How unfit am I? Annoyed with myself!

Manc33

Age: 36
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 153lbs
Smoker: No, although I only quit 4 months ago.
Drinker: No.
Other drugs: No.
Not even steroids: No!
Bike: 23lb road bike with 700c x 23 @ 115psi

Here's where the unfit part comes in... I just did a 10 mile ride, "just" 10 miles lol... well my average speed was 12.5MPH and I was absolutely flogging my guts out!

There was a fat guy in front on a mountain bike, could not catch him. That was the aim. At least it was downhill but still... what really annoyed me was he was pedalling at about 50RPM.

Why is that? What is wrong with me!

I don't even have excess fat on me, all I can think is the fact that I smoked for 20 years and only stopped 4 months ago. Still, my mate smokes all day long and he can blast up a mile long hill at a gradient of 15% and not even be out of breath, how come?

If practice makes perfect I am going to double these 10 mile a day rides to 20 miles, getting really annoyed about it now.

If I am averaging 12.5MPH then how much more effort is it to go at 25MPH average? I know I won't ever get there being 36 and all, but how much more power? 3 times more? 5 times more? 10 times more? More than 10 times more?

If you had a big list of all the members here, lets just say in theory there's 100,000 members... I would be in the bottom 1000 I bet. I cannot believe I have got a road bike and still only manage 12.5MPH on a 10 mile ride!

Its something like this:

02 miles: 14.5MPH average
05 miles: 13.5MPH average
10 miles: 12.5MPH average
25 miles: 12MPH average

I don't ever go more than 25 miles lol.

If I biked 10 miles a day, how long before I can coast along at 18MPH like MOST road cyclists do? 12MPH to 18MPH is a 50% increase in speed and probably at least double the effort.

All I can say is there are cyclists that are so fit I cannot comprehend how they do it, doping or no doping.

I am not interested in racing - but I cannot stand being so unfit. Is it just a case of flogging my guts out every single day and increasing the mileage and/or speed?

That fat guy tonight was the final straw.

Manc33

Keep biking.

/thread

letap73

Chill dude!

It could be any number of things that are holding you up - one of them being hung up with how fast you are going. Enjoy riding your bike first before looking to go faster. Do not get caught up with the average speeds quoted here either - most solo road cyclists do not coast along at 18mph.

20 years of smoking does not do your body good, it will take you time to get to the fitness level you aspire. Your age is most certainly not an issue.

sebbyp

Is it a new bike?
otherwise...
very long shot but... stuck on brakes? seroiusly. just bought the girlfriend a 2nd hand bike yesterday and she was so keen to get out on it I only lubed the chain/gearset and we were off, she only managed 10MPH! for 15miles, I nearly couldnt ride that slow it was painful. then today I checked the bike over and here rear brake was partially stuck on, when i had the bike on a stand and spun the back wheels it stopped in 5secs rather than freewheeling. epic fail. pray to the lord she'll be faster next time out!

lift the bike up and spin both front and back wheels just to be sure. How are you measuring your average speed/distance?
other than that, you riding on the flat or is it hilly?

just get out there and keep riding, it'll do you good and you'll improve. best to ride steadily so you can still just about talk, you be able to ride for longer and be working aerobically which will benefit you the most at this point in time.

♠ChumBucket♠

Well, I admire your honesty!

You can't compare yourself to anyone else, there are just too many factors which are all different.

Firstly however, you can be extremely proud of yourself for stopping smoking! You have committed & conquered that (where SO many fail), a huge personal achievement, so now a whole new world of possibilities is open to you my friend!

I obviously don't know you, & I'm no expert either BUT....

I would just keep going, little & often, you WILL get there. Also look at your diet? Could you be doing yourself more favours in this department? You could be lacking energy/stamina because of diet.

Anyhow, keep it up & keep posting your progress mate.

wheezee

You don't have to "flog your guts out". Just keep pushing yourself a little beyond what's comfortable. Keep riding like that a couple of times a week and eventually you'll see a difference. You'll ride faster and further, and your improvement, especially to begin with, will be marked.

Don't give up, get out there.

simon_masterson

Your fitness IS important, but so is your mental state. Tell yourself that you'll do it.

