how can i get around richmond park faster?

zektarcellblockh

i heard about the 60 minute 3 lap challenge at richmond park but so far i am not making it below 20 minutes for 1 lap. fastest being 20:26 but usually around 21:45. but some riders just seem to fly past me. any tips would be welcome?

ShutUpLegs

Pedal harder

alihisgreat

eat less

chrisaonabike

Give me a tow. (I'm currently 26:18 per lap for three clockwise laps).

zektarcellblockh

even if i had a death wish on that downhill bend i still wouldnt beat the clock

JRKO

In the days before my body knew how to gain weight (a fair while ago now!) I managed this sort of speed.

I used to race cars up Hill Rise from the bridge and then hit the laps. In that time the limit was 30mph and I got stopped twice by police for overtaking cars and had a spectacular crash on 'that' hill. My front tyre imploded whilst I was overtaking cars (again) and I shot towards the low cobble curb. Wheel gave in when I hit the curb and I ended up in the undergrowth with grass stains & splinters in my chin. My mate who was tailing me jumped his pedals so as not to run me over and, as he was not wearing a top, got gravel rash on his back. My greatest fun though was annoying cycling clubs by rocketing past them going up hills those where the days

Anyway back to your question: ride the hell out of the park - pretend you have a single speed freewheel. Punch up the hills stood up, pounding the pedals. Once you can do a lap or two in your stiffest gear 20mph avg. will be in your sights. Also reverse laps can help break up the monotony and the hill makes a nice challenge

sunburntknees

JRKO wrote:

In the days before my body knew how to gain weight (a fair while ago now!) I managed this sort of speed.

I used to race cars up Hill Rise from the bridge and then hit the laps. In that time the limit was 30mph and I got stopped twice by police for overtaking cars and had a spectacular crash on 'that' hill. My front tyre imploded whilst I was overtaking cars (again) and I shot towards the low cobble curb. Wheel gave in when I hit the curb and I ended up in the undergrowth with grass stains & splinters in my chin. My mate who was tailing me jumped his pedals so as not to run me over and, as he was not wearing a top, got gravel rash on his back. My greatest fun though was annoying cycling clubs by rocketing past them going up hills those where the days

Anyway back to your question: ride the hell out of the park - pretend you have a single speed freewheel. Punch up the hills stood up, pounding the pedals. Once you can do a lap or two in your stiffest gear 20mph avg. will be in your sights. Also reverse laps can help break up the monotony and the hill makes a nice challenge

So you used to overtake cars that were travelling uphill at 30mph? Did you ever consider turning pro?

By the way, why did the police stop you? Is it illegal to overtake cars or were they just impressed by your mad skills and wanted to find out how you did it?

GiantMike

sunburntknees wrote:

By the way, why did the police stop you? Is it illegal to overtake cars or were they just impressed by your mad skills and wanted to find out how you did it?

Probably wanted an autograph.

danowat

Is Richmond park public?, not being a city fellow, I don't know it, but on the face of it, surely "racing" around a public park doesn't give a great impression of cyclists?

bernithebiker

zektarcellblockh wrote:

i heard about the 60 minute 3 lap challenge at richmond park but so far i am not making it below 20 minutes for 1 lap. fastest being 20:26 but usually around 21:45. but some riders just seem to fly past me. any tips would be welcome?

1. Get fitter, (not an overnight job)

2. Get more aero - plenty of free seconds here.

3. Try again in the summer with no wind (summer air is faster than winter air, and wind will have an overall negative effect).

Pross

danowat wrote:

Is Richmond park public?, not being a city fellow, I don't know it, but on the face of it, surely "racing" around a public park doesn't give a great impression of cyclists?

It's proper roads through there not like most parks us provincial types know - have a look at the Olympic road race going through there. I think there's a 20mph speed limit and from what I've read on here there is some dodgy riding. It seems to be the place where some London folk who don't do proper races go to wave their c**ks but I think there are also proper time trials held there through the summer

danowat

Pross wrote:

danowat wrote:

Is Richmond park public?, not being a city fellow, I don't know it, but on the face of it, surely "racing" around a public park doesn't give a great impression of cyclists?

It's proper roads through there not like most parks us provincial types know - have a look at the Olympic road race going through there. I think there's a 20mph speed limit and from what I've read on here there is some dodgy riding. It seems to be the place where some London folk who don't do proper races go to wave their c**ks but I think there are also proper time trials held there through the summer

Ahhh, ok, that place, cheers

Wrath Rob

For a more sensible answer, improve your fitness by riding for longer (time not distance) so that a 1 hour ride is not at the edge of your performance range. I also find that mashing it up the hills is great for a 1 lap time but not for a 3 lap time. If you kill yourself to the top of Sawyers and Dark hill (assuming anti-clockwise) then you can't get your speed back up on the flat sections after the hills and so any time you've gained, you lose and then some. A better approach is to actually take it slightly easier up the hills and then accelerate off the top of them to get back up to speed quickly. It sounds counter-intuitive but it works.

