Originally Posted by
zonatandem
Terrain, weather, age are all variables that must be taken into consideration.
For us:
Terrain: rolling to mountainous. Very little flat terrain.
Weather: Very windy springtime; warm (100+ degrees) from May into October). Dry, very little rain. Ideal weather from late Oct. to April (70s, sunny).
Today's tandem toot, May 15: winds +/- 20mph, temps 93 degrees, cloudless/sunny. Yes, some hillwork.
Our average speed was 11.3 mph
Best average speed ever was a hilly ride of 43 miles at 21.5 mph average; but that was 20 years ago!
Back then we averaged 14 to 18 mph.
Our
Our ages: 78 for pilot and 76 for stoker.
Our f-a-s-t days are behind us!
Our motto:Growin' old is not for sissies!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem
Well said. A quarter-century ago we would think nothing of averaging 30-32 mph on a ride of 50-100 miles. Today, we hope for half that speed. As our vision becomes less acute it still feels fast and we have just as much fun, but someone keeps making the hills taller and steeper. In another quarter-century we hope to be able to go as fast as Rudy and Kay, but even if we are significantly slower we'll still be having fun.
For Rudy and Kay: My favorite uncle's motto is, "80 isn't old!" In many ways, I'm sure that applies to you.