Half decent speed at last!

vs4b

Well, I've done it.

I have finally posted a decent time for my local route. I have been hovering at around 10 - 12mph for my local 12/14 mile circuits for a couple of months (since i started timing them.)

Today i had somthing of a revelation and before going out flipped the stem on my SCR to make the position less aero and more comfortable. Counter-intuitively i then managed to average 15.2 mph over 12 miles. Waaaay quicker than any other time i've done and it didnt feel like i was trying any harder than normal.

PS - I know that these are not large distances or quick times but they are for me, mainly because i'm 20st+

Feel free to encourage as well as post the inevitable pi55 take over how short the distance is / slow the time is! :-)

benvickery

Well done, ask yourself how many people could even cycle 12 miles? 15 mph isn't slow, it's a modest pace achieved by someone who is keen to get fit, lose some weight and enjoy themselves. The next step is to lengthen your rides gradually and peddle a little quicker and before long you'll be averaging 17 mph and maybe eventually you'll do 20 mph over 10 miles. I was proud earlier this year to do 83 miles with an average speed of over 18 mph. I felt that was fast but to many that is still really slow. We're all different.

sicrow

well done VS4B you should pat yourself on the back, hopefully it will give you more encouragement to keep going and the times and distances will improve

well done

FSR_XC

Well done.

Might not seem much for some people on here, but that is a massive increase and something to be very proud of.

lilactime

well done 15mph isnt slow over 12 miles , and i bet you cant wait to have another go .

babyshambles

Good deductions on your times there, well done

What bike do you have?? Is it a hilly route??

vs4b

Thanks for all the encouragement!

No its very far from hilly, i live just north of Cambridge so its about as flat as you can imagine! but windy like you cant imagine even on days that look still - somehow ALWAYS a headwind! :-)

Defo looking fwd to going out again. So far i've been trying to get out two or three times a week over similar distances - I think i could do more miles but its a question of finding the time to be honest. So, lets see if i can keep up the frequency and increase the mileage / decrease the ballast!

Might even have to think about some proper pedals and shoes. Don't tell the wife!

Shame the ex-xxl trophy died off, i coudl be tempted to join in if it was running.

chronyx

I have an SCR - what do you mean by flipped the stem? Literally loosened the bit the bars go through and turned it 180º?

vs4b

Pretty much yes.


Loosen the bolt at the top of the top tube, then the grippers on the side of teh stem. Take off the handle bars, turn the stem over reattach everything. (Undo it all and align the stem to the forks!!!) then tighten up again.

Voila - handle bars noticeably higher and much comfier riding position.

(i'd been putting off doing it after reading about tightening bearings and it being not totally idiot proof. It was a piece of cake and i am the least technical person you could hope to meet!)

XTCRider

I only average round 15-16mph on my SCR, basically if i head anywhere away from town its uphill and if i head into town theres the junctions , traffic roundabouts etc to slow me down, and i am happy with that sort of speed . I too am on the larger side 18stone

vs4b

i used to live in yorkshire - any direction out of the front door was uphil for the first 2 or 3 miles! nice to be flat but very dull after a while.

johnnyc71

Well done VS4B - I can relate to your speeds. I weigh 18st now - can ride 15 miles at a 15 mph average. Was only averaging 10 - 11 mph when I started 1 1/2 years ago. Good luck on reaching your next goal!

chronyx

vs4b wrote:

Voila - handle bars noticeably higher and much comfier riding position. )

Chronyx makes beeline to the garage

Cheers vs4b - and well done on your biking results!

becmark

Hi vs4b,
Are you sure you're not stealing my identity

I too live north of Cambridge, although probably further north than you - up towards Downham Market. I also grew up in Yorkshire.

Can't agree more about the bloomin wind down here though.

Still it's easer than cycling in the peak district, just come back from a weeks hols. At home I was averaging similar speeds to you and building up the miles, generally feeling quite pleased with myself for a newbie.. Then I took the bike out round Buxton. Hmmm, that's what the little chain ring is for!

hodsgod

Well done mate. I average 16mph as a total average. You are doing well keep up the good work.

