QUESTION: I have a 58-mile cycling tour in a couple of months. Two years ago I barely finished in the “platinum” group by riding it in just under two-and-a-half hours. Now the organizers have lowered the platinum time to 2:20, an average of 25 mph. How can I train in the next 8-10 weeks to push my average speed up by 2 mph on my bike? The course is fairly flat and I’ll be in a large group. — Weldon J.
RBR REPLIES: I recommend a three-pronged approach.
First, you have to select the right group. It has to be fast enough to get you to the finish in your goal time but not so fast that you get dropped. I’ll leave that to your experience with the event. Finding the right pack isn’t the big problem. Staying with it is tougher!
Second, how’s your riding technique in a group? Do you shelter out of the wind and rarely or never take pulls? If you’re barely hanging on to meet your goal time, try to sit in as much as possible. Don’t expend unnecessary energy, either on the front or dangling a few feet off the back.
Third, training. For a mainly flat ride, you’ll probably get the most help from increasing the amount of power you can sustain at your lactate threshold.
That means longish intervals at an “annoyingly hard” pace. Start with 1×15 minutes and work up to 2 or 3×20 minutes. These are tough and tedious, but they work.
Also include some shorter intervals so you can get over the occasional small hill. I recommend 5×3 minutes very hard on a climb. If you want to avoid the tedium of structured intervals, find a hilly loop and ride it hard with a training partner.
Schedule your long intervals on one weekday, the shorter ones on another spaced at least a day apart. Do a fast group ride each weekend.
Monitor your progress to see if this is too much intensity. If you are losing enthusiasm and getting tired instead of stronger, eliminate the short, hard intervals.
Will this program increase your speed by 2 mph? That’s a big increase if you were quite fit when you did the ride before; not so much if you have more room for improvement. I bet you can do it.
Add weight to your bike. Ride up hills at same or greater speed and increase weight you carry. Another way is to ride steeper hills while pushing same gear and cadence. See rockbarcycling.com for a good weight to add to the bike.
Why not just ride faster? If your concept was correct, then dragging a cinder block on a rope would be a good training method. If a rider wants to put out more effort, the simply ride faster.
As to the question of how to improve speed by 2 mph in 8 weeks of training, this will only happen if the rider has massive genetic potential and has been slacking up to this point. That’s nearly a 25% increase in power output. The odds of it happening in 8 weeks are pretty much “slim to none.” The suggestion to draft well is the best and only path to this kind of speed increase.
Watch the 70’s movie Breaking Away for inspiration and then hop on your bike and ride with passion.
My issue is a little different. I don’t race but moved to a gravel bike with 38 tires after my road bike was totaled when I was hit. My average speed has dropped to at least 2 mph less. I ride all the tough rides here in CO as well as grave;/dirt. Anything I can do to increase my speed? Ive had the bike over a year and ride with both roadies and gravel folks. thank you
You seem to have answered your own question. If the drop in speed is due to the change in equipment, maybe try a 2nd wheelset with tires that are more like the road bike.
To increase your average tolerable speed in the large groups you say you will ride with, motor pace 3 times a week for at least 4 weeks….start around 24 to 28 mph and by week 4 you should be upwards of 30 to 32 mph. Find a quiet rode with few cars and an experienced driver. Motor bikes or scooters work very well and better for the inexperienced. E-bikes are not fast enough.