General Cycling Discussion - 11 mph avg into the wind...opinions?

Rode to my buddies and it took 59 minutes (including a ~2 min rest).

According to Google maps, the route I took was 10.21 miles long. According to my fav weather site we had winds ranging from 12-14 in this hour and though I wasn't always riding directly into it, it was aimed exactly from his house to mine. 80% of the route i had a near direct headwind. The entire route is long gradual hills. I think more uphill than down. A few stop signs and lights thrown in, but mostly open road.

If it matters, I had on MTB shorts, a tight jersey and an ~6-7 lb backpack. No drop bars...flat with bar ends. I'm 5' 11" and ~149 lbs.

Not exactly sure where I'm going with this, just curious what any of you more experienced riders think. I was feeling like I could have kept going for a ways at the same pace, but I'm not sure I could have pumped much harder than I did without needing another break somewhere (going farther or no).

Discounting my intended break and my estimated time at stop lights, I get just over 11 MPH. Is this closer to pathetic or "normal" :)? I'm proud of myself either way, I gave it a good run and didn't let the wind talk me into driving.

A head wind can really take it out of you. I would say you were pretty close to normal.

If you are curious about the elevation gain, this site is pretty cool:
Pedometer (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/)

BTW, what part of Austin are you in. My wife and I lived off of Far West, some 20 years ago. I've also got several friends down at Duval & Keonig.

12-14 mph isn't considered wind here in Kansas.

Likewise in CO.
That would be a nice breeze. I had 10 miles into a 30-40 mph headwind last week going uphill for 10 miles. My speeds ranged from 5 mph to 15 mph on my CF tarmac.
That was painful. My ears were almost ringing from the incessant howling. Still not sure if that was a good idea or not but I am still here.

In the OPs case I think his times were decent.

My last tour, I spent half a day fighting the wind and doing 5-6 mph.

Sounds decent to me.

Do you have a speedometer? (Oops, computer). $10 at Walmart. It will give you average speed. BUT, it stops the time when you stop (like at a redlight). When you hear most people giving average speed, that's how they're figuring it. The half-hour they spent resting under a tree doesn't get figured in.

Watch your route. If you can find a route that is more sheltered, it may help with the wind.

closer to pathetic.

hey u asked.

you should have droped the hamer on that wind

Headwind is like hill training, but more convenient.

Heh, heh... I average 11 mph overall! :D

Slow race anyone?

I was riding on a stormy day last spring and saw my speed dropped to 10MPH from 20MPH during a windgust of 40-50 mph. I averaged 11 MPH that day riding a folding bike with wind coming from all directions. 11MPH is not a bad speed average when cycling into the wind.

Rode to my buddies and it took 59 minutes (including a ~2 min rest).

According to Google maps, the route I took was 10.21 miles long. According to my fav weather site we had winds ranging from 12-14 in this hour and though I wasn't always riding directly into it, it was aimed exactly from his house to mine. 80% of the route i had a near direct headwind. The entire route is long gradual hills. I think more uphill than down. A few stop signs and lights thrown in, but mostly open road.

If it matters, I had on MTB shorts, a tight jersey and an ~6-7 lb backpack. No drop bars...flat with bar ends. I'm 5' 11" and ~149 lbs.

Not exactly sure where I'm going with this, just curious what any of you more experienced riders think. I was feeling like I could have kept going for a ways at the same pace, but I'm not sure I could have pumped much harder than I did without needing another break somewhere (going farther or no).

Discounting my intended break and my estimated time at stop lights, I get just over 11 MPH. Is this closer to pathetic or "normal" :)? I'm proud of myself either way, I gave it a good run and didn't let the wind talk me into driving.

You don' tell us how steep the hills are. So it is hard to say how the effort was.

Reality check: Since you are 5'11" and 149 pounds you don't seem to be at all overweight and the 6-7 pound backpack is pretty light and should not effect you too much except on steeper hills.

It is a better effort than most totally casual riders can do but far less than good riders can do.

