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How Do I Know I’m Improving?

05.20.2014 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

onbikeWhen I started cycling about six years ago, I was gratified by how quickly I seemed to improve. I built up the number of miles I could ride, I lost a little weight, I recovered from strenuous efforts faster.

But after several years of riding, I fell into a rut.

My long rides weren’t very long — it was rare that I roe for more than 40 miles. I found there was no way I could hang with the A riders in my club, and I was starting to have trouble handing with the B’s sometimes, too.

The lack of improvement got me into a funk, and I was unmotivated to do much riding at all. Heck, I was spending more time organizing my stamp collection than riding the roads around here (not that there’s anything wrong with stamp collecting).

So the question became, how do I get back on track?

For me, there was no blinding flash of light on the road to Damascus. I noticed that little things were coming together — over time, not all at once — and that my interest in cycling was picking up again.

A small, but dependable, group of B riders came out for our Sunday club rides. Sure, maybe there would be only two or three of us on any given week, but at least we could ride at our own pace, and not worry about being dropped by the main peloton.

We started doing variations on our usual rotation of rides — adding new routes or modifications to old ones, so we weren’t riding the same routes over and over.

And then I got Strava. Now, lots of people hate Strava. In fact, I was one of them — as long as I didn’t have it. And even after I started using it, I ran into some problems with data discrepancies between it and my old bike computer.

But I’m finding the thing about Strava that is helping me improve my cycling — perhaps more than any of the other changes I’ve mentioned — is its segments feature. Routes are broken up into segments, which are created by cyclists. And you can compare your times on certain segments with times of other riders.

For example, I do laps around our Veloway two or three times a week. One of Strava’s segments is the “Veloway Loop,” almost a complete lap of the 3.1-mile track. I was a bit disheartened when I started using Strava, because it clocked times around the Veloway that were much slower than I thought I was riding it. Often, 11 or 12 minutes a lap were the best times I could manage.

Now, back when I was just getting into cycling, and constantly improving, I know I could circle that track in less than 10 minutes. So I started paying closer attention to my Strava times for the Veloway, and checking the times of acquaintances to see how they stacked up against me.

I guess I could have gone all out and tried for a Personal Record, or PR, each time I did a lap. Instead, I continued to ride my routine laps. I registered a 10:04 — not too bad, but not what I was after. A couple of weeks later, 10 minutes flat! Only four seconds, but that nice round number represented something of a benchmark.

Depending upon how I feel on a given ride, I might or might not push it a bit when I reach the Veloway. If I was going to set a new PR, it would have to be when I was still relatively fresh — and usually, the Veloway lap comes near the end of my ride, not the beginning.

This morning, I reached the Veloway 12 miles into my ride. I hadn’t thought about a PR, but then noticed how effortless my pedaling was this day. That was on account of a brisk tailwind, and that could be good for my time. But it would also work against me on the backside of the lap, when I was dead into it. What the heck, I thought. Let’s go for it!

I applied an even effort around the track, drawing encouragement whenever I passed another cyclist. When I swerved through the ess curves near the end of the lap, I hit 23 mph — I try to reach 22, so this looked good.

Then, on the way home, I got a green light at a major cross street, and powered up an easy, half-mile long hill past a supermarket. This one has been giving me fits, too, but again, it looked like I’d have a decent outcome.

And I did. Back home, I looked at my segment times. All were pretty mediocre, except the Veloway, where I set a new PR — 9:59! Broke 10 minutes! And the hill — I slaughtered it. My previous best had been 1:25, and today I did it in 1:18 (Yes, I had a tailwind, and yes, I did not have to start from a dead stop at the bottom of the hill, thanks to the green light, but a PR is a PR).

So yes, I’m improving again. Not only are my times getting faster, slowly but surely, but my interest in biking has come back. Biking isn’t all about fast Strava segments. It’s about the ride. After some time in the funk, I’m enjoying the ride again.

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Categories // training Tags // improvement, Strava

I Must Be Improving

09.05.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

Sometimes, I feel that the last three years on the bike haven’t been leading up to much. Oh, I can tell my fitness is getting better, and I can climb hills that I couldn’t climb a year ago, but overall, I don’t feel I’m any great shakes on two wheels.

Then a weekend like this one comes along.

Bike Noob in a group during the MS150.

Saturday morning, Pat and I took a newbie friend out on the Mopac loop. Usually, I sprint ahead of Pat and wait for her at several points along the route. This day was no exception. But when I stopped at the top of a long downhill, I saw Pat’s friend, Cynthia,  coming up on me faster than I had expected. She went by me before I could get clipped in. Another rider was coming up fast too, but I pulled out ahead of him and started to gather speed on the downhill.

