Road Cycling - Am I slow?

Attached is my ride from a week or so ago. It was 60 km (37 m) long with the west wind of 10 - 15 km/h (6 - 9 mph) and the tour goes strait to the West first (Calgary - Cochrane). At the bottom of the large and steep downhill, I turn and ride back to the East with the same wind from behind. My average speed is ~ 26 km/h (16 mph). Is that slow? Pink is my hear rate and blue is the altitude goiong from 3600 to 4400 ft. I have done the same route a few more times since and it looked more or less the same. I would appreciate your opinions. Thank you,

D.

My average speed is ~ 26 km/h (16 mph). Is that slow?...as compared against who or what??

Well, compared to the majority

Attached is my ride from a week or so ago. It was 60 km (37 m) long with the west wind of 10 - 15 km/h (6 - 9 mph) and the tour goes strait to the West first (Calgary - Cochrane). At the bottom of the large and steep downhill, I turn and ride back to the East with the same wind from behind. My average speed is ~ 26 km/h (16 mph). Is that slow? Pink is my hear rate and blue is the altitude goiong from 3600 to 4400 ft. I have done the same route a few more times since and it looked more or less the same. I would appreciate your opinions. Thank you,

D.

16mph is very good over such a long distance. What sort of bike do you have and what are your goals?

Hey,

Not to hijack your thread or anything, but how would one go about obtaining such data? I've heard talk about cyclo-computers; would such a device provide for the type of information posted? Where could I get one?

Thanks

Yes you are slow! Is that what you wanted to hear? :D

I wanted to hear how to improve. I have Giant OCR1, three weks old. Suunto X6HR gives this data. Thanks for your answers.

D.

Attached is my ride from a week or so ago. It was 60 km (37 m) long with the west wind of 10 - 15 km/h (6 - 9 mph) and the tour goes strait to the West first (Calgary - Cochrane). At the bottom of the large and steep downhill, I turn and ride back to the East with the same wind from behind. My average speed is ~ 26 km/h (16 mph). Is that slow? Pink is my hear rate and blue is the altitude goiong from 3600 to 4400 ft. I have done the same route a few more times since and it looked more or less the same. I would appreciate your opinions. Thank you,

D.

according to lance's book, you're an intermediate, fast rec rider.

sd

Thanks, I was not aware of the lance's book. The only one I read was "Not About the Bike".

D.

are you having fun? that's the most important factor, not how fast you are compared to everyone else, or how many hills you climb, or what "grouppo" your bike is equipped with.

if you're not having fun, then you're doing something wrong.

You are right of course. However, since one important part of fun, for me at least, is to get as much as I can out of bike and out of myself, I was just wondering if I am, by pushing hard on that relatively decent bike, doing well or not. Not so much to bragg about it, but more to understand if there is something wrong with the way I am doing it, setup of the equipment, nutrition or anything else.

Once again, I agree, fun counts the most but we all have different definitions of fun. Thanks,

D.

You are right of course. However, since one important part of fun, for me at least, is to get as much as I can out of bike and out of myself, I was just wondering if I am, by pushing hard on that relatively decent bike, doing well or not. Not so much to bragg about it, but more to understand if there is something wrong with the way I am doing it, setup of the equipment, nutrition or anything else.

Once again, I agree, fun counts the most but we all have different definitions of fun. Thanks,

D.

The best way to improve is to ride, ride, ride and did I mention ride.

Is that slow? I would appreciate your opinions. Thank you,

D.

If you are in training for the TdF you are doing terribly. :D

If you are going for a Sunday ride you are doing great!

It pretty much depends on what your goals are in riding. I try to compare myself with myself. My most important criteria is am I improving, and am I enjoying my ride?

Sometimes, at almost 65 yo, I am happy to get my foot over the saddle! :rolleyes:

Anyway, I think you are doing great. Keep up the good work.

If you are in training for the TdF you are doing terribly. :D


Sometimes, at almost 65 yo, I am happy to get my foot over the saddle! :rolleyes:

Anyway, I think you are doing great. Keep up the good work.

DnvrFox,

Had no idea you were close to 65. I am 51, but the guy that rides with us sometimes is my inspiration, because he is 76. He went with us 2 years ago to Cycle North Carolina and did every mile of it one of them was 77 miles and I think the week was over 450. I told him if I was still walking at that age I would be happy, if still on a bike I would be thrilled.

DnvrFox,

Had no idea you were close to 65. I am 51, but the guy that rides with us sometimes is my inspiration, because he is 76. He went with us 2 years ago to Cycle North Carolina and did every mile of it one of them was 77 miles and I think the week was over 450. I told him if I was still walking at that age I would be happy, if still on a bike I would be thrilled.

I will be 65 in November, wife will be 67.

Yesterday we rode from Frisco to Copper Mountain and back, only 15 miles round trip, but our first ride this season at over 9,000 feet. We went up in elevation about 700 feet, which is not a lot, but we both made it (wife on her new Trek 7300) and me on my Lemond BA.

We will do a lot longer and more challenging rides later in the season. But this was a nice start to mountain riding for the season.

I will be 65 in November, wife will be 67.


We will do a lot longer and more challenging rides later in the season. But this was a nice start to mountain riding for the season.

It is nice to hear stories like these. It lets me know I still have a lot of riding time left in my life and the more we ride the longer we should live. Unless of course some idiot hits us with his car. :-)

Philli

according to lance's book, you're an intermediate, fast rec rider.

sd

Hey would mind posting Lance's whole set of categories so the rest of us can see where we fit in?
What's the book name?