I'm 5'10" 212 and overweight and I think based on what you describe I would maintain 14-17 mph average over similar course. But we don't know exactly how steep the hills you describe are so this could be off. To me a gradual hill is one that I can sustain a pretty good pace on with only dropping one gear over a flat course.

I'm actually in the Cedar Park area, just north of Austin. The wind speeds I got were for Austin...no idea if they were accurate for my exact area. If I was guessing, I would say they felt a bit stronger for most of my ride (like they were being funneled to the more open roads I was riding) but can't say for sure. I can tell you the flags were flying very well...

No idea on the elevation gains and lost or the hill grades. You have to understand that truly flat for any length decent length is pretty rare here. If I only drop one gear it is just a gentle grade and not a hill to me. I was dropping 2-3 depending on how flat it was before most hills...The "steep" hill near my house requires going down 4-5.

I had a $10 Bell computer but it only worked for a week. haven't taken it back yet.

I started riding again a few months ago. I ride for an hour plus 3-4 times a week. I quit smoking about the same time I started riding. I think my question has been answered about as good as it can be. thanks for the opinions and info.

12-14 mph isn't considered wind here in Kansas.

Or Manitoba and parts of Alberta. That's only 19-22 km/h ... a fairly standard, everyday wind.

However 11 mph into that breeze wasn't too bad.

When I ride my heavy, heavy mountain bike type bike, I average around 12 mph. If I'm riding one of my lighter bikes with skinnier 700c wheels, I go a lot faster. But honestly, I don't care. I had computers on my bikes and I took them off. I ride because it feels good and I want the exercise. How fast I go only matters to me inasmuch as I need to plan ahead enough to be somewhere by a certain time.
My advice is this: don't worry about how fast you go. Just enjoy the ride! If worry too much about going faster or longer or whatever, you might just ruin it. But that's just me. I know a lot of people enjoy keeping track of their stats.

Note most weather stations measure wind at about 32'. The wind speed decreases as you get closer to the ground so if you watch the weather and it is says 15mph wind it will be less at ground level. I get a kick out of the people that say they ride against a 40mph wind, if you did the calculation on a flat road in the drops going 10mph against a 40mph wind a 145lb rider requires 428 watts of sustained power, you should race if you are doing this. Adding rider weight, slope etc just increases the watts needed.

If the wind at ground level is 15mph holding a pace of 15mph is about 250 watts which is much more reasonable for a fit cyclist to maintain.

i think the avg. speed was okay considering the sloping terrain and the wind. my question is why did you stop to rest. you shouldn't have to stop during a one hour ride unless of course you want to take in the scenery. if you needed to stop (to catch your breath) you were probably outpacing yourself (or you recently got back on the bike again).

My legs were unhappy...and I got a small bottle of Cognac at the liq store :). The break/stop was actually about 10 min into the ride. I didn't get a warm-up in other than a quick stretch. After getting my engine warm and idling for a minute, I was ready for the rest of the ride.

The first mile of my route included a busy section of narrow 45 mph road, so I was pumping a little harder than I should have been on cold muscles. I generally find a short break after getting warmed, whether it's calisthenics or riding, is needed and/or helpful. I had two off days since my last ride, I am trying to add muscle mass too and these two activities can compete with each other.

If asked, I would not proclaim myself a "fit cyclist" just yet. Maybe more fit than your average person, but these day that means very little.

I really like the fact that when riding a bicycle, you're not detached from your surroundings, quite the opposite in fact. Wind and gravity, for example, can be your best friends or your worst enemies, it just depends which way you're going. Regardless, I love being out there and feeling it, going with the flow, fighting to make my way forward, whatever it takes.

wind? WIND is 45 MPH and gusting WAY above that coming down la veta pass in southern CO recently. hit 4 MPH spinning like mad (this coming DOWN the pass) . spent the day before doing the same thing (only 20-30 mph sinds though) coming into walsenburg. I was somewhat more fortunate in kansas the few days before colorado. basically, In the west, going west in the fall sucks.

