MikeRides

Greetings fellow Clydes and Athenas! Long time subscriber, seemingly forever Clydesdale annual check in.

Been riding all my life, bought my first road bike in 2017. Highest weight was 260lbs, lowest 185, currently plateaued about 220lbs. Gave up all soda for the second time, in the process of giving up alcohol, focusing on my diet lately, and will be working on my overall stamina on and off the bike. As an incentive and reward for sticking with my current sobriety I decided to make an upgrade I never thought I would ever make, I'm going clip less! I've only ever rode with flat/platform pedals, I didn't even realize cycling shoes/cleats were a thing until I joined this forum. Obviously as a newbie I'm going to make a mistake, if there's any tips or advice you can give me I'd appreciate it. I'm sarcastically looking forward to my first inevitable fall when I can't unclip fast enough. Perhaps it'll happen during rush hour so I have a large audience watching me. /s

2024 goals: 500 miles. I already have 50 mile group/charity rides lined up for April, July, and September so that'll be 150 miles accounted for already.
I realize this may be on the low side but this year I want to focus on quality over quantity. Anyone can ride 5 miles/day at a turtle's pace, I want to push my average speeds up to 18+ mph this year. I typically only average about 13-14 on a 30 mile ride, 11-12mph on anything over 50 miles. Besides setting the bar low should boost my self esteem a bit at the end of the year, I usually set high standards and come up short.

So for now, I'll just leave you a picture of my trusty steed and these famous last words... Go Outside, Just Ride!

downtube42

I'd recommend emphasizing miles over speed. Miles first, speed later.

Miles and smiles.

YMMV

MikeRides

I did this for years when I first started riding consistently in 2012. I was on a hybrid/city bike at the time and my performance never really improved and I ended up losing interest in riding, thus why I decided I was going to try to push myself more this year. Plus, I moved to the southeast and it gets really hot here in the summer so say I set out at 7am it'll be hotter than hell by 9am easy so if I can get faster I can cover more miles in less time.

Black wallnut 

Goals are important. Trying to increase average speed 4 mph in 500 miles annually doesn't seem reasonable or achievable. Quality before quantity makes sense. Good luck on your quest.

Mmassey338

You have it backwards. First focus on mileage and the speed will come. Ride at a zone 2 pace, and as often as you can. Every day if possible.
Zone 2 is when you can carry on a conversation, but with some effort.

Here is one of many videos on zone 2 training, watch several