Originally posted by JonR
I always feel very left out when I read posts about average speeds.
Because I've never been able to maintain an average speed much over 10.5 miles per hour, on either my mountain bike or road bike, commuting or otherwise.
Actually, Jon, based on my rides with other people 10.5 miles per hour is respectable. I believe that MOST people average about 9.5 to 10.5 miles per hour. My commute is getting faster because I am so familiar with the route, traffic signs, short cuts, and I am getting stronger.
Two things account for the fast speeds being reported:
1) The zippie riders are most likely to post their speeds.
2) Most people don't really know their AVERAGE speed. They see the cyclometer reading, say 14 mph for a stretch and they say, "Ooh look, I am averaging 14 miles per hour!". I calculate average speed by dividing the distance by the time it takes to do it.