and if it were true i would never win anything, anytime, anywhere. umd is faster than me on the hills and probably on the flats too but i win races every year because i am faster than him for 30 seconds or less.

numbers don't mean everything but they do mean a lot and umd has given you a lot to work with if you just take a little time to look at the numbers.

my ave speeds are horrendously low but it's very hard to have a good ave speed when you have to ride through the city and hit a stoplight every half mile or so. on my commute i can hammer sections between lights at 25-28 mph but my ave will still be 16 or 17 due to the lights. one more reason against ave speed.

a 40 mile ride in the country with a couple of stop signs is very different than a 40 mile ride through los angeles. you could do an easy ride in the country and have a higher ave speed than hammering through the city. and have a power meter will give you that info.

i'm always amazed at the ave speeds posted by people who live in bfe, i often wonder how much is terrain (or lack thereof), lack of stops and the dreaded 'internet effect'