Fifty Plus (50+) - Pace on long rides?

What would be considered a decent pace on longer rides, say 50 miles plus? Did a ride yesterday averaging about 20/mph.

Man, I cannot believe how slow I am! I'm keeping my eye on this thread. I have a century scheduled for 6/28. I'm sure that I can finish, but not before they roll up the sidewalks :(.

Depends how many hills on the ride- how many times you have to slow down or accelerate for corners- how many times you stop for PIE.

In my area with hilly bits- I average 15mph for around 50 to 60 miles. But an organised Metric on an average route and my time is around 4 hours so about 16mph. a full 100miles and I am yet to break 7 hours which is 14mph.

Solo riding and organised events do lead to different ride speeds for me. The organised rides are always just a bit faster.

Yes, 20 mph is a decent pace, no doubt. Not sure what you consider a long ride, but a 20 mph average pace/speed will get you a 5 hour century (100 miles).

Is that the kind of answer you wanted?

Rick / OCRR

I am with stapfam. I don't even know how people average 20 MPH for 50 miles. That would require 2 and a half hours for 50 miles. It also would mean there would be times I would have to be hitting 35 to make up for the 12-14 MPH climbs let alone the four mile 8-10 MPH climb we did this morning. My average for just over 4000 miles since I started riding the road bike is 15.1. I didn't break 14 MPH on my century either. I hope to do better on my next one.

Still I have been on group rides where we did 24 to 25 MPH with spikes to 26 for ten to fifteen miles and finished the 40 mile ride with 18 MPH cool down and the average was only 17.1 due to lights and stop signs.

I felt like I did well yesterday to average 18.2 for 30 miles.

What would be considered a decent pace on longer rides, say 50 miles plus? Did a ride yesterday averaging about 20/mph.

That's not really my motivation. In fact, I only have bike computers on 2 of the 6 bikes that I ride. While I'll admit to having a general idea, I'm not particularly interested in keeping track of how many miles I ride either.

That said I ride my tandem or my poseur points bike the average speed tends to consistantly run around 13 or 14 MPH by the end of a ride. I don't turn off the computer during food or fooling around stops and I don't know how it calculates that time.

48 miles this past Saturday at almost 16mph.
Fast for me, but I have decided to withdraw from the TDF.

Yes, thanks. Here is the link to the course for the 203K. It looks like about 6:42 hours (ride time) for the 160k/100 miles. This means that the last 43K/26.71 miles was in around 70 minutes.
http://connect.garmin.com/player/3900566

I did this 10 months after I started riding. Like you, my Metric century earlier that month was 4:08 total time, 3:44 ride time.

When I first started riding in July 2008, I was pitiful ;-)


Depends how many hills on the ride- how many times you have to slow down or accelerate for corners- how many times you stop for PIE.

In my area with hilly bits- I average 15mph for around 50 to 60 miles. But an organised Metric on an average route and my time is around 4 hours so about 16mph. a full 100miles and I am yet to break 7 hours which is 14mph.

Solo riding and organised events do lead to different ride speeds for me. The organised rides are always just a bit faster.


Yes, 20 mph is a decent pace, no doubt. Not sure what you consider a long ride, but a 20 mph average pace/speed will get you a 5 hour century (100 miles).

Is that the kind of answer you wanted?

Rick / OCRR

First Boonen is out, now you! That event is going to hell in a handbasket


48 miles this past Saturday at almost 16mph.
Fast for me, but I have decided to withdraw from the TDF.

What would be considered a decent pace on longer rides, say 50 miles plus? Did a ride yesterday averaging about 20/mph.

That would be considered a decent pace.

20 MPH average speed on a solo ride, reported by a calibrated cyclometer, over 50 miles is VERY fast. The fastest riders in our club reach 22-23 MPH average over 50 miles, but that's in a pace line and they ain't postin' on no 50+ Forum (meaning these are all young guns).
You should consider entering a race.
As for me, 17.8 MPH over 38 miles, 35 in the pace line, one stop.

