# Slow cycling wife



## dirkthedaring71 (29 Sep 2011)

Hi, 
my wife and I regularly go out on bike rides together which is great. But there's a problem, speed. She has little problem with distance and recently completed a 70 miler. The thing is this took her all day. Her average speed rarely goes over 12 mph even on much shorter rides and this hasn't increased in over a year. 

She goes out each day and when the weathers bad she practices on the trainer. Can anyone shed some light onto her failure to improve? 

And no, she doesn't want a tandem.


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## GTTTM (29 Sep 2011)

does she _want _ to go quicker? Maybe she's quite happy with 12mph and would rather you just slowed down and enjoyed riding with her just a thought like and maybe she's desperate to go quicker


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## rusty bearing (29 Sep 2011)

Mrs Bearing is just the same, she has what she calls touring speed and thats it. So I take the same view, I just slow down and enjoy the ride. Oh and the tea and cakes of course. Never can get her past a good cake stop................


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## middleagecyclist (29 Sep 2011)

70 miles? 12 mph? Count yourself lucky mate that's what I say!


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## feelfattergoinguphill (29 Sep 2011)

*not an expert on training* lol, but when I used to cycle a lot I had same problem even though was getting fitter and could ride further couldnt really ride faster.Was advised going faster on flat and into the wind etc most of energy is used overcoming air resistance. And that I needed more power.
Read a similar thing in one of cycling mags cycling plus I think, member of public had power to weight of 4.6 W/kg(id need chris hoy power too get that high lol, guess my weight lol) but struggled for speed especially into the wind, they advised training for more actual power as I recall too.


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## ttcycle (29 Sep 2011)

As others have mentioned- does she actually want to go faster? If it's a no and you have to ask without pushing her on the subject, then just enjoy the pace and slow down for a pootle. I know I find this hard - my partner has just started cycling a few months ago and I sometimes just go at an easy pace and turn round and he's far behind - I forget how demoralising this is and apart from sometimes patches where it's not safe to ride more slowly, there's no harm in dropping the speed and just enjoying the surroundings. He seems to think that I like to steam ahead now which isn't always true.

If she wants to speed up then there's specific training for that such as sprints all out to the next traffic sign and then resting and going again etc - sprint intervals but this stuff is only fun and useful if the person wants to do it - and you guys will have to find a way to do it so that it isn't overwhelming

Maybe save the fast rides for when you're either on your own or with others who can match your speed. IF you do go for solo rides, just be clear you need to have a burn on the bike. Hopefully this shouldn't cause any issues


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## funnymummy (29 Sep 2011)

I drag tow my son on his adapted trailer..about 8 stone in total, my av speed is about 8mph. 
I ride in Sportives, my top speed recorded is 42mph, Av is 18mph.
I ride MTB's with my other son, no idea on that speed.

But I'm happiest toodling along at about 10-12mph, There is nothing wrong with a good steady 70 miler ... Slow down & enjoy the view


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## slowmotion (30 Sep 2011)

Your wife is faster than I am so I won't be offering advice right now...


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## Night Train (30 Sep 2011)

My recent improvements to Granville means that my cruising speed is around 15-17mph with 20+ fairly easy on windless level or slight downhill runs. My GF rides at around 10-12mph.

Sometimes when I ride in front I forget and leave her behind a little but then I slow or stop for her to catch up and then I ride slower.
Mostly she leads and I follow, as the view is nicer! 

Going slowly isn't a problem and can often be much nicer then speeding about.
My commutes to the theatre is at speed so I can get there and back quickly. My rides with my GF are for fun and leisure so I am happy to pootle along chatting, seeing the sights and not getting sweaty. It is all about 'doing something together'. 

I also remember when I was really slow (average 6mph) and everyone had to wait for me. It was frustrating not being able to go faster but it was also nice that friends took it in turns, on group rides, to ride with me at my pace to chat and keep me company until I could ride faster. Faster friends sometimes ride ahead and wait or return to the group.

