I know I suck, but how bad?

[Dr_hush1417]

If I give you all my average stats, could you just give me all of your honest opinions? Wanting to know how bad I suck so far, for the time I've been at it.

Age: 19

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 127 pounds (perfectly healthy, just call me skelly)

Been riding for: 4 months

Ride consistency: 2-3 rides a week for about a month now, though I had probably a total of 2-3 weeks off of the bike completely because of some problems with it. (got and new bike, but my brother now rides the fixed older bike)

Average ride distance: 45km (getting too easy though)

Average speed: 21 km/h

Average climbing speed: depends on the length of the climb, but a fairly short 0.1 km decent climb I can keep about 18 km/h and for no longer then it takes...

Total kilometers: 500 (guess)

If there's anything I left out, let me know.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Well, there's nothing about your riding habits that 'suck', you're just getting started and it sounds like you're getting after it.

You might think about adding one or two rides per week even if those are shorter and easier rides. In addition to duration (mileage/time on bike) and intensity (how hard do you push yourself, how fast do you go) a big part of the fitness equation is exercise frequency (how often do you ride). A lot of weekend warriors miss that part of the equation and ride a lot, maybe even pretty hard on the weekends but don't make time for it midweek. That's a lot like training doses followed by detraining till the next weekend rolls around. Most folks see a huge leap in their cycling fitness when they move to four or five days a week even if a couple of those aren't as long or as hard as the other days.

And if you really do believe the title of this thread, then save yourself some down the road frustration and read some sports psychology books: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sports+psychology&sprefix=sports+p"]Amazon.com: sports psychology: Books[/ame]

If you really believe being on the learning curve means that you 'suck' then you're gonna struggle. Everybody starts somewhere, sure some started real young and others transitioned from similar endurance sports and have a head start. But everybody had to build fitness from some point and there aren't a lot of (legal) shortcuts.

Anyway, there's nothing wrong with the speeds or distances you list. But if you want to ride faster or longer you've just got to keep riding. Depending on your goals you might want to transition to more structured riding, join a good club with experienced riders or hire a coach to eliminate some of the trial and error. But even if you take one of those paths it will still take time to achieve your potential however high that may be.

Personally I'd just keep riding, try to ride a bit more frequently, challenge yourself from time to time with a longer or faster ride and just explore different routes on your bike to see where it can take you. If you don't love being out on the bike then there's really no training that will lead to miracles. But if you do love riding and get out a lot then who knows how far you can take it.

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[roadhouse]

i know i suck but not as bad as many who i've ridden with that claim to be good.

 

[EuroG]

i know i suck but not as bad as many who i've ridden with that claim to be good.

Nab a book such a Friels Cycling Training Bible and get a basic understanding of training phyiology. Or on the flip side just ride, ride, ride, ride....

 

[Dr_hush1417]

And if you really do believe the title of this thread, then save yourself some down the road frustration and read some sports psychology books: Amazon.com: sports psychology: Books

If you really believe being on the learning curve means that you 'suck' then you're gonna struggle. Everybody starts somewhere, sure some started real young and others transitioned from similar endurance sports and have a head start. But everybody had to build fitness from some point and there aren't a lot of (legal) shortcuts.

lol, no no, I don't really think I suck, I was making light of it. Sorry for the confusion, nah, I'm not beating myself up for any lack of speed or whatnot. Just wanted to know people's tips, suggestions, and mostly opinions on my current stats.

I appreciate your extensive response though, I'll probably try and fit in a few more rides per week, and even lengthen my "longer" rides. Now that summer and beach time is over I'll have a bit more time on the road most likely. Before I had to choose between training and all my friends at the beach. Which actually brings me to another question... maybe I'll post another thread

Anyway, thanks for the response