My last solo century was actually about 105 miles and I spent 6.5 hours on the road.

It felt like a good pace to me, so 16.15 mph, in my case. I'm not over 50 yet, but I still enjoy cigarettes from time to time, so I feel like I'm 50+ on the bike.

I am with stapfam. I don't even know how people average 20 MPH for 50 miles. That would require 2 and a half hours for 50 miles. It also would mean there would be times I would have to be hitting 35 to make up for the 12-14 MPH climbs let alone the four mile 8-10 MPH climb we did this morning.

I made the mistake of hitching up with the "A" group at the start of our club ride two weekends ago instead of the "B" group that I usually ride with. I knew I was in trouble when we hit the second hill, my legs hurt like he!! and it was only 5 or 6 miles into the ride. I thought it was me, then I looked at the cyclometer. We were going UPhill at over 21 MPH. That's how they make up for Stop signs. I hung with them for about 16 miles, then (thankfully) I flatted and had an excuse to drop out.:thumb: A flat tire never felt so good.

I made the mistake of hitching up with the "A" group at the start of our club ride two weekends ago instead of the "B" group that I usually ride with. I knew I was in trouble when we hit the second hill, my legs hurt like he!! and it was only 5 or 6 miles into the ride. I thought it was me, then I looked at the cyclometer. We were going UPhill at over 21 MPH. That's how they make up for Stop signs. I hung with them for about 16 miles, then (thankfully) I flatted and had an excuse to drop out.:thumb: A flat tire never felt so good.

Yes I have been there. Right now I am the B group leader and every now and then we don’t have a B group. The A group will pull a pretty good hill at over 20 MPG and my HRM will be bumping off of 180 by the time we get to the top. The downhill will allow me to drop to 135 or so before the next flat and I am back at 140+ to hold 23 to 25 and if it gets back to 160 on the flat I get dropped. If I pull for more than 45 seconds at 25 I hit 160. After a run like that my computer still only reads 17.5 average when I get home. But I don’t re-set it at the end of a long pace line I check Average speed from my door to my door. Today was much better because no A group riders came out in the overcast weather. But it was the perfect day for one of our longer local climb rides because it was pretty cool. While more than half of the ride was crank and grind for me I was able to beat my best time for that climb and get to the top in the middle of the pack.

have I ever mentioned I hate hills?:lol:

Most of the riders in the group were younger. Its actually less than 50 Miles. Here is what the ride looks like. The first stretch of about 3k/just under 2 miles is my easy ride to the store to meet the group. The last stretch of about 10K/6 miles is the last part through city streets home.

I was working hard quite often as I am still learning how to ride in a paceline, so I tend to lead the line a lot or play catch up. That stretch that you see near Vancouver airport was fast.


20 MPH average speed on a solo ride, reported by a calibrated cyclometer, over 50 miles is VERY fast. The fastest riders in our club reach 22-23 MPH average over 50 miles, but that's in a pace line and they ain't postin' on no 50+ Forum (meaning these are all young guns).
You should consider entering a race.
As for me, 17.8 MPH over 38 miles, 35 in the pace line, one stop.

20 mph is a great pace under any condition.

Below is our group training ride from last Sunday. I was setting tempo for about 20% of the ride. 17.1 mph, 55 miles with 3600 feet of climbing with some wind off the pacific ocean.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/May31RussianRide.jpg

Exactly. If you ain't GPS'n then you're just guess'n.

Yesterday it was about 25 miles and 4400 feet of climbing - 4 shots up an 1100 foot hill (6% to 10% grades). About 6mph average up and 35mph average down.
The definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

First Boonen is out, now you! That event is going to hell in a handbasket

Don't think they'd let me ride the 'bent, anyway.
If Boonen is out, and McEwen, I mighta had a chance for some sprint points.

Just looked at the stats from yesterday's ride. We had a group of about 15-20 and we averaged about 23 mph for the first 50 miles-and noone was really pushing the pace-just keeping it going at a good brisk pace. It probably includes some brief pauses or stops at large intersections.

