Not quite a newbie
woodbutcherer
Posts: 18
Good afternoon,
I am hoping you could give me some guidance please, I have read many posts of this forum before asking my questions and hope not to offend by asking questions that are answered elsewhere.
I have been road cycling for around a year noe more off than on initially, but over the last few months I have upped my commitment and am feeling better in the saddle and more fluid in my riding. I use Strava to map my routes and both my hill climbing and route times in general are improving.
Ultimately I would like to join a club with the view to meeting people to hopefully make friends through a mutual interest.
However, I have spoken to a few of the club members to gauge my current ability against the ability of the slower group in the club, my average mph is about 14mph against theirs at 18-19mph.
I am looking at the way I ride and the routes I do and wondering whether I'm doing it wrong, I.e pushing myself to hard to soon.
The route I do is 10miles with one relatively steep hill straight into a downhill and into A very long and gradual ascent onto about 1.5 miles of flat then a steep downhill for about 1 mile then 3 miles of relative flatness and small ascents then home which takes about 35minutes.
I like riding up steep hills but for the longevity of my leg muscles it's pretty destructive. Should I be concentrating more on mileage on lesser demanding routes I.e no hills, or should I be mixing the two...or something entirely different??
Any guidance really would be appreciated, thank you
I am hoping you could give me some guidance please, I have read many posts of this forum before asking my questions and hope not to offend by asking questions that are answered elsewhere.
I have been road cycling for around a year noe more off than on initially, but over the last few months I have upped my commitment and am feeling better in the saddle and more fluid in my riding. I use Strava to map my routes and both my hill climbing and route times in general are improving.
Ultimately I would like to join a club with the view to meeting people to hopefully make friends through a mutual interest.
However, I have spoken to a few of the club members to gauge my current ability against the ability of the slower group in the club, my average mph is about 14mph against theirs at 18-19mph.
I am looking at the way I ride and the routes I do and wondering whether I'm doing it wrong, I.e pushing myself to hard to soon.
The route I do is 10miles with one relatively steep hill straight into a downhill and into A very long and gradual ascent onto about 1.5 miles of flat then a steep downhill for about 1 mile then 3 miles of relative flatness and small ascents then home which takes about 35minutes.
I like riding up steep hills but for the longevity of my leg muscles it's pretty destructive. Should I be concentrating more on mileage on lesser demanding routes I.e no hills, or should I be mixing the two...or something entirely different??
Any guidance really would be appreciated, thank you
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Comments
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What an unoriginal troll.0
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I do think you need to work on the mileage. 10miles isn't much at all for a cyclist. And with cycling you can increase your distance quite dramatically. I reckon most club runs would be about 50 miles or so.
It is a lot easier riding on a wheel though so your speed will go up. Personally I'd ramp things up in preparation. Don't do the same route over and over again that's not cycling. It's dull. Explore the area. Get out on the bike and broaden your horizons. Have fun0 -
link some of your strava rides, but it does sound like you need to mix it up, ride longer and try riding in a group. where are you from?0
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Thank you "Zendog" for your reply, God only knows what your on about.
Over to the more helpful cougie and benjamess.
I live in Folkestone and there are clubs in the area, FVC is the club I would like to join when I have upped my mileage considerably.
I think I misguided you somewhat, the 10 mile route was just a "for example" .
I have ridden 20-25 miles on Sundays now and again but I do struggle. I'm not sure I'm helping myself as I do tend to take on biggish hills when I plan my routes and these fatigue my legs quite quickly.
Do you think it would be better to concentrate on mileage and avoid the hills and build my fitness and endurance this way?
I am planning a 30mile ride for this Sunday providing it isn't blowing a gale, to see how I fair, probably start off slowing and build the tempo to a quicker more comfortable rhythm.
I am also pondering on buying cadence enabled bike computer, do you think these are worth it, or should I just ride and leave the science alone.
Yes I would happily upload my Strava rides if I had a clue how to do it!!
Thank you0 -
If your average speed is solo and theirs is in a bunch that would account for a good deal of the difference. Join a club and ride with a group that you can only just manage to stick with. After a few weeks you will improve - we all get dropped to start with - but over time you'll manage to hang on for longer until you are able to keep up , and then take turns on the front
FFS! Harden up and grow a pair
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Just get in touch with FCC Folkestone Cycling Club via their FB page....
People generally dont regret joining a club.0 -
Ride More:
It doesnt get easier, you just go faster........G Lemond0 -
Most clubs are happy for you to come along with a ride with them to see how you like it. So just go for it. If you're sitting on someones wheel you'll save 30% effort or so - you can go longer and faster in a group.
You've nothing to lose really.0 -
I'd say build it up before joining a club. It can be quite demorolising if you go on a clubrun and are either holding them up all the time or get dropped. Contact the clubs and see what they think but 14mph solo can easily become 16mph in a group however you'll need to be able to stay on the bike for 3+ hours, maybe with a coffee stop, on most clubruns.0
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Is there an informal cycling group on Facebook? What about the CTC? They will have groups rides to suit all abilities.0
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I was in a similar position last December when I got my first road bike. I built up to about 30-40 mile solo rides, was approx 14-15mph. Then I rode with the local club - first Sunday ride was great (see my previous posts) but hard. Now I'm riding regularly on long rides averaging c17 mph, and loving it.
I think you'd find a Sunday club ride quite hard unless you build up your distance a bit. I wouldn't worry too much about your solo speed for the reasons given by others.0 -
Thank you very much for all the your replies and advice. I am going to make some initial enquiries with a couple of clubs in my area to see how they feel about my current ability.