Eg. I haven't been able to cycle much for several weeks now as I've had eye problems (I wear contact lenses) and the delightful organisation that owns the block in which my flat is has just decided that I can't keep bikes even in the reasonable locations available, so they're 10 miles away in my parents' shed. Since mid May my mileage has decreased dramatically as I finished doing a job that required 35 miles a day commuting. As a result of that I've put on a few pounds too, and I haven't had an asthma inhaler for the few couple of weeks as I needed my prescription renewing...

...But still, with the right attitude I think if I got on a bike tomorrow feeling comfortable, energised and psyched up, I think I could reach the best part of my peak form if I paced myself. Confidence is key, and can make the difference between riding at 27 MPH and 13 (etc).

As for training, if you want to go faster you need to ride faster. There are various methods that people employ, and I'm not a sports scientist so I can't comment on the validity of any of them, but a common one is simple intervalic training. Incorporate short sprints and fast sections into your rides. Practice spinning your gears as fast as you can. Build muscle. Use energy products...

But don't give up, whatever you do. You've already done something that requires tremendous determination; learn from that.

Ringo 68

Don't worry, you will see results if you stick at it.

Last year I remember trying to catch a woman on a mountain bike with a Tesco bag full of shopping hanging off the bars. I did catch her but it was bloody hard work :oops:

Today I have just done my best ever average speed of 17.1 mph on a 20+ mile ride. One of the best things about being a newbie is how quick you get better.

markp80

Manc33, just stick with it, enjoy the riding and listen to the great advice you get on this forum. I'm a beginner too and I've been surprised how the improvements come. Just grit your teeth and keep spinning! (and well done on the smoking, most life changing thing you will ever do)
Cheers,
MarkP

Manc33

Ringo 68 who had the Tesco bag lol, you or the woman?

Cheers guys, I am too impatient about it a lot of the time, always have been though and not just with cycling.

I am like an old dog that thinks it can still sprint upstairs, then finds out it can't. :oops: Anytime I see a cyclist in front I always try to catch up, no matter who it is, dunno why.

When a guy zooms past you he knows he is annoying you! OK maybe not everyone cares or gets annoyed but I always do for some reason. I actually start speeding up if this happens, but I never catch them lol, I remember thinking "right there's a hill, I will catch him here..." oh yeah, he just geared up, stood up and was away even faster than I go on the flat!

They always look sort of "fat" as well, but I think they just have "veterans calves" hehehehe.

I remember when I was 15 seeing a guy in lycra going up a really steep hill near where I live. I was on my 15 speed mountain bike (a bloody good/light bike for a kid) and as soon as I saw this guy in lycra, because I was with my mates, I thought right, I am going to beat him up the hill and I did! It was a close race as well, he said "Smart ass" when he went past, but I was really shy back then (still am) and it kinda affected me a lot, I never wanted to hurt his feelings or whatever, the poor sod had probably just done over 60 or 70 miles or whatever whereas I set off with full energy.

I would give anything to be as fit as I was at 15. If you never smoked and cycled from 15 until now, you're going to have insane fitness levels compared to a guy like me that smoked and hardly biked it or got any exercise at all. Thing is the smoking leads to a sedentary lifestyle and THAT then is far worse than smoking even is. I would say the fact you don't exercise is doing 80% damage with smoking being the other 20%. The thing is it's the smoking causing the lack of exercise. It is an evil and vicious addiction.

Don't congratulate me too much on quitting smoking, yes I did but only because I got an e-cigarette. Still, that doesn't do any harm as far as I know and it has the vital thing that keeps all tobacco smokers smoking tobacco - nicotine. Wow that was a word salad. 8)

Why not have a sticky thread about e-cigarettes? Most smokers don't realize they could stop "smoking tobacco" and instead use the e-cig. One thing is for certain - you can't smoke and expect to get fitter cycling, which is exactly what I ended up doing, until by sheer chance I caught onto the e-cig (and got a decent one after a few leaky ones).

♠ChumBucket♠

Manc33 wrote:

Ringo 68 who had the Tesco bag lol, you or the woman?

Cheers guys, I am too impatient about it a lot of the time, always have been though and not just with cycling.

I am like an old dog that thinks it can still sprint upstairs, then finds out it can't. :oops: Anytime I see a cyclist in front I always try to catch up, no matter who it is, dunno why.

