Speed

Okay, let's talk about speed - or the lack thereof. I'm feeling slow these days. I don't feel like I'm going slow when I'm out there because I'm working hard the whole time. But when I talk to other riders about their speed or mention mine (which averages 15-16 mph depending on the distance), I seem to be on the very "moderate" side. In fact, during my last time out, I was riding along at what I thought was a good clip. Then without warning, a guy on a bike with a rather impressive beer belly glided right by me - perhaps going 25-30% faster. And I do mean glide because it looked so effortless to him. He must have been pedaling half as fast as I was and he didn't seem to breaking a sweat.

So I can't help but wonder... what I'm doing wrong? I guess it could be one of many possibilities:

• I'm just slow - This could be true since I've always been more of an endurance person than a speed person.
• I'm still out of shape - A distinct possibility since I only get in about 2 rides/week and I've only been doing this about 5 weeks.
  
• I don't know what I'm doing - By this I mean that maybe I'm not shifting at the right times, maybe my hands need to be on a different spot on the handlebars, maybe I'm pedaling too fast (the recommendation at the bike shop was to try maintain 80 rpm but that didn't seem to be the guy's pace when he glided by me)
• I'm alone - Maybe I'd ride much faster with someone or in a group

The main reason I'm so hung up on my current speed is that I feel like I need to get to a good pace by my century in September. My biggest fear is that I'll be the last one crossing the finish line that day (or maybe I should say, that night!).