Getting the commute time down

CiB

So, my commute is 20.5 miles, some of it fairly flat but a lot of it either up or down hill but nothing too serious. The route can be either 2 main roads from end to end, or cross country; it doesn't make much difference to the overall distance and the terrain is pretty much the same either way. I've been doing this route for 18 months anything up to 4 times a week (but now limited to twice weekly due to doing the school run 3 days a week), and haven't once got below 1 hour - the norm is around 1h 8m, relaxed is anything up to 1h 15m and my World Record currently stands at 1h 0m 23s, albeit with a good wind helping things along.

I'm 46, a bit 'stocky' if truth be told, never done any competitive cycling except for one event where I was left for dead, but it's never interested me that much tbh. I'd love to crack the hour though. So </ramble mode>, any tips on increasing my speed for this one hour blast to get into 0:59:nn territory? Breathing? Diet? Warm-up routine? I'm sure it's possible - the number of times I arrive at the office and genuinely feel as though I could carry on suggests that it's a speed rather than stamina issue, even when I’ve stuck at or above 24mph on the final 1¼ mile run in down the main road.

Doing it on a Scott S20 with no ballast and a par of carbon aerobars to add to the fun. Which it is, let's not forget that.

snellgrove

push on the pedals harder

dafruk

You don't mention pedals (or if you do I missed it) are you going clipless, because being able to pull on the up as well as push on the down adds a lot of extra potential power to your ride and knock some time off.

Or you culd try putting your bike in one of the top gears and not chaning the whole ride, after a few weeks of that you'll have toughened your legs up and can then using gears knock your time down. (note this is the cheap method, the more expensive way is to buy a single speed bike!).

Or just be riding against the clock, I always find if I can see my time and I have a target I push that little bit more just to beat it.

But most importantly, it doesn't really matter as long as you enjoy the ride.

CiB

snellgrove wrote:

push on the pedals harder

Like it. Good idea.

dafruk wrote:

You don't mention pedals (or if you do I missed it) are you going clipless, because being able to pull on the up as well as push on the down adds a lot of extra potential power to your ride and knock some time off.

Or you culd try putting your bike in one of the top gears and not chaning the whole ride, after a few weeks of that you'll have toughened your legs up and can then using gears knock your time down. (note this is the cheap method, the more expensive way is to buy a single speed bike!).

Or just be riding against the clock, I always find if I can see my time and I have a target I push that little bit more just to beat it.

But most importantly, it doesn't really matter as long as you enjoy the ride.

Agree about enjoying it - I do, and don't want to come across as obsessive, but it's the next and obvious target now that the run itself has become 'straightforward'. Good tips there - shoes do attach to the pedals to allow the push / pull effort and I do that; maybe need to do it harder & faster... I tend not to have the clock on display as it's dispiriting knowing that the hour is up and there's still 2½ miles to go, but I'll give it all a go next time.

_Brun_

Move house/find a new job?

Specialized Needs

ChrisInBicester wrote:

don't want to come across as obsessive

:roll:

Welcome to BikeRadar!

Stuart

giltkid

EPO?

singlespeedexplosif

23 seconds to make up over an hour?
aero lid, overshoes, skinsuit.
bingo.

secretsam

hmmmm...Bicester...20 miles...flat...do you work in Aylesbury?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

On my bike commute (which has been on hold for a while now), I found that I could arrive at my destination quicker by not taking the most direct route which was plagued by:-
Quite possibly the highest concentration of traffic lights in the country! Each "red" can lose you a couple of minutes.
Rush hour traffic that would be at close to a stand-still, with cautious overtaking to get by.

I now go a back route which uses several roads that are practically deserted by cars; a nice five minute section through Southampton Common; just three sets of traffic lights that can hold me up.

Its about a mile longer than the direct route (so its now about 6 miles) but I can get from A to B in 20 minutes, rather than about 30!

CiB

Been poring over the maps looking at the best route from home to the office, and it looks like sticking to the A roads is the quicker route, shorter overall and flatter, so I'll give that a bash with the speedo set to countdown mode. It ought to be possible, but it's a big leap to knock anything up to 24 seconds per mile off the average of my average speeds. The 1:00:23 was done with a following gale; we don't have much wind at present.

Thursday is the day, so maybe lay off the glass or two of red the night before...

CiB

Well. Followed the advice given; pedal harder and faster, stay in higher gears instead of opting for the easier but slower option, and keep the speedo on elapsed time instead of distance. That and making a list of intermediate time targets for various points along the route - I've done the ride often enough to know the stand-out mile marker points and it's a trivial task to convert those distances to an ETA.

So - the time this morning was 1h 00m 04s. I don't think he cost me 4 seconds, but the lorry driver who dithered and then came to a stop on the final junction into the last 70 yard dash to the office didn't do me any favours. I don't know whether to be miffed for just missing out, pr pleased that it turned out to be a lot easier than I expected and that <1h is definitely achievable.. Tomorrow is another day.

Fun rating? 9¾ out of 10. Hugely enjoyable.

beseku

Second commute in three days.

- Tuesday was my first time ever - 7.95miles in 46 minutes, with an average of 10mph
- Today on a slightly altered route - 7.72miles in 36 minutes, with an average of 12mph

Hurts less too

linsen

1hr04secs very laudible - once you have hit th esub hour what have you got to look forward to? And please be careful - my husband fractured his neck of femur in two places when he came off on a bend trying to beat his PB to work!

Kieran_Burns

Gawd - I was happy to get my 14.5 mile commute down to less than an hour. My PB of 49:50 seemed like I was flying.

Are you SURE you're not obsessive?

chronyx

ChrisInBicester wrote:

Thursday is the day, so maybe lay off the glass or two of red the night before...

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q= ... +endurance

:P

linsen

"Quite possibly the highest concentration of traffic lights in the country! Each "red" can lose you a couple of minutes.
Rush hour traffic that would be at close to a stand-still, with cautious overtaking to get by"


Nitrousoxide I knew you were talking about Southampton before I read the rest of your post!! I once started out in Bassett on an old BSO alongside a Harley Davidson and we ended up in St Mary's at the same time! I'v ebeen here 15 years now and I reckon I can avoid most of the red lights....

Leedsblue

Just be careful that you don't start taking too many chances with the traffic just to shave a couple of seconds off

andrewc3142

Don't try for it every day? Try and up the mileage, maybe something else at the weekend. Then maybe once a week when you've had a good night's sleep, you've stayed off the wine for a few days, had a light breakfast and 30 mins to digest, the weather is right, you generally feel good about it, you're warmed up properly, tyres are pumped up properly, bike is clean and the chain freshly lubed, go for it. Change to a higher gear more often/earlier than normal (without slowing your cadence), stand up on the pedals and really push up every incline, get down on the drops as much as you can and don't freewheel.

If it doesn't work, try again the following week ...

steve-t

I must have this back to front its 2.5 miles from home to work yet the the 10 mile scenic route i take every day takes about 1 hour with some lovely single track and a few hills, and i try to find new additions each day.

Its not about the time its about the pleasure I'm in no rush to get to work and eager for the ride home, yet in no rush to get there either !!!!!

CiB

Good post andrewc3142 - you've almost perfectly summed up the preparations. To those showing concern for my well-being, that's really nice of you - I appreciate it, esp after yesterday's on-going thread concerning the untimely and avoidable death of that chap in London - condolences to his family. My own commute though is a mix of 12 miles or so a fairly quiet A road and 8 miles across countryside where cars are an unusual sight - I was passed just the once this morning on that section of the route. As for enjoying the ride, I do most days, but this has become the monkey on my back, getting it down to under the hour.

Yesterday was damn close, but actually a lot easier than I'd expected - it was the change in technique, using the bigger gears, staying down on the drops and the aerobars a lot more, and really pushing up the hills. And all for what? Well - a 0:59:58 this morning, and a sense of "that's that done then". I can go back to enjoying the route for what it is - a fantastic ride across across some of England's finest countryside.

Cheers all. Beers are on me tonight.

(':D')

andrewc3142

Excellent! Hard to beat that feeling.

Now for the next challenge .....