Originally Posted by
rubiksoval
Tempos and threshold work (all that "mid-range" intensity) is going to give you the biggest return for time investment if you don't have a lot of it. For 6-7 hours a week, you can conceivably work up to 3-4 hours of tempo and threshold. That gets you fast way faster, especially in terms of "cruising speed".
I seem to recall that it is you who frequently advocates not wasting time with rides - coasting to stops, soft/not pedaling downhill, etc, etc. Over my last few rides, I've been targeting a cruising power of ~90% of my FTP, mostly... just because, honestly. Are you saying that this type of work will reap good returns?
On these rides, there's been an immediate and stark difference in average speed and, surprising to me, perceived exertion has actually been easier than many of my non-deliberate rides.