When a guy zooms past you he knows he is annoying you! OK maybe not everyone cares or gets annoyed but I always do for some reason. I actually start speeding up if this happens, but I never catch them lol, I remember thinking "right there's a hill, I will catch him here..." oh yeah, he just geared up, stood up and was away even faster than I go on the flat!

They always look sort of "fat" as well, but I think they just have "veterans calves" hehehehe.

I remember when I was 15 seeing a guy in lycra going up a really steep hill near where I live. I was on my 15 speed mountain bike (a bloody good/light bike for a kid) and as soon as I saw this guy in lycra, because I was with my mates, I thought right, I am going to beat him up the hill and I did! It was a close race as well, he said "Smart ass" when he went past, but I was really shy back then (still am) and it kinda affected me a lot, I never wanted to hurt his feelings or whatever, the poor sod had probably just done over 60 or 70 miles or whatever whereas I set off with full energy.

I would give anything to be as fit as I was at 15. If you never smoked and cycled from 15 until now, you're going to have insane fitness levels compared to a guy like me that smoked and hardly biked it or got any exercise at all. Thing is the smoking leads to a sedentary lifestyle and THAT then is far worse than smoking even is. I would say the fact you don't exercise is doing 80% damage with smoking being the other 20%. The thing is it's the smoking causing the lack of exercise. It is an evil and vicious addiction.

Don't congratulate me too much on quitting smoking, yes I did but only because I got an e-cigarette. Still, that doesn't do any harm as far as I know and it has the vital thing that keeps all tobacco smokers smoking tobacco - nicotine. Wow that was a word salad. 8)

Have you ever heard of a book by "Alan Carr"? (not the comedian)

It's a book with a VERY high sucsess rate for the people who read it to stop smoking. I know people who were commited 40+ a day for life who have stopped without issue after reading it!!!!!!!!

I have an e-version, if you give me your email I'll mail it to you if you wish. Apparently, it's quite something.

Manc33

Yep, been through all that, I had it as an audio book and listened to it 50,000 times. OK not that much but every day for days, even playing the chapters randomly, doing anything I can to make it "sink in". It never can, because as the book itself says "How can a book help me quit smoking" then explains how it can, whereas really, it can't, its always up to you.

I agree that somehow a massive amount of smokers do quit after reading it, but I dunno, my addiction was just so much more progressed than that. I resigned myself to it in the end, or what I thought was the beginning of the end until I saw an ecig.

I remember mornings where I smoked 2 roll ups before getting out of bed. Days when I smoked 40 roll ups.

The thing with the ecig is not only does it enable (enable is the key word, ENABLE) pretty much any smoker to stop smoking tobacco (what all smokers want) and you can also "carry on smoking" or that is, your brain has no qualms about the transition, but it even feels to me like I could quit this (apparently harmless) device far easier than real cigarettes, the companies lace tobacco with all sorts of chemicals to give a faster hit and that is what also gives you the faster anxiety when it wears off, they are geniuses at "repeat sales" as they probably call it in their boardrooms.

If I can stop using tobacco with this, anyone can. I am like a nicotine fetishist or something, a nicotine fiend. Always have been. Just gave up expecting to ever be able to stop at one point. I guess I class myself as a non-smoker now, I dunno.

Ringo 68

I might try one of those e-fags.

I am a week into giving up and not finding it too bad at the moment. I only smoked about 10 a day of the mildest cigs in the shops (Silk Cut Silver) so nicotine was never going to be the problem. It is the certain times of the day, like after a meal or bike ride that I find it hard to break the habit.

Good luck (with the fags and riding)

danowat

Manc33 wrote:

I know I won't ever get there being 36 and all, but how much more power? 3 times more? 5 times more? 10 times more? More than 10 times more?

36?, I was 36 when I started cycling and time trialling!!, it's hardly old!

Stick with it, improvements come thick and fast with proper training.

ricklilley

As others have said, just get out and ride, and enjoy it.

My average speed can be anywhere between 12 & 15 mph depending on how far i go and the route i take. If your mostly doing 10 mile rides, start to build up your miles to longer rides. This will improve your endurance and fitness.

A few months ago 10/15 miles and i was absolutely knackered, now i usually go out for 20/30 miles, and try to get a few longer ones in now and then too. My longest ride so far was 52 miles with a 14mph average, which i was well pleased with.

