nycphotography

Never mind the naysayers, there is no reason you can't train and get stronger and keep beating him... well only one reason... if he really gets focused on training, you will have a hard time keeping pace with his improvements.

But there are tons of Masters on here who can tear the legs off of most younger riders.

Younger riders have the advantage in that a little training goes a long way, and they recover fast so they don't have to be as methodical about it.

But older riders have the advantage of mental focus, power of will, and organization... especially for things that take longer to achieve than a music video.

Maybe you should look for people to ride with... group rides, especially fast group rides, can be very rewarding.

CliffordK

????

Listening to the wrong music while you're riding?

nycphotography

lol yeah and paying attention when typing too.

caloso

He already is. That's the thing.

OP: From what I've read, he's going to beat you in a side-by-side time trial. And he has enough snap to drop you off the line. Your best strategy is to do anything and everything possible to hold his wheel off the line, force him to drag you to the end, hope that he's sufficiently fatigued, and then come around.

So you're going to have to work on improving your snap so you can hold his wheel when he attacks. One of my go-tos is "15 second drag race" intervals: 53x15, from a standstill or as close as you can, then jump hard for 15 seconds, it will be really hard to turn over the pedals to start, really focus on getting on top of the gear, keep accelerating all the way through 15 seconds. I usually do 5 of these.

Then same thing, but in the small ring: 39x15. This time it'll be easier to start but you'll soon get on top of the gear and now your focus is on spinning as fast as you can. Really focus on turning your feet over. 5 of these too.

Another thing is to work on jumping from speed. Gradually roll up to 20mph, pick a tree or sign 100m ahead, then out of the saddle and sprint as hard as possible.

I'll do a work out that is designed to work on the ability to hold speed: I will roll down an overpass or levee road (pretty flat here), soft pedal so that I hit the flat part at my target speed (27mph early in the season, up to 30 or 31 later) and then hold that speed for 60 seconds.

And you'll need to work on your short-term recovery so that you can deal with repeated attacks which will happen as soon as your nephew figures out he's not dropping you off the line: 30sec on/off. These are simple: 30s as hard as you can, 30s recovery (soft-pedal), repeat ad vomitum.

If you do these, in addition to FTP and VO2max work, you will get faster.

caloso

Finally, OP I feel your pain. I am a little older than you (49) and my son is a little younger than your nephew (turns 13 in a few weeks) and he attacks me at the end of every ride, especially when I've dragged his skinny butt through a headwind all ride. I know his tricks, but one of these days he's just going to ride his old man off his wheel. That day will come and the only thing I can do is to move it as far out into the future as possible.

rumrunn6

just let it go. there comes a time ... ;-)

nycphotography

Some go gentle into that good night.

Some do not.

rumrunn6

still remember when my son 1st smoked me on the running track. dam !@#$%&*! teenagers

but his big smile was priceless

CliffordK

Perhaps just enjoy the time the kid will still ride with the "OLD MAN"

Before riding into the sunset with his new college friends.

Red90

Your just delaying the inevitable... but hold on as long as you can. If the kid has more time, testosterone and youth... you will eventually lose.

However... since you haven't done any structured training, there are gains to be had there. Even if you don't have as much time as the kid does in riding. The HIIT training is good, but also trying to train in an aero position helps a lot. For myself going at about 20mph from the hoods to the drops nets me about 1mph faster for the same power output. However, my heart rate will increase and I'm not as efficient when I'm down low with the same power level. So it's a matter of just more practice and flexibility to get comfortable in the lower position. Also learning to spin a bit faster will add a tool to help you keep up without burning your legs out early.

As to gear... tight fitting clothes with net you the best bang for the buck, low rolling resistance tires and tubes, and aero helmet. Since you are racing on flats, make sure you have close gearing to always keep you in your optimal cadence.

Reynolds 

+1. As an old racer told me once, "Grab that wheel and fight tooth and nail to keep there".
IF OP is a sprinter, he might have a chance.

Drew Eckhardt 

Not really.

Training will do the most for you. That can get you to 21 MPH for an hour solo when you weigh 136 pounds in peak shape, faster if you're a more average sized guy. 7-10 minute intervals as hard as possible once a week will do the most to improve your lactate threshold which is your limit for an hour. Shorter intervals are too fatiguing for you to rack up as much time, longer intervals don't let you ride hard enough to stress the relevant systems as much.

Past 40 you have more patience than kids; should be far enough into your career and child rearing to have time for 10+ hours a week; and are more used to suffering.

Buy a decent pair of tires for $80 imported from your favorite UK source. Good tires like the Continental GP4000S can save 15-20W at 20 MPH.

Buy a skin tight aero jersey for $50-$200. With 70% of your drag coming from the rider who's shaped like a barn door, a skin tight aero jersey will do more for you than anything except switching to aero bars. It'll give you nearly all the gain from a skin suit, but still work if your top and bottom aren't proportionally sized and not omit the pockets. This year's model can run $200, last year's $100, and a previous year custom program size sample about $50. Some manufacturers' custom programs no longer have order minimums (I think LG now does one-offs).

Contemporary 25-30mm deep aluminum wheels are pretty good. This year's dimpled Zipp 58mm carbon rims will barely save you 5W at 20 MPH.

Riding with your forearms level is free, and doing that with your hands on the hoods is faster than riding with your back in the same position but reaching down to the drops.