Wooden Tiger

I'm not sure what the ratios are. The bike is a 2010 Schwinn Paramount Series 7. I believe it has a compact double but I'll have to search for the specs. It was one of the "Performance Bike exclusives" or something...

Funny you mentioned Strava, I just dl'd it the other day. As for riding in extreme heat, it doesn't matter how much water I drink, I just feel really nauseated and sick.

ClydesMoose

Bit 'o research says this:
https://www.performancebike.com/revi...Road-Bike.html
Crankset: FSA Gossamer compact 50/34T
Cassette: Shimano 105 10-speed (11-23T)

Its pretty well equipped.

I would try getting up in the big ring and choosing a cog that allows you to get a good speed without spinning your nuts off. It'll take a bit of tuning, but as you ride more, it should feel more natural.

Some people prefer lower gears and higher cadences if they have excellent cardiovascular systems. Personally, at my stage of sitness, I prefer a bigger gear and a lower (relatively) cadence because I don't have a lot of cardiovascular endurance, but I have plenty of strength in my legs.

You have to find the combination that works for you.

digibud

My two cents is that 1) she may well have a much better VO2 Max than you as part of her genetic makeup and in spite of being overweight she may be in pretty decent cardio condition and naturally able to get O2 to her muscles. 2). read up on HIIT training...High Intensity Interval Training. "The first Twenty Minutes" is a good book. If you structure your training around some HIIT work you will gain cardio health much more quickly than if you "just ride". Then go out and buy a Madone or Roubaix. Get her a new cool looking bike at Sams club...and voila' ! Dirty Deed Done Cheap. Good luck.

JimF22003

Small world I'm doing MoM again. This will be my fourth time. I had to miss last year because of emergency surgery.

The 2nd time I did MoM I had to walk the last half mile or so to the top. The third time I made it, and told myself I would quit while I was ahead. So much for that plan

Wooden Tiger

I can spin a lot so I don't think my cardio system is too bad, but the problem comes with putting power down. I've always had fairly weak knees, even since I was a kid, so I'm always looking for the easiest gear to be in to put forth the least amount of effort without spinning out of control. I figure the less effort, the further I can ride. Could this be why I'm actually not getting any faster/stronger?

I think she certainly takes her rides more seriously than I take mine. She's basically doing it as a way to lose weight, while I, on the other hand, do it because I just like being on a bike; ride around, enjoy the scenery, and just...ride around.

As for her cardio, I'm not sure how great it is as she's has asthma her entire life. While she doesn't have it to the point of having attacks, we have had to stop so she can take a few puffs off the inhaler.

...And maybe she's just flat-out, strong. I've watched her out-climb men and women alike who appear to be in far better shape than she is, and I've watched her do it like it was nothing.

AerobaticDreams

There is a lot to this statement. She is working towards a goal, while your goal of just tooling around on a bike has already been met. However, you are confusing your goal and hers with your frustrations. I started using Strava and have found that on my worst days I often have something to cheer me up. My wife and I have found that the time it takes to ride the normal loop we ride has been cut in half ( from a 2 hour to a 1 hour ride!). While we weren't feeling any better after the rides, and felt like we weren't getting any improvement...Strava proved us wrong.

I suggest that you need to set some goals for yourself, other than "Go as fast as my wife". She sounds like she is ahead of you on the "Go fast" curve already....so merely catching her would be hard. It's not easy to catch up with a target that is also improving. Ride for your own fitness, and then allow yourself "Fun Rides" where your own goal of just cruising around are meet. My wife and I have road bikes....and for our crusing rides use my 29er and her Trek Townie bikes....not as much urge to start trying to go racing off on them.

Wooden Tiger

You bring up a good point, and maybe I've been overlooking this all along.

I just DL'd Strava the other day. The owner of the LBS where I got my bike was talking about it when I mentioned I was thinking about getting a trip computer for my new MTB. He told me I didn't need one and to just use Strava. Until he mentioned Strava, I'd never heard of it. I'm anxious to give it a try.

brianogilvie 

There's nothing wrong with spinning in an easy gear. You'll put out the same power as you would by mashing in a lower gear. With your bike's gearing, there's a big overlap between the speeds you'll go in different gears, depending on your pedaling cadence. Here's what Mike Sherman's bike calculator indicates. You can use the little chart at the bottom, speed at X RPM, to see how cadence affects how fast you'll go in each gear.

