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I'm off to Pollensa on Friday and plan to bike for 6 of the 7 days I'm there. Zone 2 it will be and that includes Formentor and Sa Calobra (or however low I can keep it in 34/34 lol)... Planning to turn the Garmin into power save screen so I actually pay more attention to the road (right hand side dangers), signs and the scenery.... Been practicing up Cairngorm a few times a week just focussing on breathing, starting slow and finding the right pace- yes- using the old perceived rate of exertion or whatever it was called back in the day....And I'm even sitting here with my SPD's and Shimano XC100 shoes off the indoor bike and wondering whether just to take them instead of the SL's as I can stop and walk about a bit rather than just stay on the bike.... I don't get hung up about average speed though, no two days are the same even on regular rides I do...(though curiously I've noticed I'm fastest on days with no wind!)
Every beginner rider I know has butt pain and has difficulties holding themselves up being in that cycling position. My son almost gave up on a 30 minute 4 mile ride. He said his arms were trembling.
Currently living on a flat penninsula with a shoulderless 100kph highway between me and any terrain. I stick around town for anything shorter than 3 hours. Averaging 31kph for 2-3 hours at a time alternating between 20-30kph headwinds and tailwinds as I do laps around town. At the start of the year I was averaging 27kph for the same. Shooting to average 35+ for a 330k (1-Day) ride in a couple of months, and a possible 580km (1-Day) ride in the fall.
I have loved my old bikes far more than my modern ones. Modern bikes are often more comfortable, faster and more versatile. They are a pain to maintain by comparison and, to me, somewhat characterless, like new build houses. But I wouldn’t go back to the old tech now. My body couldn’t take it! Yer man is right, going up that hill may have been quicker on the loan bike, was it more enjoyable though? This is a subjective thing, personal to the individual. It begs the question, why do we ride? I sold my 30 year old Bianchi last year to a guy 40 years younger than me, and he couldn’t be happier. “Old Skool” he called it with a massive grin on his face. It’s like music, I’m 62 and love deep house and techno, some youngsters I know are discovering The Doors, Velvet Underground and the New York Dolls. That old tech has a place and may even make a comeback, as vinyl did not so long ago.
I was a bit surprised that these type of problems exist or they can't mostly been solved with adjustments and saddle shape. I'm a male who's weight have been around 100kg, but I have been cycling quite a lot, with single trips up to 250km. So, a proper saddle positioning and shape is very important to me, meaning practically no weight on perineum and as much as possible on buttocks. I typically tilt my saddle forwards and use cycling pants and saddle with as much friction as possible so I don't have to fight sliding. I also alter shifting my weight from side to side to keep blood flowing and prevent numbness. Considering how sensitive woman's genitalia is, it's obvious it can't support any meaningful weight so why it should support any and cause problems. I have a feeling that this problem haven't been thought far enough because so few talk about it. If I were cycling woman, I'd start making experiments with 3d printed saddles. They can be good enough to find proper shape and also be adjusted with heat and own natural 'mould'. Padded saddle will shape under weight but can't give same kind of support and fit on areas which can best carry the weight.
"Counting calories does not work"? In my experience, it's the only thing that does work. Now, my estimate is that I burn about 500 calories an hour while cycling. If I was to try to lose weight solely by increasing my exercise, I'd need to spend 7 hours a week on the bike. I like to say, "Exercise is for fitness, calorie restriction is for weight loss." They're two different things. There may be some overlap, but my current strategy (which seems to be working) is to limit my intake during the week, but eat a bit more on the weekend to fuel my time on the bike. Trying to ride 20 miles on an empty stomach hasn't worked very well for me.
What made the greatest difference in my average speed for me is the weather. Once temperatures get colder I drop up to 5kph average, but overall it seems impossible to improve. Weirdly being on a racey 2x11 gravel bike made me a lot slower compared to my MTB for some reason. No clue why.
I don't bother about average speed. I don't use Strava or time my rides. I mostly ride solo but when I am with a group it's with all sorts and all ages so I am prepared to slow down or speed up bit or even backtrack. There's usually stops on my group rides and even picnics😊
I just ride and use my garmin to make sure I'm not pushing too hard out of zone 2 on longer rides, my natural tendency is to stay near the top of zone 3 perceived effort wise. Speed/time/etc are all just numbers I look at after the ride, nice to see them improve, but not what I focus on.
I basically watch this to do the opposite. I sometimes ride with my brakes slightly on just to that extra difficulty. I just want it to be as inefficient as possible, that way I get more bang for my buck.
I will add another motorized variable to the equation. There is a walk-run-bike path where I live in the U.S. that runs past an elementary school. In the afternoon as the kids leave school, not only is the traffic a problem at the path's street crossings, there are the parents picking up their kids in golf carts (electric and gas powered) driving on the path as a short-cut to/from the school. The carts take up the width of the path and worse yet, some kids <10 are allowed to drive the carts to/from their homes with mom and/or dad sitting as passenger. So, inconsiderate motorists are relegated to second on my list, coming in behind the golf carts as a danger to anyone on the path, including the kids walking or biking to/from school. I avoid the bike path now and will take my chances on the streets (yes, the golf carts are sometime found there as well).
