Originally Posted by
TimothyH
Only very strong riders and likely not solo efforts.
15 MPH to 18 MPH average speed is more likely for most riders on solo rides more than 20 miles.
Many cyclists and runners are surprised at the level of difficulty encountered when they take up the other discipline for the first time. Fitness in one discipline does not correlate well to fitness in the other. I think you are seeing this so give it time and keep riding.
-Tim-
Pretty much what I'm gathering from everyone is simple enough to understand - focus on making myself a good and strong rider, then tend to the chassis. Makes sense and I'm familiar with this concept from my running background. I'm fine with this mode of thinking.
One thing I've been hard focused on the last couple days is seat comfort. And this I feel is having a big influence on my ride duration, too. My current seat feels like I'm straddling the rear part of my perineum on a cushioned four inch diameter round-bar when I lean forward. I've tilted the seat down in the nose to see if that helped, but it didn't. Put a gel seat pad on it to see what that would do - still nothing. So just a while ago I went to a LBS and was checking out seats. I told the guy there that I feel like I'm straddling a metal fence beam. I'd already measured my butt bone width, center-to-center at approx 10.5cm. After talking, he almost instantly wasn't so focused on seat options anymore and asked if I was wearing riding shorts. I said no, just my running shorts I still have. He said before buying a seat, try these first since I'll need them anyways. He said he can't make it very far without them. So I bought a pair and will give them a go. He also grabbed my seat and asked if that's the position it was in, and after confirming he said try moving it forward some so my butt is positioned more to the back of the seat.
So in all fairness, I'll try the shorts - no worries. Yet I feel like it'll be no different than having the gel seat pad, which I already tried. I dunno.