I only stayed with them for 25 more miles and my average the last 50 was around 20 mph.

If I were to do 50 mph solo I'd have to work really hard to average 20 mph-the key variables are wind and climbing. I would actually do it a little faster on rolling terrain with little wind as the downhills provide a little relief from the constant pedaling you have on pure flats. That would probably be different in a group.

I usually feel like I have gotten a really good workout averaging 18-19 mph on my solo rides of 60-65 miles.

I know there are a number of "better riders" out there that average 25+ mph on their group rides. I usually have to use a scooter to keep them in sight......

Thats pretty darn good. I assume you are in the 50+ age group? How long have you been riding?


Just looked at the stats from yesterday's ride. We had a group of about 15-20 and we averaged about 23 mph for the first 50 miles-and noone was really pushing the pace-just keeping it going at a good brisk pace. It probably includes some brief pauses or stops at large intersections.

I only stayed with them for 25 more miles and my average the last 50 was around 20 mph.

If I were to do 50 mph solo I'd have to work really hard to average 20 mph-the key variables are wind and climbing. I would actually do it a little faster on rolling terrain with little wind as the downhills provide a little relief from the constant pedaling you have on pure flats. That would probably be different in a group.

I usually feel like I have gotten a really good workout averaging 18-19 mph on my solo rides of 60-65 miles.

I know there are a number of "better riders" out there that average 25+ mph on their group rides. I usually have to use a scooter to keep them in sight......

My story is that I mainly ride hills, so average speed doesn't matter :)

Saturday I did 101 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, with 9700 ft of climbing. My average came out to 12.5 mph.

What would be considered a decent pace on longer rides, say 50 miles plus? Did a ride yesterday averaging about 20/mph.

It depends entirely on your goals. This last weekend the Pro Cycling Tour Philadelphia International Race was held. It was one of the slowest average speeds ever (just a bit over 20MPH). Speculation is that since the race had no live TV coverage there was less incentive to get out front to get your team sponsor's name in the spotlight.

So, a decent pace depends on your goals.

My Sunday workout was three hours of riding in the Z2 HR (127-137 BPM) with a 50 minute Z3 rep (138-144 BPM) in the middle of the ride. I don't usually use my GPS but used it on this workout so I could see how steady I was able to hold the HR. I tend to let up on the effort when going downhill and the HR drops, so I have to focus on keeping the effort constant on the "steady state workout". I was surprised when I downloaded the workout and saw that I rode over 55 miles and averaged 19.69 mph with an HR average of 135. The long hills were only 350' from bottom to top and the total climbing was less than 2,000 ft. Stoplights and stop signs kill the average speed as well as disrupt the constant effort, the GPS file demonstrates that quite well.

Man, I cannot believe how slow I am! I'm keeping my eye on this thread. I have a century scheduled for 6/28. I'm sure that I can finish, but not before they roll up the sidewalks :(.
I'm with you. I've decided to just stick with the "enjoy the ride" group. I'm lucky to do 20 in the flats - add a headwind or hills and forget it. I ride about 100 miles a week, 25 miles per ride. Most of my rides are a mix of city streets (frequent stops), roads (some stops) and trails (no stops) with some rolling hills and long gentle climbs. I average about 13.5.

How are you people getting these "average" speeds anyway? On a mixed ride of any distance, with winds, hills now and then, not to mention stops for traffic, etc., pee breaks or whatever, a fit rider would have to be happy averaging even 12 mph, and even that would be pushing it. Are you getting these so-called averages from self-imposed time trials without any stops? Even if you're not being misleading on purpose, are you unconsciously getting your averages from stretches or rides that you know are unrealistically fast, without warm-up and cool down periods?

In my opinion, for long rides, you pace yourself by feel, not by the number on a cyclocomputer display.

