Struggling To Make Any Gains

[roadrash]

As I alluded to in my first reply, it may be that you have reached the peak of what you can do for what ever reason , then again it may not, but if your gonna spend all your time trying to achieve what someone else can do ,even if they are being honest with you, while there is nothing wrong in that,you may find yourself disappointed, we are all different , some slower/some faster.
enjoy your cycling, concentrate on further instead of faster if you want a goal.

 

[Julia9054]

I would swap to your road bike, set a baseline average speed on that and go from there. If getting faster is your aim (and i understand that), you will still be getting fitter but also practising the right technique. It will be more fun too as you are using the right tool for the job.

 

[Lozi]

enjoy your cycling, concentrate on further instead of faster if you want a goal.

That sound like a pretty good idea! I’m gunna keep trying but if it really doesn’t start feeling better I will do like you say just try for further instead!

I would swap to your road bike, set a baseline average speed on that and go from there. If getting faster is your aim (and i understand that), you will still be getting fitter but also practising the right technique. It will be more fun too as you are using the right tool for the job.

Yeah you are probably right I only did a few rides totalling 30 miles on my road bike when I got it in 2016 and it didn’t go that great so I gave up on it I need to get it back out! Maybe I’ll get on with it ok this time as I’m a fair bit stronger now and when I do drop back to the MTB I will get that inclusive 14 avg lol

 

[nickAKA]

That is essentially what I do although many of my rides are around an hour and I’m on a MTB.

I started this thread because after doing a year of constant efforts I don’t feel I have become much of a stronger cyclist, my only comparisons I can make are to people I know who manage to start cycling and with only being a weekend warrior after a few months they are a stronger cyclist (on a similar bike) than me so I thought it must just not be for me.

A few people on here have said oh 30 miles a week won’t help but I thought to do that constantly week in week out no fail was pretty good for somebody new, at first that’s all I could do physically and now I’ve managed to step it up somewhat.

I’ve learnt from this thread that winter has played its part, riding in a group will help me improve, keep pushing and it might all come good and in general the cycling worlds answer to everything is buy a faster bike lol

I am putting in a lot of effort and I love the buzz I get when I get home and my legs are tingling etc from the effort!

Just to clarify I am striving to be somewhere close to my peers on similar equipment and I know the 4 or 5 cyclists I know can do regular 14-15 mph averages on their mountain bikes, I don’t think for one second I’ll be faster than them but if I could dip into the 14 averages on my MTB I’ll be happy! I did a few 13.6-13.9’s in October but I can’t get near that now no matter how hard I try.

I will ride the road bike when it gets nicer out but even if I am faster on that is doesn’t solve the fact I’ve hit a brick wall in how fast I can go currently.

I say I started in May but I have owned my MTB since 2011 and riden it on and off over the summers but this is the first time I’ve given it a good go!

I very rarely look at my average speed, there are just too many variables... Honestly, I doubt it's changed much at all. If you do the same rides out & back you should compare the overall times, and your local strava segments will tell you plenty about how you're doing over all.

Personally I'm more interested in how I'm doing on the climbs, they're my bete noir, and I can tell without looking at the stats how far I've come in the last 6 months (from practically nowhere). Average speed downhill & on the flats I'm rather 'meh' about, I'll worry about that when I can climb a bit...

Also bear in mind the law of diminishing returns when it comes to training. If you're doing the same distances / similar routes all the time, mix it up a bit. If you're on zwift, one night do a group ride, on another do a workout. Do an FTP test so you set the right difficulty then do a structured plan over 4-6 weeks, then do another FTP test. If you haven't improved maybe you health is holding you back... but you won't know until you do something truly measurable.

And most importantly, don't worry about what your 'mates' claim they can do, concentrate on enjoying it & being a better 'you'. There lies the road to happiness & fulfilment!

 

[mjr]

What they said. If you must compare, compare with your earlier self for now, to measure the change.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

You say you have been riding constant efforts. That mostly keads to a plateau in fitness, power, speed. Take a look into intervals where you work harder and ride faster for a period followed by easier pedalling then repeat. Fitness is the result of periods of stress, followed by periods of recovery. If you are not working hsrd enough to stress your body and cardio vascular systems, and equally not resting enough to recover afterwards, then you will not see fitness gains.