My bike wants to go faster than I do...

[magictime]

Your OP - about the fear of speed - combat that fear with faith in the bike.

Its a simple machine designed to allow the wheels run fast and true with a human on top of it - let it do its job.

I know what you're saying, and I'm sure confidence that I'm in control of the bike and not going to fall off or crash just because I'm going fast is something that will come quite naturally with time. Feeling confident that I know what I'm doing on the road and am safe in traffic isn't going to come so naturally because it's twenty-odd years since I looked at the Highway Code or drove a car. But I'll get there, I'm sure.

As Tin Pot said, this is why we've all addressed that point:

Fair enough, I know I'm the one who brought it up. It's just that really I'm more interested in the basics of finding the right gear and cadence for riding at a given speed.

A well-maintained bike is a very efficient machine, so of course it feels very easy riding along slowly on the flat. It is a totally artificial exercise (*groan*) to try to get a good workout riding slowly on the flat!

You simply need to get used to riding your bike, and choosing the right gear and right route for whatever it is that you are trying to do.

Some people take a few weeks to get used to cycling, some a lot less than that. I used to live 1 km from the railway station where I arrived with my first (adult) bike; it only took me half that distance to relax and enjoy the ride home! If it takes you a few weeks, no harm in that - just keep riding and soon you will wonder why you had a problem with it.

Thanks. As I say, part of my problem is just a lack of familiarity with (and therefore confidence on) roads, largely due to being a non-driver. I suppose I didn't know till I got on my bike that riding at a pedestrian-friendly, running-on-foot sort of speed - 8mph? - was going to require so little effort.

What you're describing here is single speed. Just having a single speed at the back but by being able to stop pedalling. A fixed gear is like (kinda is but you can get one's with brakes I think) a track bike. When the wheels go round the pedals go round, you have to keep pedalling/

Ah, OK, thanks.

No, you should be able to find a gear suitable for towpath cycling, it just takes a little time to get used to your bike. Certainly you cannot expect to get breathless, or achieve any great exercise benefit from cycling slowly, but it is definitely possible

Yeah, I think the long and the short of it is that I need to cycle on roads if I want to cycle fast enough to get any sort of cardio workout... although I'm hoping there may be enough lock flights near me that the uphill bits of towpath will get my heart pumping a bit.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

So is my problem that it's simply not possible to keep below, say, 10mph while pedalling continuously (on the flat), even in a low gear, and so maintaining any sort of cadence is going to mean either riding somewhere I can go faster, or finding a long gradual incline?

You are looking at it the wrong way: what you're supposed to do is to find a cadence that suits, then change gear to maintain that cadence, not find a gear first then adjust your cadence.
When you run out of gears, you either spin out or you grind ... to a halt if uphill.
Obviously the tow path is not ideal for this experimenting.

 

[Tin Pot]

You are looking at it the wrong way: what you're supposed to do is to find a cadence that suits, then change gear to maintain that cadence, not find a gear first then adjust your cadence.
When you run out of gears, you either spin out or you grind ... to a halt if uphill.
Obviously the tow path is not ideal for this experimenting.

Indeed.

To accelerate to 15mph on a flat surface takes some effort, once you're there it takes very little effort to maintain - this is why bike are such good vehicles.

To have a constant effort, rather than one that becomes easy, you have two options;

1. Accelerate forever

2. Work against a gradient

A lot of folk try for option one, you'll see them in the time trial forum wittering on about coefficient of drag, but I'm sure you see the flaw in this option.

Option 2 is what everyone else does.

There is no option 3. Go find a gradient.

 

[magictime]

You are looking at it the wrong way: what you're supposed to do is to find a cadence that suits, then change gear to maintain that cadence, not find a gear first then adjust your cadence.

I can see the sense in that, but I don't know how you go about actually doing it. Whatever my 'default' or naturaI cadence is, I couldn't find a gear in which I could maintain it without accelerating away or spinning the pedals and feeling no resistance.

Indeed.