I have to agree with the "fun-factor"! 16 mph is a good pace for a weekend warrior! I do have to share with you about someone who rode the "Cruisin The Conejo" moderate metric century yesterday 5/8/2004! I think she was a Team-In-Training cyclist. She didn't blaze any trails, but what an inspiration! This is no joke! She had one leg! But, she was having FUN! She had the biggest smile on her face! That, I think is what cycling is all about! You may not put it into words, but you can definitely feel it! Thanks for listening to my babbling on, but this might put our efforts into perspective!

The Cyclingmaniac!

Once again, thank you everyone for your answers.

With regards to fun, of course we all are having fun! Would any of us come to read this forum to try to get off biking or because we are boared turning the pedals all the time? We are all addicted, fortunatelly to something what is good and healty.

I am very glad and pleased with contributions from the seniors. As someone already said, that gives us who are still a decade or more younger, I am 43 btw, hope that we will be able to continue having fun for that much longer or more, at least. Thank you and hope to see you on the road.

And now back to fun. Remember Lance Armstrong's answer to the famous question: "Do you enjoy biking?" Big L said: "Enjoy?! Hell no, I bike to suffer! To feel and to overcome the pain." (It's Not About the Bike)
Different people, different perspectives, but I don't beleive him at all :).

Thanks,

D.

lance's book is "the lance armstrong performance program: 7 weeks to the perfect ride", written with coach Carmichael.. it's a 7 week training program to improve, and i've learned some things so it's a nice book. i don't have the discipline to follow the system but yeah, i've no doubt it works. the 3 categories he has are "beginner, intermediate, expert". but the book, really, is for peeps looking to get into racing, i think, or at least into racing form; in other words, the bulk of us.

the real way he categorizes you is by testing you on a 10-minute ride. i won't get into that. the reason i say 16 km/h is a fast rec rider is cause he has a "how to lose 10 lbs in 9 weeks" program, and it advises the fast rec rider to go at about 16mph/26kmh on avg, riding around 100km, a week, ending up at around 17kmh and 150km a week. so you're probably a fast rec rider. beginners do less than 15kmh. there is no tip for experts on losing weight, cause experts just have to eat a little bit less with the amount of riding they do, i presume.

sd

for what it's worth, i rode 24 miles in mixed terrain (hills, downhills, flats, curves, etc.) at an average of 15.8 this weekend. i was really working pretty hard too, so compared to me, i think you're doing pretty well but (like me) there is plenty of room for improvement.

26 km/h isn't a great racing average, but it's quite respectrable for a moderately hilly ride. were you alone? in a group? what was the speed of the group? were there many stops? what speed were you usualy cruising at? were there speints, games, accelerations?

there are so many variables.

a buddy of mine just did a 18.5 km time trial on a windy circuit and finished second with an average of 41 km/h. i've done hard group rides where we cruised at 35-40 km/h and averaged 30 km/h.

I agree with the others suggesting you consider your goals. Like many people, you are trying to measure yourself by comparing your abilities to others, which is valulable if you plan to compete. But consider that true greatness comes from within and being superior to your previous self. I have found cycling to be a great foundation for that principle. Once you become aware of how well this applies, then you will be surprised at how well you will progress.

I was wondering at what speeds do other riders climb. I know it depends on the grade and length, just looking to see. BTW, rode 32.5 miles Saturday at 18.20 mph. I am 43 as well. My course is flat to some small hills(typical north Alabama terrain) of about .3-.65 miles in length.

the question, dj is "do you feel slow?"

the question, dj is "do you feel slow?"

Well this is a good question. I guess I do feel slow and this why the question. I have been biking for long time now, but only in the last three to four years seriously (or not enough). I guess part of the reason why I asked the question is my speed riding my Gary Fisher Excallibur (mountain bike) which is not much slower and getting the OCR1, I expected more, to be honest.

With regards to my goals - they are to do my best. Why - to have more fun because this is the way I enjoy cycling. Again, I am not trying to compare myself to anybody else for any other reason than to understand if the equipment, fit and my technique are adequate or not. I am not and will not be racing, virtually or not.

I also understand know that I should have known better. The question was borderline silly for this forum. :(

BTW, I was by myself. Made only one 5 minutes stop (Granola bar) before turning back.

Thank you once again for all your responses.

D.

Well, yes. Maybe. I'll average about 15 with 50 lbs attached via bobyak. But being in north Florida, I think we're talking about different contexts here.

Which is the real point. Even with a wealth of information, there's absolutely no way any of us can look at a computer screen and tell you about the only real important factor: your current performance relative to your past performance. Hook up with a club in your area, you'll get a much better answer without ever having to ask. = )


cheers


matt b.

dj, a 26 km/h average on a 60 km ride with some significant hills [if my memory serves me, west of calgary are the foothills] and riding alone is quite respectable. even more so early in the season.

one of the things to remember is that, at a certain point, 10% more speed requres 50% more effort, so increasing your overall average will require a great deal more effort. having said that, as you train more, your resistance and endurance will improve.

how many km do you have in your legs?

Velocipedio, thank you for your comment. This year, I biked about 500 km only. However, I skied 32 days of moguls and am running every day (5 days a week, 7 km per day) when I dont ski or bike. So, I have some basis in my legs.

D.

16mph is a little higher than my average(according to my computer I average 15.7mph) and it feels like im going pretty dang fast lol.

I would say your doing good.

O.K., so how quick do you climb?