I am confused by what I read here. MY average speed is whatever the cycling computer says it is, which includes whatever it does when I stop, slow down, etc....I don't regard average speed as how fast I'm going once I get going.
And no matter what I do, it's generally around 10. If I'm mostly cruising at 15, the average speed still ends up at: 10.
I would like to go faster: I'd like to go more miles for the time I put in. Sometimes, I can push the 10mph average to 11 or 12, but not on a consistent basis. And on very easy rides, I can go a little faster. I commute about 9 miles, and it's slightly downhill (following a river) and I've averaged 14 for that a few times. But that's the easiest ride I know of.
When I go out on the road and really go somewhere, it seems to always end up being around: 10.
Even when I seem to be going lots faster for large amounts of time.
I do a lot of 30 to 40 mile rides, and would like to go further, but at my speed that takes forever.