Cycling: How fast is fast?

The start of our back-to-back long rides to prepare for Mersing double century was a 86km on Sat followed by 66km on Sun. We hooked up with another group of strong riders, and they, together with CS and MH set a blazing pace. More often than not, we were above 30 kph up till LCK.

After a rest stop along the westcoast highway, the action got even faster and more furious. We were rolling along at more than 35 kph along, and the speed went above 40 kph subsequently. This was the first time I hit above 40 kph (42 to be precise) over a single km on flats. I got dropped along the Keppel viaduct after a traffic light and slowed to join the steady group. Average speed: 28.3 kph over 86 km (the rest were faster!).

On Sunday, we tried taking turns to pull. The first part went quite well as we rode the Braddell viaduct, with speed between 25 to 30 kph on undulating terrain. RV with HP and WL for the second loop, and also RV with Jodan. Kept the pace to a comfortable 25 - 28 kph. And went up Hendon Road, a 400m climb that was sufficiently challenging but doable.

Then we decided to take turn pulling along CCR. We sped along at 32 to 38 kph and realized that we had to fine tune our technique to switching / rolling over.

At higher speed (above 30 kph), the first rider has to slow down to peel off, but the second rider should not speed up too much. Just enough to maintain the speed, otherwise the first rider would not be able to catch up at the back. Also, three lamp-posts appeared too short a distance to pull. Perhaps 1 km is a better distance. The other thing to note is that once the lead rider drops below a specified speed, he should switch back. 

For a better perspective on Sunday's ride, please see Jodan's account.

Personally I thought last weekend's rides set a new milestone for FOTR. We could now sustain above 34 kph and we achieved new highs (as a group).

But the question is how fast is fast? I had asked myself this question before, and my answer then was 35 kph is fast enough for me. Sure, it feels good to hit new highs to improve. Yes, it is wonderful to be stronger. However, we should never do so at the expense of safety.

One of the key learning points for me is to accelerate gradually. Surging from a stationary start or after cornering would mean that the riders at the back would have to accelerate even more to keep up. The same applies for going upslopes. This becomes more critical when the speed goes above 30 kph.

Why is this important? Safety. Riders tend to get dropped if the pack surges, and it is certainly safer to ride with the pack.

We have been mulling over some guidelines for safe riding, especially as our group gets bigger. Certainly need to fine tune our guidelines as we go along.

But hey, it feels great to hit 42!