Elswick Cotterpin
Veteran
- Location
- South Wales
If I ever ride thirty miles I'll let you know.
What's your 30 mile time
- Thread starter paul2015
- Start date
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- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
Tuesday last week 30.79 miles with 2609' ascent in 2 hrs 6 mins. Route included just under a mile of rutted bridleway (thank god for 35mm chubby rubber).
Age 58 / quite fit hill-walker (not as in push a bike up a hill) / casual cyclist around 2000 miles pa / gets bored after a couple of hours on a bike.
Age 58 / quite fit hill-walker (not as in push a bike up a hill) / casual cyclist around 2000 miles pa / gets bored after a couple of hours on a bike.
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
I think 'wanting to race' is a worthy ambition.
However, If you are serious I'd just concentrate on getting several thousand miles under your pedals first and then seeing how things stand then. Also try a few longer club runs when you are ready - that'll give you an idea of how you are coping. Don't be demoralised though if a few gnarly old chaps leave you for dead.
Even in the lower categories of cycle racing you may be surprised at how fit and how quick people are.
You may also find out whether your physiology is suited to racing - some people can ride for hours and hours over tough terrain but a 'racer' they ain't. Best parallel I can think of is decent joggers/runners who can complete a marathon in respectable time but who are no Mo Farah 2's!
I think 'wanting to race' is a worthy ambition.
However, If you are serious I'd just concentrate on getting several thousand miles under your pedals first and then seeing how things stand then. Also try a few longer club runs when you are ready - that'll give you an idea of how you are coping. Don't be demoralised though if a few gnarly old chaps leave you for dead.
Even in the lower categories of cycle racing you may be surprised at how fit and how quick people are.
You may also find out whether your physiology is suited to racing - some people can ride for hours and hours over tough terrain but a 'racer' they ain't. Best parallel I can think of is decent joggers/runners who can complete a marathon in respectable time but who are no Mo Farah 2's!
In all honesty I keep telling myself this but I can't help but wonder lol
Mo1959
Legendary Member
- Location
- Perthshire,Scotland
This is so true. If anything I am getting slower, but I still have good endurance and heaps of stubborness so I can plod on through bad weather and up pretty steep hills but will never win any races!
Ride more often, go faster. Join a club, you'll ride faster with others in a group. The chain gang will make you speed up
I think I'm too slow for that too
There is but its not a chaingang. I assumed that it was more of a disorganised cluster of riders.
So there's a group for all ranges in the club 10-12 mph 12-14 mph all the way to a 18-20 mph chaingang.
The thing is I'm unsure if there's likely to be any benefit to me of riding with the pootlers as you put it and whether I should keep building on my base then get out with the faster groups and the chaingangs
MickeyBlueEyes
Eat, Sleep, Ride, Repeat.
- Location
- Derbyshire
If we're talking quickest 30 miler then 1 hr 15 mins 18 seconds.
Average would be around 1 hr 25 - 1 hr 30.
Average would be around 1 hr 25 - 1 hr 30.
vickster
Legendary Member
Well it depends on the club, but that's my understanding with many. Where are you based, have you looked for ideas in the cycling club section for a local 'racing' club? If you average 15mph, you should be able to go at least a couple of mph faster. Go out with the group you think matches your speed, see how it goes for a couple of rides while you get used to group riding and step up if you need to. Depends on your timescale for getting into racing
