July 2013 Mileage

My fastest ever month in terms of average speed, 18.5mph (29.6km/h), a few things have contributed to this: -

a) Flatter route profiles.
b) Riding with some faster riders.
c) Weight loss.

I had a few rides with other people during the month, which inevitably meant route profiles were flatter as you want to talk plus the capability of the people you ride with is different.  I'll begin to build back in the hillier routes on a Saturday as I feel part of my increased speed on the bike has also been about riding tougher miles during training.

I spoke in a recent blog about riding with faster riders and putting that into action went out with a fast group a couple of weeks back, returning home with an average speed of 19mph (30.4 km/h) over a 60 mile (96km) route.  A strong, well drilled group meant that speeds go up but not in relation to effort as you can get a good drag along behind other riders, so I'll be doing more of that.

Since the record June miles and with some pro-activity, I've managed to knock a couple of kg's off and I can feel an immediate difference in ride speed.  It's given me a real incentive to stay on the right track and get a few more kg's off although August is holiday month, so it could be back to zero! 

I pulled this chart together which shows average speed (blue line) vs. the intensity of the miles covered (pink line).   The spike in June really contributing to July's speed improvement (harder miles), it's easy to see why professionals go off to training camps to really kick start their engines.  You can also see how your speed can go up by dropping the intensity (July).  The lesson here is that average speed is - amongst many things - relative to your route profile.

Year to date mileage is now 2,667 miles which is slightly ahead of where I'd planned to be for the mid-year point.

Ride ascent ratio (pink line) dropped for the month due to those flatter miles.  Another way to measure effort is to look at your heart rate and my average for the month was 149bpm vs. my maximum of 186bpm (80% of max), showing that it's been an intensive effort to hit this months average speed.

Summary for July is, expected miles vs. plan, mostly flatter miles and a big increase in average speed.

2013 Mileage and Ascent Ratio - www.race-pace.net/@roadphil

Month  to Date

Mileage- 327 miles
Ride Time - 17hrs 42mins
Climbing - 10,058ft
Avg. Speed - 18.5mph
Avg. HR - 149bpm
Calories (estimate) -10,138
Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) -31 (Flat)

Year to Date

Mileage- 2,667 miles
Ride Time - 166hrs 05mins
Climbing - 100,473ft
Avg. Speed - 16.0 mph
Avg. HR - 145bpm
Calories (estimate) - 97,536
Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) - 37.7 (Flat/Undulating)