Beginning cyclists often pedal too slowly, which can fatigue the legs more quickly. When I'm touring, I aim to keep my cadence around 70-80 rpm, except on steep hills or when I'm going very slowly for some reason. When I'm riding faster (I don't go fast!), I aim for 80-90. Pedaling faster is slightly less biomechanically efficient, but it fatigues the legs less and is easier on the joints. That's the tradeoff.

You'll get faster and stronger, regardless of your preferred cadence, by pushing yourself to your limits in a structured fashion. HIIT, which digibud recommended, is excellent for improving your capacity. If you're doing it right, though, it takes incredible willpower to make it to the end of an interval. Lactate threshold training is less demanding and can result in big improvements. If you're serious about improving, you might look at Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg's book The Time-Crunched Cyclist, which has some good recommendations for improving your power and speed in only 6 hours of cycling per week.

Wooden Tiger

Sounds good! Thanks for the suggestions on the book, I'll check it out!

OiS

Just caught up on this thread. I felt youcoming started to get you in the right direction, or certainly it was similar to what I was thinking anyway! The cadence is important, but along with that is the resistance you have while pedaling, you shouldn't need to "mash", but if you are spinning at 80+, you are not mashing. As long as your cadence is at a reasonable level, you should ask yourself "how much resistance do I have? Could I change up to the next highest gear and, with a little effort, still spin at 80+?" If yes, then do it! This is relevant in places where you wouldn't really think about it. It is for when your hill starts to flatten out, yes you are a little tired from having climbed the worst of it, but rather than relax as it becomes easier, if you think about it, you could start going into higher gears again and keeping a good cadence. The same for when you crest a hill and begin down the other side, fast riders will go through the gears and ride down the hill, not roll down it. You should be pedalling downhill unless you reach "escape velocity". (Refer to Rule #23).

It may take a bit of practice, but always getting that right balance will make you faster. Pedal at a decent cadence, but at the same time, you should always feel your pedalling is helping to drive the bike forward.

Hope that makes sense!

Wooden Tiger

Makes perfect sense. I tend to "coast" down hills while I notice my wife is pedaling down them.

We're supposed to have reasonably "warm" weather today at 47 degrees, so today will pretty much be the first days out on the new bikes. My wife got her MTB yesterday, so we're hitting the C&O. She got a real nice 2013 Specialized Jett Comp 29er. It's a really nice looking bike!

Gravity Aided

Some folks think that pedaling down hills keeps your legs warmed up. I see it as an opportunity to establish or re-establish cadence, which helps you keep speed up, especially on the flats.

Wooden Tiger

I think both theories are correct. I normally really push myself on the uphills, then "relax" on the downhills and coast uphill again until I feel myself slowing down...probably not the best strategy.

ClydesMoose

I've also heard this termed as "Mach V"

digibud

I coast downhill after I have picked up enough speed that I can't accelerate anymore and pedaling is meaningless.
The marriage between cadence and pedal pressure is a critical concept. If you get in your smallest gear and spin easy at 80rpm you will be going about 5mph. If you try it in your hardest gear you won't be able to maintain it very long. Some place in there your cadence and gear will match with your heart rate such that you are aerobic but working hard. It's the balance between cadence/heart rate/gearing that is the focus of most cycling training. For HIIT training you push well into the anaerobic zone for short bursts. For LSD rides, not so much. If I do a 30mi ride my average HR will be way above what I can maintain if I do a 130mi ride, which is the longest I've ever done. Pay attention to cadence, HR etc and push hard here and there because you get faster and into better shape by stressing your body so it responds by adapting and voila', soon your on the podium...for real or in your mind .

Bethany

OP,

I KNOW exactly what you are dealing with. First time my husband went out with me he cleared 20 miles with ease. It had taken me almost 2 summers to even get that far w/o puking or making it past 5 miles an hour. It was the only time I wanted to strangle him and dump his body in the nearby woods. I'm into my 3rd year and 20 miles max is still all I get at around 10 mph. Mountain biking kills me after the first few hills as my heart rate hits 170 and I'm out of oxygen and my thighs want to explode. I still don't really have an answer as to why I'm pathetically slow and 20 miles is pretty much my max but at least I'm out there.

I haven't had a chance to ride since late December. I had foot problems that needed medication for a couple of weeks. I picked up a really bad cold that wiped me out for 2 almost 3 weeks. I ended up with bursitis after a couple of mile walks and spent a week on a steroid and now have a respiratory infection..probably from the cold and I feel like I'm never going to even get back to 20 miles now.

