Originally Posted by
tjspiel
On my Thursday ride there's a couple of big hills that we do for training. There's no other reason to go up them since they could easily be avoided. I'm happy if I can stay in double digits on those so of course they bring the average speed down. The ride also starts and ends in the city. About 1/3 of it is in areas with some starts and stops like what you'd have in a commute. It's a fast no-drop ride so the average speed varies depending on who shows up. It could be anywhere from 16-18 mph.
This is why I have trouble when group rides state what their average speed is and deciding if it's a good fit for me. It's so dependent on the route. There's a triathlon group that says you should be able to average 19+ in order to ride with them. That seems really fast for a group ride where presumably there's no drafting. On the other hand, if they're talking about your average triathlon speed, then it seems more reasonable since there are no starts and stops in a triathlon.
Yep. Avg. speed is a really misleading metric for group rides. I probably average 20-21 mph on the Saturday River Ride, but that includes a neutral roll-out and roll-in. Where it counts, you need to be able to hang on at 27+. It's flat, so it's not usually a problem for an experienced racer or century rider unless it's really windy. But when I was a making the switch from triathlete to roadie I was shocked at the surge and recovery issue.