How are you people getting these "average" speeds anyway? On a mixed ride of any distance, with winds, hills now and then, not to mention stops for traffic, etc., pee breaks or whatever, a fit rider would have to be happy averaging even 12 mph, and even that would be pushing it. Are you getting these so-called averages from self-imposed time trials without any stops? Even if you're not being misleading on purpose, are you unconsciously getting your averages from stretches or rides that you know are unrealistically fast, without warm-up and cool down periods?

In my opinion, for long rides, you pace yourself by feel, not by the number on a cyclocomputer display.

My guess is that's only saddle time. My cyclo-pooter stops the timer when the bike stops. Even with that crutch I have a hard time getting over 13-14 mph average speed on a solo 50 mile ride. Total time, including pee breaks etc, for a solo 50 is over 4 hours for me.

Thats pretty darn good. I assume you are in the 50+ age group? How long have you been riding?

I'm 56 and started riding about 7 years ago. There are a LOT of 50+ riders which are a lot stronger riders than me. I know of quite a few that can give the younger guys a real run for their money on many of the events I participate in-whether it's TT's or road events.

But like many of you, I'm just out to push myself and don't worry so much about anyone else.

How are you people getting these "average" speeds anyway? On a mixed ride of any distance, with winds, hills now and then, not to mention stops for traffic, etc., pee breaks or whatever, a fit rider would have to be happy averaging even 12 mph, and even that would be pushing it. Are you getting these so-called averages from self-imposed time trials without any stops? Even if you're not being misleading on purpose, are you unconsciously getting your averages from stretches or rides that you know are unrealistically fast, without warm-up and cool down periods?

In my opinion, for long rides, you pace yourself by feel, not by the number on a cyclocomputer display.

The times for this past Sunday and the others I've mention include stops--but we didn't stop any on the 100 miler Sunday (except for some major intersections) and I try to train myself to ride with taking as few stops/breaks as possible. You can take breaks on the bike in various ways. That doesn't always happen, mind you but it is something that can be learned.

How are you people getting these "average" speeds anyway? On a mixed ride of any distance, with winds, hills now and then, not to mention stops for traffic, etc., pee breaks or whatever, a fit rider would have to be happy averaging even 12 mph, and even that would be pushing it. Are you getting these so-called averages from self-imposed time trials without any stops? Even if you're not being misleading on purpose, are you unconsciously getting your averages from stretches or rides that you know are unrealistically fast, without warm-up and cool down periods?

In my opinion, for long rides, you pace yourself by feel, not by the number on a cyclocomputer display.

I guess my Cateye 8 stops when I stop but then you have to figure in the slowing when coming to a stop and slow start off as well.
I am 56 and average 25 miles a day at an average of 17.5 mph. On longer rides I average the same with 18.3 my best average. On hills I may go down to 11 and going down hills 30+. My lowest average was 15 and that was riding with my brother who rides a bit slower that I do but man I felt I could have rode ALL day at that pace!!

I do not look at computer while riding either I just ride and take in the views.
I try to not stop at all when riding and just ride the speed I feel the best. I very rarely take a rest stop or pee break, I'm lucky I guess being able to pull that off.

I set my bike computer to only record moving time. It does record overall time, but for speed/pace etc only moving time is counted. Otherwise, the date is completely off. Last Saturday, one of the riders had a flat which had us waiting for about 10 minutes. No sense in having that affect the average pace on the ride.

How are you people getting these "average" speeds anyway? On a mixed ride of any distance, with winds, hills now and then, not to mention stops for traffic, etc., pee breaks or whatever, a fit rider would have to be happy averaging even 12 mph, and even that would be pushing it. Are you getting these so-called averages from self-imposed time trials without any stops? Even if you're not being misleading on purpose, are you unconsciously getting your averages from stretches or rides that you know are unrealistically fast, without warm-up and cool down periods?

In my opinion, for long rides, you pace yourself by feel, not by the number on a cyclocomputer display.

