When does cycling get easier?
Discussion
In the spirit of just asking a question and hoping for some sensible answers rather than 4 pages of people taking the piss....when does cycling get easier.
Context. I am trying to get out on my bike (Giant Defy Advanced 1 carbon framed road bike) every few days and I ride a 20 mile route. There is about 1600 ft of climbing, the tarmac is ok in most areas but terrible for a few miles. I live in Scotland so it is often quite breezy.
Just back from my ride today. I made it round OK and can still walk but it is quite a big effort - especially up the hills which I have to take in a really low gear and just grind up. I try to run 5k a few times a week too, and the running is a breeze compared to the bike rides.
So at what point does a 20 mile ride with a bit of wind, some crap tarmac and 1600ft of climbing become something other than a ball breaker?
All you supermen who knock out 60 miles in a day - what's your secret and how long did it take to get sufficiently bike fit to be able to do this without needing a 2 week holiday afterwards?
In fairness it is getting a bit easier - but it still borderline unpleasant!
Context. I am trying to get out on my bike (Giant Defy Advanced 1 carbon framed road bike) every few days and I ride a 20 mile route. There is about 1600 ft of climbing, the tarmac is ok in most areas but terrible for a few miles. I live in Scotland so it is often quite breezy.
Just back from my ride today. I made it round OK and can still walk but it is quite a big effort - especially up the hills which I have to take in a really low gear and just grind up. I try to run 5k a few times a week too, and the running is a breeze compared to the bike rides.
So at what point does a 20 mile ride with a bit of wind, some crap tarmac and 1600ft of climbing become something other than a ball breaker?
All you supermen who knock out 60 miles in a day - what's your secret and how long did it take to get sufficiently bike fit to be able to do this without needing a 2 week holiday afterwards?
In fairness it is getting a bit easier - but it still borderline unpleasant!
Theres a famous saying - "It never gets easier - you just get faster" 
Few things to consider though - bike fit. The optimum fit will mean you are getting most efficient power down, most of the time.
I guess you don't have any kind of bike computer with a cadence sensor? That can help - rather than focusing on max speed/power the whole time, if you just aim to maintain a cadence of, say, ~90rpm, and change gears accordingly for hill to keep that rpm, you *should* finish your ride feeling better for it. As you get fitter/faster/stronger, you increase the gears to maintain the same rpm but with a higher speed. That's the idea anyway!
Few things to consider though - bike fit. The optimum fit will mean you are getting most efficient power down, most of the time.
I guess you don't have any kind of bike computer with a cadence sensor? That can help - rather than focusing on max speed/power the whole time, if you just aim to maintain a cadence of, say, ~90rpm, and change gears accordingly for hill to keep that rpm, you *should* finish your ride feeling better for it. As you get fitter/faster/stronger, you increase the gears to maintain the same rpm but with a higher speed. That's the idea anyway!
Edited by daddy cool on Tuesday 14th April 14:54
TorqueDirty said:
In the spirit of just asking a question and hoping for some sensible answers rather than 4 pages of people taking the piss....when does cycling get easier.
Context. I am trying to get out on my bike (Giant Defy Advanced 1 carbon framed road bike) every few days and I ride a 20 mile route. There is about 1600 ft of climbing, the tarmac is ok in most areas but terrible for a few miles. I live in Scotland so it is often quite breezy.
Just back from my ride today. I made it round OK and can still walk but it is quite a big effort - especially up the hills which I have to take in a really low gear and just grind up. I try to run 5k a few times a week too, and the running is a breeze compared to the bike rides.
So at what point does a 20 mile ride with a bit of wind, some crap tarmac and 1600ft of climbing become something other than a ball breaker?
All you supermen who knock out 60 miles in a day - what's your secret and how long did it take to get sufficiently bike fit to be able to do this without needing a 2 week holiday afterwards?
In fairness it is getting a bit easier - but it still borderline unpleasant!
I don't think hills do get easier mate ha ha! I've been cycling for approx. 8 years, some years I do loads and others not as much. This weekend I've done a 40 mile ride, a 45 mile ride (split into a 20 and 25 mile) and then a 52 mile ride yesterday. Nothing above 1,600 ft total elevation in any of them though and I was OK to go out the day after. Any serious elevation is what kills me, but I'm tall and quite well built so just accepted that I'm not built for climbing! I've done the Isle of Wight Randonnee the last 2 years and both times were over 5,000 ft elevation and between 65 and 72 miles and they were hard going! Context. I am trying to get out on my bike (Giant Defy Advanced 1 carbon framed road bike) every few days and I ride a 20 mile route. There is about 1600 ft of climbing, the tarmac is ok in most areas but terrible for a few miles. I live in Scotland so it is often quite breezy.
