wb416

I've noticed that when riding equivalent distances on a "rail-to-trail" MUP vs the Road, the average speed is higher on the road, especially when there are rolling hills, but even when the road is "relatively" flat.


I've mulled some thoughts over.
Rail Trails might be slower:

• due to being relatively flat, require/inspire little change in effort or momentum
• because trails tend to be narrower than roads and the visual perception of speed is higher from things close to the trail "flashing" past faster.
• passing pedestrians, slower riders, etc gives the perception of higher speed

Roads might be faster:

• due to undulating nature on even the relatively flat roads, our perception of effort has to constantly change, perhaps pushing us to pedal harder/faster. (We find even on slight uphill road grades our instantaneous speed is often faster than flat MUPs).
• because roads are wider and obstacles further from the side of the road, the perception is the bike is moving slower, so we pedal harder to visually "move faster".
• vehicles pass us like we are standing still, so we push harder to move faster.

Anyone else noticed this? If so, do these look like some of the reasons, or do you notice other causes?

wahoonc

All the Rails to Trails I ride are crushed gravel so they are going to be slower than a paved road. Also if you are on a MUP you really need to ride slower to allow for pedestrian traffic. However I have found that an unrestricted MUP is usually quicker than a city street where you have to allow for traffic lights...unless you are one of those cyclists that blow through them.

Aaron

MilitantPotato

Mine isn't paved, the difference in effort to maintain a given speed is huge. Not as bad as climbing hills though. I also ride much farther on the R2T here than on the road, so I tend to take it a little easier so I don't blow up in the middle of no-where.

My on-road average speed also tends to be faster, especially since I'm stopping more frequently for lights/traffic and get a quick break. Trying to keep up a decent speed in traffic also helps with the motivation. My heart rate seems to always be higher on the roads (no computer so I've no numbers,) for some reason I'm definitely working harder.

wb416

I have done very little crushed gravel/limestone yet, but all of our local ones are paved. Many of the rural MUPs here have parallel low-traffic roads, so it becomes more apples to apples. However, I can def see in your examples where one might be better than another.

We had a segment we road the other day where we did the MUP outbound with the wind mostly at our back (mitigated by the trees near the MUP), but on the return we had a head wind but took the open road and was quite a bit faster.... again... lots of traffic passing us perhaps making us "feel" slower, thus pushing harder.

dhay

My commute involves part MUP, part street riding. I tend to have faster speeds on the road section, I think, because the MUP tends to weave back and forth a bit, following a stream. Whereas, the road is just a straight shot.

annc

You can only go as fast as the your sight lines and obstacles will allow, regardless if it's on the road or on a MUP. One MUP on my daily commute is almost entirely straight and doesn't have many people using it during commute hours; I ride as hard as I can when I'm on that MUP. Another MUP I use when grocery shopping winds back and forth alongside a stream. This MUP gets a lot of use especially on the weekends so I take much slower (still faster much more enjoyable than dealing with the streetlights and cars on the road).

kendall

Agree, a lot of the MUPs around here tend to have sharper blind curves, and more 'slow' traffic with dog walkers, pedestrians, skaters, and family groups on bikes.

On MUPs, the cyclist is the faster traffic so needs to slow down and adjust to traffic, when on the road you are the slow traffic, and can easily set and maintain a speed without having to slow for anything other than stops

Ken.

chephy

MUPs have more unpredictable slow-moving obstructions and blind curves. They also tend to weave a lot and have limited access points (so going anywhere by MUP as opposed by roads will result in having to do more miles). On the plus side, they don't tend to have stop signs and traffic lights, but overall they are still slower. I think any effects due to perception of speed in the two environments are negligible, at least in my case.

Panthers007

I find it also depends on the bicycle one is riding. On my hybrid I get an average speed of 14.5mph on a MUP. But if I am riding my vintage PUCH racing-bike, my average is around 18mph on the same MUP.

Now if I take these bikes out on the road, I'll be going about 2mph faster. And I end up riding with both hands on my brake-levers. Reason being is that the streets here in Podunk are home to many oblivious drivers. These same drivers write to the local newspaper that they think we should run over people on bicycles for various reasons. Everything from "They're all peddling DRUGS!" to "They're a bunch of LIBERALS!!"

Ride defensively.

wb416

Sounds like your MUP is much different than the one I frequent. Mine (Little Miami Scenic Trail) runs over 70 miles, most of it along the river, with long straight or slowly sweeping turns from the former railroad path. However, the rural roads either run next to the trail or run on the opposite side of the river in many locations along the trail. Most areas have little or no traffic for miles on end.

Just ends up being faster when we ride on the road, even when the road takes more effort from the "rolling hills". I guess once we put out the effort on the road, it's easier to continue the energy output. Must be mental.

BengeBoy 

IMHO if you're thinking about "how fast am I going" you should be riding on the street, not a MUP.

linux_author

MUPS can have those @#$@%! dog walkers on 'em ...

(actually most are fine, it's the one you run across every time out that can create the swerve/skid anticipation; a good bell/'on your left'/airhorn can help)

BlazingPedals

+1 Going faster than 10-12 mph makes it dangerous for the pedestrians, and I just don't go that slow.

wb416

Sounds like you're on pretty crowded MUPs. There are small sections like that around the towns, but most of it is just cyclist traffic, especially in the rural scenic areas.

BarracksSi

There's a good stretch of MUP* around here that's twisty and curvy, but with remarkably long sightlines along several sections, which coincidentally are far enough from the places where people park their cars and go for walks. If it works out, you can go as fast as your nerves will let you. Just don't overcook it and slide off to hit a tree.

*Mt. Vernon Trail, some parts south of Alexandria; if you go, you'll be able to tell.

BlazingPedals

Most MUPs have a speed limit in that range. If you're going faster, you really need to go elsewhere. Crowded or not. And just for the record, I avoid MUPs.