distance or avg speed

[clack3rz]

As the titles states......
should I work on the distance 1st and be able to ride further in a single ride or should I work on getting a better avg speed on shorter distances before increasing my rides?

 

[MY02_STi]

As the titles states......
should I work on the distance 1st and be able to ride further in a single ride or should I work on getting a better avg speed on shorter distances before increasing my rides?

Neither - ride for time, not distance The distance and average speed will sort themselves out as you are able to ride longer

 

[Dr.Hairybiker]

I'd say it all depends on your goals.


Do you want to race? What kind of races? Or are you riding purely for fitness, or to lose weight? Are you riding purely for the fun of it?

I do a combination of everything. Last weekend I raced a 50 miler. So for 2 weeks prior to the race, I concentrated on power. Shorter, very intense rides, with more rest in between.

I'm not in any events till late Sept. now, so I'm just riding for enjoyment and base miles. Today I'll ride a century, and probably won't beat myself up much with speed, because I'd like to ride tomorrow as well. Besides, it's a beautiful day, and I'd like to enjoy it to the max on the bike.

My next event is a century ride, so in the weeks prior to the ride, I'll concentrate on building power and average speed for that particular distance.

My advice is just ride. Mix it up. But it also depends on your goals, and also how you feel on any particular ride. If you feel like riding hard, ride hard. If you feel like riding long, ease up on the intensity.

It helps to keep a log. I always keep average speed on the back of my mind while riding, but don't get hung up on it. Average speed depends on lot on conditions and terrain. Plus, if you always try to up your average speed, it's hard to do recovery rides.

 

[jock.c]

If you have no goals then DrHairy's advice is solid.

If you want to improve rapidly and start moving through the grades then I recommend you get a proper coach to help with an appropriate program. I don't mean some internet wally - find a real live human being in your local area that you can talk to, ask questions of, and maybe even ride with.

 

[wiredued]

First goal is just do it. Second goal is just do it faster.

 

[RussB]

I say work on time for a set diatance. EX: I needed to build a lot of strenght in my legs (had not ridden in about 30 years). I started with 5 mile rides, kept riding the same course and keeping a log of my time / ave speed. When I was comfortable with that run (not winded) and had improved my time, I started 10 mile rides. Now I'm up to over 20 mile rides and my average speed is 5 mph faster than my 5 mile rides were. So I am slowly building up speed as well as endurance.
Train at your own pace. And as mentioned in another post, don't do too much too soon.
I also gave myself a set of rules of "reasons not to ride today" There are only 2 rules. 1) not safe because of the weather (winter & rain). 2) I'm legitimatly sick. Not feeling like it is not a valid excuse. I'm always glad I did 5 minutes into the ride. And I feel better by then. If your having a heat wave 90's & high humidity....Start riding earlier in the morning.

And that's my 2 cents.

 

[clack3rz]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I def will need to set goals. My problem is I get bored with circuits i create before I can benefit from them and move onto creating another one.
I started cycling to loose weight. Now I go out for fitness, the enjoyment and to get the body pumping. I find now that I wish I could devote more time to cycling.
I will set some goals and work on them.....

 

[alvynmcq]

Maybe try and find a charity ride on your area and then train towards it. This is my first proper year on my bike and I am training for a 70 mile charity ride (the ride is over multiple distances 20-50 and the 70 which includes a lot of climbs half way through. Anyone who knows the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland it goes over Tor Head.)

I have taken the advice of people on here and ride for time (and withing certain Heart Rates), I have learned to ignore avg.speed and distance, it seems the best way to do it as I have now started working some proper climbing into my rides and i imagine my avg.speed has collapsed, but it dosent matter as i am getting far far stronger on the bike. Managed to get a new max hr (197) on saturday whilst riding on the koh section of a local race (wasnt racing, just checkign out the course).

 

[oneradtec]

As the titles states......
should I work on the distance 1st and be able to ride further in a single ride or should I work on getting a better avg speed on shorter distances before increasing my rides?

You can do both. You have 4-6 rides per week. Why should they all be the same. Do a longer ride(or two) on weekends to build endurance. Make 1 or 2 of the other rides a little more intense. Mix in rest and good nutrition. You'll get faster and stronger, and will be able to handle longer distances too.

 

[clack3rz]

You can do both. You have 4-6 rides per week. Why should they all be the same. Do a longer ride(or two) on weekends to build endurance. Make 1 or 2 of the other rides a little more intense. Mix in rest and good nutrition. You'll get faster and stronger, and will be able to handle longer distances too.

Thanks - I might try this out first. I suppose that my issue is that I don't ride in any charity rides, races etc - maybe will one day - so it's hard for me to have a 'goal' to work towards. If I mix it up a bit, then I should get the best of both worlds - a bit of speed and endurance. Have mini goals for my weekly training and w/end endurance rides.

Thanks again to everyone with their info and help too!