In 2 weeks i'll be cycling 100km in the York 100, and i really don't care how long it takes, i just want to get round it. Next year i might aim to beat my time or i might go for the 100 miles. But for now i'm just loving being out on the bike, and seeing my fitness slowly improve.

noodleman

Agree about the age not being an issue. Your levels of stamina should be at their best in your 30s, so just keep at it and im sure you will improve. Probably need to up your mileage from 10 miles to at least 20 so you can speed up the improvements. Well done on quitting the fags, probably the single best thing you could do to improve your fitness.

slowbike

Manc33 wrote:

Here's where the unfit part comes in... I just did a 10 mile ride, "just" 10 miles lol... well my average speed was 12.5MPH and I was absolutely flogging my guts out!

Yer - you're unfit - but you've recognised that and you're working out how to rectify it - that's most of the battle!

IMHO (as a newbie to road cycling) doing intervals is a good way to increase your overall speed ... as is trying to keep your cadence up (80-90 apparently).
Don't forget the rest days though - they are just as important ...

If you've got a 10 mile route that you often ride then look into Strava.com - upload your rides (you can keep them private!) and mark out a couple (or 3) segments - next time you ride, attack one of the segments and don't worry about the performance on the rest of the ride ... see how you do and try to build on it...

I know ppl say you can't compare yourself to others ... but you can - you can look at a peer and say "I want to be that fast" ... then work at getting there.

12.5mph isn't a terrible speed (unless it's all downhill!) but it's not terribly fast either - you can easily beat that with a bit of training and motivation ... why not go for 13.5mph over 10 miles (same course) by the end of August? Do you think you could get there?

jonomc4

I am 46 - so older. Smoked for many years but gave up about 4 years ago (except the occasional one) and none at all in 2 years.

When I started cycling I was the same as you. Now I can average 24mph on a 10 mile flat ride without headwind and cruising at 20mph doesn't bring up a big sweat. I am still fairly crap on hills but gradually getting better.

Just keep doing it - enjoy it and don't push yourself too hard all the time. As long as you keep cycling regularly and eat reasonably sensibly things will change - but if you push yourself too hard or become too despondent you will give up.

I would definitely recommend a long easy weekend ride (start with 20 and build it up to 40 miles and then go for even longer occasionally). But really above all just enjoy it - maybe you can just have the mileage show on your bike and forget all about the speed for now?

t4tomo

Manc33 wrote:

When a guy zooms past you he knows he is annoying you! OK maybe not everyone cares or gets annoyed but I always do for some reason.

this is Silly Commuter Racing at its best.

I sat on teh back wheel of a youngish guy commuting on a timetrial bike teh other morning and try as he might he couldn't drop a 40+ year old bloke on a Brompton. That made me smile all the way into work.

Just keep cycling a little further or faster each week. You'll soon improve.

Also make sure you arepedalling in circles, not just stamping down teh downstrokes of each pedal. Concentrate on a smooth even rythym

slowsider

Manc33 wrote:

Here's where the unfit part comes in... I just did a 10 mile ride, "just" 10 miles lol... well my average speed was 12.5MPH and I was absolutely flogging my guts out!

How long have you been riding? How often, and over what distance, do you take the bike out each week ?

danowat

t4tomo wrote:

I sat on teh back wheel of a youngish guy commuting on a timetrial bike teh other morning and try as he might he couldn't drop a 40+ year old bloke on a Brompton. That made me smile all the way into work.

Yeah, I was on a recovery ride, but your huffing and puffing behind me was putting me off trying to keep my power below 160w :roll:

junglist_matty

There's a lot of riders who claim to ride fast.... In my opinion, if you're cruising at 20mph, that is fast.... cruising at anything over 20mph is very fast.

I ride regularly and depending on wind (not too many hills around Cambridgeshire) I can happily cruise all day long at 17-18mph, it's not super easy, but it's not too hard either; my heart rate would be around about 140-145bpm average at that sort of speed.... I rode a 126mile ride the other week, I completed the first 100miles at 17.5mph average in just under 6 hours with average heart rate of 144bpm, I would have struggled (had to put a lot more effort) to go faster than that, although I probably could if I wanted, but I like to enjoy my riding.

