dman-ebike

Thats right. 1 year later, 1400 miles of thrashing my body to its limits and not much improvement. I've also put 6000 miles on an ebike in 4 years although there's no long extended cardio on that bike. Just max speed sprints on top of motor power on an 80 lb bike with no sweating. On the road bike, I can hit 30mph just like any other average cyclist. Holding 20mph for like 8 miles with the wind will drain me. So I'm just like all the other average cyclists I see going 17-19 mph. I say its all genes. You either have it, or you don't!!!

Phantoj

do you have goals?

kimconyc

Ride more; next year start ramping it up until you are riding 1,400 miles a month. You will probably still suck but you will suck less.

grwoolf

No offense, but I'm not sure you are pushing yourself to the limit if you are averaging less than 30 miles/wk. Even if you are riding very hard, you probably are not going to see a big change unless you up the miles.

On the other hand, 30 miles/wk is a lot better than sitting on sofa, so keep it up and have fun.

paste_me

What's your point?

Blackdays

You rode 1,400 miles in an entire? How do you expect to see a lot of growth with that little effort put in?

Your first year is very crucial to building your base. This means you should be putting in a LOT of hours on the bike. Don't worry about doing intervals, hill repeats, or following any sort of workout plan. Just build your base! Put those miles in! 1,400 miles in an entire year is just no where close to being enough.

Creatre

Need to just set specific goals for yourself. And incorporate some sort of training plan to keep the mileage higher while using different sorts of training so you can improve in whichever areas of cycling you think you suck at. 1400 miles a year usually won't yield a lot of improvement.

Eclectus

Mmm, 1400 mi in a year isn't trashing your body to its limits.

I'm 57. 1400 mi / mo is trashing my body to its limits.

fauxto nick

Building a pyramid from the top down.

kayakdiver

well, 1400 miles should be my total for July.... You will not see much if any improvement riding less than 120 miles a month. Set a goal of 100 per week and see what happens. I'm betting you will be happy with the results...

finale23

Who are you comparing yourself to? Fabian Cancellara? You are gonna need a goal to strive for if you want to improve, want to get up to cat 3, 2, 1? Plan training that will get you there realistically. Btw, 30 miles a week is not very much, a couple guys who commute to work in my office easily ride more than that.

dman-ebike

1400 miles a month? Sounds like a human machine. Why not just go 24 hours a day for the rest of your life? Then you would have no life. Just live on the bike. I still think that some people are better then others due to genes. Look at the olympic track stars. They were always fast from the beginning like in high school. They got faster but obviously knew they were fast when they blew everyone away when they were younger. Its like this: Say you were born with a 4 cylinder engine. But the guy next door was born with a 8 cylinder. The 8 cylinder guy was always faster. You might work your whole life to get to 6 cylinder power, but the guy next door always blew you away.

I don't have any goals in cycling . I just wanted see if I was one of these guys that was born with the 8 cylinder engine. I don't plan on spending the rest of my life cycling just to get to 6 cylinder power.

Velo Dog

I suppose this isn't the place to suggest that it's possible to ride for fun, enjoyment, fitness or just to see the scenery...
I've sucked on a bicycle for more than 30 years, but it no longer bothers me. I pass some people, some people paqss me, and I haven't taken a ride since about 1980 that I didn't enjoy on some level. You're probably right about genetics, though. I've never been a serious SERIOUS cyclist, but I was a very serious runner for eight or 10 years, and worked hard at it. I hit my genetic limit fairly early, and that was all there was. I could run farther, but not much faster, regardless of my training schedule, intervals, whatever.

Blackdays

You don't understand something. Genetics give you natural ability that increases your starting ground, and gives you a higher ceiling of possibility.

However, none of that means anything without proper training. Riding 1400 miles in a year is not proper training. For any able person.

chasm54

This. 30 miles a week is trivial and you can't expect to see improvement if you're training less than two hours per week.

If your goal was to see whether you have the same basic equipment as Fabian Cancellara, let me put you out of your misery. You don't. But there is pleasure to be had out of fulfilling your potential, even if that potential is less than his. It still takes work, though. How many hours a week do you think he trains?

thenomad

My commute to work is 19 miles a day. I have to go to work and get home so why not ride. This is less than 100 per week but on Saturday I ride for fun 35-50 miles. I may not always ride to work so my average is 90-130 per week. I'm still not hammering in the front of the fast pack, but I'm getting better. It takes mental strength, work ethic, and sacrifice. Some of us have those, some don't.

My 4 cylinder blows away 6 and 8 cylinders all the time. I don't get your point.

KiddSisko

OP should be riding at least 3 times his current average. Then you'll see improvement.

Toss in a hill or two as well.

patentcad

I don't know about that kimmysan.

chipcom 

I've sucked for decades with 5 times+ as many annual miles. 1400 miles a year doesn't even open your hood, let alone tell you anything about the size of the engine.

I have to run from the barn to the house sometimes when it rains...but I can't win an Ironman...wahhhhh!

grwoolf

+1 on this.

I've only been riding a little over a year just like the OP, but did over 6k miles in my first year. I don't think my genetics are anything special, but have seen serious improvements.

I still have weak skinny legs (4 cylinder) on a 6'1" frame, but I'm getting much faster and can ride longer. On hilly group rides, I have become a stronger rider than some of the guys with the huge quads because of my aerobic engine.

I live in a pretty hilly area and I was certainly discouraged with my lack of speed when I started riding. There are lots of serious cyclist riding in the area where I live. Everyone (really, everyone) would pass me. It was literally months before I passed a single person. I figured if I kept at it, I'd either become one of them, go somewhere else to ride, or I'd quit. Now I pass people (and get passed) all the time. Much better, but still working to get stronger.

Blackdays

So, to sum it op:

HTFU

coasting 

i love BF. where else can we celebrate mediocrity?

i say to the OP, forget about setting goals and mileage targets etc. Just enjoy the ride and wallow in your abject uselessness. That's my cycling philosophy.

patentcad

Or GTFU (Give the F Up).

I prefer to carry on, or as Ruth Gordon so aptly stated:

'Never give up. And never, under any circumstances, face the facts.'

KiddSisko

I love a good bike/rider, car/engine metaphor. You could get a job at Versus commenting for the TdF with that skill.

coasting 

As Gordon Ramsay so aptly stated:

"STFU"