Originally Posted by
AZORCH
seldom track my average speed – frankly it’s not terribly relevant to my riding. But the other rider’s comments left me wondering. Are riders – even casual riders – so obsessed with speed that they kid themselves? I figure this is a better discussion for those of us in C&V because we are so diverse, and have so many different rides and riding styles (i.e., there is no one single "right" answer): How fast do you normally ride? How do you figure your average speed – do you factor in start-to-finish, or only after you’ve reached cruising speed?
Please discuss
I ride with a GPS that records moving average and overall average. As the name suggests, moving average is the average speed for the time I'm moving, and overall average is the average speed since I last reset, including time spent stationary.
I look at the overall average speed on the basis I can't do anything about how long I'm waiting at junctions and traffic lights. If I have to stop at the lights the moving average speed will inevitably drop on the basis I have to slow and then get my speed back up again but I really can't be bothered to factor it out. On a longer ride with bigger distances between lights it becomes a small issue, and if I'm riding into town and therefore having to stop regularly I won't be looking to break speed records.
The figure I focus on most is my cruising speed, i.e. the speed that I ride at when I'm not having to stop at lights. Give me a stretch of halfway decent road, a reasonable length ride to complete, and the speed I'm interested in seeing is what I can sustain when I'm not interrupted by things outside my control.