Riding with quicker riders

slowmart

I have to hammer myself to keep up on the ride out to the degree on Saturday the last 15 miles of a 70 mile ride took ages and i was in my chin strap. To add perspective they are chatting away and i'm unable to hold a conversation.

Fueling and liquid intake are fine, it's simply i'm not as fit as the rest of the group. While each and every rider offers encouragement i found i had nothing left for the last stretch. Invariably i get dropped and I'm happy to make my own way back but I was wondering if a less gruelling start may prove more beneficial or do I just need to MTFU and get fitter by riding with these racing snakes? :shock:

sungod

as long as everyone's happy, keep on riding with them, if they're giving encouragement it sounds like a good bunch to ride with

over time your endurance will improve

if you're typically <90 on the flat, try to get your cadence up, 90-100, you'll fatigue less and develop leg speed

smidsy

Keep going with them if they are happy and you do not mind the last bit solo.

Gradually you will reap the benefits and the point at which you drop off will get longer and longer untli one day you won't drop off.

The only way to get better is to push yourself, and the current regime seems to tick that box.

SwainDogg

Do you have any more information such as how long you have been riding and what the average speed of the ride is?

smidsy

Average speed does not matter. It has no relevance as terrain, distance, conditions etc. mean it is not a constant.

The fact he keeps up for a good proportion of the ride means he has some base fitness and simply needs to work on endurance. This will come if he keeps pushing. Trying to keep up with faster riders for as long as possible is a good motivator for improving.

MartAstur

I would agree with the other comments. If they are a nice group and you like riding with them just stick with it and ride the last part solo. You will probably find quite soon you will be able to stick with them. I recently joined a club and I can stick with them for 70km but the last 30km I begin to suffer a little. I-m lucky that in my club there are always a few riders that will hang back and pace me back. As for talking while riding, I don't know how they do it, even up steep hills. I'm in Spain so they chat away in Spanish and I can tell you it's not easy trying to translate things in your head while climbing a 10% hill. :S. As for cadence, I have been doing cadence intervals on the turbo and have upped my cadence on rides and it has improved my endurance and average speed. Enjoy your rides and stick with it.

SwainDogg

It's very relevant as he says he is not able to hold conversation. He's told us distance and unless he's gaining huge elevation then average speed over time is a good indicator. Just trying to get some background information but the comments so far will be useful for most.

cattytown

I'll add another bit of support for cadence. I have been paying a little more attention to it recently and my pace seems to have increased and effort reduced as a result. It *could* coincide with an improvement in fitness but I'll never be sure...

P.

smidsy

The cadence thing is a good one. It improves the CV system and reduces the fatigue of the legs.

It can seem counter intuative to spin a smaller gear fast but since doing so I too have seen the benefits.

Obviously it is somewhat personal as everyone is different but for me averaging 90 seems to work.

Shtukka

Short of suggesting you get a lighter bike (!) you might want to try some different fuels. Chances are that, as you say, it just comes down to fitness, but perhaps try swapping to a different drink / flapjack / etc. in case that helps. Some people swear by snickers bars, I prefer Tesco SIS flapjacks.

A much longer answer is to suggest that you get a copy of the The Time Crunched Cyclist programme which in theory will make you fitter at the cost of changing your programme significantly.

saprkzz

I always try to ride with quicker riders and try and keep up.

My riding buddies up until this year ride more for endurance than speed, so I have started to train with an elite race team. My god this is hard, and I doubt I will ever reach their standard (getting too old), but It makes me such a faster and stronger ride myself, and I love trying to keep up and attack them in sprints and hills.

When I do ride with my old buddies, they used to be so much faster then me, but not any more and that's just in 4 months of riding with the team.

Shtukka

Oh, and one other thought - take less pulls and/or take shorter ones.

Zoomer37

Takes a good 2-3 years to start developing proper bike fitness so don't get down about struggling to keep up at the moment.

Ride as much as you can and enjoy it

cougie

Keep at it - but as you've spotted - a less gruelling start will help you later on in the ride. Don't take as many pulls on the front early on, and make them shorter. As to gearing - try to emulate what those guys are doing - similar cadences.
Riding on a wheel saves a decent amount of energy. Well worth doing.

slowmart

Thanks for all the advice.

It has been said by some of group I need a good twelve months in my legs for a half decent base fitness and like every journey you need to enjoy :shock: I'm getting more confident on riding on the wheel in front and while it's hard there is a certain satisfaction in going like a train through the countryside. And while it's frustrating to see the wheel in front disappear knowing i have nothing left, nowt sweet FA. It also motivates me.

I must be really weird

I

Alexvs

For the last 2 weeks I've trialed riding with local clubs and with the first in the first week I went out with their quicker group. On the flats I kept up fine but got dropped heavily on hills so on the return leg back from the cafe I stayed with the regular group which turned out being the opposite and was spending all my time at the front trying to get their pace up.

Last weekend I went out with a different club and they were so much better as they have one rule and that is to not drop anyone. I was able to get my speed up and even though I dropped back on hills I always had someone holding back encouraging me to get up it and push on. On our return journey from the cafe stop 4 of the guys were having sprint challenges to village signs and after one of these I got dropped out the back so 2 of the guys stayed back and we rode the rest of the journey together. A good club attitude helps everyone in the end and because of how welcome they made me feel I'll be joining this club with the hope I'll be keeping up soon enough.

I know the second ride made me feel better as when I split to head home I was pushing harder than ever to maintain the speed we'd been riding at and actually upped my overall average by 0.4mph from the time I left them to getting home. I'd definitely say stick at it as they sound like a similar group to what I rode with and that will help you improve all the time.