My wife and I are "avid" cyclers, if by avid you include people who just like to ride several times a week. We never race and don't do pace lines. We probably average about 14mph (16-18 on flat roads, up and down on city streets and hills) But we ride more than most people we know. On the other hand, we don't have 5 or 6 bikes. :) We are considering road bikes (our current bikes are cyclocross) and may kick up the pace a bit with them.

You have to work out the schedule, of course, but what worked for me was to go out and hammer with the fast guys on the club ride in the morning, then shower, change clothes, and ride with the slower rider(s) at their speed in the afternoon, which was excellent recovery ride speed for me.

Rick / OCRR

I still very much enjoy riding solo. Its hard for me to see all the interest in group rides. I can do intervals as long or as short or as hard as I like. Stop and take a picture, or what ever when ever the mood strikes. I can do whatever route that strikes me at the time, etc. etc. etc. Isn't it great that we all don't like or want to do the same things? I very much enjoyed the pace lines when I did the Tour de Mesa, but thats another story.

I enjoy riding slower than I'm capable of. If I'm with a group, even a small group, I ride at their pace. My wife puts on the brakes if she gets over 8 mph. Other people = social riding. Not every ride has to be a training ride.

What's the average speed of an avid cyclist? Or how many watts per kilogram?
Anyone can own 5 bikes. Its kind of like the fellow I knew who owns 5 guitars, trying to find the instrument that will make him sound good... He was an avid guitar owner, not a guitarist.

I regularly ride with friends who are slower than me. They live about 13 miles away from me, and (conveniently) in slightly better cycling territory, so we usually ride from their place rather than mine. I ride over there at a decent pace, have a sociable two or three hour ride with them, then ride home as hard as I want. Makes a good workout for me, and means I am entirely happy to go at their pace when we're together.

I quite often ride with people who are faster than me, too. They're generally considerate.

Avid means keenly interested or enthusiastic, not fast, competitive or highly accomplished. I'm an avid cyclist, and pretty slow, judging by the number of times I get passed. I don't mind riding with people who are even slower, just make it a social event. When you want a serious workout, ride with someone else, or alone.

Perhaps "avid" is the wrong word. Maybe accomplished, experienced, enthusiast are better. The point is that one day a week I have the opportunity to take a ride with some distance and want to condition myself to be able to do a century. Leisurely social rides won't help with that goal. I do enjoy the freedom of riding solo but would like the opportunity to ride behind a faster group. To me cycling is a competitive sport but realize it's not that way for everyone.

Speed has nothing to do with being a "avid" cyclist. On a ride across the US, my wife averaged 50 miles a day for 74 consecutive days on a fully loaded touring bike, averaging 12 mph. She finished a 2900 mile ride across 8 European countries last summer at about the same pace. However, according to your standards, she would not be an avid, experienced, enthusiastic, or accomplished cyclist if she can't ride at your pace.

How fast a person can ride seems like poor criteria for being judgemental about their motivation or enthusiasm for cycling. Go out to a golf course sometime and see if the only "avid" golfers are those who play well.

I just like to ride, no matter the speed. If I'm with a slower rider, I'll always let them set the pace. BTW some slow riders are like the energizer bunny in that they just keep going.

How do you equate doing 2900 at 12 mph and doing 30 miles at 12 mph. Don't get your panties in a bunch.

What's this fixation with going fast on a bike?

I find it's the beginners who for some reason feel like they need to be going fast all the time.

The experienced cyclist is able to ride at any speed, depending on the group. If you want to hammer, go out by yourself or with a fast group. Not every ride has to be a workout. Even when I was actively racing, I still spent one or two days each week "bike walking," really easy recovery. These are the days where your body is given the chance to build itself up (and become even stronger) after the heavy loads you've placed on it during the hard days.

Luis

Avid does not mean fast. Some of the most avid and knowledgeable cyclists I know aren't fast roadies, but do a lot of practical riding.

Why don't you be a bigger man than you seem by tolerating the slower pace and encouraging your work colleague?

Or are you so ego-driven, as your BF name suggests, that you couldn't possibly bear to do that?

Hey, she's accomplished enough for me. I'm fast enough to delude myself that I can be competitive in races, but on my touring bike, fully loaded, I regard 12mph as a thoroughly respectable pace. And a 50-60 mile daily average is a truly civilised way to tour, imo.

Tell me about the European tour? Sounds quite something.

OP, the reason people are getting their panties in a bunch, as you put it, is how you come across. The tone of your post was very much "how can he claim to be an avid cyclist when he's so slow?" as if only the fast are entitled to be enthusiastic. That isn't an attitude that is likely to endear you to many, especially in the 50+ forum.

Easily.

You aren't endearing yourself with that last snotty sentence, either.

Did I say 'fast'? My issue was that a person who claimed he was an enthusiast ( 'avid') could not keep a 12mph pace. That's hardly 'fast'. Personally I don't wish to ride slower than that and asked the best way to communicate that to him without hurting his feelings. I don't ride fast and I don't ride slow. Speed is not subjective. I ride my pace and don't want to sacrifice my one long ride per week waiting for someone to catch up.

Sorry Don! I may have been able to word that differently. The point I was trying make to the OP is that you don't have to be fast or have a bunch of bikes to be an "avid" cyclist. The people I mentioned ride all the time and would go for a ride at the drop of a hat but some are just not fast and some don't even have multi-speed bikes. They are as much an avid cyclist as you and I. On my daily rides, I'm normally in the 17-20 mph range (riding solo) but I really look forward to our club rides and doing the 22 miles at whatever slow speed we are doing. For me it's a change of pace and is very relaxing. There are other clubs and group rides that I can do if I want to do a go-fast ride. And you don't need 5 or 6 bikes to be called avid. I have three; the Defy is for sale and the hybrid hardly gets used anymore.

And I am an avid slow cyclist!!

Ride solo.

True, but speed is relative.

Social skills are subjective, and yours are not showing well.

av·id/ˈavid/

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1. Having or showing keen interest or enthusiasm: "an avid reader of science fiction".
2. Having an eager desire for something: "avid for information about the murder".

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Seems to me anyone who reads bike forums regularly meets the definition of avid regardless of pace. But I have to admit that if I wanted to hook up for a ride with some guy who described himself as an avid rider and who talked about his stable of bikes I would be sure to discuss what he should expect before we headed out.

Edit: that sounds like I was saying that Frankfast should have clarified things but I actually meant any slow rider (including the "avid" guy) should clarify what he is getting into when he invites a ride. I would have cautioned the avid guy that I was relatively slow. Hopefully, he would have said "no problem." Alternatively, maybe he thought he was fast, but didn't realize his new office mate posted on BF under the "frankfast" handle. :)

There may be several reasons why your enthusiast (avid) cyclist friend is slow. Maybe he was as fast or faster than you, at one point, but hasn't ridden in a while because of some illness, injury or personal reason and is now getting back into it. If you don't want to ride with him, just tell him the truth and leave it at that. If, on an occasion, you still want to ride with him, explain that you are training for a special ride and that you really need to go faster than what the two of you have been doing. Tell him that you need to ride with faster riders on your long ride, while training, and that you will be happy to ride with him on a different day. Just remember that you are him to someone that rides faster than you and they may not want to sacrifice their ride waiting for you to catch up.

And I would never ask them to.

I really don't have a decent response to that. Opinions are cheap especially for the idle. Thanks to all those who were constructive. I'm done.