Is this even possible?
 

Talking with a coworker today and she said her former boyfriend, who was apparently quite the athlete and used to ride the mountains of Taiwan, use to bike commute 37 km and his best time was about 50 minutes. Yes, 37 km in 50 minutes, and we're talking about through the core of downtown a large metropolitan area.

I said this was not possible, even if he were an professional cyclist riding an extremely aero trial bike with all the stops and go. But she maintained that's what he did, and even whipped out her phone to check the distance. I didn't pursue the issue any further. There was no point.

It is very possible. My commute used to be 23 miles, the end portion in Sacramento. My typical time was 55 minutes, but under 50 minutes was common and I did it in under 45 minutes more than once.

Traffic lights in urban centers are typically timed for 25-30 mph, which incentives speed. Add in the fact that we get to draft the traffic, and the urban portion can be done with good speed.

There's lots of fast riders out there who don't ride professionally or even race.

Agree, sounds doable

People can claim anything they like.

W. Edwards Deming - “In God we trust; all others bring data.”

He would be moving at about 45 kph/27mph.

I doubt I'll ever be that fast. But, I know a couple people who exceed 20mph on 30 mile commutes (so Strava says).

You guys seriously think that an amateur riding solo for 37 km through city traffic can average almost 45 km/h? Really??? That's a helluva lot better than I can do...in a car!!

Here's something to consider: The winning rider for the 2016 Rio Olympics, Cancellara, averaged just a tad over 45 km/h for a non-stop, no traffic, no lights, no pedestrians running to catch a bus, no streetcar tracks, no potholes, with a $10K cutting edge aero bike, skin suit, aero everything, and world class trainers.

23 miles in 50 minutes, or about 27.6 MPH.

That would be really fast. Downhill?

On the other hand, if one-way vs round trip was mixed up, and it was actually 11.5 miles each way in 50 minutes, and 14 MPH average in traffic, that would be possible for almost any avid cyclist (depending on traffic and lights and how often the rider fails to stop for signals).

Yeah, and I used to make the Kessel run in 12.3 parsecs.

Uh, no. I know the route he takes. It's not. In fact, I think it would be net uphill.

No, not that either, which is why I'm very skeptical.

Wait, is your co-worker Australian and does she eat a lot of bananas?

No, and I don't know, unless 'bananas' is a euphemism for something else, and in that case, I don't know.:foo::lol::D

IMO, its within the realm of possibility, however not very likely. It's within 10% of world class competitive speeds, and one need to keep in mind that those are set on closed courses using the best equipment. If someone told me he was able to do it on a bet, I'd gladly cover it.

But

Why does it matter? Just nod your head and move on.

There was an Australian couple on Youtube, and they each had their own channel. The boyfriend is a cyclist and his ex-girlfriend was touting a diet of 50 bananas every day.

For your original question, I think it's possible, but that dude would be fast. Since her account is hearsay, the numbers she quoted may not be accurate.

My best for a 35km commute was 51 minutes, but that wasn't in an urban area. It was also massively wind assisted with a 200m elevation drop. Most Enjoyable.

27mph average through a metropolis... doubtful. Unless he was drafting a truck the whole time, which would be a whole lot of fun.

Then again, a truck making 27mph across a major city on Taiwan is even more doubtful, even at 4AM.

lol, I can't even do it in country side Japan in a car on my route.

That's over 40 light years. You must have been going warp 10+

Sure, it's within the realm. So is winning the lottery.;)

It doesn't matter. I should have just called BS on the spot and moved on.

It's unrealistic to be able to maintain that kind of speed for that distance in downtown city traffic...I live in the suburbs where it's more open and it's impossible to maintain that type of speed for that distance because of traffic lights, wind, changing road conditions, hills and other things...Remember that this is bikeforums where "anything is possible". People can make all kinds of outlandish claims...but the reality is different...A lot of stuff that's posted here is to be taken with a grain of salt, internet is more about entertainment then reality.

I agree. But the coworker was so insistent on her facts that you swore it was completely true.

And in the same spirit, I also achieve a PR on yesterday's home commute--20 km in under 30 minutes, on studded tires, also with 50 lbs of groceries in my panniers. I could have gone faster, but there was a light dusting of snow on the ground and a light 15 km/h headwind. I swear it's true. :D :innocent:

"50 minutes", probably rounded down from some multiple of 5 or 10 minutes.

I had a coworker who swore that her husband's bike was less than five pounds.

I just nodded and sounded impressed.

Five kilos, maybe?

Weight or price?

There's no reason or logic to engaging folks who pass along these "my friend......" stories.

The person you're speaking to has no idea, and is only passing along the BS they heard (and believe). If you try to disabuse them of this nonsense, you end up the bad guy. So, as I posted earlier, nod politely and move on.

I don't know the terrain that the rider in question was riding, but I doubt if it had the elevation changes that were involved in the Olympic TT. Those things do slow folks down a wee bit.

I'd also guess that Cancellara would have been faster if the trailing cars would have just hopped out in front.

Rio 2016 Olympic Time Trial and Road Race: route, map and schedule - Cycling Weekly

And that's when I threw them both into the wormhole

Discounting elevation... At Eddy's hour record speed which I just looked up, 37km would take just under 45 minutes. 41 minutes with Wiggo's modern record for modern bikes.

Just get the friend to sign up for Strava. It is FREE.

Do a couple of breakneck rides across town and upload the links here. :)