I decided to go out last Sunday at 6.00am on a loop of 35 miles "no wind" the ride out was nice, the ride back was hell 10 miles of "head wind" I was on the bike for 2.5 hours without stopping. I spent the remainder of the day trying to recover, this feeling was compounded by not drinking or eating anywhere near enough on the ride.
Last night I managed 26.5miles with a 16.1mph, about an 1 hour 40mins The route incorporated some hills some down hills and about 60% flat. I drank more and ate more but ended up with an upset stomach about half way "may have been the pizza I ate at lunch time" though.
I drink flavoured water about 500ml and and isotonic drink also about 500ml on the 2 hour plus rides, and also use isotonic energy gels "normally 2 of, and a protein bar Chocolate and Caramel, last night I tried to eat a protein flap jack bar whilst riding, it has the correct amount of carbohydrates to sustain my cycling for 1 hour which is great, but, it's completely inedible, trying to chew through it and breath at the same time proved nearly impossible!!.
I do feel that these protein bars are a waste of money but I have little knowledge of alternatives??
Thank you again, I am going to ramp up the mileage and effort and make some enquiries,
tbh though the prospect of joining a club does make me feel a tad nervous....0 -
Looks like you're making steady progress - upping the distance nicely. As I said before, solo speed isn't something you should worry about but for what it's worth you're ticking along nicely. We've all been caught out by headwinds (I was today!) and for fuel you just need to experiment until you find what works for you. But for a 30 mile ride you shouldn't need too much fuel along the way anyway. Depending on your local club I suggest you try them out in the near future - if they're anything like mine they will be welcoming and keen to help you do well!0
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Several clubs in our area run social rides, 20 ish miles at 12-14 mph non-drop with a café stop halfway. I'd suggest checking out the British Cycling / Sky Ride websites and see what there is in your area. I regularly go out on ours, it's nice just to have a relaxing ride and a chat.0
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Are you sure you need to eat on a 30 mile ride? Drinking is a must, but just performing 1.5 to 2 hours of exercise you may be able to complete this without the need for food.
I don't bother with protein bars to be honest. I tend to have a home made flapjack and a chocolate milkshake at the end of a ride. If I'm doing a longish social ride (+60 miles) I may stop for a coffee and a cake (normally a flapjack again). On a smaller ride I would just have a couple of bottles of water, if I know I'm going to be pushing the pace I'll take a carb drink, a normal ride I'd just have a blackcurrant cordial or similar.
People do talk about the 30% less effort you get from a group ride. In my experience this 30% is from a well formed peloton rather than a club run, there is some benefit with drafting in beginner club runs, but as with everything, the more experienced you become the more you will benefit from drafting. A lot of beginner club runs are not a tight close group, holding wheels very closely. Beginner groups tend to be further spaced out, you'll be accelerating to catch the group from junctions, possibly slower uphill where the group will splinter etc, the stronger climbers will get to the top of each hill and then have a rest while you're slogging it up to the top - then you'll have to carry on to re-join the group.
The local social club I occasionally ride with have two groups, one is an A group being the faster group and the second is the B group - the B group ride approx. 50 miles with 3000 feet of climbing, the B group tend to ride at 16-17mph and the A group 18-20mph (average speeds over the entire ride).
Your progress looks good though, but maybe think about your diet on a day you're going to be riding? Not sure pizza pre-ride would be a wise idea....0 -
Eating on the bike, well I took heed of your comments about eating or not eating. I did a 30 mile ride last and only consumed cordial and half an isotonic gel, prior to going out I consumed carbs and protein throughout the day "no pizza's", as always the first 15mins of the ride was uncomfortable then my legs warmed up and I began to relax on the bike.
I climbed about 1800ft in the 1st hour and the remainder was either flatish or downhill, although the hills we quite hard I enjoyed them and to be honest after the hills I felt absolutely brilliant "yeh my legs were hurting" but I was riding really fluently and it just felt great.
I digress, within 10 mins of getting in the house I was famished and really could have eaten everything in the fridge, I only ever get that hungry after riding and not eating. I had a bowl of rice and a pint of milk, I was still hungry but relented as I am also trying to shed some belly fat.
Anyway, clubs, I've got Friday off of work so I am going to ring around and have a chin wag.
Apparently I need to be able to ride for 45 miles with an average mph of 14 - 16mph for the B/C team!
On Sunday guess what I'll be trying to achieve???
I don't believe greatly in the average mph as I could be flying downhills for most of my ride, or staying on the flat or doing mostly uphill, all three would give vastly different mph'.
Thank you once again0 -
Update....
I think I've got the bug now, I often find myself chomping at the bit wanting to get out on my bike, such as today, but it's raining!
I went out with a local cycling club last Sunday, battled my nerves and was greatful I had as it was thoroughly enjoyable. Today I really wanted to go out with the main group but decided against it, the reason being I would like some advice on apparel for cycling in the rain.
I haven't got a good Base Layer or even a Base layer but do intend to buy one made with Merrino Wool long sleeved!
I have waterproof tights which are breathable, over shoes, and a thermal breathable jacket but it's not waterproof!
So....I intend to ride in the rain, which is where I'm a bit lost with layering and what to buy and wear, I have been looking at a Bontrager Avery Stormshell Jacket.
I want to stay dry in the rain, do I buy a stormshell and wear it over my thermal jacket which is in turn over my base layer?
Or can I buy a waterproof jacket that I can carry with me in case it rains, which I can put on top of my thermal wind proof jacket and base layer?
I suppose it would help if I said I intend to ride through the freezing cold winter months as well.
Any help would be great, thank you0