Just back from my ride today. I made it round OK and can still walk but it is quite a big effort - especially up the hills which I have to take in a really low gear and just grind up. I try to run 5k a few times a week too, and the running is a breeze compared to the bike rides.
So at what point does a 20 mile ride with a bit of wind, some crap tarmac and 1600ft of climbing become something other than a ball breaker?
All you supermen who knock out 60 miles in a day - what's your secret and how long did it take to get sufficiently bike fit to be able to do this without needing a 2 week holiday afterwards?
In fairness it is getting a bit easier - but it still borderline unpleasant!
Greg Lemond said:
“It never gets easier, you just get faster”
Might be worth doing some sessions on a turbo trainer or getting in a few short rides, as soon as you start riding every day the body adapts.If you stick with it then it gets easier, I used to commute to work and do around 200 miles a week a decade ago, when I first started I was on an ancient MTB and over the course of around two years I noticed it became less of a chore, especially going from my 12kg commuter to 7kg racer.
These days I get knackered just a few miles in as I'm only riding every other weekend if that and also carrying a couple of extra stone.
Unless you're on an eBike, any route with 500m climbing is never going to feel truly "easy" - you'll always find it a bit of a workout.
What will happen, though, is that you'll start to enjoy the workouts more, and recover more quickly from the efforts up the climbs. It's just like anything - the more you do it, the better you get. By contrast, I'd happily do the 100km ride you mentioned and have a lovely time, but I'd be knackered and have pulled a hip flexor after a 5k run...
Maybe you're looking at it the wrong way. Rather than waiting for it to get easier, why not challenge yourself to get a bit quicker up one of the climbs each time you ride it, and see how much you can improve - then when you don't go balls-out up the same climb, it will feel like you're taking it easier.
Finally - spinning in a low gear is by far the most efficient leg-saving way to get up the pointy bits, so keep doing that.
What will happen, though, is that you'll start to enjoy the workouts more, and recover more quickly from the efforts up the climbs. It's just like anything - the more you do it, the better you get. By contrast, I'd happily do the 100km ride you mentioned and have a lovely time, but I'd be knackered and have pulled a hip flexor after a 5k run...
Maybe you're looking at it the wrong way. Rather than waiting for it to get easier, why not challenge yourself to get a bit quicker up one of the climbs each time you ride it, and see how much you can improve - then when you don't go balls-out up the same climb, it will feel like you're taking it easier.
Finally - spinning in a low gear is by far the most efficient leg-saving way to get up the pointy bits, so keep doing that.
daddy cool said:
Theres a famous saying - "It never gets easier - you just get faster"
This is definitely true in my case!I took up running 5k's in 2016 and road cycling in 2018.
Especially with running it NEVER seemed to get easier, until I paced at a parkrun at around 4 minutes slower than my PB. That run was most definitely easier and made me realised how much I had improved.
With cycling, if you are quicker now, do a ride specifically at your old speed and see how much easier it seems.
I always seem to go fairly flat out...……………..
Thanks for all the helpful responses guys.
Makes me feel a little better about finding the ride tough!
So far I have deliberately not been timing myself because I wanted to get used to the bike (first road bike) before any of that.
However I do think I have to move on from just peddling around the route and on to setting my self some targets. After all, I bought the bike to help me get / stay fit during a very long lay off from running due to tendon issues.
Will head out again later in the week and this time I'll take my stop watch!
Makes me feel a little better about finding the ride tough!
So far I have deliberately not been timing myself because I wanted to get used to the bike (first road bike) before any of that.
However I do think I have to move on from just peddling around the route and on to setting my self some targets. After all, I bought the bike to help me get / stay fit during a very long lay off from running due to tendon issues.
Will head out again later in the week and this time I'll take my stop watch!
Out of the 40 or so guys I cycle with regularly, I’m the quickest runner by some margin.
But when I’m in a group ride with them, I’m towards the back of the pack. Out of 20 on a typical ride, I’ll usually be in the back two or three. I find hills particularly tough.
I’ve no idea why there is such a difference. My cardio vascular fitness is excellent, I just don’t seem to have cycling muscles. It might just be technique, but I’ve been cycling longer than many of them. Also, on a (cycling) track, I’m actually pretty quick - maybe not the quickest of my mates but much closer to the front of the pack than the rear.
It’s a bit frustrating in some ways, but I’ve no idea how to fix it.
Edited to add: a few days ago I did a 55km ride, 950m of climbing, average speed of 23.0km/h. Quite a bit of climbing but not particularly far, and I was beat after that. Most of my mates are 27-30 km/h for the same route.
