Tried looking for you in Strava and didn't find you. If you find me - ask to follow --- Midori Raymore. Where I live with the foothills of the Rockies at our doorstep, hills just are. Though I can, if I go east, have realtively flat land to ride in I just tend to ride a lot of north/south. Every time I ride east I know I'm going to have a long crawl back up the elevation. I agree, losing weight makes the hills go faster. But so does riding more. Better conditioning on my legs and body (even though I'm not losing weight) has helped me do hills better. I also can have faster days and other days suck, but I at the moment, I'm just slow on a hill. I figuire I'll get better over time. Currently, my goal is try to keep it above a walking speed - if I could get off and walk faster up the hill than I'm riding - I'm not happy. I keep hearing about how the cadence thing works. Without a cadence meter though, I'm not very good at figuring cadence out while riding. I bought one for my husband last Xmas and I know his riding is better now so I figure that is next year's Xmas present to self. Cateye has one for about $100

We are following each other on Strava I agree about the cadence too! When I done my ride on Sunday my husband was following(in places in the car) and said my cadence was much better. I have learnt to spin faster rather than make my legs ache! Makes everything much easier, all I have to do is lose the weight and all should improve I have soooo much to learn :laugh:

LOL - that's why I couldn't find you - we're already Strava buddies! :laugh: Yeah - I have to figure out why my left lower leg has this weird, almost shin splint feeling to it lately. I think it might be because I tend to unclip for some reason and then ride that way for a while on that side. I think it throws my muscles off and is making wacky stresses. Part of staying young is not only exercising but learning new things. So there we go, staying young! :drinker:

Lots of good advice in this thread.

As in most things, it depends, and that is true for ANY rider, professional or amateur.

Aside from one's personal fitness levels, there are many factors that will significantly affect average speed. It is very hard to compare yourself to others on say Strava unless they are doing the same rides at the same time as you.

a) Flat or hilly terrain (even this depends, someone in Florida will have a completely different standard for flat or hilly than someone in Colorado) This holds true for all riders. In the TdF a relatively flat stage will see the winner avg about 26mph or so but when they get into the mountains that number drops to around 21mph or less for roughly the same overall distance. Big difference. From my perspective as a relatively new cyclist (4 years), on one century ride that ! did in the mountains that had over 9,000ft of climbing, my avg speed was 14mph. Another century ride I did at the beach which was virtually flat, my avg was 20mph. I was actually fitter when I did the former.

b) Wind. Even a modest 5-10mph wind can have a devastating (or very beneficial) effect on avg speeds. It is easy to do the same ride and see 20-30% difference in avg speeds or more due to wind.

c) Riding solo or pacelining. You can save around 30% of energy used when you're on someone's wheel. This translates into much higher avg speeds when cyclists work together rotating the lead. On the TdF, team time trial winners avg over 36mph while individual TT winners avg around 33mph for about 20 miles. At my (C+/B-) level, club group rides typically see increases of around 1.5-2mph over the same route ridden solo.

d) Distance. Obviously one can keep up higher speed on shorter rides than on longer ones. See points a) and c) above.

e) Weight. The laws of gravity apply to everyone! The more you weigh, the more energy is required to move you and your bike at a given speed up a given incline. That combined with point a) makes a huge difference to avg speeds. Same for the pros. Marcel Kittel has been the dominant sprinter in this year's TdF so far. He weighs 190lbs and generates lots of power. Because sprints are generally flat sections gravity does not hinder him more than other riders and his higher power output allows him to out sprint the others. Go into the mountains and he will be at the back of the peleton just trying to hang on while someone like Alberto Contador, who weighs 137lbs will be climbing like a gazelle.

f) Equipment. If you are riding a big, heavy steel bike with 2" tyres, you will be much slower than if you were riding an aero, lightweight bike on skinny tyres.

Those things aside, anyone can improve their performance but it takes concerted effort.

1. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!! Climbing as made me a stronger rider on the flats and the only way to improve climbing ability is to climb often. (losing weight helps too )

2. Make sure you have the appropriate gearing on your bike. For most people in hilly areas that means a compact crank or triple up front and at least an 11-28 in the back. Staying in the big ring to look macho is a recipe for disaster. FYI, even Alberto Contador uses an 11-32 on the back of his bike during Le Tour!! If you live in a flat area then a standard double with an 11-23T in back may be the better option.

3. Concentrate on your technique, form and breathing. Try to make smooth circles when pedaling, concentrate on 'scraping your toe' at the bottom of the circle and pulling up on the upstroke. This will increase your pedaling efficiency. On climbs, sit up in the saddle with your hands lightly on the top of the bars. This allows easier breathing. Keep you're upper body still and relaxed, rocking your shoulders and pulling on the bars just wastes energy. Make sure you have your bike properly fitted for your body style and flexibility range, this will allow you to more effectively utilise the power you generate.

4. Work on increasing your cadence. At first I found spinning at greater than around 70 rpm very difficult but it becomes easier in time. Being able to measure and see your cadence in real time is imho a really useful training tool. If you work at it you will soon be able to get your cadence up to the 90+ rpm rate and maintain it. Ultimately this will lead to vastly improved avg speeds.
5. On long climbs, every once in a while change down a couple of gears and stand for a bit. This will recruit other muscles and give your butt and overtaxed muscles a rest. When you sit, shift up again and you may find it a bit easier. You can also use this technique to power over short rollers which will improve your avg speeds too.

6. Learn to suffer That means keep pedaling even when your brain says stop!

7. Most importantly enjoy the ride and have fun!!

6. Learn to suffer That means keep pedaling even when your brain says stop!

Me, Myself, & I have a conversation about everytime I go out in this heat....Nonstop chattering in my head till I hit about mile 8-10 and then the voices shut up. I swear it could be a triple-personality dance! :laugh: :laugh: