For us 50 plusers, you young whippersnappers go make your own poll

I was wondering what your average speed is for your rides, I for one take it relatively easy and have quite a few hills and grades so for the last 6 months since I've kept track I do an average of 10MPH overall over about 1500 miles on my hybrid.

So what's your speed like? Satisfied with it or want to increase it? Any goals for 2013?

Sorry for you people of progressive countries, the poll is in MILES PER HOUR, so you'll have to convert if you use KPH.

So use your best figure, either distance divided by total time, your actual observed speeds, your bike computers figures, any GPS related sites figures you use, what have you, even a SWAG if you have to. I use my bike computers figures that I download to SportTracks. By bike computer is supposed to insert a pause when I stop for more than 90 seconds so I suspect that it's close to accurate.

Since I could only choose one range, I chose what I was averaging from May to October. Now, in the colder times, not counting really windy days, I'm between 16 and 17 mph, usually 16 to 16½ mph.

My average speed is slower than it was when I was a kid ----- just a few years ago.

Also, in 2012, I cycled 4,465 miles. My personal best.

Mine is Total distance divided by total time.

My computer says about 15mph give or take a little. When I try to figure how long to ride from pt A to pt B I use 12mph or 5 min per mile, then allow myself 6 min per mile just in case.

I'm not really certain how average mph is calculated, as there is quite a bit of dispute about this. For my definition, it's my average speed when in motion. So, when the bike stops (for a certain period of time which I think is > than a few seconds), I'm no longer accumulating speed measurements. When the bike rolls, I am.

Using that rule from my speedometers (and with one of my sportier bikes), it seems that I'm somewhere in the 17.5 mph range over shorter rides 50 miles or so. With my tourer or utility bike, or when toodling along, my averages drop to somewhere in the 15-16 range. On my longest rides under touring load with lots of climbing, headwinds or when I'm tired, I've had average speeds in the 13's.

I guess that it just depends...

I picked the range for my speed on generally flat ground - 11-13.
My ego would not let me pick 8-10 (or less ! ) that I get on terrain with hills over 5%

My average speed depends on what I'm doing. I do many different kinds of riding. When I ride to reduce stress on my fastest road bike my average speed is considerably different than when I'm riding with either of my sons and catching up on what's going on in their lives. And, when I ride with my panniers full of photography equipment headed for a photo shoot, my average speed is different than my commute to work. And so it goes. I'm not sure I want to get faster as much as I want to get better - two things that are not necessarily connected.

OK, Rootman, head right on over to the confession thread (either here or the 41, for your convenience) and plea for forgiveness for starting an average speed thread. The only threads that are worse are "are bike helmets really necessary?", and "do you carry a gun when cycling?".

The most fun I've had lately on a bike is when I rode over to an area where the construction of the Louisville Loop is underway. I rode on partially completed trail, some of which was little more than beat-up doubletrack, even more fun when you try it on a SWB bent. My average speed was around 10 MPH.

Average speeds are also affected by group rides (faster if you can hang and draft), terrain, and density of traffic and stop signs, lights and the like. I don't think it's a very useful number.

And mine is always slow, anyway.

About 10 mph.

So slow, I almost always ride by myself, even on group rides!

- Ed

same as 41% of responders ...

In a headwind I have a higher air speed than ground speed.

I used Garmin Connect's reported 12.4 mph average moving speed for all the 4200 or so miles I logged on all my bikes including 5-8 mph MTB rides, 12-13 mph dirt road rides, 12-13 mph commutes, 13-16 mph road rides and various other piddling around on different bikes.

I haven't the faintest idea.

Depends on the ride- the terrain- the weather and how much Porridge I had for breakfast.

Every type is different but if I go to when I was keeping records--8.5mph. That was on the Century rides I used to do with 10,000ft of climbing and only the hours of daylight to do it in---That was offroad of course.

Metric centuries and it is around 15.5 mph on the road- but the extra up to 100 miles and I will slow down to around 13.

Local 40 to 50 milers up a few slopes and it is around 12 and 20 miler for coffee is around 12--and that is fairly flat.

I am not bothered by speed too much as I prefer to finish rides and want to go out again tomorrow- or next week if it was a hard ride.

Don't know; don't care.

2010: 14,660km in 489.0 hrs -> 30.0kph avg
2011: 13,133km in 446.0 hrs -> 29.4kph avg
2012: 13,137km in 435.5 hrs -> 30.2kph avg

My average speed for rides doesn't seem to vary a lot. Even if I do a 40 min crit @ 43kph the avg speed for the ride is only 35 when you include riding to and from the crit.

Average speed is not a value that is a reliable measure. Distance, terrain, climbs, the number of controlled intersections, wind can influence speed and can factor it up or down 20% or more.

This 96 mile solo ride produced a 17.6 mph average.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/205482726

This 53 mile solo ride produced a 18.9 mph average.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/206992923

However, this hilly 27 mile ride only produced 15.7 mph

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/176310855

Laden or unladen?

15 mph at 50'/mile in low Z2 with an avg cadence of 81
I wear a helmet and don't carry a gun... when cycling

Somewhere Dr. Freud is reading this thread and smiling.

According to my comp, my average centers around 13mph. Sometimes more, sometimes less. My normal cruising speed on flat pavement without wind is 14-15.

15.5 - 16.8 mph, according to the bike computer. All road, riding solo. Doesn't seem to matter what the activity. Commuting on the single speed or over an 80 mile ride, avg. speed is always around the same. Although, I've had more 16+ averages over this past summer.

Hi Rootman,

This is sort of like asking, "how high is up?" What kind of ride? Solo, group, commuting, racing, errands, short, long, etc, etc?

Same with my satisfaction. I did a 46 mile ride on Monday at a average of about 14.5 MPH and I was very satisfied with that ride. Yesterday, was 73 miles at 17.5 MPH and I was very satisfied with that too. I am very satisfied with 11 MPH when I commute to work and I am very dissatisfied when I average less than 25 MPH during a time trial.

I think most people worry about average speed too much (and I'm not saying that you are one of them). I pay much more attention to fun, training effect, reducing my use of my car, and a host of other things more than average speed. Not to say that I don't look at average speed when I download ride data from my Garmin, I do, but it's not a major ride success criterion for most of my rides.

That's a long way of saying that I can't answer your poll.

I'm a flatland rider so I don't have to worry about climbing. I ride a MUP on a daily basis and normally do 30 miles a day. On the service roads leading to the loop, I ride between 15-17 mph and use them as my warm up and cool down miles. On the loop, I normally cruise between 18 and 20 mph with occasional sprints getting up to 24 mph. Today's sprint speed was 22.4 mph.