Why am I so slow on the bike? (Page 2)

And he has a strange fascination with my lipstick. (?????????)

A lot of good advice in the above posts, but remember that this is the off-season and is not the time for any high intensity aerobic exercise. Be consistent and go easy on your swimming, biking, and running, and concentrate on improving technique and strength training in the winter. You'll be slower in January, but WAY faster in April, May, June...

Ken

Daremo, I agree that base miles, proper fit and technique are of paramount importance to a cyclist.  However, base miles will not increase a cyclist's speed just his stamina and his strength.  At some point in his training, he must insert at least one speed training session in his weekly program.  

Um, I've never done a formal "speed training session." I sincerely do just "Ride Lots," maybe do a time trial or two a month. But then my speed doesn't compare with yours.

You improve your strength, you improve your speed.

Edited by the bear 2005-12-14 6:35 PM

That NEEDS to go on the back of a riding jersey

Edited by vortmax 2005-12-14 8:05 PM

New sig.

I certainly do not disagree that speed work of some sort is important at the right times.

But unlike triathletes ..... most cyclists do NOT specifically go out and do calculated intervals. At least not the people I raced against, the people on my old team or myself. You find hilly routes and have good long 80 mile rides that include hills at the end. You ride with three or four other guys and play catch-me-if-you-can. You run a good paceline and then pick points along the route to sprint for. Etc. etc.

If you are by yourself, then just getting out there and putting in the miles using one of the above strategies (fartleking, hills, having a few points you know you will sprint for) are all the speedwork you would need.

Triathlons are NOT about pack riding, keeping pace after going through twenty corners per lap in a crit. or hitting 42 mph in a final sprint for the win. That is road racing (something I have always been deeply passionate about). Triathlons are TT's. And that means being able to maintain a consistent and solid pace over a given distance by yourself. So the base miles make all the difference, ESPECIALLY for newer riders. I would not have been able to maintain near 25 mph in my TT's if it wasn't for the 1000+ easy miles I put in between January and March. Explosive speed is all fine and dandy, but there comes a point where it is not going to help your endurance pacing as much as putting the miles in would.

Just my opinion, but I had been doing this cycling thing at an amateur competitive level for quite a few years, so I hope it is worth something.

You guys are both right, it just depends on the time of year. Base miles will increase speed for every rider to a certain point in late winter and early spring. This is critical early in the year, as it maximizes the wattage and speed produced by the slow twitch muscle fibers.

Lactate threshold training - hard steady efforts ridden slightly below 40K time trial pace for 20-40 minute segments - will increase sustainable speed in late spring and early summer.

Aerobic capacity efforts at the highest wattage (speed) you could produce for a single 6-minute effort, lasting 30 seconds to 3 minutes with about a 1:1 work/rest ratio will maximize speed in the last few weeks before a peak.

Ken

I'm slow on the bike, but can testify that getting as much time in the saddle as possible (and that was not as much as I would have liked) resulted in a noticiable improvement in my average speed this past summer.  Though longer rides are harder to fit in as they take up such a big block of time, I found them particularly beneficial.  I plan to do the same this season.

So lots of good advice.........here's my two cents. Ride with some faster riders.

Around here we call them the "Big Boys". If you want to go fast you ride with the "Big Boys". For me riding in a group with great riders really pushes me to ride harder, faster and better. Then, when you train on your own, you will probably find you push yourself more.... We also have a smaller group of about six of us who really train hard and want to get better and we ride a lot together....it can make a big difference...

Is it the bike?

I just posted something similar and threw up a picture of my bike.

Concensus was I'd probably be a bit faster if I wasn't on the bike I'm on.