To accelerate to 15mph on a flat surface takes some effort, once you're there it takes very little effort to maintain - this is why bike are such good vehicles.

To have a constant effort, rather than one that becomes easy, you have two options;

1. Accelerate forever

2. Work against a gradient

A lot of folk try for option one, you'll see them in the time trial forum wittering on about coefficient of drag, but I'm sure you see the flaw in this option.

Option 2 is what everyone else does.

There is no option 3. Go find a gradient.

Grr! Unfortunately this makes perfect sense. I suppose I was intuitively expecting cycling to be a bit like walking, jogging or swimming, i.e. something you can do at a steady rate with a constant effort. Hmm.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I suppose I was intuitively expecting cycling to be a bit like walking, jogging or swimming, i.e. something you can do at a steady rate with a constant effort. Hmm.

Don't you put more effort in when walking uphill?
Because your legs don't have gears you need to walk uphill pushing your legs more to walk at the same sped as on the flat.
Maybe you're too for for your bike/terrain combination.
As suggested above, try a fixed gear. Or a big hill!

 

[vickster]

If wanting some help about riding on roads, get a book called cyclecraft by John Franklin

Like a manual and Highway Code for cyclists

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyclecraft-complete-enjoyable-cycling-children/dp/0117037400

 

[dianelc]

I felt the same when I first went out on my bike. It seemed so effortless after years of running, and I couldn't see how I could get a good workout. Cycling on a reasonable, decent,entry level bike was like a snooze in the couch. Stay on cycle paths and experiment with gears. Your confidence with speed will come easily. When you can increase your speed and know your gears you will get a good workout. I can now feel I have worked out. But only at speed. The confidence grows and I'm now begining to feel confident on some roads and the more I cycle the more I love it. Good luck.

 

[magictime]

If wanting some help about riding on roads, get a book called cyclecraft by John Franklin

Like a manual and Highway Code for cyclists

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyclecraft-complete-enjoyable-cycling-children/dp/0117037400

Thanks - I was actually just looking on Amazon to see what might help; that one and a cheaper AA Cyclists' Highway Code are the ones that jumped out.

I felt the same when I first went out on my bike. It seemed so effortless after years of running, and I couldn't see how I could get a good workout. Cycling on a reasonable, decent,entry level bike was like a snooze in the couch. Stay on cycle paths and experiment with gears. Your confidence with speed will come easily. When you can increase your speed and know your gears you will get a good workout. I can now feel I have worked out. But only at speed. The confidence grows and I'm now begining to feel confident on some roads and the more I cycle the more I love it. Good luck.

Thanks. I don't think going faster than a jogging/running pace would be appropriate on my local stretch of towpath, but maybe on wider and/or quieter paths. I'll have to get out and explore a bit.

 

[vickster]

I've read Cyclecraft, it's very good. You could see if your local library has one. You could also ask in the wanted section if anyone has a copy they have no further need for and would send you for a few quid

Have you considered going out with a sky ride group to help build some confidence in the saddle?

 

[Karlt]

Simple fact is that riding on the flat is very easy, so you will pick up speed. Most people will maintain a flat speed between 10 and 20mph depending on the individual and the bike. If you're finding you can go too fast pedalling in the lowest gear, then the speed you're comfortable at is very low (the lowest gears on my road bike spin out at 12mph, and on a hybrid or MTB they'd be considerably lower, implying you're talking about 7-8mph possibly), which is fine in itself, but you will have to accept you will not get a workout at that speed, unless you're going up a steep hill. Or tighten the brakes up until they're binding - that'd do it...

 

[mybike]

I ride mostly along the towpath locally and restrict my speed to ~6-8mph when there are people around and on some sections up 10-12 when I can see the way ahead is clear. Some stretches are, however, very rough and narrow and I'd lose control if I pushed it. There's also a noticeable difference between uphill and down hill, and not just at the locks. However, as others have said, I can't see how you could possibly do what you want to do along the towpath. Use it to get to somewhere with a quiet hill you can't cycle up.