Looking for general feedback

[H78]

Hi folks,

I'm new to the boards and definitely glad to be here!

I wanted to ask how many of you view my progression as someone who is relatively new to cycling.

Last August, I bought my first road bike (LeMond Reno), and have since taken part in several long rides (though no races). By the end of the month that I bought the bike, I was doing 25-mile rides in about 75-85 minutes. I pretty much hung the bike up come the end of October, when I was regularly doing 25 mile rides in about 75-80 minutes.

This year, I decided I really wanted to focus on building my endurance up. After several 15, 20 and 25 mile rides starting in March, I did a 55 miler in 2 hours and 56 minutes, with an average speed of something like 18.70 MPH. Since then I haven't done another ride at that distance, but I am now regularly riding 28-30 miles, with an average speed of around 18-19 MPH.

As someone who's been involved with the sport for less than a year, do I seem to be making pretty good progress? I'm 25 years old, 6', 185 lbs, and admittedly, last Winter I focused more on weight resistance training than I did cycling.

I'm just curious, as a complete newcomer, as to whether or not I'm performing pretty well or not. I'm not a part of any cycling groups or anything like that, so this is really the first exposure I'll have to feedback from others who are active in cycling.

I’m thinking about doing my first 25-mile road race in a few weeks, but I’m trying to find out just how likely it is that I finish last.

Thanks!

-Josh

FWIW, on a completely unrelated note, since taking up cycling, I've been diagnosed with frequent heart palpitations (PVC's...sometimes several per minute for hours on end). Anyone know if that could be related to cycling, or if cycling poses any dangers to the condition? Thanks again!

 

[jhuskey]

Too many variables to know how you are doing but your weight seems good. Terrain, traffic etc. determine speed. I have routes that take me 1 hour 35 mins for 17 miles but it's all uphill.
My advise is to note your progression when riding solo and look forward to testing your skills against others but don't be disappointed.
There are always people better and always people not as good.
As far your heart ,consult a professional.

 

[Piotr]

Well, if you want to start racing you really need to ride with at least a semi-competitive group first. You'll find that a group goes faster without necessarily using more energy. It will also teach you to be more comfortable in the vicinity of other riders so as not to use up too much energy in order to keep up.

What sets a race apart from just a ride (especially alone) is the frequent accellerations. The speed is not going to be even and you need to train yourself for that. If you're unable to keep up during one of the accellerations or unable to recover from one of them then you're likely going to end up riding to the finish by yourself or at least out of contention.

To become a better endurance athlete you have to strengthen your heart by stressing it adequately (interval training). Having said that, since you have a heart condition you definitely need to talk to a doctor before engaging in the more strenuous type of training.

 

[longfemur]

30 miles rides are nothing for someone who rides frequently, at least not on a road bike ridden in a reasonable road bike position (as opposed to a heavy, slow, city bike). It's just a pleasant afternoon ride for the person who has the time and no other pressing responsibilities. So, it's hard to judge what your progress is on that basis. It's probably not bad.

Average speeds are mostly meaningless, since you can only compare between riders who have ridden the same route together at the same time. Otherwise, too many variables are introduced for it to mean anything. Off-hand, I would say you're are doing fairly well.