Originally Posted by corysold
Maybe I am a weenie of a rider, but it seems that there are a lot of people who claim to average 23-25 mph. I know some who claim this can, as I can read their profiles and see they are racers, but 24 mph on a solo ride is hauling, congrats if you can manage that.
It depends a lot on terrain, weather conditions, stoplights/signs, type of road, etc. Given a flat no-wind straight road, I can ride at 20-22 MPH sitting straight up with no hands on the bar almost indefinately. I can reach around my back, pull out an energy bar and happily munch on it while my other hand is holding a water bottle. I know this can be done because on some really straight lonely roads around here, I've done just that. Since you live in the western suburbs/outskirts of Chicago, I'm pretty sure you're familiar with Butterfield Rd. between Rt. 59 and Naperville Rd. That's a fairly flat straight road to use to determine an average speed under ideal conditions.