Commuting - 20mph average commute

Hi all,

I know some of the answers will be "depends on the engine", "depends on traffic lights", BUT given some traffic lights and some nice clear sections where I can go for quite a while without being slowed by lights. Is 20mph average possible for a 5 a day commuter? I want to get my commute time down to 30mins (10 miles)!

The last time I measured my speed I was averaging around 14-16mph - that was about a year ago.

Thanks

Daven

All I'll say is good luck with that.

My morning commute avg is 18 mph over 10.5 miles, one way. Unfortunate part is that I hit anywhere between 10-13 red lights and have to "slow roll" through 5 or so stop signs. Getting the average speed up can be tough with some many stop/start moments.

I've been commuting for 20 years and never averaged close to 20mph. I can get my average up to 17 on a good day, but hills, wind, traffic, city streets, and generally riding safely take their toll on average speed. I have no problem cruising at 20mph, but averaging that is wholly different level.

Is 20mph average possible for a 5 a day commuter? I want to get my commute time down to 30mins (10 miles)!

Try it and report back.

I used to be able to average around 20...sometimes faster on my 9-mile commute. However, that was pushing pretty hard on low-traffic 2-lane country roads with only a couple stop signs and a few rolling hills. I have a completely different commute now.

im sure you can do it.

just push as hard as you can for as long as you can.

on a really good day i can do about 17mph avg......

http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/timetrials/training-for-a-10-mile-time-trial/

It's very possible, but you'll need to do a lot of physical work and may need to look into more aggressive positions. Plus, wind could make it impossible some days.

The traffic lights, and traffic, may also make it impossible.

I've been commuting for 20 years and never averaged close to 20mph. I can get my average up to 17 on a good day, but hills, wind, traffic, city streets, and generally riding safely take their toll on average speed. I have no problem cruising at 20mph, but averaging that is wholly different level.

That's what I find I run into as well, but I commute in town. With a rural commute, in my area, there's definitely a chance you could have a 10 mile TT.

I generally cut the speed down more, because it takes 15 minutes of my time to change and 5 minutes to take it easy.

About how long does it take you now?

Sounds like I could at least get it close. That'd be good enough for me :) just like to set myself a goal and having an impossible goal would be rubbish. I think I'll go for an average of about 16-18mph each day as my goal for the end of the year.

Thanks

Daven


About how long does it take you now?

About 40-45 minutes total on my fixed gear hybrid - best has been 36 minutes riding time (not including traffic lights) on my road bike. Going to try to get the road bike out next week if the weather improves.

Is 20mph average possible for a 5 a day commuter? I want to get my commute time down to 30mins (10 miles)!

Try it and report back.

Good advise.
The only one here who could possibly do that is 10 Wheels.... And he's old enough to be your granddaddy..:p

You're the one really in the best position to answer that.

On the biking leg of a sprint triathlon (about 15 miles), I can average around 20 mph on a fairly flat course. That's after having swam but there are no stops. Weaving around other cyclists can slow you down some and there are corners you can't take at full speed. About the last 1/2 mile I don't push quite so hard and I also ease up to speed in beginning rather than trying to explode out of the transition.

With longer distances it's easier to get the average up assuming you're conditioned for it. Since you're only going 10 miles, every time you slow down hurts you more, as you have to make that up in a shorter overall distance.

I'm not the world's fastest cyclist but I usually finish in the top quarter of my age group. Sometimes in the top 10%.

I think even if you could do it it would be a tough thing to manage to accomplish every day.

A good tailwind will be your best friend.

When I get my road bike out next week I'll let you know how it goes!

I couldn't. Don't know about you.

But I'd say if you aren't doing 15mph every day right now, then a goal of 18 - 20 mph once is the place to start. If you get there, you will likely be riding pretty hard. Trying to do that all-out effort day after day is a tall order and probably not a smart thing to even attempt.

Unless you have altitude issues or a prevailing wind that would prevent it, I suspect you will do it first on the homeward leg. My fastest commute times have always been during the trip home; it may have something to do with the cold beer in the fridge. Of course, my only breakdowns have happened on my trips home too, so both my fastest and slowest legs were the trips home.