Spandex has even given me a push up hills on a couple of occasions just because he could and I was struggling.
That is still good as it is the fun of riding together that makes it.


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## totallyfixed (30 Sep 2011)

dirkthedaring71 said:


> Hi,
> my wife and I regularly go out on bike rides together which is great. But there's a problem, speed. She has little problem with distance and recently completed a 70 miler. The thing is this took her all day. Her average speed rarely goes over 12 mph even on much shorter rides and this hasn't increased in over a year.
> 
> She goes out each day and when the weathers bad she practices on the trainer. Can anyone shed some light onto her failure to improve?
> ...


If she practices on a turbo trainer it sounds like she wants to improve her speed. From experience it is usually one of three things, an underlying medical problem e.g exercise induced asthma; dietary; poor bike set up. Don't underestimate the last one. I am very very lucky, Mrs TF rides at the same speed I do, mind you she has improved year on year tp the point where she competes very well against some of the best in the sport.


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## GTTTM (30 Sep 2011)

totallyfixed said:


> If she practices on a turbo trainer it sounds like she wants to improve her speed. From experience it is usually one of three things, an underlying medical problem e.g exercise induced asthma; dietary; poor bike set up. Don't underestimate the last one. I am very very lucky, Mrs TF rides at the same speed I do, mind you she has improved year on year tp the point where she competes very well against some of the best in the sport.




or maybe she practices on the turbo trainer because she feels she has to get faster..........not because she actually wants to. You know if my husband (if I had one) obviously very unhappy with the speed I was going and I felt under pressure to go faster then I'd probably be training when the weather was bad as well in order to shut him up keep him happy.........


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## Broughtonblue (30 Sep 2011)

Just wish I could get my mrs out on her bike, used it once from new about 5 years ago, she describes the cycling I do around country lanes as boring! She is happier watching coro, big brother and other shite on tv


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## dirkthedaring71 (30 Sep 2011)

Some great advice here. Thanks. She does want to go faster as we recently joined a cycle club and though they do a "no one left behind" club run on Sunday, she hates it that everyone has to stop and wait for us.

Her biggest problem seems to be hills where her speed drops massively. We've tried routes with lots of hills to try and help but it hasn't really improved.

She has an allez comp which to my knowledge is set up well so I don't think it's the bike holding here back. 

It's got to the point that I think there is a biological reason. What is exercise induced asthma by the way? 




It appears that Like many others i am also guilty of cycling at what I consider a steady speed pace (15mph) and then turning round to see a she is a long back which does cause some arguments so i try and keep behind and follow.


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## Globalti (30 Sep 2011)

Same problem here. She complains that it makes her back ache and I tell her that her back aches because she doesn't exercise and she lacks muscle tone...


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## srw (30 Sep 2011)

dirkthedaring71 said:


> Some great advice here. Thanks. She does want to go faster as we recently joined a cycle club and though they do a "no one left behind" club run on Sunday, she hates it that everyone has to stop and wait for us.



Find a slower club. 12mph is a perfectly respectable average speed over 70 miles - it's classic touring pace, at which you can appreciate the countryside and keep going for day after day.

BTW, she's wrong about the tandem. 

[edit: what a weak 5000th post. Sorry about that, folks.]


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## Paulus (30 Sep 2011)

A question, Is she using the gears correctly? I see many people trying to mash a big gear, going along at a slowish pace but struggling to turn the pedals, when using a lower gear and spinning the pedals might lead to a higher speed. I see that she can do good distances , Just a thought.


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## twobiker (30 Sep 2011)

We are all different so your wife may just be more comfortable at 12mph, thinking she may be ill just because she is not so fast seems a bit extreme, I averaged 12mph for 100 miles on a solo ride, and that was quite restful, the difference may be between the Hare and the tortoise.


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## byegad (30 Sep 2011)

My wife is slower than me. I found out one day, when I heard her talking to a friend, that she doesn't like to go too fast so eases back when she reaches 'her' speed. This made sense of the fact that she descends like a slow thing going slow.


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## 4F (30 Sep 2011)

I wish my wife would cycle 5 miles in a day let alone 70.


