How to improve performance

[PaloAltoCougar]

In a fairly recent post in this forum, I lamented that I wasn't fast and at my age would likely never see average speeds of 17 or 18, much less the 20s that the elite in this forum can put up. But some see things as they are and ask why? Others see things as they might be and ask, why not? Or, "Hey, you want to step up the pace today?"

And thus Mrs. PAC and I have started working on speed, doing more sprints in the course of shorter rides, and simply pushing a bit harder over long stretches. Monday, we did a 50 miler with 2500 feet of climbing. In the past, we've averaged 14.6 to 15, but this week we brought it in at 16.1. This morning, I did a shorter ride where my PR had been 16.5, and today I was at 17.8. This won't impress the seasoned vets (nor should it), but it's interesting and gratifying that I can make substantial (well, I think they're substantial) gains as I approach 58. The key, I think, is to set achievable goals and take pleasure in improvements, no matter how slight. I feel bad for those who try cycling but bail early due to sore backsides and the absence of satisfactory progress.

I've appreciated all the tips I've received in this forum, and hope you'll provide more advice on what works well for you as you try to improve speed and overall performance. This has really been great for Mrs. PAC and me.

[UtahDan]

I get at least a dozen emails every day on this thread topic. I'll forward them on to you.

[bluegoose]

Good post PAC, and nice work on the gains. That is most definitely some significant improvement there. 17.8 is fast for any ride, unless, of course, your name is Bellavella and you are screaming down the backside of Spooners grade at a modest 46 mph. But i digress....

I think that you've figured out most of what it takes to increase speed. There's no way around it - you gotta ride harder than is really comfortable for you.

One place where I've seen some people get frustrated with speed work is in paying too much attention to their average speed on speed work days. Doing short or long intervals will often drop your average speed over the course of a ride, due to the slower pace of the recovery sections.

For example, this morning I did 5 30-45 second sprints with several minutes of recovery in between. My average for the ride dropped to about 16.2, on a route that I usually complete in 17.5-19 mph. I rode harder and was more tired after the ride than usual, but my odometer certainly didn't show it. It won't be until we are motoring down the Cascade Lakes Highway in 3 weeks (3 WEEKS!) that I'll reap the benefits of all of the suffering from those painful and often frustrating workouts.

[Jacob]

I really didn't understand much of that post. I rarely ride bikes. But I went on a 2 hour mountain bike ride with a 50 something guide at the lodge in Colorado I was staying at this past weekend. We did some mild climbs. I think I am in great shape at 31, but I couldn't make it up these hills, and the older guy had no problem.

I'm sure I couldn't keep up with you.

[DU Ute]

I get at least a dozen emails every day on this thread topic. I'll forward them on to you.

It took me a while before I realized he was talking about cycling.

[creekster]

Intervals.

I hate them, and this is just one of many reasons I am not fast.

[UtahDan]

It took me a while before I realized he was talking about cycling.

My first venture to the Bike Stop in months and the regulars just ignore me.

[Jeff Lebowski]

PAC, why are you worried about speed? You plan to enter some kind of race?

[creekster]

PAC, why are you worried about speed? You plan to enter some kind of race?

Because that is what bike riders do. We try to go fast. Pedals stamping rhythm, wind in the face, road flying by, it is just fun. Plus, the more people you can drop on the road the smarter, handsomer, fitter, stronger and just overall cooler you must be.

I cant believe we have to explain these things to you.

[Commando]

squats, lunges, dumbell snatches.

Intervals are nice, but you won't get faster than you will in your life than you will with weight training.

[PaloAltoCougar]

PAC, why are you worried about speed? You plan to enter some kind of race?

This is a good question. For years, I disdained speed and declared to all that I wasn't interested in speed and all I wanted out of a ride was nice views and a fitness benefit. Those are still priorities. But lately, I've taken increasing pleasure in motoring along at a somewhat faster clip (again, the RCV's et al. of this group would giggle at my concept of "faster clip"), and the appeal of speed has grown of late. I may lose this new-found zeal eventually, but I might as well as go with it for now.

And be assured, all you who are heading to Bend at the end of the month, there will be no perceptible change in my performance from last year. I will not surrender the Lanterne Rouge without a fight.

[RC Vikings]

Ride with a group that will make you push yourself. I have two loops where I have a average speed goal and those rides help but I think our Tuesday night group ride does more to increase my speed then anything else I do. I'm not disciplined enough to do intervals but various things we do during our ride turns into intervals. We sprint to all the city limit signs and sometimes it is a short sprint but last night it was two of us hammering away for about four miles trying to stay ahead of the group. This is intervals with a purpose so it's fun and it doesn't seem to hurt as bad. Also if you've ever been forty feet off the back and you know if you don't catch up it's going to be a long ride home that is another example of during an interval with a purpose.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Because that is what bike riders do. We try to go fast. Pedals stamping rhythm, wind in the face, road flying by, it is just fun.

Case in point... During our ride Monday, at mile 25 we turned onto a one mile flat stretch with no wind. Mrs. PAC said "let's rock." Though initially disappointed she was referring to cycling, I started jamming and she hung on my rear wheel while we zipped along in synch at 23 mph the entire stretch. Bookin' it was really quite exhilarating.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Ride with a group that will make you push yourself. I have two loops where I have a average speed goal and those rides help but I think our Tuesday night group ride does more to increase my speed then anything else I do. I'm not disciplined enough to do intervals but various things we do during our ride turns into intervals. We sprint to all the city limit signs and sometimes it is a short sprint but last night it was two of us hammering away for about four miles trying to stay ahead of the group. This is intervals with a purpose so it's fun and it doesn't seem to hurt as bad. Also if you've ever been forty feet off the back and you know if you don't catch up it's going to be a long ride home that is another example of during an interval with a purpose.

On this morning's ride a group of at least 30 cyclists were going the other way and they were jamming. It looks like a lot of fun, but with slow reaction time and ADD, I still have a fear of catching a rear wheel if I draft, and at my age a spill wouldn't be pretty. I guess I need to overcome that fear as the excitement and energy of a group is obvious, and I'd love to be a part of that. RC, I understand there may be reasons that compel your withdrawal from the Tour de Cuf this year, but think of the valuable service you can provide me by attending.

[mtnbiker]

I had a somewhat similar thing happen the past couple of weeks. My full-suspension mtn bike was in the shop for a week and a half, so I went back to my old hardtail. It's a relatively new frame, since the old one broke but had a lifetime warranty, but most of the components are 1997 vintage. Slow wheels, poor suspension fork, v-brakes instead of discs, different geometry, etc. It felt really sluggish, and I had to use lower gearing to get moving.

Well, when I got the Blur back, it felt like I was a lot faster. And I actually was. I was able to use a bigger gear or two than I had been before, and I cleared obstacles better. The hardtail forced me to use better technique, since it chatters a lot more over all the small bumps instead of floating over them. The wheels roll better, and don't take as much effort. I think I had allowed myself to slow down a bit at a time over the past few years, without realizing it. The old bike helped me realize that I still had the energy and ability to do better. Kind of funny how the mind & body work. I'm thinking I need to ride the hardtail for a week at a time every so often to kind of shock myself into riding better.