How to break Ave 17.5mph

Nelson Longflap

shakey88 wrote:

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

Well said. And paradoxically, you might even end up going faster as a result.

I used to go on rides obsessed with trying to maintain, or beat a certain average, when I needed to concentrate on intensity. Sometimes when deciding to do a level 2 ride with a computer, I'd glance at the numbers on the handlebars and compare it with what I thought I should be doing. As it was invariably slower, I'd speed up on the way back to get my average up, going out of zone. Result - I didn't spend as long training at the intensity I'd set out to do, so the training goal was compromised. Meaning I never improved. Similarly with intervals.

Sometimes it's just best to ditch the computer and either learn to go on perceived exertion, an HRM, or power if you have the wonga to buy the kit. Which I don't.

le_grimpeur

Bhima wrote:

So average speed really doesn't mean a thing.

Seems that it means nothing to you. I appreciate your ride is full of road furniture. But the average is a useful means of gauging improvement. Of course, many factors weigh against averages, but as averages average out the average remains relatively constant. A strong headwind on the way out is often countered by a strong tailwind. On average the wind is not a significant factor as it is not constantly high. So over a year, or even year on year, the average remains constant, thus improvements can be measured this way, and can be used to improve one's er, average.

Anonymous

Well it seems whenever I mention average everyone moans at me.

le_grimpeur

Average is personal, thus only relevant to you. Or rather, your average is only relevant to you. I'm not interested in anyone else's average*, but I am interested in how to improve my average, and how other's have improved theirs.

As much as I like the average, it isn't for everybody. I have no other means of measuring my performance. Sure, best times come into it, but that'll end up with an average!

* = Not strictly true. A friend of mine is doing a Triathlon, and I am very interested in what she is doing to improve her average, thus I take an interest in what her current average is for the TT section

Edwin

I'm just waiting for someone to say 'get a powermeter'.....

I suppose that's the only way of really finding out what you're producing. Average out on the road is affected by too many variables, mainly obviously the weather. I've clocked 25mph average in a 4th cat race, but had much harder races where it's been much slower.
Racing will definitely make you quicker though, even if you get a kicking at first.

Toks

Grahamcp wrote:

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.

Nice :roll: if thats your top one I can't imagine what some of the lesser ones are like

grahamcp

Toks wrote:

Grahamcp wrote:

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.

Nice :roll: if thats your top one I can't image what some of the lesser ones are like

You may mock, but after a performance plateau of several years I attribute this to a marked and quite rapid personal improvement (perhaps +1-2 mph on my average) - maybe not for everyone (I didn't have a naturally muscular base to start with) but yes it is my top tip.

RUPRECHT

Well thanks for the great tips, just thought I would let you know that on my trip from York to Doncaster over the Easter weekend I went down all the way on the big ring and despite the back / neck breaking pain I was on the drops for 90% of the way.

Please to report that I broke my record time by some margin and acheived 19.2mph ave speed.

I have to state that there was not a breath of wind all the way down though which is unusual but hey progress is progress!!

Is there any way to help with the discomfort of riding on the drops for prolonged periods or do you just get used to it eventually?

le_grimpeur

Fantastic. Got a ride in meself at the weekend, and managed an improvement on my best time for my regular ride.

I used to get upper back/neck ache, but changed the handlebar extension, thus brought the handlebars up. It had an adverse effect on handling, but I soon got used to that.

LingfieldXC

another garmin advocate here, only just got mine. Bening so competitive means that I have to beat my virtual partner so I push myself way harder than when I just went out for a ride. I also use the HRM function loads to know how hard to push up hills.

Another method I heard was find a fairly flat course, decide what average you want to acheive then try and maintain that for as long as possible. Each week you should be able to go slightly further at that average.
It builds the power needed first then the endurance.

LingfieldXC

another garmin advocate here, only just got mine. Bening so competitive means that I have to beat my virtual partner so I push myself way harder than when I just went out for a ride. I also use the HRM function loads to know how hard to push up hills.

Another method I heard was find a fairly flat course, decide what average you want to acheive then try and maintain that for as long as possible. Each week you should be able to go slightly further at that average.
It builds the power needed first then the endurance.

Moomin23

I say Cadence is the answer, spin the lower gears when you can and get set into a good rythm of about 90rpm, don't focus so much on intensity, let your gears determine this, Lose a bit of weight if you can, stay seated on your climbs to build anaerobic power.

