# From novice to a intermediate?



## GT3

How long does it usually take for a novice to become better fit and ride like an intermediate on a road bike?

I have been practicing base miles (flat terrain) twice a week, average speed is rather slow, mostly 13-14mph for a 30mile ride, on a 20miles ride I usually average 15-16mph. 

But when i hit hills my average drops a lot, mainly because after climbing a moderate slope for a period my legs are wasted, cant pedal as fast im suspecting i will need to work harder for building some leg muscles?

But what i want the most for now is i try to ride flat terrain as much as possible to improve my cardio, so I can sustain longer and ride faster.

Any suggestions like which one should I put as a priority, I want to improve myself to match with other road bikers who is an average to intermediate. I am seeing myself as below average.


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## MarshallH1987

Well, I would probably start just doing some easy miles until you can do a few hour ride (2-3 tops) without being totally dead. This is just to kind of get your body used to being on the bike, beyond that it doesn't really help with fitness (did i just open up a can of worms?). I would then switch to doing intervals, 5 minutes, 20 minutes, something like that. For 5 minute ones, aim to do something like 5 of them, pick a section of road where you won't be interrupted and just go at an all out 5 minute pace. Time yourself and if your time/speed drops off between attempts, you are done for the day. Same goes for 20 minute intervals, start off aiming to do 2, work up to 3 eventually.

I prefer to ride uphill for such things, always just seems easier mentally and it is usually easier to climb uninterrupted than on the flats.

make sure your diet and recovery is squared away.


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## SRV

I'd forget about faster for now and concentrate on longer. You're only riding twice a week at 50 miles a week. I think it'll take forever to make any real improvement with that amount of riding.

Try to get a couple more rides in every week and gradually increase the time per ride without worrying about speed. Do this for several weeks and then work in some interval type work for speed. 

If you can't swing more time on the bike, I guess you could ride as hard as you can until you puke on your two rides a week.


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## GT3

What is a good distance i should be setting target on, is it 60miles enough for some base miles building up the endurance or something longer is needed?

And how long does it usually take if I train on a schedule 4 times a week to see some improvement? does it come in pretty quickly or slow? just so i have an idea


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## black_box

GT3 said:


> What is a good distance i should be setting target on, is it 60miles enough for some base miles building up the endurance or something longer is needed?
> 
> And how long does it usually take if I train on a schedule 4 times a week to see some improvement? does it come in pretty quickly or slow? just so i have an idea


I wouldnt focus on distance, just go for time in the saddle. I would suggest 60-90 minutes on average, maybe up to 120 minutes per ride on a "long ride" and 3-5 rides per week. You may need to work up to this level of weekly training load, you don't want to go from 3 hours to 10 hours right away.

My longest ride ever has been 50ish miles, you don't need that kind of distance to get faster. Most of mine are 20-30 miles after work. You might see results in a couple weeks but it will be gradual and not an exact process, some days will be up and others down, there are too many contributing factors, especially if you're using "average speed" to judge your progress.

You can use average speed, just recognize that factors like stop signs, traffic, wind direction and strength, how well rested/fueled/hydrated you are, all these things affect it. I don't have a power meter so I just track my miles and average speed (plus avg heart rate). Since I follow mostly the same route, it's easy to see improvement charted over several weeks/months.


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## Biffster

There's more than one way to get to an "intermediate" level and a lot of it depends on how much time you have. I don't have much time, so I only ride once during the week 10-20 miles and once during the weekend 20-40 miles. Currently built myself up to where I can do 17-18 mph/avg. Like Black_box, I find doing much over 2 hours of riding just wears me down too much. Just make the time you have on the bike count. Focus on doing intervals on flat roads. If your averaging 17 mph currently, try to hold 19 mph going into the wind for 2 minutes 2-4 times during a ride. Find a steep little hill in a neighborhood nearby that only takes 1-2 minutes to get up and go all out on it a couple of time for starters (with 5-10 minutes) of recovery riding in between. Build the number of times you can do this up to 5+ and then start doing it in the next tallest gear. Throw in a sprint or two to a couple of roadsigns/barns/big trees for the fun of it. 

If you do all this and your not getting any faster after a couple of weeks, ask yourself if you're getting enough rest. If you got a full time job & family, you're probably overtraining yourself. Sometimes I have a great week on the bike, but if my time off the bike has been extremely busy or stressful, I'm no better the next week.


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## Alaska Mike

GT3 said:


> How long does it usually take for a novice to become better fit and ride like an intermediate on a road bike?


