Not many of us enjoy our DIScomfort zone; but we have to go there sometimes to improve as cyclists.

Who wants to get faster? I know I do! But how much do I really want it? My gains in speed have come very, very slowly; and I think it\’s because I don\’t push myself out of my comfort zone often enough.

Back in November 2009, when I got my adult tricycle, I decided to let speed take care of itself. Up to a point, it did. Then, after a few more months, I realized that I would have to make deliberate efforts to ride faster if I wanted to get faster.

The same holds true for any bicycle. With my road bike, I usually take one day a week to do on-bike work to try to improve my force. It\’s over a year since I began to do that, but gains have been modest. Shameful to state, I\’m still a coward when it comes to really grueling efforts.

Maybe my \”force intervals\” are too short; maybe I need to do more of them. Or perhaps I need to push for a certain speed for a certain length of time, never mind about getting into a really hard gear and working for a high cadence. I get the impression that either one can help to improve average speed, but the latter won\’t necessarily build muscle strength, will it?

The difficulty in getting faster is one reason I\’m considering giving Tour de Cure a miss this year. I guess a good game plan would be to work on force for a few more months, and see where I am. I know this much: it won\’t be comfortable. Welcome to the DIScomfort zone!