foxden

I hear people claiming to average various speeds on their rides. Are they talking about the typical speed they ride on a flat with no wind either at their back or in their faces? Or are they referring to the actual average they ride over the entire ride. I know that I may average 14.5 for my entire ride, but there are times I am riding 18+ and other times, say uphill or into the wind where I may be going 10-12.

I am asking because I am not sure which level group ride I would best fit in with.

crackerjab

You would be at the back of the pack with me. Avg speed is just that. The avg of the total ride.

bbattle

Average speeds are difficult if not impossible to compare. The only way to do it is to ride the same route as the group and even then if you are doing it solo you'll be working harder than the group to maintain the same speed.

I haven't joined a group ride yet for the same reason, the posted avg. speeds for some seem too fast. I'm going to some day ride with the slow ones to give me something to compare to.

KevinF

As has been said earlier on these forums -- you have no idea how fast somebody is until you actually try to ride with them. Average speeds are pretty meaningless, as they are so dependent on terrain and weather conditions, etc.

Da Tinker

Most folks seem to post the speed they cruise at on the flats. If you are comfortable in a pack or paceline, you can always just sit in on the back and enjoy the 30% + power savings from the draft. But the hills will still be a chore.

operator

+5 insightful

The only thing that is remotely comprable is SRM data over the same course in the same conditions. Average speed is next to useless. When a club ride says 25kph average speed, that really means be prepared to be able to ride 30-40kph for several minutes a time. Unless you like to ride solo.

Doggus

On our local cycling club ride logs, we list the average on the cyclocomputer when a ride is finished. I usually only compare the averages on the same rides. Even then the averages can vary widely just due to wind.

norskagent

average speeds may be difficult to compare but I find it useful to estimate travel time, for instance I'm planning on doing a 50 mile ride, I know from my rural solo rides in the past my averages are usually about 17 mph, so I can estimate my upcoming 50 mile time at ~3 hrs. Keeps the wife informed.

merlinextraligh

Hard to tell when a group ride is listed at a given speed what that actually means. In that usage, they're often referring to a typical cruising pace, not including things like stop signs, and warm up and cool down. However group rides often end up being faster than advertised. Only way to tell is go out and give it a go.

FormerBMX'er

I think riding over slightly-rolling/rolling terrain in a group with mild breezes, 15~16mph Avg (Avg = Start/Finish) shouldn't a problem for anyone with reasonable conditioning...of course the definition of reasonable conditioning will vary among BF members.

markwebb

This is an example how how BF skews expectations. BF members are avid cyclists and represent probably the top 10% of cyclists: racers, racer wanna-bes, and serious recreational cyclists and tourers. You may be in the back of the back with that guy and hsi crew, but averaging almost 15mph is a great pace for any long organized weekend rides like the Hilly Hundred, Tour e Chesapeake, MOKH, Amishland and Lakes, etc. You would be doing a 60 mile ride in less than 5 hours with 2-3 sag stops. 90% of the cyclist out there will be right with you or slower. I ride at about your same speed and I am always in the middle or a little better on big organized group rides. I am riding for fun not speed - I like to look at the scenery, linger at SAG stops, and look at al the cool bikes and talk/joke around.

On the Amishland and Lakes ride 2 years ago I laughed out loud at a guy breathless and obviously spent bragging about how he was averaging almost 19 miles per hour. We were in the middle of beautiful farmland with all sorts of wonderful quaint scenery. Every farm had Amish kids set up selling lemonade or cookies or something else good to eat. We were tooling along at 12-14mph just enjoying the day going a little slow on purpose just because it was such a wonderful day and here's this guy trying to do it as fast as possible.

Different things motivate different people. Your average speed is fine. It's faster than most but slower than the racers and guys who ride 250+ miles per week.

And as someone else said - average speed is very subjective. I've heard riders brag about their average speed and then found them to be less capable. A guy on a 150 mile weekend tour a few years back pulled up and rode for a while with my sister and I. He was in full kit and was bragging about averaging 21+. He soon left us as our 15mph pace was too slow. At the first significant grade and sustained climb we passed him less than half way up. A few miles ler he passed us again. At the rides biggest and longest hill we again passed him, and never saw him again. It's all subjective.

I am careful in picking my rides. Last year I made a mistake. I rode in the Sunstroke 74 (or somehing like that) in Kokomo IN. About 90 riders. They al looked to be very fit - and they were. The average pace was very fast - and unfortunately the ride organizers had the SAG stops timed for this very fast pace. I had to average around 18mph or more to marginally keep up with the last few riders for the first 25 miles. I got to first SAG at mile 25, ate, recovered, drank and got back on road 75 minutes after the start. That's fast for me. I cramped up in my butt. My legs burned. i got grouchy. I was riding way beyond my capabilities. At the 50 mile SAG they were closing it when I got there. I was dead after 74 miles. This ride was for their faster club riders and not really a group ride organized for the average cyclist like me. I just need to pick rides and groups that are within my capabilities.