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## fimm (30 Sep 2011)

Can she learn to draft you? My boyfriend is a faster cyclist than me but one of the things we do when we cycle together is I draft fairly tightly off him which saves my energy - this is a particularly good arrangement into a headwind. He's faster than me up hills - or I have to put in a lot more effort to climb at the same pace as he does - but our biggest problem is actually downhill as I'm a hopeless descender while he loves descending - he just has to wait for me at the bottom...

To get better at cycling up hills, you have to cycle up hills... so get her to pick a hill and do hill reps on it. And if she's just sitting on the turbo spinning away, get her to do reps on that as well - put it into a big gear/turn up the resistance and hammer it for a bit - a minute, say, or 5 minutes - and then spin easy for a bit, and repeat. This should hurt. (When my boyfriend or I use the turbo we put something underneath to catch the sweat. Someone on the triathlon forums was complaining that they had to turbo in an unheated garage and their sweat was freezing onto the floor...)

My other thought is, does she know the best strategy for riding hills? I used to change down to my lowest gear the minute I hit the hill, but that isn't the way to do it. Instead, you carry as much speed as you can into the hill, maybe go down one gear just before it starts to bite, then keep going down another gear while keeping your cadence up until you run out of gears!

Finally, and very respectfully, a good power to weight ratio is helpful... 

Apologies if any of this is teaching you to suck eggs.


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## fossyant (30 Sep 2011)

There is also the added pain of going faster, and some folk just can't get through it/don't like it when the legs start to burn.


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## Becs (30 Sep 2011)

Globalti said:


> Same problem here. She complains that it makes her back ache and I tell her that her back aches because she doesn't exercise and she lacks muscle tone...



Perhaps a little harsh! Have you ever tried to cycle with lady lumps?






On an exercise induced asthma note, it is real and often manifests as coughing after exercise. I have conventional asthma and it is a killer up hill or into a head wind but it doesn't really affect me on the flat unless I'm trying to hit mid-20s mph. It is worse when my hayfever is bad or when I have a cold and is better if I cycle outside of London (as long as it's not oil seed rape season!). If that sounds similar it might be worth her getting her peak flow rate checked with the GP. I didn't realise how bad mine was until I started taking a preventer inhaler and my cycling and running ability improved dramatically.


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## Wankelschrauben (30 Sep 2011)

Well done Zoiders, great input.


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## Wankelschrauben (30 Sep 2011)

My GF is really slow, I freewheel with minimal effort faster than she moves pedalling, she uses a pretty decent Marin hybrid.

She is getting faster though, and she is learning that to climb steep hills she needs to employ a gear by which she can spin.

We both know that if she had a decent road bike she'd be a lot faster.


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## gary in derby (30 Sep 2011)

Wish I had a cycling wife. Struggle to get her out for a 3mile ride.


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## Simba (30 Sep 2011)

Wish my missus cycled too, but she would never go on the roads as she thinks there are too many lunatics.


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## totallyfixed (30 Sep 2011)

I think this is a difficult one, I have to disagree when comparing cycling to running, over the years I have seen probably hundreds of people take up cycling with clubs and I don't honestly recall anyone "failing". Yes, there are those who just prefer cycling at a more genteel pace, and nothing wrong with that. However if someone is determined to go quicker then they will barring what I said in my last post [thanks Becs for saving an explanation]. Motivation is also very important and more often than not the fairer sex respond much better to advice from one of their own.
I coach my better half and being my intellectual superior, she listens, analyses and if it makes sense will then do it, the point I am making here is that she has to trust who is telling her what to do, we all know it's not always a good idea to teach your partner to drive. We have a very fit female friend who is a triathlete, good bike, looks the part but when she starts riding looks like a bag of spanners and more energy is lost to the ether than transferred through the pedals. To cut a long story short we sorted that out and now she is flying. I really hope you resolve this because it does make cycling a more satisfying experience.