Now I'm not claiming anything here, BUT, I've spoken with a few guys who claim they are fast riders, who say they cruise all day at 20mph and after going out for a ride with them find out they only really cruise about 16mph average. So yeah, there's a lot of people out there who talk utter rubbish about their speed, hence take it with a pinch of salt and let their real riding do the talking, or at least make them prove it with post ride logs (i.e. strava).

Your speed sounds fine to me....
Anyway, if you're only just starting out riding after years off the bike, to be honest, 12-15mph is what I would expect you would achieve over a short 10mile ride... Any higher than 15mph and you would have natural talent, any lower than 12mph (on a road bike) and you are just not good at bike riding. I've been riding road bike for 3 years now, previous to that mountain biking since I was about 12 so I've always been riding bikes... I'm a fast enough rider but I wouldn't say I'm fast, I'd say I'm regular and ride an average "average speed" compared with other regular riders.


What you really need to do...
To get faster, what you need to do is to get a heart rate monitor, you need to set your heart rate training zones and sit in the lower zones (the aerobic training zones).... Especially after smoking so many years I'm sure you're heart will not be too happy with being over exerted to begin with. You really need to do a lot of miles at low speed, get you're heart working at a rate that it's not over-working, you need to train it to pump more blood to you're muscles at lower rates and the only way to do this is to ride slow to start with.

Now I'm not saying that all you're rides need to be really slow, of course, do some interval training (once or maybe twice a week) which will build you're muscle strength and help you're top end speed.... In doing so, this will also help your speed at lower heart rates.

Really, it's all about effective training, you can't expect to sit on a bike and be riding like regular riders, you can't expect to sit on the wheel of a regular rider at 20mph average having not done much riding.... It comes with time, and time on the bike, if you don't put in regular miles you won't get faster, it's simple.... You could massively improve your short rides (less than 15miles) by riding them as hard as you can (say 3 rides a week), but you will plateau about 17mph because aerobic fitness is so important and you only get that from dedicated training and it's not easy.

junglist_matty

t4tomo wrote:

Manc33 wrote:

When a guy zooms past you he knows he is annoying you! OK maybe not everyone cares or gets annoyed but I always do for some reason.

this is Silly Commuter Racing at its best.

I sat on teh back wheel of a youngish guy commuting on a timetrial bike teh other morning and try as he might he couldn't drop a 40+ year old bloke on a Brompton. That made me smile all the way into work.

Just keep cycling a little further or faster each week. You'll soon improve.

Also make sure you arepedalling in circles, not just stamping down teh downstrokes of each pedal. Concentrate on a smooth even rythym

Indeed, silly commuter racing, have to love to hate it..... Some days I ride hard and use people ahead as targets to keep going at high pace, not to annoy them or anything, but to keep a high intensity.... Other days when I'm doing slow recovery rides it's tough when you're sat at a very slow 12-15mph pace with all sorts of riders are passing you, but keep mentally tough and keep to you're pre-set plan for the ride, ignore others and what they're riding, it can be tough!

Peddle Up!

junglist_matty wrote:

There's a lot of riders who claim to ride fast.... In my opinion, if you're cruising at 20mph, that is fast.... cruising at anything over 20mph is very fast.

I ride regularly and depending on wind (not too many hills around Cambridgeshire) I can happily cruise all day long at 17-18mph, it's not super easy, but it's not too hard either; my heart rate would be around about 140-145bpm average at that sort of speed.... I rode a 126mile ride the other week, I completed the first 100miles at 17.5mph average in just under 6 hours with average heart rate of 144bpm, I would have struggled (had to put a lot more effort) to go faster than that, although I probably could if I wanted, but I like to enjoy my riding.

Now I'm not claiming anything here, BUT, I've spoken with a few guys who claim they are fast riders, who say they cruise all day at 20mph and after going out for a ride with them find out they only really cruise about 16mph average. So yeah, there's a lot of people out there who talk utter rubbish about their speed, hence take it with a pinch of salt and let their real riding do the talking, or at least make them prove it with post ride logs (i.e. strava).

Your speed sounds fine to me....
Anyway, if you're only just starting out riding after years off the bike, to be honest, 12-15mph is what I would expect you would achieve over a short 10mile ride... Any higher than 15mph and you would have natural talent, any lower than 12mph (on a road bike) and you are just not good at bike riding. I've been riding road bike for 3 years now, previous to that mountain biking since I was about 12 so I've always been riding bikes... I'm a fast enough rider but I wouldn't say I'm fast, I'd say I'm regular and ride an average "average speed" compared with other regular riders.


