dkatz1

Damn! I'm almost 70, and I can hardly ride circles around anyone.

Yonah

Thank you all for posting. I am mid-40s and prior to corona, I would cycle 20miles a year. Since the end of March, I've put up just shy of 500miles - While that translates to an average of about 40 miles a week over the last 3 months, it hasn't been evenly distributed - over the last few weeks am inching closer to 65-70. I am very heavy - 5'11" 245lb, but was always active - 3x 3mi runs per week, 2-3 2-hour judo sessions, so not completely out of shape, despite my appearance.

I started out in late march 2-3 rides per week, maybe 5-6 miles at about 8 mph - just trying to re-get my bearings. My goal was to bike 45-60 minutes per day to keep in shape. Obviously as time progressed, I went from my nightly ride being 5-6 miles at 8mph (i.e. 6 miles in 45 minutes), walking up hills, to 14 miles in just over an hour, breezing up the same hills without dropping too many gears. That same 14mi ride, I've gone from 1:15 two weeks ago, to 1:10 last week and 1:05 last night.

I have a lower-end bike (one of those lovely bikesdirect bikes - aluminum body/carbon fork, but low-to-mid range Shimano gearset) and wear regular clothing, and use flat pedals.

So I guess my $0.02 - you can definitely improve performance by biking more, and pushing a little harder.

I would also say that one additional point is familiarity builds comfort. I find that the more often I ride a particular route - especially the first handful of times I do it, I improve a lot more knowing when the next hill is coming or which intersections I need to be more careful at.

I would like to think that all of things suggested - clothing, clipless pedals, lightening the load (through equipment or weight loss) will all help me improve my time - I'll get there eventually.

livedarklions

If you're a spinner, yes. Not everyone is a spinner.

I know that's sacrilege on BF, but some of us like to use our torque skills.

ErikDaGenErik

OP, I was in your same position back in March. I would say tires and conditioning will help you most improve your speed the most without breaking the bank or buying a different bike. I ride 15-20 miles a day (mostly flat <1,000ft climb) and one longer ride on the weekend. On my first bike, Trek 7600 hybrid, I started around 13mph and averaged around 15.3 before I upgraded. I didn’t lose weight or changed outfits. Just simply rode A LOT. The tires on my next bike (Giant Contend) were stiff and thinner; I was able to instantly average 16mph right off the lot. The bike itself was lighter but not by a lot. Again, tires make a difference.

Cyclist7485

^^^This....twice a week.
If you’re overweight or have a history of any health issues, see your doctor for advice before trying any high intensity interval training.

I do this one sometimes. Warm up for 10 -15 minutes, then do three or four 1 minute efforts with five minutes easy spinning in between, then cool down gently for ten minutes and call it a day. Riding so hard I can hardly see straight during efforts, And so gently during recoveries that it feels almost devoid of any resistance.

sean.hwy

You have GRAVEL tires. I own two bikes. Gravel bike with gravel tire @ 40mm and road bike with 28mm road tires. On a sprint, in town with traffic lights, etc. the times are almost the same. On the open road they are night and day different.

Look up the spec of your bike and seen if they take tires as skinny as 28mm. If so try these.

Continental Grand Prix 5000 Performance Bike Tire Set of 2


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



ps.

@TJtheWrecker welcome. I just started in middle of march myself.

kayakindude

Ride on some rural roads with loose dogs.

Drew Eckhardt 

They're available in a 32mm width.

BlazingPedals

Who wants to run around in top or next-to-top gear? There's nothing left for a sprint.

caloso

OP asked how to get faster than 15mph. 46x15 at 70rpm (pretty much the definition of mashing) is 17mph with 700x28mm tires. Unless you're on a juniors cassette, the 15t is hardly the top or next to top gear.

https://ritzelrechner.de/?GR=DERS&KB...N=MPH&DV=speed

sean.hwy

My friends scott gravel bike will except 28mm. If his goal is to have a higher top end speed I would think the 28 would be faster than the 32.

He of course needs to confirm what tires will fit on his rims.