The ride file attached to my previous post was a solo driveway to driveway ride. The GPS file shows the warmup where the HR raises to riding pace. The file also shows average speed, average heart rate, elevation and total distance. It's plain to see when I stopped for intersections as the HR and speed both dropped at the same time. The GPS does have an "auto stop/start" function but I didn't stop for any length on that ride. For the ride I took two bottles of water/Heed, one bottle of Gatorade and a gel flask filled with Hammer Gel cholate/rasberry mix. There were no pee breaks.

I guess that explains the seemingly outrageous averages being reported. It's a matter of what you're counting. I've always used time and maps to figure those kinds of things out. To me, an average is the average of everything, from the time you leave to the time you get there, and it's from your every day sustainable kind of ride... not one where you intentionally or subconsciously set out to get a good average, nor the best average you cherry pick from various rides. The keyword is "sustainable". So, if all those superhuman averages on here are counted like you guys are saying because the cyclocomputer stops counting when you stop, the normal human beings among us shouldn't feel so bad :-)

I'm not criticizing you, but it's nice to know what is being counted so I can compare more realistically. Count your normal rides without subtracting any stopped time or choosing particularly fast rides, and I'll bet you come out closer to 12 mph - which would be more realistic when talking about non-racing long rides and pacing.

I guess that explains the seemingly outrageous averages being reported. It's a matter of what you're counting. I've always used time and maps to figure those kinds of things out. To me, an average is the average of everything, from the time you leave to the time you get there, and it's from your every day sustainable kind of ride... not one where you intentionally or subconsciously set out to get a good average, nor the best average you cherry pick from various rides. The keyword is "sustainable". So, if all those superhuman averages on here are counted like you guys are saying because the cyclocomputer stops counting when you stop, the normal human beings among us shouldn't feel so bad :-)

I'm not criticizing you, but it's nice to know what is being counted so I can compare more realistically. Count your normal rides without subtracting any stopped time or choosing particularly fast rides, and I'll bet you come out closer to 12 mph - which would be more realistic when talking about non-racing long rides and pacing.

And which ones might those be?

OK now, we've all got to relax. Everybody drop their Starbucks, step away from the computer, and no one will get hurt.

50 miles @ 20mph sounds very good to me. Unless I am fighting gravity and/or a headwind, I consistently cruise at around 16-17mph, almost irrespective of distance, right up until I bonk.

I count "both" times. My Astrale 8 is set up to calculate time and average only while the wheel is turning, but I also keep track of the total elapsed time using my Timex Ironman. I can see useful information coming from both.

On century rides through rolling hills, the best I've ever averaged is 17 and I've had rides like that where I've only managed 15. Even on the 12.6 mile, very flat bike path loop near my house I have never been able to average over 18.2. This includes 9 road crossings. If I am trying to go fast I generally can hold 21 to 23 mph for most of the ride but the slowing down for intersections kills you. And when I do that, no one has ever passed me. Even when I spoke to the 50+ riders at a local Crit, they only averaged 22 mph on a particular race and that's with a pack to draft. I don't know where I could ride that I could average 20 mph for 50 miles even if going that speed for 50 miles was possible for me. Maybe at the velodrome. If I could average 20 mph for a 50 mile solo ride I could win every 50+ masters Crit and TT in town.

I think the speedo is a useful tool but I try not to live and die by what my average speed is. When it's most useful is as a tailwind detector. If I seem to be riding exceptionally well, I know it's not me -- it's a tailwind that I will soon pay dearly for.

when I spoke to the 50+ riders at a local Crit, they only averaged 22 mph on a particular race and that's with a pack to draft.

