First road bike, first ride

codrulz

Hi all,
I bought my first road bike yesterday, a Merida scultura 900.
My first impressions are very good, it is light enough, quite comfy and gear changes are smooth and silky.
it has the shimano claris 8 speed 23m maxxis reuler tyres and a carbon fork.
today on my first ride I was very impressed.
I cycled 80k in 2hours 30mins dead and most was either flat or uphill.
my average speed was 31kph and max was 73.9.
what should I be aiming to improve to, I dont feel I was pushing myself As I was getting used to drop bars and I find it very to pace myself. any help greatly appreciated

G1032

For a recreational cyclist you set a very fast pace I think.

I've no real idea about what speed you'd need for racing in Ireland but from what I'm told it's more about reacting to changes in pace than average speed per say. There are plenty around here who'll tell you what speeds you'll need for racing

veetwin

G1032 wrote: »

Well Xxxxxx won today's stage of TDF with an average of 40+ km/hr.

For a recreational cyclist you set a very fast pace I think.

I've no real idea about what speed you'd need for racing in Ireland but from what I'm told it's more about reacting to changes in pace than average speed per say. There are plenty around here who'll tell you what speeds you'll need for racing

You couldn't have used spoiler tags for the first piece of information by any chance? I have today's stage recorded to watch after the World Cup final:mad:

JPWOctane

Cheers G1032. I needed to hear that from you.

OP, that sounds quick. Keep it up!

G1032

veetwin wrote: »

You couldn't have used spoiler tags for the first piece of information by any chance? I have today's stage recorded to watch after the World Cup final:mad:

Sorry. Never thought. I'll remove it now.

codrulz

JPWOctane wrote: »

Cheers G1032. I needed to hear that from you.

OP, that sounds quick. Keep it up!

Thanks for the feedback

steve-o

veetwin wrote: »

You couldn't have used spoiler tags for the first piece of information by any chance? I have today's stage recorded to watch after the World Cup final:mad:

Now it's your quote that's doing the spoiling!

veetwin

steve-o wrote: »

Now it's your quote that's doing the spoiling!

Fixed:o

t'bear

veetwin wrote: »

You couldn't have used spoiler tags for the first piece of information by any chance? I have today's stage recorded to watch after the World Cup final:mad:

indeed :-(((

ZiabR

Have you been cycling before you bought the bike? How long has it been since you last cycled?

If this was you first cycle in years then to be able to do 80km for a start, let alone average of 31kph seems very fast.

For example, I am cycling nearly two years, albeit I dont race but my average speed is only about 27kph.

triggermortis

I think my first ride was less than 10k and probably maxed out around 30Kmh and averaged about 20!
Good effort

codrulz

logik wrote: »

Have you been cycling before you bought the bike? How long has it been since you last cycled?

If this was you first cycle in years then to be able to do 80km for a start, let alone average of 31kph seems very fast.

For example, I am cycling nearly two years, albeit I dont race but my average speed is only about 27kph.

I started about 2 months ago on a hybrid and quickly got into cycling, as Rugby season is off atm it seems like a good way to keep me fit.
thnaks for your help.

smurphy29

Seems like you're a natural. You say you're a rugby player so I'm guessing you're a big lad by cycling standards who can output a lot of power. 31kph over 80k is plenty quick. You say your route was mostly either flat or uphill - was it a loop (in which case the up and down have to be exactly equal!) or a point-to-point in which case the wind direction wold be a huge factor.

What to improve depends on what you want to do. Race or sportif? If you're looking to do sportifs, then work on upping the distance and building endurance. If you want to race you might look at more structured training; doing short bursts of high intensity and so forth.

cuculainn

codrulz wrote: »

I cycled 80k in 2hours 30mins dead and most was either flat or uphill.
my average speed was 31kph and max was 73.9.

a max speed of 73.9 on a flat or uphill course.....impressive, and ballsy if you are just getting used to the drops

Daroxtar

2:30@31kmh is 77.5km not 80. Do you have a Strava or Map my ride link? Not questioning you, just curious to see if there may be some inaccuracies with your calculations or equipment

codrulz

smurphy29 wrote: »

Seems like you're a natural. You say you're a rugby player so I'm guessing you're a big lad by cycling standards who can output a lot of power. 31kph over 80k is plenty quick. You say your route was mostly either flat or uphill - was it a loop (in which case the up and down have to be exactly equal!) or a point-to-point in which case the wind direction wold be a huge factor.

What to improve depends on what you want to do. Race or sportif? If you're looking to do sportifs, then work on upping the distance and building endurance. If you want to race you might look at more structured training; doing short bursts of high intensity and so forth.

its a loop, which is mostly flat or uphill except I live ontop of a very steep hill I descend at the start of my loop from 290asl to 140asl, this is where I hit 73.9 kph.
I am interested in doing both races and sportifs and I can only imagine doing both would benefit me more?
how often do you go cycling and how often do you recommend going cycling?
cheers.

cuculainn wrote: »

a max speed of 73.9 on a flat or uphill course.....impressive, and ballsy if you are just getting used to the drops

hahaha cheers I reached 73.9 on the only downhill though
I'm fairly happy with my stats, as it was my first ride and I'm only going to get braver :P

Daroxtar wrote: »

2:30@31kmh is 77.5km not 80. Do you have a Strava or Map my ride link? Not questioning you, just curious to see if there may be some inaccuracies with your calculations or equipment

well it wasnt 31kph avg dead.
I can't remeber now what it as but it was roughly 79.9... with an avg of 31.3 or .4?

mathie

I once cycled so fast that on my way back I saw myself heading out and I gave myself a high five.