Try to do it 2 times a week to start. Use it like racers do tempo rides. So push hard for the 10 miles on the ride home twice a week. Also you're going to have to continue working spin. Pretty much drop gears until you're hips start doing the Elvis shake, then click it up one. Once you adjust to a faster cadence, you'll be able to push a third tempo ride into the mix in a week. It's possible after maybe 8 weeks. Then again, you'd be adding racing tools to a commuter ride, so /shrug.

I've pushed a 25 MPH pace for 10 miles in the last two weeks, until my daughter was hospitalized with the flu. But that is, once again, preparing for a triathlon this weekend. So I've probably got 2500 miles already under my belt of dedicated 150-200 mile weeks (sans commuting). Probably another 50 a week in commuting....see what I mean?

Obsession, dedication and a little bit of insanity have to be taken in the right dosage to make things interesting:)

Good luck.

My gps tracking app tells me i'm generally cruising around 20mph, but with all the traffic lights and occasional hills, it drops my average down to the 14-16 range. Of course, I don't know how accurate it is. My ride is 13 miles. It usually takes around 45min to an hour depending on the lights that I get stuck at, or traffic conditions.

Get a recumbent.

Not for me it isn't, but that's not to say you couldn't do it.
My commuter is a tank, my commute has a bunch of hills, and I'm not in good enough shape to bust out with a 16mi time-trial twice a day.
When I lived closer to work (7mi one-way) and rode a flat path most of the way to work (no lights, no crossings, no stops) and just 1 hill afterwards, I could hit 18mph average if I was really pushing it.

On a road bike, with favourable traffic lights, going all out the whole way, I've been able to do my 9.6 mile commute in about 35 minutes. That's mostly flat, but I have one good downhill section, and one good uphill section (start and end elevations are very close). Like others here, I can ride 20 mph easily enough, but 20 mph average in the city is pretty difficult, at least for me.

I've hit that on the way to work a few times.. Typically around 19mph, or so, depending on the day.. It helps that I drop about 300 feet over the 10 miles.. I can usuall average about 17-18mph on the round trip.

If I rode everyday, I'm sure I'd be faster..

If 14-16mph was the starting point, it's definitely going to take some work to pop that up to 20. As you stated, lights and intangibles are your enemy. You'd probably have to roll @ 22-23 mph routinely to make up for city conditions. It takes a pretty accomplished cyclist to maintain that kind of speed.

Sounds like I could at least get it close. That'd be good enough for me :) just like to set myself a goal and having an impossible goal would be rubbish. I think I'll go for an average of about 16-18mph each day as my goal for the end of the year.

That's more reasonable. You'll have to work for it, but 18 shouldn't be too hard on the flats.

On a good day, with a tailwind, I'll average 15MPH. No help here... but if/when I get my road bike, I'll give it a shot.

I never get anywhere near that, but if I did I'd probably be sweaty and gross. I'd like to go faster, but arriving at work not looking like I've had a full on workout encourages me to take it easier on the ride in.

In my younger days, I was often able to do a 12 mile commute into work in 35 minutes.

But today, that time would not be possible because of age and increased automobile traffic that slows riding times down.

Of course the ride home took 55 to 75 minutes (more downhill going into work).

I did it today (6.2 miles in under 20 minutes) but only because of a favorable tailwind and I was on my road bike. Couldn't possibly average that for a week

No wind and no lights...sure 20-21 mph if you have a decent motor. Otherwise, expect to average 15-16 mph on flat land without pot-holes. Around here, I run about 15.5 to 16 mph about 30% of the time to maneuver around pot-holes.

Any time you save by pushing that hard will be lost when you have to change clothes and shower. Just wear your work clothes and ride easy. Same overall time without the hassle of extra clothes and sweat.

I want to get my commute time down to 30mins (10 miles)!

20mph for 10 miles on an open course with traffic, signals, etc. Not likely. At least, not often. If you catch every break, draft a bus or UPS truck for a break, have a tailwind all at the same time...you might make it. Not going to happen every day.