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## ColinJ (30 Sep 2011)

I think it is great to have a partner who does 70 mile rides with you but if she really does want to ride faster, then you have to work out why she can't ride faster than that now. 

What kind of terrain is that 12 mph achieved on?

Since I got unfit and put a lot of weight on, my average speed on my forum rides has dropped to about 8 mph! I used to do more like 12-13 mph which I consider reasonable for rides including 6,000-7,000 of vicious Pennine hills. Even at my fittest, I was only doing about 15-16 mph on long rides in these hills. So, if you live somewhere as hilly as this, I'd say that her 12 mph is actually already pretty good.

If you live somewhere flat, then, okay, 12 mph is pretty slow, but not annoyingly so. It would just take a long time to do long rides. She certainly wouldn't be riding particularly far in daylight in the winter.

If her speed is okay on the flat, but it is hills that cause her to slow down, then her power-to-weight ratio is the problem. She would have to lose weight, increase her power or both. If she isn't slim, then losing weight would be the obvious way to get faster uphill and doing 70 mile rides (including some hills) at 12 mph is bound to help with that.


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## carolonabike (30 Sep 2011)

This is very interesting, I'm in the same position as Mrs Dirkthedaring71. My average speed is usually about 13mph no matter how hard I try. Mr Carolonabike is a fast triathlete and has to make a concious effort to slow down when he's out with me. I too have no problem with distance, on a weekend we normally do a 50 - 60 mile ride and I did a 100 a few weeks ago.

The way we've got around it is when he's out with me he treats it as sort of equivalent to a long slow run, a way of increasing his endurance - hours in the saddle. He goes out during the week on his own doing TT's and such like. He says it has worked, and his bike times in races have come down.

As others have mentioned there's the power to weight ratio to consider, is she quite small? I'm in my early fifties and less than 9 stone, From my point of view I am beginning to accept that although I would like to go faster I don't want it enough to do anything much about it and even if I did I probably would not improve by a huge margin. If she wants to go faster then there's some useful advice on here how to improve.

Emphasise to her what a marvellous way it is to spend a few hours over the weekend, and how lucky you both are to be able to spend time together doing something you both love, you're in a tiny minority, many couples spend the weekend doing entirely different things, which makes me a bit sad.


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## amaferanga (30 Sep 2011)

If your wife rides everywhere at a comfortable speed then she'll simply get good at riding around at that speed. Upping distance is much easier than upping speed since to up distance all you need to do is ride regularly and a bit further every week or two. To up speed once you reach the plateau ib going from unfit cyclist to fit cyclist you need to train. Contrary to what another poster has advised, doing sprints isn't the best way to increase your cruising speed - threshold intervals are. Since your wife uses a turbo then these are probably best done there. The good old 2x20min session ridden around threshold a couple of times a week and your wife will soon see speed gains on the road. 

Thing is though, 2x20 sessions done properly aren't fun so your wife will have to really want to improve. But there's no way she'll be at her physiological limit riding at 12mph average so with some proper training she will get faster.


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## Arsen Gere (30 Sep 2011)

Does Mrs dtd want to go faster or do you want her too?

Mrs Gere does the same, averages 12-14mph, but since she knocked out 55 mles over Bilsmoor and The Gibbet last Sunday I am dead proud of her and don't mind going slower than I would on my own or with a club.

Most women in their 50's are in front of eastenders on a Sunday afternoon not hill climbing.

What I sometimes do is stick 20 miles on one or both ends of the longer slower ride with her and get home knackered but enjoy her company in the middle for the longest section of the day.

I can blow my brains out in a midweek TT or going to work.

Mrs Gere prefers her solo road bike and rides a bike better than I race on.

If Mrs dtd is out with you be patient, we've had over 35 years of cycling together and I'd do it all again.

Her speed never stopped me being fast, I've held a 1st cat road license so don't worry about that.


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## carolonabike (30 Sep 2011)




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## Fiona N (30 Sep 2011)

dirkthedaring71 said:


> It's got to the point that I think there is a biological reason.



