CommuteCommando

I have been Strava-ing for over a year now, and have made several friends that I have been following. I look at their 40-60 mile rides and see average speeds of 15-16-17mph, and I look at my 30-40 mile rides and see 11-12, and sometimes 13. Today I did a ride I have done several times and When I logged it into Strava saw an average speed of well over 14 MPH.

https://app.strava.com/activities/69361925

Disclamer-the last four miles were with a pretty stiff tailwind, but that doesn't diminish how I feel about it. Four miles averaging about 21 mph still made me want to let loose with a Tarzan yell.

In the last two months I have actually started concentrating on something resembling training, and have renewed focus on weight loss. I used to back off and cruise when the burn in my legs got uncomfortable. I'm learning to focus on cadence while working through the burn (Mind over Muscle) Long sections at 3-4% are now 14-15 mph. I focus on keeping my HR at 140-145, and its working at giving me a good balance of power and endurance.

jsigone

awesome and lots of PRs on that route

Cadence def helps, I think of it as leg speed when on the hills, loss it and momentum goes w/ it.

TrojanHorse

You have to keep hills in mind when calculating average speed... your route wasn't super hilly but it wasn't particularly flat either so congrats!

I know strava can be kind of corny but I really like it for tracking my progress on specific pieces of pavement. Looks like you're doing well. Now get a Sat phone and get on up to GMR with us in the fall.

CommuteCommando

It took me a while to find the least hilly route. All things being equal, since I have done the route multiple times, you can call it a mega segment, and this constitutes the Mother of all PR's

Thanks all for the comments.

bbeasley

Yeah, way to go!

Don't you just love chasing speed? It's one of the great things about cycling as the end never comes.