11 mph anytime for me would be slow. I suppose that would be close to my average in deepish snow, but rare that i would average 11 mph. My last century (100 miles), I averaged 19.3 mph. So that would be slow for me.

But who cares? There are people that are a lot faster than me, and while it's ok to see where you compare to others, the main thing is to not get caught up in it. Unless you are racing or looking to get discouraged, i would ignore avg. mph and just enjoy the ride.

I can easily maintain 16-17 mph against a 20+ mph headwind. But of course I'm in the drops and in a much more aerodynamic position. If I want to "push" I can go faster than that... however, I NEVER feel like I must take a break (unless I'm doing hill, speed or sprint intervals). I guess what it boils down to is your level of fitness.

Considering the OP was more than likely riding a Trek 7.3FX, I would say this is a decent average. Comparing averages on a road bike to a fitness/touring hybrid bike design is like comparing apples to oranges.:p

We had a few days this fall where the winds were gusting up to 60 kmh (35 mph) and while on my rather lightweight and fast touring bike I was managing 30 kmh (19 mph) and when I put the hammer down was pushing 40 kmh on my 9 mile commute... the next day I though my legs were going to fall off.

I can easily maintain 16-17 mph against a 20+ mph headwind. But of course I'm in the drops and in a much more aerodynamic position. If I want to "push" I can go faster than that... however, I NEVER feel like I must take a break (unless I'm doing hill, speed or sprint intervals). I guess what it boils down to is your level of fitness.


You are lance Armstrong and ICMFP

alternatively, you are full of it.

17mph into a 20mph headwind is 411W. If you can 'easily' maintain this, I suggest you enter the TDF.

slightly slow. Try 30 mph winds. I suspect not having drops is a disadvantage. Can't tuck yourself in a low position minimizing wind drag. Suspect your cycling buddies felt you were slowing them down. ?

Did a 10 mile ride to the LBS a couple of weeks ago- and it was raining. 8 miles South into a headwind and it was not pleasant. Then I turned west into a side wind- that was dangerous. Went to the weather station on the seafront and it was 50mph headwind- The ride back was fast- And 11 mph is pretty good on flat bars. Just go out in stronger headwinds to improve yourself.

I averaged 11.9 mph today on my mountain bike with full studs and ice/snow. Rode approx 20 miles and it took about 1 hr 40 minutes.

I have ridden the same route in the Summer on my mountain bike and averaged 16.7, although that was an exception to the rule. Point? Conditions dictate how fast a given rider can ride.

Rode to my buddies and it took 59 minutes (including a ~2 min rest).

According to Google maps, the route I took was 10.21 miles long. According to my fav weather site we had winds ranging from 12-14 in this hour and though I wasn't always riding directly into it, it was aimed exactly from his house to mine. 80% of the route i had a near direct headwind. The entire route is long gradual hills. I think more uphill than down. A few stop signs and lights thrown in, but mostly open road.

If it matters, I had on MTB shorts, a tight jersey and an ~6-7 lb backpack. No drop bars...flat with bar ends. I'm 5' 11" and ~149 lbs.

Not exactly sure where I'm going with this, just curious what any of you more experienced riders think. I was feeling like I could have kept going for a ways at the same pace, but I'm not sure I could have pumped much harder than I did without needing another break somewhere (going farther or no).

Discounting my intended break and my estimated time at stop lights, I get just over 11 MPH. Is this closer to pathetic or "normal" :)? I'm proud of myself either way, I gave it a good run and didn't let the wind talk me into driving.

dont feel bad. i avg 5 mph in massive headwind.
i need aerobars

If I hit 20mph headwinds with the 22lb Paramount with the compact crankset and vredesteins I have no problem settling back in the 34t chainring and making 12mph.
If,however; I'm on the 32lb GT Citybike with the steel fenders,upright riding position, 26x 1.5 tires I'm going to be having to work seriously to maintain that 12.
I've come up some looonnnggg modest inclines against a 15mph wind (especially out in farm country with nothing to block that breeze)and it was a push as opposed to a level stretch against the same wind speed.