My "nickname" is 20+mph commuter (see my avatar). The route that made that name famous was 4 miles of relatively straight road, bad surface, tight traffic, and one stop light that if red, I must stop due to crossing traffic. 5 lights total. It was a rare day when I got home in less than 12 minutes, even though I am rocking 22-25 mph steady. One stop and you can kiss twenty AVERAGE bye-bye. My 20+ claim is made based on how fast I ride when I am actually rolling. I calculate my average time by the clock. If I got home one second less than 12 minutes that was good for some extra ice cream after supper. I don't think I managed it five times in five years. There is always that one thing, even four miles, that will kill your average time.

Sounds like fun trying tho. If you can average 20 mph for 10 miles - regularly - you might consider racing. Or a career as a stunt double for Tom Cruise 'cause you gonna be taking a lot of risks.

If you're goal setting and trying to hit a number, don't forget some type of warm up. One thought is to warm up for a couple of miles, hit reset and push hard. This way you will have a happier number on your dash and you won't penalize yourself for warming up. Your legs will thank you!

A commute is a two direction trip anyway and its impossible that traffic, wind direction and slope are going to be identical in both directions.

I have 12km stretch that I ocassionally do a couple times a week. Going out its always against a headwind and I`m lucky to average 12kph. On the way back, on the other hand - I can often manage 25kph.

And every day is different. Some days are so muggy you really don`t want to push that hard. So maybe keep a log and track both directions on a daily basis and chart the results. As long as the curve is slowly going up overall you`re doing good!

Get a recumbent.

John Schlitter just rode 492.4 miles in 24 hours on a Bacchetta recumbent at the Sebring 24 race. That's an average of 20.5 mph.

The OP could just get an electric bike, that should easily do 20 mph over 10 miles.

20 mph average for a commute is difficult to achieve. My highest average for a 16 mile one-way commute on my road bike with no extra gear was 19.4 on MUPs and roads without lights. That meant cruising at 22-24 mph for close to an hour with slowdowns only for turning, bad sections, road crossings, transitions from MUP to road, and the like.

I'm just happy to be rolling along at whatever speed feels good. I don't have a cyclo-computer, not do I have a watch. My commute is timeless.... :)

I've averaged 20 mph on my 10.5 mile (flat) commute, one time. I had to really push myself to make that. Normally I average between 15 and 16, from door to door. This includes the many turns and stop signs/lights (I'd say ~20 stop lights/signs).

It's weird though, because I normally have a head wind each direction. Typically, it's a 10 to 15 mph headwind which dramatically slows me down. With an unusually strong headwind, I have averaged as slow as 11 mph. I live and work in a valley, so that probably has something to do with the wind.

Of course, the one 20 mph average day I had I didn't have a head wind.

I monitored my average and max speeds for years.... until I took the computer off my bike as part of some repairs and never put it back on. Now I measure my pace by how it feels. Sometimes it's a leisurely pace and sometimes I'm dropping roadies like bad habits, but one thing's for sure - every ride is that much more enjoyable at the right pace rather than the fastest pace.

On my best days I can average 32 kmph, (19.88 mph) over 12 km (7.5 miles). I have mostly open roads with huge empty intersections where I dont have to stop for red lights.

My ride is flat, and there is rarely any wind here.

My last couple of km are sort of dense urban riding, but I can still keep the speed up, though I might drop from an average of 33 kmph to 31 durning that.

z

Hi all,

I know some of the answers will be "depends on the engine", "depends on traffic lights", BUT given some traffic lights and some nice clear sections where I can go for quite a while without being slowed by lights. Is 20mph average possible for a 5 a day commuter? I want to get my commute time down to 30mins (10 miles)!

The last time I measured my speed I was averaging around 14-16mph - that was about a year ago.

Thanks

Daven

I've personally averaged around 14mph through traffic over about 8 miles, through some areas of busy traffic but without a lot of traffic lights. I ride a mountain bike and although I'm a lot fitter than I was 12 months back I've still got scope to lose some surplus around my middle. Those 8 miles were also mostly pretty flat. Throw in red traffic lights and a hill or two and the average would drop, trade the bike for a more streamlined alternative and put slick tyres on it and you'll gain some speed.

