# Suggestions for increasing mph over long haul.



## singlespeedbuss (Aug 6, 2009)

I have been riding pretty serious since about August 2nd of this year and seem to be plateauing a bit. I try to push a little harder each time out at different intervals to mix things up. My rides usually contain flats, hills of varying degrees of difficulty and rolling or undulating roads. My best time or speed average was today 17.5 mph over 52 miles. I am 45 yrs young and my weight is between 200 & 204 varies daily. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I started out only too lose weight (256.8) but now am trying to become a hammer on my bikes.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

There are many things that can be done. IMHO, the first thing to increase speed is to use a higher cadence. Generally speaking, most novices aren't very fast because they're in too heavy of a gear. Spinning and knowing how to manipulate your gearing to keep your legs at the right cadence and right level of effort can often boost performance by efficiency.


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## GerryR (Sep 3, 2008)

There's a lot of information you didn't provide. How tall are you? 200 pounds is no big deal if you're over 6' tall but if you're only 5'5" it is an entirely different issue. What kind of bike do you have? If you have a hybrid or mountain bike, you're going to have trouble going much faster. Do you ride alone or with a group? Riding with a group can do two important things for you. First you learn group riding skills and etiquette, and second you will be pushed to ride faster.


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## deadlegs2 (Oct 3, 2009)

slow down to speed up.. Don't hammer the hills (or the tailwind)so much that you spend much time going slow recovering


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

actually, 17.5 mph over 52 mile rolling miles is a pretty damn good average, if you pedaled it solo. I'm a cat 3 masters racer and if I go out for just a good fun ride and roll along at a pace, I'd be happy to end up at that number.

to go faster, do intervals. 

these don't need to be complicated. 

one simple way to do it: set your bike computer to clock or stop watch mode, and if you'd normally be rolling along at 18, try to hold 20 for as long as possible. make note of how long you can do that. roll easy, maybe 12-14 for an equal amount of time, then repeat. 

keep doing that until you can't hold 20 for the prescribed amount of time. 

or, you could get serious and have a formal plan, there are lots of books and articles and services.


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## easyridernyc (Jan 10, 2008)

yeah i agree with some of the above. i dont really aim for big speed, i kinda prefer long and slow personally. still, interval sprints, besides improving overall level of fitness--i.e. making u a stronger rider, probably contribute to improvements in overall speed as well. 

at which, i wouldnt know, but relatively frequent bursts of uphill sixties, seventies in an intermediate (big) gear might be a good place to start. try that five or six times in an hour, then rest, then again the next time out. you will feel the difference pretty quick


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## herbn (Aug 22, 2009)

back when i paid attention to my average speed on rides, to inch up on a 20 average(solo),in addition to trying to pedal faster, i was trying not to slow down to much in certain situations,right on red with momentum, some things that might be considered stupid. Don't worry about it that much, try to get into rides with other riders that are near to/above your level. Pre-established rides with sprint points or hill climbs and get competitive in safe situations


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## singlespeedbuss (Aug 6, 2009)

GerryR said:


> There's a lot of information you didn't provide. How tall are you? 200 pounds is no big deal if you're over 6' tall but if you're only 5'5" it is an entirely different issue. What kind of bike do you have? If you have a hybrid or mountain bike, you're going to have trouble going much faster. Do you ride alone or with a group? Riding with a group can do two important things for you. First you learn group riding skills and etiquette, and second you will be pushed to ride faster.


 73 inches tall and I have a Specialized Tarmac S-works. Try to spin between 85 and 90 rpm. I have tried the group thing a couple times without success, I think the group was way too fast for my level. I mainly ride solo on the road and with a couple other people while in the dirt.


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## singlespeedbuss (Aug 6, 2009)

easyridernyc said:


> yeah i agree with some of the above. i dont really aim for big speed, i kinda prefer long and slow personally. still, interval sprints, besides improving overall level of fitness--i.e. making u a stronger rider, probably contribute to improvements in overall speed as well.
> 
> at which, i wouldnt know, but relatively frequent bursts of uphill sixties, seventies in an intermediate (big) gear might be a good place to start. try that five or six times in an hour, then rest, then again the next time out. you will feel the difference pretty quick[/what do you mean by 60`s or 70`s? When I ride my SS road bike 46x16 gearing i aim for a 17-18 mph average over 20-25 miles with bursts from 25-29 mph for short periods but with this gearing anything above 10% grade for maybe 75-100 meters is brutal.]


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## singlespeedbuss (Aug 6, 2009)

herbn said:


> back when i paid attention to my average speed on rides, to inch up on a 20 average(solo),in addition to trying to pedal faster, i was trying not to slow down to much in certain situations,right on red with momentum, some things that might be  considered stupid. Don't worry about it that much, try to get into rides with other riders that are near to/above your level. Pre-established rides with sprint points or hill climbs and get competitive in safe situations[/It is tough to find group rides in my area that the riders are not already blazing fast and are well schooled with pack riding. I am a real green horn in that area. I stop at the lights in my area because people are not watching for cyclist, even when they seem to look right at you they still creep out and mis judge the speeds we ride at.]


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