is most likely to be weight, I'm 15st 8 myself and struggle on hills. Definitely true that the more you do the easier you find it. Within reason.

I'm happy to say 'weight is an issue' but I'd be wary of making it too much of an issue, I'm currently just over 100kg and while I'm in no way a whippet up the hills they are still achievable as is a reasonable average speed, my ride home from work last Tuesday was just shy of 35 miles, 14,47mph average and 586m of climbing, and I wasn't really feeling up for it when I started. That average for the Ride London would give you almost 124 miles in the 8.5 hours, so if you're doing that on the road you've got about 90 minutes worth of stopping time before timing out on the ride. Seems like a worthwhile target to me.

I wonder if we're missing some basic questions here, what type of bike is being ridden, type of tyre etc. It's probably worth the OP doing some group riding if they aren't already to see if that ups the rolling average, I presume we're talking rolling average and not door to door with breaks (that also changes things a lot of course.)

I'm sure it's all doable, and average speeds are very easy to effect by throwing in traffic, junctions and other reasons to slow down. If the training routes aren't flat, are you descending at a good speed to counteract the climbing speeds would be another relevant question I guess...

Considering the OP isn't going to lose 3 stone between now and August 10th, there must be other ways to solve the problem. I keep on reminding myself that last year Boris managed it for instance :-)

 

[vickster]

I think they re route you onto a shorter course if you are way behind the time limit

 

[w00hoo_kent]

I think they re route you onto a shorter course if you are way behind the time limit

Seen that happens for some, no idea if Ride London is one of them (it's not like I've actually done a sportive yet!). I guess it would be easier to let you tootle home at a slow place than end up with bikes stuck all over the course needing retrieving...

 

[vickster]

I think it is the case as everyone has to be clear of the mall by a certain time for the end of the pro race. No idea where I read that, perhaps the Ride 100 thread

 

[livpoksoc]

This would be OK for a normal ride, but the OP is worrying about the Ride London which is theoretically 100 miles and an 8 hour 30 minute cut off. I'm guessing the 8 hours 30 is in the worst possible situation (i.e. they are closing the course based on the last rider let go having 8 hours 30) I can't see how it would be done another way, although I guess they may exclude if your chip timing comes over 8:30, seems harsh, but I don't know how they are doing their rules. 8 hours 30 at 10.6 mph average is just over 90 miles, so that's coming up short without factoring in stops. So in this situation the OP needs help upping average speed to make the finish in time.



I'm happy to say 'weight is an issue' but I'd be wary of making it too much of an issue, I'm currently just over 100kg and while I'm in no way a whippet up the hills they are still achievable as is a reasonable average speed, my ride home from work last Tuesday was just shy of 35 miles, 14,47mph average and 586m of climbing, and I wasn't really feeling up for it when I started. That average for the Ride London would give you almost 124 miles in the 8.5 hours, so if you're doing that on the road you've got about 90 minutes worth of stopping time before timing out on the ride. Seems like a worthwhile target to me.

I wonder if we're missing some basic questions here, what type of bike is being ridden, type of tyre etc. It's probably worth the OP doing some group riding if they aren't already to see if that ups the rolling average, I presume we're talking rolling average and not door to door with breaks (that also changes things a lot of course.)

I'm sure it's all doable, and average speeds are very easy to effect by throwing in traffic, junctions and other reasons to slow down. If the training routes aren't flat, are you descending at a good speed to counteract the climbing speeds would be another relevant question I guess...

Considering the OP isn't going to lose 3 stone between now and August 10th, there must be other ways to solve the problem. I keep on reminding myself that last year Boris managed it for instance :-)

Cheersc I'll try and answer the above:
1. Exclusion or road closure?
I'm not sure myself, the way I understood it was there's a sweeper to pick up those behind time. I'm not that fussed about achieving a designated time or even being recorded, it's finishing the 100 miles that matters. I have 8.5hrs including stops to do that in.

2. Bike type/tyre/group?
It's a spesh secteur elite roady. Road tyre (mostly slick) continentals. I haven't done any group riding since 2012, I am planning on doing a ride or two woth my Dad & another who are due to take part in pru too. Should I seek out a club willing to let me tag along at my pace?

3. Door to door inc breaks?
I'm not sure if my edge 200 has factored in my resting time in my recent rides. In those, I stopped at different intervals & with only 3 minutes shaved off I can only assume it hasn't included non moving tim le in the avg speeds etc.

4. Descent speed - is pretty reasonable, peak speed is somewhere around 35mph (am scrubbing off with brakes on most steep descents to take the edge off as I nearly ran into a tractor on my first time on this loop a couple of weeks ago, so conscious of oncoming traffic as opposed to.actual speed.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

I'd imagine the Edge is doing rolling average only, I'm pretty sure that's what my Touring+ is doing.

Group riding is going to help, if only for the motivation to push a little harder. Nothing there is screaming 'this is what's doing it' to me so in your shoes I'd get out with some other people (I'm about to do a group ride with the FNRttC lot and then one with the shop I bought my Ride London bike from on Sunday) and persevere on finding a flatter route to train on. Getting the average up a little (and I really don't think it needs to go up much for you to be happy) should be a huge mental boost (again it would be for me anyway.)

Keep with it.

 

[vickster]

It would be good to do a hundred miler at whatever speed before the event, just so the actual distance isn't a mental barrier