Today I did my first 20 mile (33km) ride on my hardtail XC bike. I learned how to ride a bike about 1.5 months ago, but I’ve been riding pretty consistently since I learned. I ride exclusively in the city, it’s a very walkable city, but the paths aren’t always the best. I did 33km in 2 hours 53 minutes, not including breaks for water or to eat.

I see people saying that 10MP/H (16KM/H) average is a good average to shoot for, but i can’t even get my average above 7.1MPH (11.5KM/H), even on shorter rides. What am I doing wrong here? How are people going so freaking fast on bikes in cities?

  • Che Banana@beehaw.org
    6·
    2 days ago

    training, conditioning (more than a month) routes, gear (you’d be surprised an how much you gain from new wheels, for example)…oh…and age?

    Basically be comfortable where you are right now, you just started. Set yourself up for incremental and sustainable gains, the when you are able to try and hit the higher speeds.

    • ThePiedPooper@discuss.onlineOP
      3·
      2 days ago

      I’m 28, a tiny bit overweight but working on it. My bike is new, but it’s not top end by any means, but also not a department store bike.

      I guess I am comfortable, I’m just worried that I’m kind of sucking at cycling.

      • Che Banana@beehaw.org
        2·
        1 day ago

        Nah man, you’re at the beginning

        Get an app to keep tabs on your progress (in the beginning just worry about distance, not time). Try to be consistent (I used to ‘commute’ to work…started with 20 min, ended up 1.25h 5x per week).

        The fun part is starting to figure out what gear you need, then try and not go broke… Bike Nash are has some really good deals, and also go to the same bike shop for all your repairs and once they see you for awhile they’ll know not to upsell you recreation gear.

        Keep it up and one day, you’ll wake up with a flat stomach and eat whatever the fuck you want.

        • ThePiedPooper@discuss.onlineOP
          1·
          1 day ago

          The flats stomach part sounds quite fun, along with the eat whatever I want thing.

          At this point, I don’t see myself needing anything. I’m perfectly happy with the bike I have and have fun riding it, and as my legs get stronger, I’ll probably get faster.

          I use my smart watch to track every ride on GPS and my HR, so that I get a good baseline of what I’m looking at.

          • Che Banana@beehaw.org
            2·
            1 day ago

            Yup, that sounds right…I think what I was trying to convey is that once you start thinking about upgrading your gear be careful - it gets silly quickly!

            Also, the Doc told me: ‘as far a s coping mechanisms go, this is a good one’

            great for the mental health!

            Have fun!