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extomesm
08-28-03, 09:14 PM
does anyone know wut the ave power output would be fer sumone my size? i ride an ave speed of 20 mph and ave 163 watts on a 36 mile course. its flat but with many slow downs due to yeild and stop signs o i dont know if my output ave is where it should be. my ave output is where it should be. thanx
BikeInMN
08-29-03, 08:04 AM
Average power output, on an average ride, over 36 miles doesn’t tell you much. Your numbers are neither good nor bad.
A power meter is just a tool and unless it's used in conjunction with a power structured training plan, is really just a very expensive gee-whiz gizmo. With that being said, most people will spend the first week or two after installing a power meter just riding around and familiarizing themselves with the features.
To get started you'll need to start with some baseline tests. These are referred to as CP1, CP6, CP12 and CP30. The CP is short for Critical Power and the numbers represent the minutes you can sustain that power output. My advice would be to go out and pick up the latest edition of "The Training Bible" if you want some really sound advice and a detailed plan.
For comparison sake, I’m 6’1” and 160 pounds. When I ride with my Power Tap on my recovery days, I'll average between 180-190 watts over 50-60 miles with an average heart rate of around 125-130 bpm. Most of these rides are done on flat roads that have very few stop signs and are outside of our metro area.