In power terms, this makes sense as you're trying to maintain a consistent power output for all 3 laps, i.e. the 60 mins, just like you would in a time trial. You wouldn't ride a 25 mile TT by spiking your power every 6 minutes would you?

JRKO

sunburntknees wrote:

So you used to overtake cars that were travelling uphill at 30mph? Did you ever consider turning pro?

By the way, why did the police stop you? Is it illegal to overtake cars or were they just impressed by your mad skills and wanted to find out how you did it?

Why quote in its entirety the post to which you are replying, when it is directly above?

Terse comments and basic reading skills aside - Hill Rise is not in the park and has speed bumps so racing cars was not that difficult. The police stopped me because I was breaking the limit on a downhill section. That was nearly twenty years ago when I lived in Richmond. The Park is now full of people riding very expensive road bikes very slowly and Hunter welly wearing dog walkers - ie its a poseurs paradise and near impossible to ride at speed safely (for the cyclist and other park users)

The only way to do the 3 laps in 60min is by going very fast (avg nearly 20mph so yes speeding in places) and overtaking cars where they slow you down. Or do it a night

Wrath Rob

Or do it after dusk when the park is closed to traffic. Just watch out for the deer. And those pesky joggers in the road with no reflectives or lights.

okgo

When I went round there I went when it was closed to cars but still light, the only safe way IMO (well, if you're going fast like I was).

But to get faster on any terrain you must become fitter, so that is your answer. I started off finding sub 20 min laps a real struggle. Could likely do 15.xx on the roadbike now for a lap though, so improvements do come.

MarkAshton

Buy a new bike

barry_kellett99

Couldn't resist google mapping this Richmond Park I keep hearing about. It looks pretty class for a nice cycle I have to say.

BUt anyway, This is clearly how to do it...
http://goo.gl/maps/otsGy

Toks

zektarcellblockh wrote:

i heard about the 60 minute 3 lap challenge at richmond park but so far i am not making it below 20 minutes for 1 lap. fastest being 20:26 but usually around 21:45. but some riders just seem to fly past me. any tips would be welcome?

er...you won't be surprised to hear to get better at anything you need to practice. In cycling terms that means training. You've given no indication as to whether you're a newbie or have been riding for years. But training might involve 3 things - increased the volume (more hours riding); increase intensity (intervals) or increase frequency (ride more often). Riding more aerodynamically (on the drops) will also help; testing yourself when traffic levels are at the lowest will help and leaving the challenge to when things are much warmer will definitely improve your time (its quicker riding through warmer air). In short, its January dude, keep training and start testing yourself properly in May and beyond. Good Luck

dawebbo

It's much faster in the summer. I seem to be about 1m30-2m a lap slower for similar watts at the moment and I've not put that much weight on over the hols!

zektarcellblockh

thanks everyone some very good replies. ive had bikes for a couple of years but only really for a to b. but in the last few months i've got into it a lot more and bought a good carbon bike. i am going round anti clockwise and try to choose my visits wisely, as in when there arent cars in the way who are limited to a 20 mph limit these days. can be hard to pass at that speed. i didnt realise winter made such a difference, thats nice to know.

my fitness is great, i spent a most of last year running ultra marathons, but that isnt specific for cycling around richmond park. i guess some of the same training applies: intervals, long runs tec.

while im crapping my pants on that hill ill be thinking of you JRKO. in fact, you probably cost me 30 seconds with that horror story.

Wrath Robs comment about hills makes some sense, i was there earlier in the week and a guy passed me at the top of the the hill then just vanished onto the horizon. meanwhile my legs were pumped full of too much lactic acid to get moving quickly.

should i be thinking about pedalling a hard gear or keeping the cadence flying?

Tom Dean

zektarcellblockh wrote:

cars in the way who are limited to a 20 mph limit these days.

The limit also applies to cyclists

lef

Those passing you are very likely doing a lot more hours a week on the bike. Being fit off the bike obviously helps but it will not make you fast. For now it is as simple as ride more & follow a training plan using specific training zones. You should probably add a generous helping of commitment to that too but doing ultra marathons you probably have that in abundance!

racingcondor

If you're doing ultra marathons then you've definitely got the fitness and the drive to get to a sub 60 minute 3 lap so I'm afraid the advice is 'run less, ride more'.

If you want to get stronger on the bike then aim to build yourself up to 150+ miles a week and you'll soon be as fit as the average 3/4th Cat racer and your sustainable speed will have increased with it.