What you really need to do...
To get faster, what you need to do is to get a heart rate monitor, you need to set your heart rate training zones and sit in the lower zones (the aerobic training zones).... Especially after smoking so many years I'm sure you're heart will not be too happy with being over exerted to begin with. You really need to do a lot of miles at low speed, get you're heart working at a rate that it's not over-working, you need to train it to pump more blood to you're muscles at lower rates and the only way to do this is to ride slow to start with.

Now I'm not saying that all you're rides need to be really slow, of course, do some interval training (once or maybe twice a week) which will build you're muscle strength and help you're top end speed.... In doing so, this will also help your speed at lower heart rates.

Really, it's all about effective training, you can't expect to sit on a bike and be riding like regular riders, you can't expect to sit on the wheel of a regular rider at 20mph average having not done much riding.... It comes with time, and time on the bike, if you don't put in regular miles you won't get faster, it's simple.... You could massively improve your short rides (less than 15miles) by riding them as hard as you can (say 3 rides a week), but you will plateau about 17mph because aerobic fitness is so important and you only get that from dedicated training and it's not easy.

^^ The sweet sound of sense. ^^

Peddle Up!

junglist_matty wrote:

Now I'm not claiming anything here, BUT, I've spoken with a few guys who claim they are fast riders, who say they cruise all day at 20mph and after going out for a ride with them find out they only really cruise about 16mph average. So yeah, there's a lot of people out there who talk utter rubbish about their speed, hence take it with a pinch of salt and let their real riding do the talking, or at least make them prove it with post ride logs (i.e. strava).

I know that to return an everage of 17-18mph on a decent ride every time I glance at my speedo I have to be doing over 20mph.

t4tomo

junglist_matty wrote:

Indeed, silly commuter racing, have to love to hate it..... Some days I ride hard and use people ahead as targets to keep going at high pace, not to annoy them or anything, but to keep a high intensity.... Other days when I'm doing slow recovery rides it's tough when you're sat at a very slow 12-15mph pace with all sorts of riders are passing you, but keep mentally tough and keep to you're pre-set plan for the ride, ignore others and what they're riding, it can be tough!

Pick a slowish girl with a nice ass and just ride behind her!

Ringo 68

+1 to the HR monitor and lower speed and heart rate zones.

I am doing most of my riding in Zone 2 which is 138 bpm maximum for me. At first this was really hard to do, especially on anything that pointed upwards, but the more I ride at this lower intensity the easier it is to keep below 138 bpm.

Not being totally out of breath is a novelty when out on my bike too.

Twelly

This is a very wordy thread which I have only skimmed so apologies if I am repeating anyone.

OP - you say you try to keep up with/overtake anyone who is in front of you, no matter who it is or what they are riding? Might be contributing to you problem.

You have to come to terms with the fact you are not going to keep up with the lycra clad 20mph+ rockets that might blitz past you and just stick to your own pace to begin with. I also suffer from commuter racing syndrome and if I work it too hard trying to keep up with a pro, I ruin myself for the rest of my ride and I struggle to keep up any kind of respectable speed. I usually average 16-18mph on my 10 mile commute and that comes from warming up and winding up the speed slowly then just sitting and spinning smoothly trying to maintain a speed I know I can do but if I start racing, my short term speed may increase but my ride average drops because I drain my energy in one big hit!

Obviously everyone has good and bad days - some days I fly to work at 20mph+ the whole way, some days I struggle at 13mph.

mouth

Manc33 wrote:

I would give anything to be as fit as I was at 15.

I beg to differ, at least in my own personal experience. I no longer drink, smoke or do drugs. Oh yeah, I don't really eat crap any more either.............

houndlegs

Here's what I'd do. Take the computer off the bike,then ride the bike cos you enjoy it. Don't worry about speeds at all,just get out and have some fun.

thefd

Mouth wrote:

Manc33 wrote:

I would give anything to be as fit as I was at 15.

I beg to differ, at least in my own personal experience. I no longer drink, smoke or do drugs. Oh yeah, I don't really eat crap any more either.............

So as a 15 year old you drank, smoked, did drugs and ate crap - that is some childhood you had!!