Average speed in races is not accurate to describe a race. Every race is different, but in most the pace will vary quite a bit. A 22 mph ave crit may have about 50% of the race at 22 mph, a portion at 19 mph or slower but see portions of 29 mph follwed by a little break then right back to "turbo speed". It's the high speed part's that make the race hard and what seperates the wheat from the chaffe. I've been doing a Tuesday night training crit in the "B" race and a couple guys, who I never saw during the race, would come from the back of the pack and win the final sprint. Two weeks ago, a buddy and myself, put the hurt on the field somewhere in the middle of the race. We were riding around 24 mph when I took the lead and ramped it to 26 mph for 30 seconds, then to 28 mph for 30 seconds and finished with another 30 seconds @ 30mph. The whole pack slowed down after that to about 18 - 20 mph, then after 1 minute my buddy did the same pickup again. The result was the field of 25 got thinned down to 8 or 9 riders that did not include the two guys who were riding the leaders wheel's in prior races. It's really not hard in a crit to sit-in if the pace remains the same. I plan to ride the "A" race tonight and sit in with the rear of the field to get used to the faster pace. We should average around 25 to 26 mph for 46 miles over the the 2.1 mile flat course in an industrial park. Usually the 40 -50 rider pack will split with the strongest and most aggressive riders going off the front in small groups and attacks. Add hills to the mix and racing is whole a different story.

I don't see the need for using the total time out on the day as part of your average. Sure, I keep track of the total time just to know how long I was out, but whats important is how much time I was actually riding/moving/working. If we stopped for 10 minutes because someone had a mechanical or a flat, it skews the calculated pace completely. So yes, when I did my 100K or 200K I know both the total time and the total ride time. This is also good to know so that next time, I can try to decrease both. The 100K and 200K I did were semi-organized rides, so there were check-in spots so you had to stop.

Average speed in races is not accurate to describe a race. Every race is different, but in most the pace will vary quite a bit. A 22 mph ave crit may have about 50% of the race at 22 mph, a portion at 19 mph or slower but see portions of 29 mph follwed by a little break then right back to "turbo speed". It's the high speed part's that make the race hard and what seperates the wheat from the chaffe. I've been doing a Tuesday night training crit in the "B" race and a couple guys, who I never saw during the race, would come from the back of the pack and win the final sprint. Two weeks ago, a buddy and myself, put the hurt on the field somewhere in the middle of the race. We were riding around 24 mph when I took the lead and ramped it to 26 mph for 30 seconds, then to 28 mph for 30 seconds and finished with another 30 seconds @ 30mph. The whole pack slowed down after that to about 18 - 20 mph, then after 1 minute my buddy did the same pickup again. The result was the field of 25 got thinned down to 8 or 9 riders that did not include the two guys who were riding the leaders wheel's in prior races. It's really not hard in a crit to sit-in if the pace remains the same. I plan to ride the "A" race tonight and sit in with the rear of the field to get used to the faster pace. We should average around 25 to 26 mph for 46 miles over the the 2.1 mile flat course in an industrial park. Usually the 40 -50 rider pack will split with the strongest and most aggressive riders going off the front in small groups and attacks. Add hills to the mix and racing is whole a different story.

+1 Our open 55+ USCF peloton averages 25 to 28 mph for crits depending on the course and road conditions.

Average speed is really BS when it comes to figuring out cycling performance. It is more of a rough guide. It does not take into account ones power to weight ratio, sprinting capability, hill acceleration, time trialing ability or etc. I respond to these posts because they are more fun and interesting than most and average speed is typically all we have to work with.

At a crit, racers go in warmed up and ready to race. This is true for TTs and road races. On the road for training and fun rides, riders warmup and cool down during the ride which affects average speed. There is no reason to sit on a trainer warming up waiting for your buddies to show up for a social / training ride.:roflmao2:

I did the Mount Tam hill climb last year in the open 55+ peloton. There was a 4 mile flattish ride down Pacific Coast Highway from Stinson Beach to the start of the 8 mile climb. It is a very beautiful ride right along the ocean. I thought the guys would use the 4 mile ride to the climb as a warm up and let the hill climb be the test. However, I was on the trainer prior to the start getting ready for a hard effort at the start just in case. We started out around 25 mph which I thought was fast. A couple of guys thought that was not fast enough and went to the front and picked it up to 28 mph. I was sitting in the pack and I glanced at my HR and thought, this is not good. So much for the warmup sightseeing down PCH.:rolleyes:

To OP, as I said previously, 20 mph average over a given distance is very good. But that is all I can say about it. If you want to know how you stack up against your peers, go hang out and ride with the locals and get into the racing scene. You will find out quickly.:thumb:

I go by moving time. My GPS automatically pauses when I go below 3 mph, so that time isn't included in the average.

kudos to you for being able to average 20 for a 50 mile ride. That's a bit of effort and you must be very fit. I was happy with a 16 avg for a century this weekend and figure 5 and a half hour time is doable on that route but 5 hours, not for me.