I think it pays to understand how you go faster (how one goes faster...) - more speed requires more strength but using that strength requires more oxygen to be delivered to the muscles to sustain that strength otherwise you get a sprint - not quite what you're after, I think  (although it does explain how some people with lousy fitness can magic up a devastating turn of speed  - for a very short run)

So to get faster, your wife would need to start doing some more or less painful interval sessions, starting with fairly short intervals but at a pace where she's working significantly harder than she can sustain, interspersed with recovery. This builds the strength. Then when she's getting used to these hard efforts (not maximal, she should be able to do say 5 x 5 mins with 3 or 4 minutes rest in between each), she needs to cut down the recovery time and lengthen the effort. This will build the cardiovascular system to cope with the extra effort. Do the interval sessions once or twice a week when fresh (doing them with tired legs is counterproductive) and even an older person** will see an improvement. 

Interval sessions are one thing which are more easily done on a turbo than outside and the constant 'clock watching' breaks up the session so that an hour doesn't seem like half a century 


** Don't mean this to be patronising - I was really meaning 'even a person as old as me' (well into my 50's)


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## Fiona N (30 Sep 2011)

carolonabike said:


> .. I'm in my early fifties and less than 9 stone, ...



I'm jealous - If I was 9 stone I'd still be racing even though I'm older than you


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## Baggy (30 Sep 2011)

One thing I'd add - if Mrs. dirk rides behind you most of the time, it might help if you let her ride in front. When I'm behind I feel as if I'm constantly working to keep up, but when I'm in front it adds about 1mph+ to my speed. 

Am not 100% sure of the psychology behind this, but think if I'm behind in a faster group it makes me more inclined to go slowly in the hope they'll notice and slow down a bit.


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## ufkacbln (30 Sep 2011)

Just enjoy the difference

I have the same situation

We tour about half the distance at about half the speed, but it is simply a more mellow and relaxed tour


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## dirkthedaring71 (30 Sep 2011)

Wow!! I never guessed I would get so much helpful info

After Reading the posts about how some partners are less than willing, makes me appreciate cycling together even though at a slow pace. Like someone else said " I can often coast past her with minimal effort". This is what does aggravate me as I think how can she be so slow esescially being 5 years my junior (im39). Some of this aggravation does stem from saddle soreness on my part. 

It does make for some funny situations such as the time she decided to overtake a group of oaps on the flat only to have these same oaps overtake at the first incline . They even shouted things out as they went past. This REALLY annoyed her as it would anybody. We can laugh about it now though and I bet the oldies thought it was fantastic.


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## Hont (30 Sep 2011)

My wife is the same, but does not have the same inclination to improve (she doesn't like to suffer and will moan about how hard any climb above 4% is, whilst I'm thinking if she's got enough breath to moan she's not giving it everything   ).

I just use the joint rides as recovery rides.

There's no real substitute for intervals or really hard sessions unfortunately. If it's the hills that are the problem then hill reps are the best solution.


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## ttcycle (30 Sep 2011)

As has already been advised interval training on the turbo and hill reps are the way to go - this stuff can feel very punishing so it's worth bearing that in mind. Also it must be done when rested as it can be very tiring.

You could do fartlek training which takes two forms:

If it's the two of you (I don't recommend doing this until she's worked on intervals etc and feels more confident otherwise it can have the reverse effect and become demoralising) you sprint ahead at an agreed point either traffic lights and she has to catch you but of course don't go all out just go faster.

The easier option (and potentially less conflict causing) is to choose a sign post or traffic sign to sprint to, sprint all out until she reaches it, rest and then pick another point to sprint to. Probably best to let her sprint to the sign and keep behind until she's done.


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## Lard Armstrong (30 Sep 2011)

Mrs Lard won't ride, I dream of getting her out @ 12mph, even for an hour


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## JonnyBlade (30 Sep 2011)

middleagecyclist said:


> 70 miles? 12 mph? Count yourself lucky mate that's what I say!



+1


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## byegad (30 Sep 2011)

4F said:


> I wish my wife would cycle 5 miles in a day let alone 70.



