IS HARDER REALLY BETTER?
Well, with regard to certain activities, yes, definitely. Or so I've heard tell.
But. When it comes to your bike tires . . . uh, not so much.
I run my tires at 100 psi. Dohnne, at Team Sales Cycling, tells me (often) that 95-100 psi is the Euro (clinchers) norm, even for some really fast guys he used to ride with Over 
There. Bigger guys might go as high as 110, but that's it.
So I decided to conduct my own personal experiment last month, pumped my tires up to 120 psi (the number I most often hear bandied about) for the Saturday ride. The results (keeping in mind here that this is wholly subjective, based entirely on one rider's perception): I felt no faster at all, not on the flats, not on the climbs. Same effort to produce the same speeds. The BIG difference I noticed was how damn harsh the ride was vis a viz my usual 100 pounds pump-up. Bouncing, shaking, jarring, vibrating for the entire ride. And on the heavy chip seal sections such as Wren Rd., it felt like I was riding a freaking jackhammer.
Recently, I came across some hard scientific evidence that confirms what I experienced, to wit: Filling your tires with enough air to lift the Graf Zeppelin does NOT produce higher performance. All it does is beat you up and tire you out.
A study at the University of Texas plants the Kiss of Death on rock-hard rubber. The Longhorn researchers had 7 riders go at top speed on a 4% incline 4 times, each at different tire pressures (all within the recommended manufacturers max/min specs). All riders used identical bikes and conditions were tightly controlled to isolate tire pressure as the sole variable.
"The difference in rolling resistance caused by varying tire pressure is too small to be detected physiologically," says study honcho Timothy Ryschon, Ph. D.
So there.
Moreover, the study concludes, sky-high tire pressure guarantees a rough, uncomfortable ride because, dude adds, "You'll effectively have no suspension to cushion the blows." The net result is that every bump you bounce over is more likely to lift you off the ground, slow you down, probably make you more tense and hence more tired more quickly just from absorbing more road shock and having to constantly "fight" your bike.
And. For. What?
GETTIN' OLDER. GETTIN' FASTER?
Apologies to the Stones, but when it comes to riding your bike fast, Tiiiiiiiiiii-ime generally ain't on your side.
True. But not necessarily sad.
Because to find exceptions, we need look no further than supersonic sexagenarian Velo-ites such as David and Jude Russell, Art and Lynne Steele, Russ Spierm, Michigan Gary.
Why them? Elite DNA, of course. But even those of us with working class genetic stuff can Rage, Rage Against The Dying Speed.
According to Harvard researcher Peter Weyand, Ph.D., riders, ALL of us, need regular short-but-fast bits help maintain the function of our spinal cord's "motor nerve" cells, the ones that control the contractions that produce fast riding. Without consistent high-quality speedwork, "These cells deteriorate as you get older, slowing you down," Dr. Pete says.
Now you're going to get older, brothers and sisters, no way to prevent that. But you do NOT have to get slower and slower as you age. And the really good news is that, to paraphrase those Brylcreem ads of the 1950s, "A Little Dab'll Do Yuh." Translation for you literalists out there: You can maintain, even improve, your speed on your steed with the shortest of accelerations done once weekly. That's all.
Researchers at the Institute for Olympic Sports in Finland recently found that for average cyclists, "There is much to be gained from sprint intervals of 50 meters to 200 meters once a week."
How best to do this? Well, there's no actual "best" way, but here's one that works pretty well. And you only have to do it maybe 4 times during your ride, making sure you are reasonably fresh when you crank it up. That's 4 times (6 at the absolute most) over the course of, say, a 2-2.5 hour ride. A quad-busting 1 minute, 20 seconds. 2 minutes if you do 6 reps. And that's TOTAL. For the whole shebang.
Here's what you do: Big ring, Big gear (probably not a 53 x 11, but something . . . big: 53 x 15 or 17, 50 x 13 or 15, something like that. You'll have to play around a little to find the gear that, for you, is really, really hard but still do-able. Come out of the saddle (on the flat or a section of GENTLE rollers) and drive as hard as you can for 10 seconds, then IMMEDIATELY (no rest, no break) put your butt back in the saddle and blast it hard as you can for another 10 seconds; 20 seconds, total. That's it. So, how do you feel now?
I mean, was that fun, or what?????
If you're on a group ride, a good time to do these might be just before an announced regroup, or when you know there's going to be a stop sign not far down the road. Or if you're strong enough to get back on, any time you want to. Drop off the back of the group by 50 to 100 yards. When you have that distance, come out of the saddle in an explosion of raging, righteous fury and uncork a 10-10. You can easily do this on the Saturday club ride.
Just don't be a dick.