My LBS reckons on adding around 30% to average speeds on a racing-type bike compared to a mountain bike so that would put my average speed somewhere near 20mph but still subject to being compromised by traffic lights. If you come to a complete or virtual stop you've got to work so much harder to keep the average speeds up.

But ultimately the only way to find out is to try it.

20 mph on a commute depends on where you are. Straight, traffic and traffic light free road, yeah maybe. Any city riding, no way. I tend to cruise and push it a bit on the way home, but at every major intersection I have the same riders that I pass come up next to me as I wait for the light. It really doesn't matter how fast you go if you have traffic lights.

I never push it on the way into the office as that'll add about a half hour to cool down.

I track my time and average speed on all of my commutes, and my personal best is 17.25 mph over 22 miles round trip. I doubt if I could improve much on that on my commutes due to red lights, traffic, wind. Red lights will destroy your average speeds, even if your computer is set to stop timing during stops. A stiff head or cross wind will do the same. My route is very hilly, so my legs have to be well rested to post good times, and my typical average speed commuting is about 15 mph.

I enjoy tracking my times and shooting for personal bests. However, don't risk your safety by trying to set new speed records. Running red lights and blowing stop signs are sure ways to get run over or cause an accident. However, charging the hills and improving your climbing times will really help your average speed.

I'm lucky if I average 13mph along the course of my 17 mile ride home (usually take bus in to work). Lots of climbs, stoplights, and if it's winter I often have to make additional stops to adjust clothing. I'm in good physical shape but am not an ideal power plant for cycling, being a small guy on a fairly meaty commuter bike. Someone else could probably shave a bit of time off this.

I do about 17.5 in the summer. I go 10.8 miles and only go through two traffic lights. I think I'm slowed down a lot more by the hills at the other end of the commute.

So you live on top of a mountain and go to work in the town on the flood plain
of the valley at the bottom?


Other than that, ( not a bad situation , as the slow climb home
is not going to get you fired if yore late..)

On the other hand.. aerodynamics is going to be your problem, above JRA speeds,
the air resistance is where most of the work goes.

what you need is teamwork, a peloton to share the work at the front.

Or a fully faired recumbent streamlined velomobile

20MPH average is a sort of benchmark for racers doing solo training, a "minimum price of entry" to ride in "A group" training rides....... at least it was when I raced, so things may have changed.
The basic point is that a 20MPH average is a solid pace.
If you are a strong rider and are commuting on a fairly efficient bike, I'd say it is definitely achievable. If your average is in the 14-16 range now, I feel you would need to employ a "training" mindset and technique to your commute to get your pace up. Alternate sustained "pace" days with "intervals" days 1-2 days per week, and so forth. The road racing and training forums would be a god source for that kind of info.

As you've acknowledged, alot depends on the "motor". I (and others I know) could maintain a 21+ MPH average pace for a 40 mile, relatively steady (not many stops) route on mountain bikes with slicks. We were racers, though, and our solo training pace was 22-24 MPH (23-28 average in groups) , and we rode 13-15 hours per week on a very strict training routine.

Is it possible? Of course. Is it possible on a loaded commuter rig? Of course, given the nature of your route. The biggest factor is the engine. Time to start thinking of your commute as "training" if you want it to happen.
Good luck!!!!

Yes it is very possible. But to get 20mph ave. in area with light, turns and other traffic you will need to maintain a cruising speed 3-5mph over 20.

Yes it is possible. Think of it as a time trial. You just have to push your motor at 80-90% for 30 minutes. :)

Seriously. I have a 10 mile commute and can regularly do it in 30 minutes or less if I catch all the lights (or blow through them if I am the only one on the road at 6am) and have no wind (tail winds are nice too) and I am on my fast bike (which I commute on if I am doing a group ride after work).

On my commuter (CAAD8 R1000 with a beam rack, trunk bag and fenders) I am more likely to average 17-18mph on good days and 15 on those day I just don't feel like arriving at my destination drenched in sweat.

It may be possible, but I've sure never done it. There's always something to slow down for.