Riding in a good group and doing your turns on the front wil improve you no end, in my first year, I went from about 14.5mph to about 19.5mph, I'm no Contador but a good training plan and encouragement from others can bring you on in a way riding on your own never can, geting half wheeled on a good steady circuit by the 1st and 2nd cats is a great way to gauge your improvement, if you can delay being blown out the back week by week you'll see a massive difference!!

thedaffodilfish

LingfieldXC wrote:

another garmin advocate here, only just got mine. Bening so competitive means that I have to beat my virtual partner so I push myself way harder than when I just went out for a ride. I also use the HRM function loads to know how hard to push up hills..

Me too, however you have to be careful with the virtual partner over tough parts of a ride (hills, wind-blasted heaths etc) and be mindful that you were probably going slower at that point. I've used it a couple of times but still prefer to have a ride goal such as keeping speed at a certain level on flat and a certain level on ascents.

Someone else mentioned intervals and I've found those have led to the most improvement. I originally found it difficult to discipline/monitor interval periods and effort, but the training function on the 305 makes a big difference.

I used to be paranoid reading about folks average speeds on this forum - I'd go out for a club ride, work hard and keep a steady 21-23 mph but when I got home my average on the garmin would be 14 mph Then I realised there's all the starting and stopping in traffic on the way out of town which prolly lowers it. I should probably only start the timer outside the city limits, but I like recording the whole ride.

CyclingBantam

Toks wrote:

Grahamcp wrote:

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.

Nice :roll: if thats your top one I can't imagine what some of the lesser ones are like

Are you embarassed reading that back Toks? Did it make you feel better about yourself? :oops:

fnegroni

thedaffodilfish wrote:

I used to be paranoid reading about folks average speeds on this forum - I'd go out for a club ride, work hard and keep a steady 21-23 mph but when I got home my average on the garmin would be 14 mph Then I realised there's all the starting and stopping in traffic on the way out of town which prolly lowers it. I should probably only start the timer outside the city limits, but I like recording the whole ride.

Do you have a Garmin? if so, did you enable the AutoPause option? I have it set to 'when stopped' which makes up for the time lost slowing down and accelerating out from traffic. Alternatively set it to stop when speed is below 5mph.

What about pressing the 'lap' button before and after you hit traffic? This way you can remove those laps from the sustained av. speed calculation but include the total for plotting the ride.

Every time you use your brakes you effectively annihilate any gain you made in the miles leading to that point.

I usually keep an indicated 19.5mph average on my 30 mile commute to/from work, until I get to a roundabout a mile from work where I can see the average speed literally dropping by the second, down to 18, sometimes 17 mph as I weave in and out of the queue of cars.

I console myself thinking it makes the ride harder and so more effective...

fnegroni

Moomin23 wrote:

I say Cadence is the answer, spin the lower gears when you can and get set into a good rythm of about 90rpm, don't focus so much on intensity, let your gears determine this, Lose a bit of weight if you can, stay seated on your climbs to build anaerobic power.

I would add to that: try matching your cadence in one gear higher. It is important to know what your most efficient cadence is though. If you currently spin at 90rpm but your most efficient cadence is, say, 85rpm, you are potentially wasting energy. Try going one gear up, and push until you get the ideal cadence. You will not only push a harder gear faster, but you will also be efficient at doing so.
That's what I do now and it works wonders for me.
Maybe a pro would do it differently.

thedaffodilfish

fnegroni wrote:

Do you have a Garmin? if so, did you enable the AutoPause option? I have it set to 'when stopped' which makes up for the time lost slowing down and accelerating out from traffic. Alternatively set it to stop when speed is below 5mph.

What about pressing the 'lap' button before and after you hit traffic? This way you can remove those laps from the sustained av. speed calculation but include the total for plotting the ride...quote]

Auto pause is currently enabled at 0.5 as I wanted a fairly accurate ride time on my commutes, without it stopping and starting anytime I lean slightly while waiting at lights. I should probably start using the lap function - thanks for the advice. I've had a 305 for about 6 months now that I think about it (!) and am still not maximising its use.

JGS

If you want a few more parameters to help judge whether you are getting better I tend to write down the following for each long ride I go on:

Date and time
Weight in lbs (before and after)
How tired I feel out of 10
Has it been a workday
Hunger out of 10
How much food I've consumed in the day
Rough indication of weather + wind

I keep it all in a scruffy notebook next to where I keep all my cycling gear. Then I can compare similar rides to see if I am improving at all, and also to see if I am eating and drinking enough. Also I live on top of a large hill, so I try to make my route home be the same over the final 1 mile and time that to see if I can improve on a personal best.

It probably does sound like a lot to record and do, but it takes about 1 min at the start and end of each ride and is a fantastic motivator when you think you've reached a peak.