how to go faster

[tubbylee]

hello all,i started cycling about 6mnths ago to lose weight now im a stone lighter 5,10 14 stone,im commuting 20k four days a week plus one long cycle 120k on my off days,im now thinking of joining a sportiff club my question is at the moment my average speed on my long spin is 25kph im worried ill be left behind by the sportiff guys,i tend to spin rather than mash large gears,my biggest weakness is defintely hills especially the long slow not especially steep climbs is there anything i should be doing to increase my speed and am i even ready to join a club spin thankyou

 

[Bayerd]

Sounds like you're mostly doing the right stuff. Spinning is generally better than grinding for speed. How about on your commute trying a higher gear and making every effort to continue spinning?

You're at the stage where you need to build up leg muscles. Unfortunately it is a slow process.

 

[Sonofpear]

I'm in a similar position, haven't been riding long and was thinking of joining a local club. Just worried I'll be out of my depth.

 

[festival]

Yes, if you can find a group who are better than you and are willing to give you advice and encouragement you will improve quicker than any other way.

As well as getting fitter you need to learn all the skills of riding in a bunch. There are a lot of fit cyclists who are lacking in this department, which is a shame for the individual as riding in tight formation will help make you a better rider and at the same time stop you being a nuisance to others.

Learning to pedal fast is good.If you learn to spin early on you will benefit when you start to push bigger gears. this should all come naturally when riding in a group. Many years ago I was struggling on club runs to keep up, an experienced ex international told me bluntly, "You have a lovely pedaling style but you are pedaling elegantly out the back, sometimes you have to just push hard". Obvious maybe but I needed to be told.
Even if you cant find a helpful group you will still benefit by using them to set yourself both skills & fitness targets, like how long you can keep up with them on climbs, closing gaps, riding on a wheel, through and off etc and learning the etiquette of bunch riding.

As a start, try & add some miles to your commute, make it interesting by doing intervals. Also find a circuit of a couple of miles with a short steep hill on it. After a good warm up ride try to ride up it in the saddle so you reach exhaustion just as you reach the top. recover over the circuit and repeat. Try 3 to start and then ride home. when you see improvement increase the number of laps

 

[Furkz]

just join, you can only improve if your not up to their standard. im sure they will support you and if they dont and take the piss at least you know their not worth it

 

[Nebulous]

I've worked away on my own and become quite a bit faster over the last 6 months or so. I kind of thought I would hold my own, but wasn't entirely sure. I'm also not a great 'joiner.' I emailed a club and asked if I could join a club run as a trial. They were helpful and friendly and I've really enjoyed the company. The runs have been low-key, not competitive, but helpful in terms of riding close to others and picking up hand signals etc. Numbers have been relatively small. There have been a lot of events on recently, so a lot of the top club guys have been missing because they have been competing elsewhere. So my experience has been entirely good and I have now joined.

As an alternative CTC do runs that are less competition focused than many clubs. Our local group seems quite active and there are slow, medium and fast runs. The thing that puts me off is that many of them are longer distance, all day runs, and I have a lot going on just now so I can't really spare the time. The clubrun gets out early and I can be back by lunchtime, which suits me well.

 

[cyberknight]

I have just started going out with my local club run on a sunday and they have the "not so fast group" that makes ure everyone keeps up and rides as a group, if someone is slower we just wait for them,it is a very friendly affair with lots of advice .

You will find that with a group it will be a lot easier to maintain a higher speed for long periods as you can get a lot of shelter from the wind from the rider in front, like race cars drafting one another so it saves you a lot of energy and you gain experience of group riding in a non competitive ride.

As for sportives they maybe timed but it is not a race , i recently did my first and the times ranged from 3 hours to 9 hours !, if you can do the distance it does not matter how long it takes as long as your enjoy it .

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Peddle harder

 

[Riding in Circles]

Recumbent.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I had a similar problem and solved it by getting our lass involved.

 

[Alembicbassman]

I was in the same position, been pottering around for 2 years on my road bikes. I average 17.5 mph on a 30 mile ride

Tried a Wednesday night 35 mile chain gang meet, got left behind 5 miles in. They were averaging 20mph at least.

Find a club that is more social than racing/competition oriented.

Your average of 25kph (15.5 mph) is ok for some road clubs, the CTC (ctc.org.uk) tend to ride at 10-12mph

 

[gaz]

I had a similar problem and solved it by getting our lass involved.

aaah facing away from each other, so you can easily look at the opposite sex without getting in trouble