Don't get too hung up on what a "novice" and an "intermediate" ride like. Your goal should just be to improve- these aren't merit badges. As you ride more, your riding will improve. After you build a base fitness, you can try various things like intervals or other training techniques to further enhance your riding experience. For the time being, you just need to ride a lot.


GT3 said:


> I have been practicing base miles (flat terrain) twice a week, average speed is rather slow, mostly 13-14mph for a 30mile ride, on a 20miles ride I usually average 15-16mph.
> 
> But when i hit hills my average drops a lot, mainly because after climbing a moderate slope for a period my legs are wasted, cant pedal as fast im suspecting i will need to work harder for building some leg muscles?
> 
> But what i want the most for now is i try to ride flat terrain as much as possible to improve my cardio, so I can sustain longer and ride faster.


While you're building the base miles, mix your routes up. One day go for a shorter ride, but mix in as many hills as you can. Work on riding efficiently, using only the muscles directly related to climbing and relax the rest. On a given hill, find a pace you can sustain and riding evenly up the hill. On another, intentionally blow yourself up, stop, and then ride back down. Repeat a couple times. Find your rhythm. The more you ride hills, the better you get, and suddenly the mystery goes away.

The next ride, pick an easy ride and focus on improving one aspect of your riding. Could be something like cadence, arm position, or pedalling technique. The main thing is to think about what you're doing and experiment with different things to see what feels best for you.

Another day, maybe pick a 10 mile route and do an informal time trial. Record your times and see if you can beat your personal best. Again, experiment with things like pacing and gearing and see what the results are.

On another day, go for a long ride with a goal that's just a little further than your personal best. Speed doesn't matter as much as reaching the destination.

...like I said, mix it up. Doing the same thing over and over will just slow your progress and increase frustration/boredom.



GT3 said:


> Any suggestions like which one should I put as a priority, I want to improve myself to match with other road bikers who is an average to intermediate. I am seeing myself as below average.


If at all possible, find a social group ride to start out with (check with your local bike stores). Find a guy slightly faster than you are and follow them. When you match them, find another rabbit. When you're the fastest guy on the ride, find another group. It's amazing what you can do when you're in a group.

Until then, enjoy riding and get out as much as you can.


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## Erion929

I started riding again last summer June '10, after a 15 yr. hiatus, and pretty much have done like "Biifster" and "Alaska Mike" have suggested. I usually don't have the time to go on long 3-4 hr. 50+ mile rides. I would ride 3x week for anywhere from 30 mins. to <3hrs., depending on the route and terrain. If I didn't have the time, I would ride a hilly route and just try to go pretty hard and get the legs burning. If I had the time, I would ride a varied route of rolling hills and pace. I probably only do 60 miles a week, but 2/3 of it is on rolling hills...not too much flats around.


Try to stand and sprint up the shorter, rolling hills in a little bigger gear. On longer hills, try to stand and sprint for awhile, then settle down into a lower gear and spin (which will help your cardio)....then upshift and stand back up, if you can, for awhile again. Vary the route, vary the effort...but get the muscles burning. I just use neighborhood hills to gauge my improvement, both in cardio and strength....if I can move through the hills faster and in a higher gear, I'm improving.


For me, at the very beginning, it took about 4 weeks to get to the first point where I could honestly say that I was a better rider. Yeah, on my scale of 1-10, I went from a "2" to a "3" LOL :blush2:. Three more months and maybe I put myself at a "5". I quit riding from Dec.-Feb. cuz it was cold....well, colder than I liked :blush2:. When I started up again in March, it took 4 weeks again to work out the kinks and get up the hills without dying...and 2 more months later, only now do I feel like a "5" again.


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## fuzzalow

From novice to intermediate has nothing to do with speed and everything to do with skill.

Try to get a good, balanced position on the bike as far as saddle setback, saddle height and balance. If you can enlist a knowledgeable cyclist or bike club member to look over your bike position, so much the better.

Work on developing a smooth, efficient pedal stroke. Weight and push on the downstroke of the powering leg as well as unweighting the upstroke leg as it comes through the bottom of the stroke and comes around back to 12 o'clock. A higher cadence is better than a lower (<70rpm) mash.You cannot learn the skill of pedaling if you are rushing to go fast because your form breaks down and a bad stroke gets ingrained. This will take time but building fitness is a gradual process also.

Get on the learning curve, develop the skills and the speed will come.


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