But when I’m in a group ride with them, I’m towards the back of the pack. Out of 20 on a typical ride, I’ll usually be in the back two or three. I find hills particularly tough.
I’ve no idea why there is such a difference. My cardio vascular fitness is excellent, I just don’t seem to have cycling muscles. It might just be technique, but I’ve been cycling longer than many of them. Also, on a (cycling) track, I’m actually pretty quick - maybe not the quickest of my mates but much closer to the front of the pack than the rear.
It’s a bit frustrating in some ways, but I’ve no idea how to fix it.
Edited to add: a few days ago I did a 55km ride, 950m of climbing, average speed of 23.0km/h. Quite a bit of climbing but not particularly far, and I was beat after that. Most of my mates are 27-30 km/h for the same route.
Edited by Zigster on Tuesday 14th April 15:39
The never easier faster thing is partially true. If you ride hard all the time then yes, of course, it will not feel easier you will go quicker. But being fitter allows you to do routes with minimum effort vs every time it being a struggle. For example, I can ride up most hills without going above the effort I could sustain for an hour, this means the rides don't take me much and I can go again the next day. If you're less fit then the same hill at the same weight is going to require a max effort to get over it, you'll feel that later.
Getting better at cycling is not totally about doing the same route over and over and expecting results, but there is an element of consistency, i.e. making sure you try and do more, and more often. And as long as there is a mix of intensity (i.e. some days going as hard as you can up each climb, others just spinning up) and recovering when your legs are shot with a day off, then you'll get better.
If you're new to it, this does take time though, so just slowly upping the volume being sure to recover will show results for a fair time and when you have that base endurance its easier to start throwing in hard intervals etc and you will find the gains begin to come fairly quick.
As with most things, you won't believe how much more you can do until you try. But what harms all cyclists is down time. Getting fit is a LOT harder than losing it. Doing a solid week on the bike for say 20 hours, and then taking the next 10 days off almost negates the point of doing the 20 hours at all.
Getting better at cycling is not totally about doing the same route over and over and expecting results, but there is an element of consistency, i.e. making sure you try and do more, and more often. And as long as there is a mix of intensity (i.e. some days going as hard as you can up each climb, others just spinning up) and recovering when your legs are shot with a day off, then you'll get better.
If you're new to it, this does take time though, so just slowly upping the volume being sure to recover will show results for a fair time and when you have that base endurance its easier to start throwing in hard intervals etc and you will find the gains begin to come fairly quick.
As with most things, you won't believe how much more you can do until you try. But what harms all cyclists is down time. Getting fit is a LOT harder than losing it. Doing a solid week on the bike for say 20 hours, and then taking the next 10 days off almost negates the point of doing the 20 hours at all.
Edited by okgo on Tuesday 14th April 15:45
You should also vary your route. If that's all you do, yes you will get better at it, but the law of diminishing returns applies. The more you repeat it, the harder it will be to make a significant improvement. Try a longer ride with less climbing. Or pick one of the hills, and ride it up and down 5 times.
Came to give largely the same reply as okgo. I hated the hills when I started cycling. The tipping point comes when you can ride up them without going 'into the red'. There's an effort level that you can sustain for an hour ride and that threshold raises as you get fitter. Once that threshold increases to be higher than the effort required to get up the hill it completely transforms your ride. When you're 'in the red' it's exponentially more taxing on your body and you're on borrowed time.
As for when you'll get to that comfortable place depends on the severity of your hills and the starting point for your cycling fitness. The main thing is to keep chipping away, riding consistently but not to make any huge leaps in weekly mileage. That allows your body to gradually adapt and gain conditioning without pushing it over the edge.
For what it's worth, I'm still relatively rubbish at hills but I'm able to enjoy them now.
As for when you'll get to that comfortable place depends on the severity of your hills and the starting point for your cycling fitness. The main thing is to keep chipping away, riding consistently but not to make any huge leaps in weekly mileage. That allows your body to gradually adapt and gain conditioning without pushing it over the edge.
For what it's worth, I'm still relatively rubbish at hills but I'm able to enjoy them now.
Zigster said:
Out of the 40 or so guys I cycle with regularly, I’m the quickest runner by some margin.
But when I’m in a group ride with them, I’m towards the back of the pack. Out of 20 on a typical ride, I’ll usually be in the back two or three. I find hills particularly tough.
I’ve no idea why there is such a difference. My cardio vascular fitness is excellent, I just don’t seem to have cycling muscles. It might just be technique, but I’ve been cycling longer than many of them. Also, on a (cycling) track, I’m actually pretty quick - maybe not the quickest of my mates but much closer to the front of the pack than the rear.
It’s a bit frustrating in some ways, but I’ve no idea how to fix it.
