Hi everyone, my name is Mike...first time poster. Just got a road bike recently and am blessed with a nice flat stretch of seldom used mile long road right outside my door.

My main goal getting into cycling is losing weight (I'm about 6' 210lbs and want to get down to at least 190 or 185). I plan on doing a lot of sprinting as well as long distance rides.

I went out today for the first time with a computer and got to 29.3 mph at my fastest. I would really like to hear some of the times of the experienced cyclists like you guys so I have something to shoot for and motivate myself.

I tried googling speeds but I mainly got speed times for guys out in the desert with contraptions that look more like missiles than actual bikes which does me no good.

Thanks in advance everyone.

over 9,000! DBZ

It varies, in my black kit, I'm hitting 40+ mph. It's dangerous though, since people can't see me. So I usually stick with my fluoro kit, but then my speed is cut in half.

I'm routinely up to about 0.038 mach.

Just ignore all the smart alec replies Mike.

29.3 mph was that on a still day or with a wind or into the wind?

If its on a still day or into the wind that's pretty fast if its perfectly flat. Most people will get to 30-40mph going down hill.

Flat ground..smooth..no wind on my Rossin back in the day saw 40 mph for a while....now hehehee... I have no idea?? 50+ years old now. Have done a few rides since a long time off bike.. Have no idea and no speedo that work... Word of caution ....if on the street and your going fast car drivers never expect a bike to be moving that fast. Fyi.

This had me laughing.

I don't know about speed, but I did today's ride in 13 parcecs.

Thanks for the replies Inpd and rossiny

My 29.3 time was on flat with no discernible wind, which is rare for my area. Luckily its a stretch of road that is very seldom used and I don't have to cope with traffic. As I'm totally new to cycling I have no idea what fast is and I would really like to challenge myself to do sprints. [MENTION=424725]rossiny[/MENTION] if you did 40mph on flat that seems very very fast.

Really appreciate any serious posts as I am really desperate to get in shape. Its hard living everyday feeling like you are lugging your body around like a bag of heavy bricks

The current world record for the flying 200 metre track sprint is 9.347 seconds which works out to 77kmh or 47.8mph.

This was done on a velodrome on a standard track bike (so no aero bars or go fast widgets) by Francois Pervis in 2013. These times are usually set as qualifying for the track sprint event. During qualifying the riders will try to set the fastest time to determine a seeding order for the following sprint events.

About 27-28, but I'm 64 and slow (this is a serious answer).

That's pretty good! I went outside and tried and got up to 30 (for about 5 seconds) and I'm half your age!

Cycling is a great sport and awesome way to have fun and get/stay in shape. But to best way to lose pounds... is through proper diet.

It's fun to ride fast! Make sure your don't over-ride your skill levels though. A crash at those speed could be a set-back.

Thanks for the latest responses guys. Very helpful and I really appreciate it.

Regarding my diet I do eat quite healthy however I am a big Swede and have a very low metabolism. I could eat a 5oz cookie and gain 10oz fat. This is why I need to do HIIT training (like bike sprints) to burn calories and boost my metabolism. Just from my last few rides Ive lost some weight so I know its working.

You dunce! Parsecs are a measure of distance, not speed!

Crikey, what passes for math up there in NorCal. SMH.

That's why I said "I don't know about speed". A lot to learn you need, young padawan.

With no wind or drafting I can sprint up to about 30mph, but it's definitely not easy for me, but I'm not so experienced with road bikes or windless rides.

I'm feeling some anger, which is feeding the hate... this could get ugly.

I tell you what, if you can ride your bike even 1 parsec, all this melts away into hero worship.

About 30mph on flat ground with no wind, for a few seconds.

Homie I ride 5 parsecs before breakfast. That's how we roll in NorCal.

OMG, the fury.

5 parsecs is 9.587e+13 miles.

+13 is not "an extra" 13 miles either. Sacre Bleu

Ah right, my bad, it is late in the evening. I ride 6 parsecs before breakfast.

I surrender. I'm checking myself into my local establishment.

as BSNYC says, once a Fred passes Woo-Hoo-Hoo speed, he's just gonna hit exit velocity and head into orbit....

Asking that on BF is like asking a guy how big a fish he got. It usually grows from the original size.