Generally 50 mile rides for me come in around 17 and change with some climbing and I am not the best of climbers. Stoping for lights, stop signs generally pull avg speed down since you are slowing into the stop and accelerating again. Maintaining a rolling 18-19 on flats if crusing speed, it's the other factors that muck up the average for me.

20 mph is out for me on any ride. I live in a hilly area and I just get used to riding them at my pace and don't care how long it takes me to get up the 3rd mile long hill at 12%. Especially as the othershave been at 15% In fact- on the flat I do have trouble getting to 20 mph let alone averaging it.

Now I do the occasional flat ride and one of those is a 40 miler. It only has about 1200 ft of climbing and I do that at an average of 16mph. Considering as how I only finish about 15 minutes behind the fastest riders-I think I do pretty well. This is a flat ride to me but it is all the corners going round the Dykes that slow me down and wear me out on acceleration.

And then there is my 100 miler that I used to do and might be able to get fit enough again for next year. Only 100 miles and 10,000ft of climbing and I finish in the top 25% of the finishers. And around 50% of the entrants drop out on this one. I only average 8mph on this event but I suppose that doing it offroad and on a Tandem does slow me down a bit.

I ride at my pace and on the longer organised rides- I am always surprised at how many of the speed merchants at the start of the ride- finish behind me. And at how many of the early finishers are well over 50.

The best I've done since I turned 50 is to average, non-stop, 21mph over 20 miles on a 3.5 mile loop. I could have gone on longer, maybe another loop or two as I was feeling indestructible that day. This was truly non-stop, no stopping and turning off the computer, no adjusting, just straight riding. It wasn't the wind either, because it is a loop you are always facing the wind at some point. I doubt I could do that over 50 miles non-stop.

My fastest ride ever is 100 miles that I did in 4:15. That's 23.5mph. They had to peel me off the ground after so I could do the next 100 (Seattle to Portland double century). I was under 30 at the time.

I do my loop now 2 years later and I'm lucky to average 18. Oh well.

I did my fastest group ride ever this evening! I rode in the Westlake Training Crit in the "A Race". There was a field of around 50 riders in the flat 46 mile, 23 lap race. I was able to stay with the field throughout the race and even finished in the top 10 of the field sprint. Earlier in the race a group of 8 to 10 riders broke away from the pack and stayed out the whole race. Believe it or not, there was only a few times when the race pace and pickups got me gassed, the rest of the time it was just a hard and fast pace with bikes all around. Final average speed for the race was 26.1 mph.

And which ones might those be?

Most likley the ones that were obtained in a paceline, not riding by themselves.

Last night rode with the goal of completing the first 40 in under 3 hours elapsed time. Actual mileage was 45, average while moving was 17.1, total time 3 hours for an overall average of about 15. Took one major stop to get some water and lose some water. BTW, that was flying for me. My general moving average is 15-ish, overall around 13.5.

I think both moving average and overall average are good to look at for training purposes. But there's no way that comparing my average to your average is meaningful unless we're doing the same rides in the same conditions. Until we all have pwermeters, though, it's about all we've got.

It's just a matter of knowing what's being counted, not which method is best. It doesn't matter how YOU do it, but it does matter if you are comparing with someone else who isn't counting the same way you are... otherwise it's apples and oranges. AFAIK, it's really a fairly recent development to be counting only moving time, because you pretty much need a cyclocomputer to do that, and it's not that long ago that few people had one.