performance stalemate

crobinson78

Hi all,

I have been training for a few months now. A mixture of short interval traning on the indoor, hilly 20m rides, flat 10m rides and long rides (30-50 miles at the weekend). I cannot seem to improve on my average speeds. these are consistently between 16-18mph depending on wind and form.
I would love to break the 20mph barrier for a 10mile ride before the end of summer.

I am riding a compact crankset. my heart rate would be an average of 86% mrh. on a flatout 10 mile ride. This ride has a gain of 320 feet so reasonable flat. my best time has been 33.50sec.

Any tips or advice to get to the next level.

Thanks.

DeVlaeminck

OK a bit more information needed - when you say you've been training for a few months is that since you took up cycling or you've upped your training in the last few months ? If you are new to it then any training should give you increases in fitness which will translate into higher speeds though not always day to day - wind, road conditions, fatigue, motivation etc all play a big part.

You don't say how many hours and/or miles a week you are doing either. I'm going to take it that you are fairly new to road cycling and you are maybe doing 90-100 miles a week. If that's the case my advice would be just do more and find a once a week group ride that is challenging for you to stay with. Your motivation becomes staying with the group, being able to do turns on the front etc.

Once you have the training volume in your legs and are riding with others who train I think you'll come on loads. I realise not everyone wants to spend 12+ hours a week on the bike but that's what many fast amateurs do - those that don't often have done in the past and know how to get the best out of themselves on less or just have natural talent. If you want to get by on fewer hours then your mix of a long ride, some hilly stuff and some intervals doesn't look too bad for a relatively light number of hours.

crobinson78

Thanks for the tips. Yes most of you assumptions are correct. I bought my first bike in Sept 2012. My longest ride is a 100miles with a group back in August 2013. we averaged 18.2 mph which I was delighted with. I did fall off the wagon a bit during the winter but have been training again since April. Time restraints are a big factor.

Am I aiming too high at 20mph on a solo ride, for a relative new comer to the sport?

supermurph09

So what you are saying is that you want to achieve a 20mph average for 10 miles? Are there any local Time Trials you can enter? Get down to one of those, give it all you've got, then try and beat that time the following week. Without wishing to sound rude, 33 minutes for a 10 mile TT with the riding you are already doing seems very slow. An uneducated guess would be that you paced it all wrong, you either went too slow or more likely went off too quick and blew up.

slowbike

Supermurph09 wrote:

So what you are saying is that you want to achieve a 20mph average for 10 miles? Are there any local Time Trials you can enter? Get down to one of those, give it all you've got, then try and beat that time the following week. Without wishing to sound rude, 33 minutes for a 10 mile TT with the riding you are already doing seems very slow. An uneducated guess would be that you paced it all wrong, you either went too slow or more likely went off too quick and blew up.

Speed depends on so many factors - weather & the bike also play a significant part.
33 minutes isn't slow for 10 miles, it's not fast though.

A local TT would be the best way to measure yourself though. I went into those with the same average speeds of the OP and turned out a sub 30 for my first ride - on a road bike and winter jacket. Since then I've got that down to mid 26 with little training, but adding TT bars, dropping the front down, an aero helmet and giving it everything I've got. This course sees the fastest guys doing it in 22/23 minutes so I have a good way to go. Target this year is a sub 25.

kajjal

Diet and getting enough rest also make a big difference.

crobinson78

Slowbike wrote:

Supermurph09 wrote:

So what you are saying is that you want to achieve a 20mph average for 10 miles? Are there any local Time Trials you can enter? Get down to one of those, give it all you've got, then try and beat that time the following week. Without wishing to sound rude, 33 minutes for a 10 mile TT with the riding you are already doing seems very slow. An uneducated guess would be that you paced it all wrong, you either went too slow or more likely went off too quick and blew up.

Speed depends on so many factors - weather & the bike also play a significant part.
33 minutes isn't slow for 10 miles, it's not fast though.

A local TT would be the best way to measure yourself though. I went into those with the same average speeds of the OP and turned out a sub 30 for my first ride - on a road bike and winter jacket. Since then I've got that down to mid 26 with little training, but adding TT bars, dropping the front down, an aero helmet and giving it everything I've got. This course sees the fastest guys doing it in 22/23 minutes so I have a good way to go. Target this year is a sub 25.

what cadence and gear would be normal for a sub 30min TT. What would be an average heart rate be I am guessing higher than 86% of MHR. Also, would I need to change the compact chainset ??

jgsi

Do yourself a big favour and stop overthinking everything.
There is no normal cadence... no normal gearing... nothing really normal about testing full stop.
Google any local Club tens and turn up on the evening , pay your 3 quid, pin your number on and ride it.
No one cares what or to be frank how you ride as you are on your own.. well just obey the highway code and all that...

JayKosta

My guess is that your 'cardio' aerobic endurance level is what needs to increase.
And training for that usually takes longer time than developing shortterm 'muscle strength'.

The type of riding and training that you mentioned is fine and can give good results, but it will take time.
20 mph is achievable in another several months of dedicated training.

Also, you might need to work on riding in a more aerodynamic position - hands on the drops of the bars, not on the hoods. For 20 mph and faster, wind resistance is a major factor.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Stalin

crobinson78 wrote:

Hi all,

I have been training for a few months now. A mixture of short interval traning on the indoor, hilly 20m rides, flat 10m rides and long rides (30-50 miles at the weekend). I cannot seem to improve on my average speeds. these are consistently between 16-18mph depending on wind and form.
I would love to break the 20mph barrier for a 10mile ride before the end of summer.

I am riding a compact crankset. my heart rate would be an average of 86% mrh. on a flatout 10 mile ride. This ride has a gain of 320 feet so reasonable flat. my best time has been 33.50sec.

Any tips or advice to get to the next level.

Thanks.

To comment I would like to know your age, height, weight, build, any sporting background, health etc.

dwanes

Stalin wrote:

crobinson78 wrote:

Hi all,

I have been training for a few months now. A mixture of short interval traning on the indoor, hilly 20m rides, flat 10m rides and long rides (30-50 miles at the weekend). I cannot seem to improve on my average speeds. these are consistently between 16-18mph depending on wind and form.
I would love to break the 20mph barrier for a 10mile ride before the end of summer.

I am riding a compact crankset. my heart rate would be an average of 86% mrh. on a flatout 10 mile ride. This ride has a gain of 320 feet so reasonable flat. my best time has been 33.50sec.

Any tips or advice to get to the next level.

Thanks.

To comment I would like to know your age, height, weight, build, any sporting background, health etc.

This isn't a Dating forum.

Tom Dean