Edited to add: a few days ago I did a 55km ride, 950m of climbing, average speed of 23.0km/h. Quite a bit of climbing but not particularly far, and I was beat after that. Most of my mates are 27-30 km/h for the same route.
So many factors which are unknown here. 55km is not a particularly long ride although a decent amount of climbing will have taken a larger effort to complete but at 23km it can really only down to fitness level I am afraid to say. And by that I mean bike fitness ... running and cycling are pretty far removed ... I may ride 10 - 12 hours a week but wouldn't even attempt a 5k run without having to stop multiple times. But when I’m in a group ride with them, I’m towards the back of the pack. Out of 20 on a typical ride, I’ll usually be in the back two or three. I find hills particularly tough.
I’ve no idea why there is such a difference. My cardio vascular fitness is excellent, I just don’t seem to have cycling muscles. It might just be technique, but I’ve been cycling longer than many of them. Also, on a (cycling) track, I’m actually pretty quick - maybe not the quickest of my mates but much closer to the front of the pack than the rear.
It’s a bit frustrating in some ways, but I’ve no idea how to fix it.
Edited to add: a few days ago I did a 55km ride, 950m of climbing, average speed of 23.0km/h. Quite a bit of climbing but not particularly far, and I was beat after that. Most of my mates are 27-30 km/h for the same route.
Edited by Zigster on Tuesday 14th April 15:39
There is so much efficiency required on a bike which can make the difference ... position, pedal stroke and cadence can all play a part.
But to you and the OP, if you want to get quicker on the bike then you need to forget the running!
JEA1K said:
So many factors which are unknown here. 55km is not a particularly long ride although a decent amount of climbing will have taken a larger effort to complete but at 23km it can really only down to fitness level I am afraid to say. And by that I mean bike fitness ... running and cycling are pretty far removed ... I may ride 10 - 12 hours a week but wouldn't even attempt a 5k run without having to stop multiple times.
There is so much efficiency required on a bike which can make the difference ... position, pedal stroke and cadence can all play a part.
But to you and the OP, if you want to get quicker on the bike then you need to forget the running!
I sometimes ride and run through the winter, but find when I want to get serious about my riding I have to drop the running. There's something about trying to do both that leaves my legs constantly feeling like I have done a big effort. And we're only talking about trying to run twice a week and ride twice a week.There is so much efficiency required on a bike which can make the difference ... position, pedal stroke and cadence can all play a part.
But to you and the OP, if you want to get quicker on the bike then you need to forget the running!
JEA1K said:
But to you and the OP, if you want to get quicker on the bike then you need to forget the running!
Interesting. I have been running (excepting sadly quite a lot of long term Achilles tendon injuries) for 20 years, and cycling for just the last year.So in my heart running is my passion and in my head cycling is what I think I'll have to focus on given my repeated Achilles injuries.
Looks like I'll have to develop a greater passion for my cycling - which I'm sure will come with time and from getting more bike fit so the rides are less unpleasant!
Mind you, I don't think I'd ever want to completely quit the running unless I have to.
TorqueDirty said:
Interesting. I have been running (excepting sadly quite a lot of long term Achilles tendon injuries) for 20 years, and cycling for just the last year.
So in my heart running is my passion and in my head cycling is what I think I'll have to focus on given my repeated Achilles injuries.
Looks like I'll have to develop a greater passion for my cycling - which I'm sure will come with time and from getting more bike fit so the rides are less unpleasant!
Mind you, I don't think I'd ever want to completely quit the running unless I have to.
A nice thing about cycling (in usual circs) is that it's fun and sociable to ride with other people, and you actually help each other out as well, so you'll make less effort/go faster than if you were on your own. So in my heart running is my passion and in my head cycling is what I think I'll have to focus on given my repeated Achilles injuries.
Looks like I'll have to develop a greater passion for my cycling - which I'm sure will come with time and from getting more bike fit so the rides are less unpleasant!
Mind you, I don't think I'd ever want to completely quit the running unless I have to.
Echo most of the above, especially about varying the routes and having a "rest day". I might cycle 10 or 15 miles on my rest day, but stay in the small ring. Varying the routes keeps it interesting, and I think you get fitter faster. What I actually came on to recommend was get a bike fit, as mentioned above, so you use all the muscles as efficiently ans possible, and you're less likely to get injuries as you get stronger.
Running does seem to be easier to find a natural pace or rhythm that is reasonably quick but is quite comfortable.
My running cadence is pretty much completely constant, my cycling cadence is all over the place. they average about the same (80/160) but I'm constantly accelerating and decelerating on the bike.
My running cadence is pretty much completely constant, my cycling cadence is all over the place. they average about the same (80/160) but I'm constantly accelerating and decelerating on the bike.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff