I'm trying to get into cycling. I have a Forme Longcliffe 3.0 2013 and shoes and cleats.
I want to get quicker and build my endurance.
I do 6 miles (10 km) in 22:51 and average 15.4 mph (26 kph). I have realised my tyres where under pressure so I am experimenting with 120psi what speed difference should I expect previous psi 65.
Do you have any training advice?
Goals
Without them, you don't know where you're going, and don't know when you got there.
So set some goals. For example, a 100 km (60 mi) ride by the end of the year.
As Kibbee said, find others to ride with. Ride where you see others ride, stop where they stop, and chat. Or find a local club. Be prepared to move on if the people or club are not meeting your current needs.
It's good to ride with two kinds of riders - ones like you, for friendly competition, and more experienced or faster, to stretch and teach you. And then when you're experienced, ride with less experienced people to pass it on.
I'll add more later ... going for a ride now ... and I'm back.
You'll need to tell us more for us to give detailed advice. We can guess that "Stu" is a guy, and maybe Gen-Y. Or not. We can guess that by training you intend to get seriously into cycling. But we don't know until you tell us. So here is some general advice.
I already mentioned goals.
Have a goal for every ride. I just went on a social Coffee ride - 63 kms to have coffee with friends, at a very relaxed pace. Other rides are training rides, where I might do intervals at a given speed for a given distance, then slow down for a period to recover, and then repeat. Or climb a specific hill some number of times. Some people unkindly call any ride without a goal as junk kilometers or junk miles. See the questions tagged training and performance.
Learn good technique early.
If you are going to do Triathlons then join a Tri club and follow their advice, because Tri riding is quite different to ordinary road cycling.
For road cycling, get a bike computer that shows you your cadence. If you don't already pedal at 90 rpm, then aim for that. Then 100 rpm. Pedaling too slowly causes knee and back problems.
Learn to use your ankles, to help you drive the pedals all the way around the stroke.
Keep your knees in; they should almost touch the top tube on each stroke.
Make sure you have a good riding-position.
Having a professional bike fitting can boost your performance and save you lots of problems later.
If you join group rides, be aware that there is etiquette for groups involved.
Increasing your endurance.
Generally, we can increase the distances we ride by about 10% per week. If you work hard on each ride then give your body a day off to recover before the next ride. As you increase the distance, try to maintain your pace. Remember to warm up and cool down properly, and do longer and shorter rides for variation. And check out What is a recovery ride?
Increasing your speed.
This means increasing your power output. You can just ride faster, or climb hills, but the most common way of increasing power is interval training.
Measure what you do.
If you want something to change then measure it. Smartphone apps are one easy way. See Is there an easy to use app for tracking my cycling performance? (iOS or Android) or What is the best way to track your mileage, routes and calories burned?.
Many people use a Garmin device.
If you get serious then learn about VO2 max and diet.
Join a club.
Or more than one. Different clubs can focus on different things, so find one or more that suit you and your goals.
Enjoy.
Sounds like you already have a decent pace for somebody starting out. Upping the tire pressure is a good idea, but make sure to not go too far beyond what is recommended on the sidewall of the tire. 120 psi might be a bit too high.
In order to get quicker and build your endurance you should ride more. You can do things like intervals to try and increase the effectiveness of your training, but simply just putting more miles on the bike should get you pretty far. I would recommend going for longer rides, even if you have to slow your pace to be able to complete the ride.
Look for cycling groups in your area and get involved. Having people to ride with helps you to push harder and gives you more motivation to get out and ride.
120 psi (8.3bar) is good, just make sure to check it every second day or so. Road tires lose pressure fast.
As for training: Bicycling is mostly a matter of kilometers (or hours) per week at some intensity. Of course proper regeneration, good nutrition (enough protein etc.) and structured training with intervals, endurance training etc. etc. help.
For starters just try to get your weekly mileage up and try to ride at least every second day or so.
You should also make sure your seating position is good (especially saddle height) to avoid problems.
120psi is too much for most riders. For an average weight rider (160lbs or so) on average width tires (23-25mm), 90-100psi is all you should need. I usually run a good bit lower than that (80-85psi), but I'm only 145lbs and ride 26-28mm tires.
Head for a hill and ride up it as often as you can. Listen to your body when it comes to sleep and nutrition. Ride at least once a week for more than an hour to build your stamina. It's just like any other exercise, you start slow but to get better you always have to increase the difficulty. You can make it harder by going more often and going further distances.
Strava is a great tool to track your rides and to see how much better you get every time you ride.
