New Starters lack of continued progress

CyclingBantam

Hi All,

I have been propperly cycling for approximately 6 weeks now. I commute to work 4 days a week. It is about 7.3 miles each way and quite hilly (I am either up hill or down hill all the way) although it is quicker going home (by about 3-4 minutes). I started out doing the jorney in in about 34 minutes and within a week had this down to 31 mins. The problem is, in the last 4 weeks I have only managed to get my time down to about 29:40 (Roughly 14.8 MPH) (average) and I can't seem to go quicker.

I am need to get out for some longer runs at the weekend as I don't at the moment but will that help my times? I am wanting to get up to a standard where I can join a cycling club and eventually do some racing. What would people reccomend I do to improve my times/fitness. I end to ride as hard as I can all the way due to the short distance.

Sory for the long note but any help would be appreciated.

Bronzie

You need to give it a bit of time for starters! Your body will take more than 6 weeks to adjust and adapt to any new fitness regime!

I think that you need to concentrate firstly on building up your endurance a bit more by doing longer rides as you suggest at weekends. Try and increase your rides by no more than 10% a week (either distance or time) so that you are comfortable with a 2-3hour ride. This will make you go longer, but not necessarily faster.

To go faster you need to do some interval training. There is a thread in the "Training" section at present that deals with this sort of query.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12545216

Once you are able to complete a flat 40-mile ride at an average of 16-17mph, I'd say you'd be able to join in most club runs but check with your local club first to see what sort of pace their club runs usually go at. Some clubs have more than one club run (ie slow and fast) to cater for riders of differing levels of fitness.

ash68

Hi ben,agree with Bronzie, it takes time to adapt to any new training, give yourself a chance to improve and given time it will come.Don't forget it's getting colder now and it takes longer to get up to running temperature and top speed. Also don't forget to keep safe, when chasing fast times it's easy to forget about traffic around you.Better to take anextra minute or two and get there safe.I'm sure if you can increase you mileage/endurance a little any local bike club would welcome a new member with open arms.Good to have another cyclist on the roads

notanotherhill

Very sound advice from the guys. The trick (in my humble opinion) is longer rides. I only trained fro about 6 months before going out with a club, and all I had done up to that was steady 40km rides 3-4 times a week. I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable I was on the club rides. Keep in mind also that when bikies know that your new to this, you'll be very well looked after in clubs, ie they wont go out of their way to make you suffer, in fact its the opposite, if your dropped they have a tendency to get someone to stay back with you.
Another thing you may notice is how much your cycling will improve just by riding with other cyclists.
Remember that theres no one involved in this sport/passtime/hobbie whatever you wish to call it, that didn't suffer the nerves of the first club ride. Get some miles in your legs and get stuck in........you wont regret it

nickcuk

3 good responses so far - be patient and enjoy the riding !

Keep a log, build the miles up steadily until yr upto introducing a bit of interval training and watch yr speed increase steadily !

baudman

I think the combination of the frequent commutes and the longer rides will give your body a good chance to adapt. Just be patient!

My legs are still getting better (my partner thinks so too!) from 4 years of commuting.

Ste_S

Don't worry about the times at the moment, just try to get the miles in. Try going out on a Sunday with a distance you're comfortable at, and then up it by 10% each week

Richie G

The guys on here know what they're on about- keep up the commuting and measure your progress by doing longer rides at the weekend. I've found going the long way home a good way to get some miles in- seems less time consuming when you just tack on an extra half hour on the way home.

Eat My Dust

Keep in mind that the schools have gone back over the last few weeks making the roads busier. My average commute speed is down to around 14 mph, during the school holidays it sits at around 18/19mph!!!!

CyclingBantam

Thanks for the advice guys. I am off out this sunday for a few extra miles and I am going to tack on a few miles on my way home as well gradually bulding up the miles. Thanks again for the advice.



P.s. It is addictive this Cycling lark!

popette

BenBlyth wrote:

Thanks for the advice guys. I am off out this sunday for a few extra miles and I am going to tack on a few miles on my way home as well gradually bulding up the miles. Thanks again for the advice.



P.s. It is addictive this Cycling lark!

you're so right. I'm starting to think I have a problem. Good luck with it.

coltrane

I've had my roadie for about 3 months after many years on a MTB. I try to do about 3 rides a week of 10 - 15 miles and then a 30 - 40 mile ride at the weekend. Speed wise I manage about 16.5 mph on the shorter rides and 15.5 - 16 mph on the longer rides. I did get into a rut of trying to break the 30 minute barrier for 10 miles. Its easy to see how you get a bit obsessed and take risks on the road. Got to about 31.30 minutes but couldn't seem to get lower. However I decided, to ignore this one for a while and concentrate on getting some mileage in the legs. In saying all this as i was out tonight struggling against the wind at about 14mph a guy flew past me and into the distance!!! Buts its grit your teeth time and head down.

cervelorider

It takes some time for someone starting out in endurance sports to get their head(and body) round to the way of thinking required for going fast on a bike.
BenBlyth, think about preparing yourself for next season(2008);
do your commutes briskly, but dont hammer it.
As mentioned, get into doing some distance at the weekend, start out with a 2hr ride and once you're comfortable at this distance, move toward a 3hr ride.
The important thing about these rides is not to do them at a snails pace. If you intend on racing next year, whether it's road racing or TT's, you must learn to sustain a fast pace for some degree of time, so, once you have got used to your 2hr ride, use the time it takes you to do that ride as a benchmark, and over time, complete the route quicker.
Same with the 3hr ride, get used to doing longer distances at a sustainable fast pace, and then when you come to ride short distances, like your commute, you should be able to do it in 25minutes by spring 2008.
Good luck.

nickcuk

coltrane wrote:

i was out tonight struggling against the wind at about 14mph a guy flew past me and into the distance!!!

When I started, this happened to me several times but since I've been riding regularly with a buddy, I've found that 'flying past' him means only a few mph difference. Think positive

SteveR_100Milers

BenBlyth wrote:

Thanks for the advice guys. I am off out this sunday for a few extra miles and I am going to tack on a few miles on my way home as well gradually bulding up the miles. Thanks again for the advice.



P.s. It is addictive this Cycling lark!

wait till u race

FWIW you cant expect much after 6 months, let alone 6 weeks.Thats what makes cycling such a good sport: its "easy" in that there nothing much technical about it, yet it's time served. It will take you 2-3 years from scratch (i.e. your not a runner or rower etc) before you can expect to be race competitive. Meantime, every other evening for those 3 years when you pound yourself on that same training loop, its ok in the summer, but in the p!ssing rain in November...its a real journey mentally to get there but it really is great fun. Keep it up and good luck!