If she would do three miles a for all of October, she'd be 93 miles away by the end of the month. Any help?


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## xpc316e (30 Sep 2011)

How does she know that she doesn't want a tandem? Has she ridden one? Have you experienced the joys of a tandem?


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## dirkthedaring71 (30 Sep 2011)

The interval thing sounds like a good idea I will suggest it to her and see how she goes. Much like many of you have suggested it does seem that she may not be pushing herself hard enough so that her speed improves. I'm sure you can imagine the response I get when she's struugling up a hill and I say that she isn't trying .

We've never tried a tandem though we did come close whilst on holiday the other week. She is mainly against it as it's like admitting defeat and if you knew mrs dirkthedaring71 you would know that she never gives in. Does anyone know if there is anywhere where you can hire one in the Colchester area for a few hours?


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## david k (1 Oct 2011)

dirkthedaring71 said:


> Hi,
> my wife and I regularly go out on bike rides together which is great. But there's a problem, speed. She has little problem with distance and recently completed a 70 miler. The thing is this took her all day. Her average speed rarely goes over 12 mph even on much shorter rides and this hasn't increased in over a year.
> 
> She goes out each day and when the weathers bad she practices on the trainer. Can anyone shed some light onto her failure to improve?
> ...




get a new one


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## david k (1 Oct 2011)

dirkthedaring71 said:


> Hi,
> my wife and I regularly go out on bike rides together which is great. But there's a problem, speed. She has little problem with distance and recently completed a 70 miler. The thing is this took her all day. Her average speed rarely goes over 12 mph even on much shorter rides and this hasn't increased in over a year.
> 
> She goes out each day and when the weathers bad she practices on the trainer. Can anyone shed some light onto her failure to improve?
> ...




my wife dont drive that fast


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## jackthelad (1 Oct 2011)

The wife was doing hills but found it difficult, with having a 12/25 cassette,I changed the rear derailler to a deore lx and the cassette to 11/32, and the chain.she now finds hills no problem with the extra gears,before this she dread large hills,maybe this would be a way to help only a suggestion.


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## asterix (1 Oct 2011)

Who said average speed 12 mph! That was the max. It's 4 mph faster than Mrs A's, and 70 is 10x as far.


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## david k (1 Oct 2011)

the question is, do you prefer cycling or the wife?
one has to go


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## twobiker (1 Oct 2011)

It always seems wrong when you see what is obviously a couple out for a ride and one of them is half a mile behind the other, why go out together and then ride apart ? My wife only rides as a last resort and I would not expect to her to keep up with me so I slow down for her.


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## Spinney (1 Oct 2011)

I sound just like the OPs wife, with MrS being much faster and having to wait.

But it's me that has (jokingly) suggested a tandem, and MrS won't hear of it. Probably suspecting (correctly!) that he will end up putting in most of the effort on the hills!


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## Norm (1 Oct 2011)

david k said:


> the question is, do you prefer cycling or the wife?
> one has to go


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## fimm (1 Oct 2011)

I don't get the "put her in front" suggestion... if she can learn to draft you tightly on the flat, that is much more energy saving for her than you sitting behind. Oh, and I'm 39 and got serious about cycling (and triathlon) about 5 years ago - I'm still getting faster.

I've also suggested a tandem, but Mr fimm isn't keen... I think he fears he might have to slow down going downhill!


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## al78 (1 Oct 2011)

fimm said:


> I don't get the "put her in front" suggestion... if she can learn to draft you tightly on the flat, that is much more energy saving for her than you sitting behind. Oh, and I'm 39 and got serious about cycling (and triathlon) about 5 years ago - I'm still getting faster.
> 
> I've also suggested a tandem, but Mr fimm isn't keen... I think he fears he might have to slow down going downhill!



If she is in front she is setting the pace and it is much easier for the couple to keep together. If you put the stronger rider in front the stronger rider has to keep shoulder checking to make sure he isn't pulling ahead, which firstly is awkward and secondly takes his eyes off any hazards ahead.