GeneO 

I may be wrong, but I don't think sprinting is a priority for the OP.

saddlesniffer

Cocaine and some roids before the ride will get you going fast. You will be a monster out there. Just kidding. For me I started at 12-13 mph on average and now I am up to an 14-15 average. It took awhile to get there but I am doing it. Consistency and you will get faster.

Thomas15

Your point I think is valid. In my limited experience riding a loop with hills has helped me with speed and getting over the mental game hills seem to play with us. I find myself attacking hills that I walked up just a few months ago. On the ascent, in my head I ask myself why am I doing this and the simple answer I give myself is "because I can".

No question about it tight fitting clothes will reduce friction which should add speed. In my mind though the biggest benefit to good quality cycling shorts with shammy is the the added comfort on longer rides. The day will come when 25 mile rides will feel like just a short jaunt but once you get chaffed it takes days to recover. I'm not sure just how much clip in pedals adds to speed but after spending months getting mine adjusted and the shoes fitting right I just have a more secure connection to the bike.

I think that having a cadence sensor and heart rate monitor and knowing what are your ranges are is really the most helpful thing to know.

2old

Didn't read all five pages, but for me interval training was the ticket to as fast as I ever thought possible. There are a million programs; just find the one that seems to fit. I had a cycling coach's advice for the program. BTW, hurt like hell.

Riveting

I disagree wholeheartedly. I bought a power meter (PowerTap G3 hub) just so that I could do intervals effectively, and push myself for 30 sec, 1 min, 5 min, 20 min, drooling and almost to the point of vomiting. I've never had so much fun. I have about 15,000 miles on that Power Meter now. I almost can't ride without it. Watts are everything, and all other metrics (spd, avg spd, cadence, distance, calories) are almost meaningless. Watts/kilograms is king! Disciplined training with a PM for 2-3 years got me from a 17 mph 10 mile commute, to almost getting the sub-5 hour imperial century (group of 4), aka 20 mph for 5 hours.

Barry2 

Riveting,
Why do I get the feeling that you're not 50+ years young.
Both my Kickr Bike and road bike have PM's, but not as an antiemetic !


Barry
(Est. 1963)

BTW: I've stuck with the Intervals, and I'm getting used to it. But still not fun.

.

Riveting

I'm 47 now, and was 43 when I first got the PM. I guess we'll see how I feel about the PM puking subject when I'm an old fart like you. But I ride with a 72 yr old (Tom) that also has a PM, and he's almost always the first one to the top of the climbs, where he waits for us young whippersnappers, and then we discuss our max and avg watts on the climb, he's such an incredible inspiration. I do beat him on the descents though, since I weigh about 35 lbs more. Just talking about watts and puking is getting my heart pumping right now, no kidding.

Barry2 

I will chose to take that as a sign of respect.

All the best


Barry

TJtheWrecker

Thank you all for your responses -- what I really resonated with is the idea : if you want to go fast, practice going faster.

Instead of 20 mile rides slowly twice a week, and much longer on the weekends. I''m switching those midweek 20 miles to programmed intervals where I actually push myself, and keeping slower endurance weekend rides.

Hope these will lead to results but I will keep you all posted, thank you!

livedarklions

Me, but I'm generally riding one century a week and about 100-150 additional miles per week. Not terribly concerned with saving something for a sprint.

I ride my 53x11 more than any other gear, by a lot.

Fastfingaz

so is that where the sniffer part comes in ? But you can keep the roids...

ofajen

Funny, I think this thread made me faster this week. I just shifted to the 42/14 on the trail instead of the 42/16, kept a proper cadence and managed not to die for an hour each time. Sometimes a bit of determination is what’s needed.

Otto

powermatt99

I think this is the best answer for most cyclists who aren't racing. I totally respect interval training and measuring power output but I wouldn't want to invest the time and effort as an avid but merely recreational cyclist. I started paying attention to cadence after riding with my dad's friend who called by cadence "erratic." I found the cheapest Cateye computer (this was late 90s) with cadence and tried to be consistent.

With that said, power meters and training advice have never been more accessible to even the recreational cyclist. If you want to go that route, you have a lot of resources at your disposal.

rotorm

it seems to me that all this is very individual