Originally Posted by
chas58
My average speed is alwasy 2-3mph below my cruising speed. I often cruise at 20mph, but with stops, turns, and other reasons to slow down, speed up, my average speed tends to be about 17.
Interestingly, in my car, my average speed is 34, so my bike is exactly twice as slow as my car. A 30 minute car drive will take 60 minutes on my bike (and it does). The bike does have the advantage of not having to deal with traffic and parking though.
When I cycle out to visit a friend a little under 5 miles away I'm cruising at 18-22 for good chunks of it but if I can get my overall average speed (i.e. total distance divided by total elapsed time) up to 15mph I'm pleased about it. If I can keep my moving average much over 15 I'm happy, because the time I spend slowing for lights/traffic/roundabouts etc and then speeding up again counts as moving time.