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## srw (1 Oct 2011)

Spinney said:


> But it's me that has (jokingly) suggested a tandem, and MrS won't hear of it. Probably suspecting (correctly!) that he will end up putting in most of the effort on the hills!



Not true, actually. A tandem somehow, miraculously, evens out the effort, so that each rider contributes just the right amount to hills.


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## Cyclopathic (1 Oct 2011)

dirkthedaring71 said:


> Hi,
> my wife and I regularly go out on bike rides together which is great. But there's a problem, speed. She has little problem with distance and recently completed a 70 miler. The thing is this took her all day. Her average speed rarely goes over 12 mph even on much shorter rides and this hasn't increased in over a year.
> 
> She goes out each day and when the weathers bad she practices on the trainer. Can anyone shed some light onto her failure to improve?
> ...




Have you considered riding behind her with a riding crop so that you can give her a tap when she slows. Also you might consider a loud haler to shout motivational slogans at her. (I would add the disclaimer that this advice is purly for entertainment purposes and should not be followed. I do not now nor have I ever condoned the use of violence to increase the average cycling speed of a spouse or lover)


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## Spinney (1 Oct 2011)

Cyclopathic said:


> Have you considered riding behind her with a riding crop so that you can give her a tap when she slows. Also you might consider a loud haler to shout motivational slogans at her. (I would add the disclaimer that this advice is purly for entertainment purposes and should not be followed. I do not now nor have I ever condoned the use of violence to increase the average cycling speed of a spouse or lover)



I suspect that, if that advice _was_ to be followed, severe injury to the OP may well result...


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## david k (2 Oct 2011)

Cyclopathic said:


> Have you considered riding behind her with a riding crop so that you can give her a tap when she slows. Also you might consider a loud haler to shout motivational slogans at her. (I would add the disclaimer that this advice is purly for entertainment purposes and should not be followed. I do not now nor have I ever condoned the use of violence to increase the average cycling speed of a spouse or lover)


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## JonnyBlade (2 Oct 2011)

twobiker said:


> It always seems wrong when you see what is obviously a couple out for a ride and one of them is half a mile behind the other, why go out together and then ride apart ? My wife only rides as a last resort and I would not expect to her to keep up with me so I slow down for her.




+1


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## JonnyBlade (2 Oct 2011)

fimm said:


> I don't get the "put her in front" suggestion... if she can learn to draft you tightly on the flat, that is much more energy saving for her than you sitting behind. Oh, and I'm 39 and got serious about cycling (and triathlon) about 5 years ago - I'm still getting faster.
> 
> I've also suggested a tandem, but Mr fimm isn't keen... I think he fears he might have to slow down going downhill!



I don't think I'd like to teach a novice to draft! I'd go with the encourage from behind tactic. In running the lead naturally wants to lead


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## Baggy (2 Oct 2011)

fimm said:


> I don't get the "put her in front" suggestion... if she can learn to draft you tightly on the flat, that is much more energy saving for her than you sitting behind. Oh, and I'm 39 and got serious about cycling (and triathlon) about 5 years ago - I'm still getting faster.
> 
> I've also suggested a tandem, but Mr fimm isn't keen... I think he fears he might have to slow down going downhill!


Being at the front isn't really about energy saving, it's more to do with the psychology - as I said (and not everyone will agree) if you're ahead you don't feel as if you're playing catch up. You can also see the road ahead and feel more as if you're in control of the ride and pace.

Even if you're drafting closely, the second you go off the back it can sometimes take a while to get back on, especially if your ride partner/group hasn't noticed!


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## Becs (2 Oct 2011)

Just to add some equality, my other half wasn't keeping up with me yesterday and it was very annoying! Although mainly because I know he's a lot faster than me when he can be arsed!


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## Baggy (2 Oct 2011)

Becs said:


> Just to add some equality, my other half wasn't keeping up with me yesterday and it was very annoying! Although mainly because I know he's a lot faster than me when he can be arsed!


It's a moment to treasure when you hear your beloved says those three little words to you the first time..






"Oi, slow down!"


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