Psimet2001 

+1 - Avg speed is not a difficult issue to deal with as other would imply. If you have a bike computer made in the last 20 years it will have an average speed function for the entire ride that is simply the distance covered divided by the total ride time.

If you doubt that then simply plot all of your average speeds over time. If you're in manufacturing then contruct a control chart and you'll see that there is a natrual shape

Everyone seems to get their panties in a bunch when it comes to comparing average speeds. It simple. If someone in your neck of the woods (read riding same terrain) says "I average 18-20" - they ride faster than you (in this case). If they say "I average 15-18" then you could keep up. If they say "I average 12-14" then you will probably end up pulling the train.

The issue comes when people try to use average speed to one-up each other instead of trying to find locals to ride with...

Albany-12303

My computer is set to not include stops (ie having to adjust my shorts or take a leak) in the AVG speed calculation (because I want my AVG riding speed)

Anyone else do this?

caligurl

average of the TOTAL ride.... my bike computer figures it out for me....

and yes... albany... average speed RIDE time...

SBSpartan

Bang.

Around me it would be damn near impossible to hold 25+ for more than about 3-4 minutes. There are just too many hills to deal with.

webist

My breaks, even short ones like stop lights, are excluded from my average speed calculations.

botto 

average speed means jack squat.

simple as that.

the only time i pay attention to it is when i do a weekly race on saturdays, on a set course. we ride for 1 hour + 6 laps. the first race of the year the avg speed was a little over 36 kp/h. in truth the race has long stretches where we were riding at 48 kp/h, then down to 25 kp/h. last week the avg was over 42 kp/h, but we had points where it was 53 kp/h then slower. the only thing i can tell by the avg speed is what i already knew: we're fitter in May than we were in February.

only newbies and freds believe that avg speed is important.

DieselDan

My computer will only calculate average speed over the ride time, as the timer stops when I stop. Average speed is distance divided by time, you just need to convert seconds to tenths or hundredths of an hour.

merlinextraligh

Watts will tell you more than average speed. My tuesday night group ride is usually 60 plus riders flat terrain, average speed 26mph+. My saturday morning ride, 6-10 guys, rolling terrain and a couple of small climbs, average speed 22-23mph. My average watts is always higher on the saturday ride.

Now if we could just get group rides listed by watts/kilo at functional threshold.

celticfrost

For 2005 I logged about 1000 miles TOTAL. Starting riding again in mid February of 2006 and I've logged 1300 miles. However, my average speed this year is down about by about 30%.

In 2005 I lived in relatively flat eastern Massachusetts, this year I've been mostly riding in the hilly national park roads of SoCal. I'm either in much worse shape than last year (doubtful because I was in pretty bad shape) or those hills have a pretty big impact on average speed. I hope it's the latter.

*edit* to the OP -- on organized group rides my average speed tends to go up slightly (due to drafting(?), friendly competition(?)). If your avg is 14.5, take a ride w/ the group that averages around 15-16.

cydewaze

My computer stops a few seconds after I stop moving, so I don't think rest stops are figured into my average (assuming I take any). The avg speed displayed on my comp is the average for the times when I'm moving.

HWS

Many of us who ride the same routes use average speed as a tool to challenge ourselves to do the route faster or to see how much faster we have gotten. I know that the first time I rode my 35 mile loop last year, it was at 15.2 mph. Yesterday, I did it at 20.3.

It means more than "jack squat" to a lot more people than some may think. As a racer, it probably doesn't mean much, but to the other 99.99999% of us cyclists who ride for fun and fitness, I would guess it's more important.

botto 

OK. I'll qualify it for rec riders like yourself. To me, average speed means **** all

blue_nose

Not to mention the “BF factor” (also known as the “BS Factor”) that you have to take into account when people post on an internet forum. Based on what I read around here, people are able to ride at very high speeds, put out lots of watts and climb hills like a mountain goat

The only way for you to determine where you fit in terms of a club, is to go out and ride with their “C” group the first time and see if this works for you or need to move up a level.

supahjew

My last ride my average was 11.5 mph, even though most of the time I was going 18-20mph. Half of the trip I had to stop for streetlights, moron tourists on the Brooklyn Bridge, and crowded greenway sections. Don't forget to take wind resistance into account. Average speed is a stupid term, and depends on all those factors as well as ride length, hilliness, to something like road surface. My average speed will be higher on a 15 mile ride than a century. So it's just that, an arbitrary number that messes with peoples' minds. I agree with the top poster who said it should be the number you are comfortable cruising at.