Rode to my buddies and it took 59 minutes (including a ~2 min rest).

According to Google maps, the route I took was 10.21 miles long. According to my fav weather site we had winds ranging from 12-14 in this hour and though I wasn't always riding directly into it, it was aimed exactly from his house to mine. 80% of the route i had a near direct headwind. The entire route is long gradual hills. I think more uphill than down. A few stop signs and lights thrown in, but mostly open road.

If it matters, I had on MTB shorts, a tight jersey and an ~6-7 lb backpack. No drop bars...flat with bar ends. I'm 5' 11" and ~149 lbs.

Not exactly sure where I'm going with this, just curious what any of you more experienced riders think. I was feeling like I could have kept going for a ways at the same pace, but I'm not sure I could have pumped much harder than I did without needing another break somewhere (going farther or no).

Discounting my intended break and my estimated time at stop lights, I get just over 11 MPH. Is this closer to pathetic or "normal" :)? I'm proud of myself either way, I gave it a good run and didn't let the wind talk me into driving.

Average speed is meaningless. If you want a real metric to compare yourself by, get a power meter. Then start logging what power you can maintain for what duration.

Everything else is useless.

It's not BAD wind until you fail to make headway.

you did good, kid. sometimes the wind will howl so strong its all you can do to maintain about 5 MPH and you'll be nearly blown off your bike by the wandering wind...

I hear the Finns say there's no bad weather, just bad clothing......

Wind and hill aside, you were going riding with a friend who didn't have to ride 10+ miles to the ride start. I'd ride slow just to save my energy.

Average speed is meaningless. If you want a real metric to compare yourself by, get a power meter. Then start logging what power you can maintain for what duration.

Everything else is useless.

Actually...with average speed and other essential data (like wind speed and grades) you can calculate what kind of power output you need or needed to maintain that average speed.

It won't be as quite as exact as a power meter (but will get you pretty close) and I would think that there weren't always power meters to do these real time calculations, that people used formulas as I have been doing of late.

So...

If I can ride my loaded fixed gear touring bike 35 km in an hour over a relatively flat route with no wind then I need to be able to generate an average of 250 watts / .33 hp for that hour.

I have averaged as much as 35 kmh over my 8 km commute but with a much lighter bike my wattage requirement drops to 244 (average) although some of the sprints I do require output in the 500 watt range.

When I hit that rather short hill with the 12 % grade and my speed drops down to 30 kmh I need to be able to put out nearly 900 watts to hold that speed.

55kmh sprints also require a power output in the 900 watt range.

I used to be able to do sub hour 40's and these required a sustained output of nearly 400 watts due to the route and rather slight but sustained grades... a perfectly flat route would require 350 watts.

When doing calculations the biggest factors in wattage requirements (after speed) are wind and grade... a 10 kmh headwind is enough to make it impossible for me to cover 35 km in an hour as the wattage requirement jumps from around 250 to 411 and the smallest increase in grade will drive the wattage requirements through the ceiling.

Even low speed climbs on steep grades require a massive amount of power and people should be amazed at how much wattage they actually can generate when they ride.

You are lance Armstrong and ICMFP

alternatively, you are full of it.

17mph into a 20mph headwind is 411W. If you can 'easily' maintain this, I suggest you enter the TDF.

Maybe if you are standing and mashing the pedals it would generate 411 watts to overcome your body "sail"! How do you come up with a wattage number like that, which relates to *ALL* riders, rider types and riding position...??? that's just stupid.

And I never said I could ride all day at that speed.... :rolleyes:

I can however "easily" mantain that speed for a mile or two without hitting the red zone on the heart rate monitor.