That being said, DON'T give up. I have to remind myself that one of my bikes (Salsa Mukluk) is 36 lbs and my 200lbs on top of that my legs have to go up hills. My other bike (Salsa Fargo) isn't that much lighter so I'm kind of out of luck on the bike weight department. I had a light carbon bike but I ride highways where the speed limit is 60mph and I was being blown around every time a semi truck went by. I also have to remind myself of where I started..gasping around the block for a month and where I am now at 20 miles and going 10-12mph. Since I can only ride a mountain bike trail once or twice a month, I have to realize my cardio sucks for short hills, turns and twists.

I have both Endomondo and Strava which are great apps and they help keep me focused. I signed up for my first sponsored ride with another lady who also has a fat bike and plan to do a quarter century (sounds way cooler than 25 mile round trip) in June. Now that I have a goal, I feel so much more up to getting a little faster and farther once I get over being sick.

Your wife will probably always be faster than you, but it's all good. If you are up to a little competition, try to keep up (within reason) with her for short bursts. It sounds like you aren't in her way for time/speed and she's happy to wait for you so enjoy the time you spend together.

Good luck on getting a little faster this summer.

Wooden Tiger

My wife and I hit the C&O the other day and we averaged about 8.9 mph, which I didn't feel was too bad for the first time out on a 12.1 mile ride. While the terrain is flat, it is a little bit on the rough side in spots, so the slower speeds don't surprise me. I did a 11.3 mile ride myself on the C&O the other day and averaged about the same. My best came from my ride on my road bike where I did 15 miles and averaged 10.1 mph.

I'm also on Strava. It's a great program but some of it lies. It tracked my top speed for the ride on the C&O at 25.5 mph, which I KNOW I never did. I'm using the free version, maybe the paid-for app is more accurate?

I guess all in all, I just have to commit myself to getting on a bike and just riding...

OiS

No, the paid version still does that. I find that Strava is pretty good, but I always ignore whatever it tells me is my top speed as it is never right. The highest speed I have seen it show for someone was something like 800mph!

Wooden Tiger

Wow! This person must be quite the rider!

TrojanHorse

It's probably got more to do with your phone's GPS inaccuracy than anything else, it's pretty accurate when I upload rides from my garmin.

I've also seen people leave their garmin on when they're on a plane (er? wut?) and rack up a 3,000 mile "ride" in 5 hours.

ShartRate

I'm faster than my wife on a bicycle but she's faster than me at research

Don't sweat the difference so much - everybody out there is different, and if she's faster than you, so what? There is always going to be somebody faster, sometimes it just happens to be your wife.

She may be trying to motivate you as well (just not getting the right result). I can't wait for my wife to get to the point where I can floor it and she'll keep up with me (I'm not fast, she's just slow ).

And if really drives you crazy, go ride by yourself! I am still new to bicycling again and I don't really ride with anybody besides my wife. Honestly I can understand how you can get discouraged riding with faster people. It's why I enjoy my rides by myself, I only have me to compare to.

Bethany

You have to take cycling apps for what they are. It gives you a ball park area of where you are at for speed/distance and time. I don't really use the apps for competing just for keeping track. I'm on the Clydsdale/Athena Strava group and it's great to see the progress of others. I also fool myself into thinking if I use two apps for the same route, I've gone twice as far, twice as fast and burned twice the unrealistic calories given. LOL.

Wooden Tiger

Maybe I too should join the group! I really like Strava, not only because it keeps track of mileage, but because I find it to be a good motivator. While Strava isn't real accurate for top speed times and such, I have found it to be quite accurate in terms of distances. I also use a trip computer on my bike to help keep track. Strava is pretty spot-on with my trip computer on my bike.

Do you have a link to the Clydesdale/Athena Strava page, Bethany?

brianogilvie 

I use the Strava website to track my rides, but not the Strava app, because it's less accurate than a dedicated GPS and I don't want to run my phone batteries down, in case I need to make an emergency call. Instead, I use a Garmin Edge. Of course, the app is free, whereas the Edge costs $$$. Now that Garmin has released the Edge 810 and 510, though, you might be able to get a good deal on a used 800 or 500 from someone who absolutely has to have the latest and greatest version.

P.S. Strava users: If you don't know about Jonathan O'Keeffe's Strava Multiple Ride Mapper, check it out. It's a great way to get a visual record of where you've been riding.

Bethany

https://app.strava.com/clubs/clydesda...bikeforums-net is the link to get to Strava.