Mettan

vs4b wrote:

Well, I've done it.

Today i had somthing of a revelation and before going out flipped the stem on my SCR to make the position less aero and more comfortable. Counter-intuitively i then managed to average 15.2 mph over 12 miles. Waaaay quicker than any other time i've done and it didnt feel like i was trying any harder than normal.

That's a Good average for a Recreational/Fitness rider - in my experience, its only really when you start regular focused training that you can finish 10-20 milers with a 17-18 mph average. And that might take 9-12 months of riding to do that. As an example, for me to Average 17-18 mph over a 10-20 miler (on an ordinary Road bike on an ordinary training run) I'm regularly hitting 22-23 mph on the flat - and those periods of 22-23 on the flat make up for the enevitable periods when I'm doing 14-17 on the flat and 10-14 going uphill.

Beardy10

Well done...that's a huge improvement.

You will find that over time your body will get used to doing the same ride so it would be good to vary it a bit with say trying to do a shorter route at a slightly higher speed or even doing the same route but vary the speed. When you are varying the speed slow your base speed down to say 10 to 12 mph per hour and then ride in short bursts at 18 mph. Obviously you are currently making very impressive gains but if you find you plateau a bit putting some variety into your exercise will work wonders. I thin kthe rule of thumb is that after a month of doing the same regular exercise your body adapts and you get less from it.

My bike has a flipped stem...fits like a glove.The bike shop I bought my bike from said a lot of people ride with a set up that is to agressive for the riding they do. Not everyone is Bradley Wiggins!

vs4b

Thanks for the tips. Will give them a try, like the sound of the interval type stuff.

I vary the route between half a dozen or so different rides all about the same distance. Hopefully can start to up the dustances soon, which would be preferable to going faster- at least for now when i more interested in weight loss than racing!

Might have to find someone else to ride with though, as it does get dull just meand the ipod!

keef66

well I live just East of Cambridge (Newmarket) but was brought up in Yorkshire! I too have just started timing my outings and increasing the distances. Sunday I managed 20 miles at 14mph, half of it gently undulating and half out into the fens, and most of it seemingly into a brisk headwind. (how does that work??) Well pleased!

I'm the wrong side of 50 now, and currently riding a light mtb on slick road tyres. Planning to get a road bike soon; seriously interested in the Ribble winter / audax bikes so I can keep riding through the winter without getting too wet. (thanks to reddragon for the suggestion!)

CrookedCucumber

keef66 wrote:

Sunday I managed 20 miles at 14mph, half of it gently undulating and half out into the fens, and most of it seemingly into a brisk headwind. (how does that work??)

This is a tangent, I guess, but...

I wanted to cycle to school when I was a kid but I couldn't, because I was always cycling into a strong headwind. Nobody really believed me -- they just thought I was being lazy.

30 years later I discovered that it was actually true. I lived next to the sea and, in most coastal areas, the wind is predominantly onshore in the morning and offshore in the afternoon. So I'd cycle to school in the face of the onshore wind and, while I was sitting in lessons, the b*stard wind would meanly change to offshore so I could have it in my face on the way home, too.

So, yes, you can cycle a circular route and have the wind in your face the whole way. But perhaps not over the time it takes to do 20 miles

Bronzie

I agree totally - your speed is exactly half that of a decent speed

daver1

Nice theory Crooked Cucumber but unless you grew up in hot climate where the change in surface temperature of the sea over the course of the day is isgnificnat enough to influence wind patterns you can't use this excuse for why your cycling seemed so hard - there are very few days in the UK where this effect takes place.

vs4b

Bronzie wrote:

I agree totally - your speed is exactly half that of a decent speed

that's more like i was expecting!

:-)

if i want to get somewhere at an average fo 30mph i'll get in the car!!

Bronzie

I like to live up to expectations