I glanced over my shoulder, and the other guy had grabbed my wheel.  “Okay,” I said to myself, “let’s see what you’ve got.” We caught and passed Cynthia doing 31 mph and getting faster.  I got into an aero tuck, and pushed in my highest gear. When I reached the big left bend at the bottom of the hill, I looked back again.  The guy wasn’t there.

I waited for Pat and Cynthia at the top of another hill.  A rider in a blue U.S. Postal jersey led Cyn up the hill to me.  When he pulled even, I asked, “How ya doin’?”  He seemed surprised.  “Fine,” he said, and he spun by easily in a high cadence.

Once Pat caught us, we set out again. We caught U.S. Postal, and both Cyn and I passed him.  A little farther on, Cyn said, “That was funny when he decided to draft you.”

“That was the guy?” I asked. “He was there, and suddenly he wasn’t. I thought he might have crashed.”

“Nah,” she said. “He ran out of gas, and just stopped pedaling.”

This morning, we were together again at another Mamma Jamma training ride.  Pat was doing the 22-mile route, Cynthia, her friend Liz, and I were doing the 37-miler.  I knew from past experience that Pat would be waiting about an hour for us, and I didn’t want to keep her too long.

We got out into the country, and I fell into a comfortable pace. But that pace put me well ahead of the rest of the 37-mile group. I made it to a convenience store about nine miles into the ride, where I stopped to wait. The 46-milers, who had started a little before us, were just pulling out.

I decided I wouldn’t push too hard for the rest of the ride, and when we got started again, I fell in behind several others.  But my comfortable pace took over again, and pretty soon I was out in front.  I stopped at an intersection another five miles along, and waited for everyone to regroup.

Again we set out.  Again, I went into the lead.  I raced a dog that wanted to get in some speed work. I waited for the group one more time before we pulled back into the convenience store for another break.

The ride leader seemed content to lolligag at the convenience store, and it must have been another 15 minutes before we finally pulled out. He and I separated from the group quickly. When we reached a turn three miles down the road, he said he would regroup again. I told him I was going on.

I got back into my comfortable pace, and soon caught some of the laggards from the 46-mile group — then some more.  When I got to the starting point, Pat told me she had waited more than an hour. I loaded up the bikes and we pulled out — with no sign of the other 37-milers.

Sometimes when I ride with my club, I get discouraged about my lack of progress.  I’m always bringing up the rear.  This weekend, I was out in front so much I felt out of place.  My average speed was 15.1 yesterday, and 15.5 today, so I’m not burning up the road. But I wasn’t tired, never was short of breath, and felt good throughout both rides. It might not always seem like it, but I’m a better rider than I used to be.

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Categories // fitness, Rides Tags // improvement

Skittish

12.21.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Maybe it’s my experience with two crashes in the last three months, but on the road lately, I seem to be a less aggressive rider than I used to be.

The other day, I was doing my weekly ride on the Veloway. It’s got some nice sections with tight curves — curves that invite you to stomp on the pedals and lean hard into the turn. I always look forward to those, especially a right-left-right combo near the end of the loop. I get down in the drops, and always check my cyclocomputer to see if I’ve hit my goal of 22 mph through the esses.

This time, I didn’t even come close. I did 18 mph on the first lap. Wow. I chalked it up to a warmup lap, and figured it would get better. The second time through, I hit 20 mph. That’s still off my goal.

I noticed that the line I took through the curves both times was wider than the one I follow when I’m really “on.” Why would that be?

Well, it’s been foggy the last few mornings, and that left the road surface damp. But it’s only really iffy at the approach to the hill I’ve mentioned in the past — the one where I lost control and crashed last month. A puddle collects right at the base of the hill, right on my line. So I’m going to go slower through there in any case, until it’s acceptably dry.

The esses don’t have that problem. They were damp, but not wet. I made a point of concentrating on the line the third time through. But by now, the light mist that accompanied the fog had turned to drizzle. I picked up a little speed — 21 mph — but cut my ride short and headed for home.

I guess I’m just out of practice. The amount of riding I’m doing has suffered lately because of cooler weather and demands at work. I know that more frequent riding will get me back into the feel of the bike. Now that we’re into the year-end break, I’ll get out there more often — I hope.

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Categories // crash, Technique, training Tags // improvement, training, Veloway

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