How to break Ave 17.5mph

RUPRECHT

Have been road cycling now for c 2.5 years and have steadily built up fitness.

I feel much stronger than when I first started, can ride longer and aerobic capacity is much improved.

However I cannot seem to break ave 17.5mph speed on my rides, I have read that interval training may be the answer, can anyone tell me if this type of training will help me go faster and if so some suggested programmes pls.

Many thanks

Andy

chrisw12

Easy ways first

1) Find a fast route with no stops and no hills.
2) Make sure you have a decent set of (fast) tyres and if you're rich decent wheels..
3) Fit tri bars and get a good aero position.

Then the hard ways: improve fitness, do intervals etc which I'm sure the armchair experts on here will tell you about.

ride_whenever

how long are you trying to maintain it for?

RUPRECHT

I generally vary between 2 routes depending on time:

1. York to Doncaster c 48 miles, mainly flat route

2. 27 mile circular route around N Yorkshire in Howardian Hills area, as name suggests this is a fairly hilly route

Not looking to sustain the speed for a particular period of time but I have noticed that I am consistently acheiving a 17.5mph ave speed and can't seem to break it.

Andy

le_grimpeur

if your current avg is 17.5, you should find that doing nothing more and your average will increase as the weather gets warmer - the air molecules you are pushing will be pushed quicker in the warm air. Buying new slick tyres will also improve your speed, and for me an added bonus has been that such purchases mean that you go into inclines a little bit faster, you can go faster up them, and since it takes you less time to get up them, you know that the effort you put in is worth it, so you do try that little bit harder, and three months down the line, you have greater cycling fitness.

Also, I tried something I read that Greg LeMond advises to improve cycling fitness, which is to go as fast as you can for 20 seconds, resume a comfortable pace, and repeat as many 20 second bursts as you can. That had a great impact on my speed, and I also use something that the Coach Dave Lloyd advises, which is to accelerate as you approach the crest of a hill, thus your speed coming out of it faster, thus you are already going faster at a point when you would normally start accelerating.

Finally, when I am measuring my rides, I know that I have to maintain 25kph on the return, which is hard to do, but I try to accelerate to at least 30 on some slight dowhnill sections, then rest, then as the speed drops, kick for 10 revolutions just to push the speed back over 30, then when the incline worsens I find I can keep a higher tempo to get over the hill and rest the other side. I found this more effective than continued pedalling at 25k

Bhima

Average speed isn't everything. It's affected by too many things - wind, traffic lights, etc...

Just time yourself up a good hill/stretch of road every day and keep a diary of the times. I do this and notice big differences all the time, yet my average speed over 75 miles has been the same for months.

thiscocks

Start riding with a group and do some wheel leeching! Other than that I think it is hard to go much above 18mph av on your own unless you are on a TT course or are a pro.

RUPRECHT

Thanks Guys, good advice, I guess I need to stop measuring my progress solely on ave speed and use some other perameters

Andy

le_grimpeur

Do both! For example, I know what my targets should be to improve my average on one particular route, so within that I can be pleased if i beat any of them, such as the average at the top of the first climb, the average when I reach the furniture shop, half way average, or if I can maintain 22kph up a nasty incline, what the average should not drop by before the final climb, what the best time up that last climb is. Worth noting that pushing the average beyond 25kph on this route is hard, but the improvements do come, or rather have come as I keep pushing meself, but I'm currently at 25.2, and that was from a summer best of 24.8, and the hill climb has come down from 16 to 14 minutes, but there were a couple of 18 minutes and one 20 mins, so plot your progress as you will have dips, but at least you'll see that you are making improvements

galaxyboy

No expert here as I'm just managing to get to 15mph average but i think one of those Garmin cycle computers would help as you can pace yourself against your last trip on the same route so it's like having a virtual partner. If you get one please tell my wife how good they are. :?

Shezzer

galaxyboy wrote:

If you get one please tell my wife how good they are. :?

Dear Mrs galaxyboy, please let him get a Garmin cos the training partner is now compulsory for all cyclists.

Seriously, that training partner feature is ace if you're going out on your own. You only need an ounce of competitive spirit to really work hard. You can also download courses and race against folks you've never met before ... which is good if they whupp your a$$. Need to be careful not to race hard every time you go out though, which is the temptation.

Nelson Longflap

Book yourself a week in the mountains.
Ride in them everyday even if it hurts (which it will).
Come home and don't touch your bike for ten days.
On completion of feet-up phase, time yourself over your usual loop.
Watch your ave speed increase to 19.5 mph for the same perceived intensity.

Worked for me! (won't last though unless you can keep up a similar training stress.)

Seriously though, why does everybody here get so anal about their average speed? Most guys I know who race probably only have a rough idea of what their's is, aren't really that bothered about it (and probably spend most of their time going slower than you in training anyway!)

There's plenty of training resources on the internet if you look for them. Here's a handy site where the hard core testers hang out

http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/ind ... opic=30223

le_grimpeur

Hmm, reckon you're the only one who thinks its anal! For those of us who don't have the means to spend a week in the mountains, or aren't into racing, having an average is something we can usefully measure any improvements cheaply, and it is fun

Nelson Longflap

That's me told!

le_grimpeur

Too right baby!

galaxyboy

Shezzer wrote:

galaxyboy wrote:

If you get one please tell my wife how good they are. :?

Dear Mrs galaxyboy, please let him get a Garmin cos the training partner is now compulsory for all cyclis.

And it will give me a virtual friend!

thamacdaddy

I think you have to be very specific about how you measure this. i.e. average speed over different routes is not a lot of help.

The point is to keep records of regular identical results and also anything that might have influenced that. I personally use mycycling.co.uk to enter in the milage and time from my shimano flightdeck computer on my regular routes. Over two months since getting back into riding properly I have noticed some great improvement although of course things such as weather conditions in the extreme can influence the results.

Its more important to track your progress on the same route than going for a specific meausre. For a long term change you need to obviously work on improving fitness. Everyone is different but I make sure two out of my five weekly regular rides are not necessarily long but all out pace to the point of feeling totally wrecked at the finish. This like interval training help me build more strength which is helping bring down my times on my regular routes.

Mettan

Have you tried to get more out of your flat riding? - instead of nipping up to 22-23 mph (for example) on a variety of short flat stretches, have you tried to nip up to 24-25mph for 0.5 - 0.75 km stretches? To end up with an 18.29 mph avg over 25 miles (for example) I have to do lots of little flat bits at ~ 24-25 mph. This of course incorporates Hills, Wind, poor Road surfaces, Traffic etc - in short, ride harder, when the opportunity presents itself.

fnegroni

Also it might be that your cadence is already at its optimum, and you must go one gear higher.

I like to think of it in terms of cars: petrol cars like to rev high (high cadence, low torque), diesel cars like to rev low (low cadence, high torque)

By both have a 'magic' rev figure which is the most efficient: torque/fuel consumption.

That's you magic cadence: for me it is roughly 85 rpm.

I tried to push to 90+ rpms but that, combined with my asthma, only contributed to me feeling more taxed and yet deliver less power.

I decided to use one gear higher given the same conditions, and initially I was down to 70 rpms, then I gradually increased again to 80-85 rpm's, but now I go faster and same percieved effort, yet higher speed.

I have relatively muscular legs so that might also be a factor. All I know is that if I never took the chance to push one gear higher at the same cadence, I would have not upped my average speed by a full mph.

e999sam

I've said this in another thread. Ride with some one who is better than you. You will work harder than when training on your own and you will get faster.

Homer J

Start drafting everything from scooters to tesco's lorry's. It's also fun in a scary sort of way. :shock:

grahamcp

It is easy to get hung up on average speeds, just make sure you are comparing like for like of your own rides. It's amazing how quickly a 30-35 mile ride average can plummet cruising back into town and slowing for a light or junction or two. Say with 6 miles to go I've given it everything with a tail wind to drag my average from something like 17.6 to 18mph. Then the final couple of miles cool down a it's dropped to 16.6 or so.

Also treat others quoted averages with a pinch of salt. There are so many variables, including exaggeration with some.

My top tip: do a few strength exercises. even if it's just a few free standing squats. say 4x15 reps, 3-5 times per week. no equipment needed, but crouch right down and surge up as hard as you can on each rep.

fuzzynavel

Grahamcp wrote:

Also treat others quoted averages with a pinch of salt. There are so many variables, including exaggeration with some.

I "only" do a 16.5mph average over 50 miles. I have my Garmin records free for all to view on Garmin connect. to prevent me from exaggerating....I know I will get caught out somewhere along the line!

kettrinboy

if your riding a road bike then spend as much time as you can on the drops, it makes a big difference to your speeds i usually stay on the drops while i,m into the wind worth an extra 2mph or so over riding on the tops or hoods and make the most of any easy speed like long downhills why go 20-25 when with a little extra effort you could be doing25-30 or more with a tailwind ,i used to do 17-17.5 a lot but now do 18-20 ave for 30-50 mile loops

John C.

I've had a 21 mile route from Thirsk out to Coxwold, Byland, Kilburn and home. I struggled to get over 18mph ave for a few years, Then I started using the big ring most of the time rather than the middle and I've now upped my average to 20 mph.

RUPRECHT

Great advice guys thanks

le_grimpeur

I'd be interested to find out what works for you - so do post an update
:?:

Anonymous

I find the drops hardly make any difference to my average speed..

Bhima

Went out today and averaged 21mph over the first 6 miles.

Crossing the road slowly to meet willhub on the other side made it drop to 17.6.

So average speed really doesn't mean a thing.

Went out at 6am recently with no traffic and managed to get to 23.8mph average over a stretch of road, usually being 15mph because of traffic/lights/slower cyclists.

Pork Sword

I normally average 13-15mph on a club run, but if you want to up your pace a bit adopting a more aero position does help as you can usually see your average speed increase by a mile or two on your trip computer.

By the way, at my fittest, on rolliing countryside I have managed to average 20mph. That was a few years ago and I was 20kg lighter! :oops: Makes you wonder how the top racing guys manage to average 27mph!!!

shakey88

Here's a thought.Leave your computor at home,go ride with a free and uncluttered mind,enjoy.
Try it,you might like it