Conversely, I do a 23 mile two way round trip average of 19-20 mph against (coming) and with the wind (going) with an almost daily 15-20 mph wind out of the south at least once a week. It's relatively flat. What do you think my average speed going against the wind is? (it's higher than you think). My average wattage for the entire ride is in the 250-260 watt range. I'll give you a hint. My 11.5 mile return trip WITH the wind I EASILY maintain 23-25 mph solo. ;)

A 20 mph wind on the weather forecast is not a 20 mph wind at road level. Forecast wind is usually measured at a height of 10 m (30 ft) above the ground.

Unless you have measurements from an on-board anemometer, which I guess isn't out of the question.

How do you guys bike so fast? For an hour long ride I average 15.5 mph (or 25 kmh). I don't count the hills or wind, 'cause I do a loop where for every hill I go up, I go back down, and if I was riding into the wind before, I'm riding with it afterwards. I ride around in the suburbs, though, so there are a lot of stop signs (and yes, I do stop at them) and lights.

What kind of training schedule do I have to follow to reach speeds like you guys, where I can average 30 km/h+ easily for long distances?

dont wurry. i only average 14 mph..........but then again, im only 14

If you're doing 15.5 in residential suburbs you might well do 18+ on open roads. For instance, I regularly do a ride that is 5 miles to a local lake through resedential areas, a couple laps of trails dealing with other trail users and 5 miles back through the resedential areas. I never average better than 16 to 17 on that ride. But, I do club and t-shirt rides on open roads and average 19 to 20. Stopping, starting and slowing down for things kills your average more than it looks like it would.

How do you guys bike so fast? For an hour long ride I average 15.5 mph (or 25 kmh). I don't count the hills or wind, 'cause I do a loop where for every hill I go up, I go back down, and if I was riding into the wind before, I'm riding with it afterwards. I ride around in the suburbs, though, so there are a lot of stop signs (and yes, I do stop at them) and lights.

What kind of training schedule do I have to follow to reach speeds like you guys, where I can average 30 km/h+ easily for long distances?

Ride faster and push harder.... (ie: speed, sprint and hill intervals). Ride more often.

I can however "easily" mantain that speed for a mile or two without hitting the red zone on the heart rate monitor.

You actually said you could easily keep up that speed - implying you were doing it for sustained periods. I can believe you can keep up that speed for a mile or so, sure. So can my 15-yr-old (but then, he's faster than me over short distances).

I just object to implication that anyone should be able to keep up 20+mph speeds for sustained distances. It depends so much on ability (and the bike).

"How do you guys bike so fast? For an hour long ride I average 15.5 mph (or 25 kmh)."

25 kmh / 16 mph is a more than decent average speed for anyone and is actually quite fast when you look at how fast most riders are. If you can average that in an urban setting then you will surely be able to have a much higher average speed on the open road as there will be less stops and you use less energy in not having to accelerate from stops.

You actually said you could easily keep up that speed - implying you were doing it for sustained periods. I can believe you can keep up that speed for a mile or so, sure. So can my 15-yr-old (but then, he's faster than me over short distances).

I just object to implication that anyone should be able to keep up 20+mph speeds for sustained distances. It depends so much on ability (and the bike).

I said (and I quote):

"I can easily maintain 16-17 mph against a 20+ mph headwind"

By my definition, "sustained period(s)" means 6-8 minutes at a time without hitting 190bpm (my MHR). That means no slowing down, stopping or variations in speed. Sorry I wasn't more specific. :)

If I average 11-12 mph against a 20 mph headwind, my HR monotor will read 130-135bpm. I could sustain that pretty much forever (given I eat and drink on the bike..). I hate doing recovery rides on windy days. It's hard to stay at 120-130bpm against a headwind of any kind! :lol:

I average 18-20 mph on most of my rides (unless it's a recovery ride or I'm doing intervals or tons of climbing). The act of having to recover between interval efforts makes my averages go way down. My average heart rate on most of my longer non interval rides is between 157 to 165bpm. That's a typical 40-55 mile ride.

Of course a headwind makes things more difficult, but it all averages out on the way back... lol

I look at headwinds as my friend.... that I hate when I'm fighting with it, but when I get home I love!