Slow?

[wilko]

I've just got back from a nice ride. I covered 16.37 miles at an average speed of 13.5 mph. It took me 1hr 12.39 minutes and I hit a top speed of 29.70 mph. I am 59 years old and slightly overweight at 14 stone. I have been cycling for a while now, but only as a leisure rider. I would now like to use cycling as a means to getting fitter and losing some weight. What do you think of my performance today and what would you recommend that I do to improve it? My bike is a Spesh Secteur Elite.

 

[corshamjim]

That sounds like good going to me, and I'm only 45 years old myself.

The main thing I do to get a bit fitter is some hill-climbing once in a while. I'm not out to break any records though - I just like to be fit enough to do a reasonable distance in a day at a pottering speed.

I've heard that one of the easiest ways to improve your speed on a long run is to join a chain gang. Personally I think that's cheating!

 

[steve52]

sounds about right and similar to me, to get better theres 3 things to do, 1 ride your bike
2 ride your bike,with others
3 ride your bike spome more, ( this is not necescarry but it helps) enjoy it

 

[SquareDaff]

Doesn't sound too bad to me. Was my average when I came back to cycling about 9 months ago. Mine's crept up over time to 15.5-16mph but 13.5mph is still a decent wack as an average!

 

[tyred]

Not too much wrong with a 13.5mph avs imo. It depend so much - road surface, hilly or not, weather conditions, traffic, amount of junctions, etc, etc.

To improve, I would just keep plugging a way, gradually up the mileage, try and up your pace (don't go overboard and collapse in a heap, go with what feels comfortable) and look at any areas of your riding that you may be able to improve on such as my tendency to grind up hills in big gears when I really should change down.

 

[HLaB]

If you want to go faster just cycle more but enjoy your ride thats the main thing

 

[briantrumpet]

If you want to go faster just cycle more but enjoy your ride thats the main thing

Indeed.

The two main things that have helped me do this is using fun mapping software to plan routes (you can use the online ones like bikeroutetoaster, but I like Mapyx Quo - a free program, but you'll want to buy a few tiles of the OS 1:50,000 maps) and setting myself some speed/distance targets. Despite only starting last year, this has helped me quite dramatically improve. I've got a few 'standard' circuits, ranging from 22 to 80 miles, which I select/adapt according to time available/how I feel/the weather, and I log my times. Since I've got quite a few routes that I 'know' now, my rides never feel 'routine', so it's always fun, but at the same time, demanding, as I like to push myself, and I've got the log to help keep tabs on progress. And then, of course, there's the fun of discovering a new route - admittedly not a great problem in Devon, with its 8000 miles of roads.

 

[BikeLiker]

I've just got back from a nice ride. I covered 16.37 miles at an average speed of 13.5 mph. It took me 1hr 12.39 minutes and I hit a top speed of 29.70 mph. I am 59 years old and slightly overweight at 14 stone. I have been cycling for a while now, but only as a leisure rider. I would now like to use cycling as a means to getting fitter and losing some weight. What do you think of my performance today and what would you recommend that I do to improve it? My bike is a Spesh Secteur Elite.

As a newbie on a similar (allez elite) bike I think your performance is fine. I bought my bike at the start of May and have lost a stone riding 5 days, ~180 miles, a week. Still need to loose at least 1 more though

I was a bit depressed reading about averages of 17 to 18 mph but, having ridden with others and 'met' many cyclists on the road, I realise overall average speed is very subjective depending on traffic lights, hills, wind and road surface. From personal experience, to get better at riding - ride more - it definitely works.

 

[lulubel]

As others have already said, just get out and ride your bike.

I try to mix it up with some easy rides and some harder rides where I push myself more, some long, some short. Some easy rides with hard bits mixed in, kind of random intervals, I suppose. And hills.

I just make sure I have a very easy day (or total rest day) the day after I've pushed myself hard, to give my muscles a chance to recover and repair.

The speed seems pretty good, by the way. I'm not much faster than that, and I'm over 20 years younger than you!

 

[Oldbloke]

Try & do 3 rides a week minimum and each week, increase your previous week's mileage by 5-10%; this should bring your weight down & your fitness level up. Vary the routes & include hills, each ride try & do 3 minutes flat out riding on the flat & increase the frequency of this as you get fitter.

Rest the day after riding, don't overdo it, keep hydrated & enjoy.


Your average speed is good; I'm the same age as you & was doing about the same when I returned to road biking 5 years ago. Lost 2 stone & now averaging 15-16 mph mostly on hills, can't seem to improve this much which I put down to a gammy knee & sciatica!

 

[wilko]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I thought the answer to getting fitter would be to ride more, but I was interested in your thoughts on my performance today. As I don't ride with anyone else I didn't have a guide on how I was doing, but judging by your comments I'm not too bad, though obviously there is room for improvement. I have set up a spreadsheet so I can keep a record of my cycling and hopefully see an improvement over time.

 

[Globalti]

A few words from a 55 y.o. recent covert from mountain biking to road: lose weight by cutting out carbohydrates altogether; it's not so difficult to drop spuds, rice and pasta and move over to just protein and salads. Apart from the odd greasy taste in your mouth you'll be amazed at how fast the weight drops off. It doesn't half make a difference on hills.

Limit alcohol intake to a couple of pints a week.

Stop snacking - I floss my teeth after supper, which helps.

Cut your main meals in size and don't pinch the leftovers. Avoid Bisto, which is pure maltodextrin and very high in calories.

You will never ride as fast alone as with a buddy so try to find someone to ride with; a bit of competition is fun and will improve your fitness.

Finally, remember that rest is as important as exercise; you will need at least three days to recover from a major effort, longer if possible. Best routine is one hard ride a week with a gentle "leg loosener" in between to keep the cardiovascular fitness ticking over.

 

[wilko]

A few words from a 55 y.o. recent covert from mountain biking to road: lose weight by cutting out carbohydrates altogether; it's not so difficult to drop spuds, rice and pasta and move over to just protein and salads. Apart from the odd greasy taste in your mouth you'll be amazed at how fast the weight drops off. It doesn't half make a difference on hills.

Limit alcohol intake to a couple of pints a week.

Stop snacking - I floss my teeth after supper, which helps.

Cut your main meals in size and don't pinch the leftovers. Avoid Bisto, which is pure maltodextrin and very high in calories.

You will never ride as fast alone as with a buddy so try to find someone to ride with; a bit of competition is fun and will improve your fitness.

Finally, remember that rest is as important as exercise; you will need at least three days to recover from a major effort, longer if possible. Best routine is one hard ride a week with a gentle "leg loosener" in between to keep the cardiovascular fitness ticking over.

All good advise there. Diet will obviously help with my quest to lose weight and that all makes sense. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but do enjoy a glass of wine with meals, so will cut that down to just the one bottle a night (kidding). Not sure about the one major effort a week though. I am a leisure rider and not a racer and nor do I want to be one, but I do understand that rest is important as well, so will probably try to ride 4 or 5 times week with maybe one long ride 50-70 miles and some shorter rides 20-30 miles.

 

[Globalti]

I think that's a bit over-ambitious to be honest. One a week at 30-60 miles and a couple of shorties is enough or you'll be overdoing it.

 

[wilko]

I think that's a bit over-ambitious to be honest. One a week at 30-60 miles and a couple of shorties is enough or you'll be overdoing it.

Yes, maybe you are right. I certainly don't want to overdo it, that could set me back. Perhaps build up to more miles. It's all a bit trial and error at the moment, but again good advice.