What should I aim for??!!

CyclingBantam

Hi all,

I have been cycling to work (12.5 miles) and back (7.5) 4 days a week for about 4 months now. I am still having a great time on the bike however am getting frustrated I am not progressing either in speed or in doing some longer distancies.

My problem ironically is, despite wanting to do more miles, is the motivation to do them. I have no long term aim. I need to work out an achievable however realistic aim to work towards either later this year or next year as that would give me an overall aim. I would like to do a reasonably challenging distance ride either over here or possibly in France.

What have others on here done that they would reccommend? And also what training should I look to do (is it just a case of additional miles?

Other than my rides to work I could probably spare up to about 5 hours a weekend for additional training along with tagging a few more miles on to my commute if needed.

I am 25, 11.5 stone and ok fitness wise.

Thanks for any advice.

Ben

Random Vince

during the summer i just went out into the lakeland fells on my bike,

aimed for the local tallest point i could get to by bike up fire roads but as i had a trail map i decided to do half the long trail and then turn off as it went almost past it.

got most of the way round, saw a fantastic hill and a sign for 'coniston'
thought about it for a moment then went for it.

was rewarded with the best view ever

ended up doing 20+ miles on my mountain bike, including the huge hill back up into the forrest to get home


just go out and enjoy it, have some point in mind to go to but don't worry too much if you don't manage it.

"ooh, where does this go?" is always a good one for getting distance up

Garybee

Why not look at joining a local cycling club. That would enable you to take part in time trials which would really help with your motivation. Goals are easy to set then. Time trials are a great way to get into bike racing as there's no pressure to keep up, you're only competing 'against the clock'.

Now is a great time to start as the season is about to begin.

azzerb

Enter a 100mile sportif in the summer :P

shockedsoshocked

I'd say join a club. You'll ride at a good pace for a good distance which should bring on improvements, aswell as the social/competetive side of riding in a group.

Bronzie

In terms of "challenging distance rides" the world is now your oyster with the boom in UK sportives...............there are loads to chose from in the UK, Europe and beyond. Not to forget audax rides of course. Look at www.cyclosport.co.uk for event calendars.

You can start with relatively easy events like the 50-75 mile Sunday Sportives organised by TrailBreak, right up to really hard rides like the Etape or Marmotte (although it will take you more than one season to reach this level).

Agree with the comment about joining a club............having others to ride with who have similar goals is a great way of keeping your enthusiasm alive. Be aware that not all clubs will suit your personality or your goals.............be prepared to try a few for size.

With regard to training...............well it will depend on what sort of events you decide to do. For sportives, endurance is the key (long steady rides) although if you want to improve your speed, you'll need to do some faster pace workouts.

As you say, this forum is a mine of information and you can find loads of great tips on any of the above topics somewhere on here! Enjoy the read!

Mettan

If you haven't already got one, get a bike computer - they can bring alot of fun, and motivation to your riding. They can transform a set route that might feel stale after a while, into a fun, challenging route where you can try and up your average/reduce your time over a set route.

webbhost

I agree with shockedsoschocked... or If you dont want to join a club, find a few friends that like biking and go out with them instead.

I personally have a log for every ride I do (including to work and back every day). If you want to know what I put in this log just ask, but it gives me a great incentive because I have set myself a target milage for the year (and using ms Excel, it automatically adds up all the miles i've put in) so I can see where i am and how far off my target I am. It is also great because I log high speed, average speed, track time etc. Therefore when I go out, if I feel upto it i "really really" push myself in an attempt to break a previous record.

If i break a record, it gets highlighted in the logs. This is also nice because I can look at the logs and I can see that althrough it doesnt feel like it, I am making improvements all the time, even if they're only small!.

Hope thats of help to you!.

Might sounds naff logging your rides but it is nice to look back at it.

grayo59

Set yourself three routes one for an hour one for two and another for three.

Route one would be say 12/15 miles
Route two 25/30 miles
Route three about 40 miles

Then aim to do them in reducing times so that by the end of summer you're hitting 50 mins for route 1, 1hr 45 for route 2 and 2 and a half hours for route 3.

for example.