frogman

Exactly !!!!

Doc_Wui

We poke along at 12-14 mph, but the bike computer always says 11.7 mph,

Lakerat

Estes Park, Colorado to Loveland, Colorado. 30 miles going from 7522' of elevation to 4982'. It's pretty much straight east with a prevailing westerly wind. Catch it when its blowing like stink and and you can really fly.

wolfchild

Speed is irrelevant and unimportant. Just like passing other cyclists doesn't mean that you are fitter...It's pointless to obsess about numbers.

drlogik 

Mark,

If your goal is just a recreation ride, that's cool, have at it! However, if you want to challenge yourself try this:
One day a week make it a self time trial and see what your first time is. Then ride the same route and see if you can beat it the next week, repeat, repeat. This isn't a just a race against the clock, it's a race against yourself. Having a goal in mind to improve your time each week ends up making you work harder during your daily rides. If you find that that takes away from the enjoyment, back off a little.

The whole chasing the average miles per hour thing is over-rated in my opinion.

Mark Dominck

I'm 73 and I'm not racing against anything, I just like riding through the country roads for a little exercise and happen to have an old Garman on my bike and asked a stupid question didn't mean to get everybody all fired up but since I did it's been fun listening seems like every biker I see has some sort of computer strapped on the handle bar so I thought it must be there for the same reason mine is. i guess we're really not supposed to look at it? I'll turn mine off and see if it makes my ride more enjoyable.

Cougrrcj

Average RIDING speed or average speed over time? Two different things - depending on traffic lights, stop signs, etc. My 12.5-mile commute is usually completed in 42-44 minutes for an average overall speed of 17mph, but if I take out the time for stoplights and whatnot, my riding speed is closer to 20mph.

Then terrain figures into the picture. Where I ride, the biggest hills tend to be railroad overpasses.

so.... what apples and oranges are we comparing today???

phughes

Don't be too impressed. It is easy to ride a keyboard.

phughes

You're doing great, Mark. Enjoy, and keep on riding!

tomato coupe

That's why it's best to compare FTP -- Functional Typing Power.

gregf83 

Announcers might mention average speed occasionally as they struggle to fill 4 hours of airtime with witty banter but it has zero relevance to the riders. The contenders have one goal and that’s to finish ahead of everyone else. Whoever wins Tour of Flanders tomorrow is not going to be disappointed if he has the slowest avg speed in history.

Cougrrcj

I don't have a computer on any of my bikes - other than my brain. I use the VERY old-school wristwatch for timing, and the mileposts along the roadway for distance. I keep track of my speed as I'm riding by the same method - How long does it take me to ride a mile --

MPH - Time
12........5:00
13........4:37
14........4:17
15........4:00
16........3:45
17........3:32
18........3:20
19........3:09
20........3:00
21........2:51
22........2:44
23:.......2:37
24........2:30
25........2:24

My zero wind riding time for a mile is right around 3:05-3:10 which works out to 18.9-19.5mph. Of course I can sprint faster, but not a heck of a lot or for very long. Usually, that only happens when I'm being chased by a farm doggie and they tend to give up after a quarter-mile or less.... That's the beauty of living out in flat farm country!


Now if we start talking about my 'endurance' riding speed, well that depends on the distance. The riding speed I can maintain for two hours is ~17-18mph. Four hours, or my 'metric century pace' and I drop down to around 16mph. I've slowed down a bit in my old age (now coming up on 63 rings on the tree). 40 years ago, I used to do a Century in less than six hours of saddle time. Now I'm sure it would be closer to seven.

Mark Dominck

I couldn't begin to keep up with you unless I heard that farm doggy coming after me! I've never been alarmed by barking dogs until a few months ago,two boxer twins came down off the hill on one of my regular country rides, it was a male and female and the male was very aggressive nipping at my foot while the female just ran along on the other side smiling like this is our favorite thing to do. After three or four attempts the male latched on to my foot and would not let go.I had to stop and swat at him several times before he let go and still he persisted until I managed to get up enough speed to get away. I now find myself very worried when I pass any place with a barking dog especially when the dog sounds big enough to eat me on the spot. I have since avoided parts of my rides in the country where in the past I just rode past the barking dogs with no fear at all. It's quite disturbing to have a vicious dog latched on to your foot. It tore a hole in my shoe and just barely broke the shin but still it was a frightening experience. So I find my MPH increases dramatically when I hear that scary sound. Beware, it can happen.

aplcr0331

That’s good speed, certainly faster than me.

LarrySellerz

I feel like most people cruise along at around 14 MPH or less

burnthesheep

TT training sees some silly figures. Last week at lunch 75min of nonstop sweetspot at 24mph. In training I run the integrated nosecone drink system a triathlete would. Bend over and sip never stopping.

I have to rethink distances I would use on the road bike as the distance/time is really skewed.

BlazingPedals

I have found that you can go faster if you don't rely on the brakes to get you there.

Mark Dominck

I don't know about everybody else but 30 mph for me seems death defying speed, I don't mind it for just a short downhill as long as it flattens out within a couple hundred yards but those long downhills can get out of hand real quick with my bike if I were to hit something lying in the road at that speed it would be hard for me to avoid and I'm not a thrill seeker when it comes to speed. My son on the other hand likes to go as fast as he can he does not fear a crash. I actually care about my bike and don't want to wreck it. I've had all my bikes for 30 yrs or more so beating them up with abuse is not my way.

400E

I'm with you, Mark. I have a small but steep hill on my usual route where I get up to 22 mpg, and seems like it's plenty fast to me. I can't really imagine me going much faster for the exact reason you mention -- all it would take is hitting a tree branch on the trail and I'd go flying.

fooferdoggie 

I have a mid drive e bike so average speed is not something I go by anymore. I go by wattage. its a lot more accurate measurement as it dos not matter what route I take. I can put out the same wattage in the lowest assist level as the highest going 25mph. I just did this ride going to get some bbq at a new place. I have nbever been able to put out this wattage average the best I had done was 189. plus my heart rate was around 130 to 140 most of the time and 150 at times and I cant usually do that. most of the time I don't do as good on speed but do better on watts and thats ok.

caloso

Average speed of a Tour stage is mostly determined by the terrain, the weather, the stage of the race, whether there’s a breakaway, who’s in the breakaway. . . . Riders care about how much time separates them from their rivals, I really don’t think they give an eff whether they average 45kph or 55kph. Phil talks about average speed because the average viewer doesn’t have any frame of reference for what 400w means, other than that’s a really bright lightbulb.

rsbob 

It depends. Need the following:

Percent grade
Barometric pressure
Ambient temperature
gear combination
type of bike
tubed or tubeless
aero clothing?
just eaten a big meal or not
feeling strong that day
had argument with significant other
underlying health conditions
type of tools you carry
had marital relations that day or other
experience level
eaten at Taco Bell
clipless pedals or flats
head or tail wind
PSI in tires
Drafting or not

Troul 

if I were to play "chase" to gain the lead, I'd only care about not fatiguing while putting the hammer down to catch & pass. Data would serve me minimal benefit & just be an annoyance, unless that data was to tell me I have two wasps on my shoulder duking it out.

ofajen

My experience is that if you force yourself to work harder in the tough parts (climbs and headwinds) you will soon be able to ride somewhat faster and recover quicker from those harder bits.

Otto

burnthesheep

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tou...ing-1437432000