I am not sure I trust Strava's power estimates for comparison with others, maybe for short segment efforts or other local riders encountering the same conditions. Wind really seems to throw it off, and it thinks I am really slacking when I am actually fighting a headwind. I do think it is useful to see if your power is trending up over time.

But you go down the other side. Wind doesn't have that. Wind is like an evil nightmare hill.

Sure it does. Tailwind on the way back haha :)

Without a power meter, you just as well fill in the "power" estimate with whatever you want. Look more at time or (here come the flames) average speed on that segment, and compare you time's' with others, keeping in mind that the further up the segment leader board you go, the stronger the tailwind probably was:)

130-170 watts probably for the average cyclist. 200-300 for a pretty good one. 300+ for a seasoned racer.

Ours change too much for that. :(

Hah, well ours does too, but typically not drastic changes within an individual ride.

What really sucks is a 20mph headwind out of the north on the commute into work...then it changes and I fight a 20mph headwind going home in the evening.

Strava power estimates are pretty worthless, particularly in flat, windy conditions like yours. See this post: http://www.bikeforums.net/19545157-post30.html

Well yes of course strava does not account for wind. However...in calm winds, or when beginning and ending a ride at the same point...I SHOULD be close-ish.

What really sucks is coming around a curve descending a mountain road at 40 mph and a sudden gust wants to turn your wheel for you. :eek:

Come visit! Bring your new bike.

Ok, I've got to run an errand, I don't want to drive through traffic and find parking, and it's gonna rain in a few hours, so I gotta ride.

Ride with someone close to the same weight, who has a power meter. Side by side on a segment and you'll see that Strava is not even "close-ish." I've ridden with my phone (no power meter) and my Garmin (power meter) both running on the same ride, and Strava will be high or low by literally a hundred watts or better. It's useless.

Embarrassment doing what?
(Just riding more than 10 miles cancels any embarrassment!)

Yes. These are averages for the whole ride, and actual watts from a power meter, not estimates. Sprints and hills are much higher. A ride that averaged 140 watts might have it's highest 10 minutes at 250w, and 30 seconds at 450w.

On my local cycle club rides: These tend to be mostly older riders, in their 40s to 60s, and riding anywhere from 40 to 150 miles a week in the warm weather. Rides are typically 2 to 3 hours of moving time.

90-100 watts average would be a typical "C" group, doing maybe 16-18 mph on the flat roads.
130-170 sounds about right for the "B" group, maybe 19-20 mph on the flats.
No experience with the "A" group!

Hrmm. Thanks everybody for the help. So it seems I'm probably not quite as slow as I thought I was. I should probably just jump in and find some group rides :o

I'd love to. Getting away from work/family is going to be pretty hard for the next year or two though, unfortunately.

Go try one!
My local rides vary from maybe 12 mph up to the low 20s average for the ride.

I suggest contacting the ride leader in advance. Find out their typical flat road speeds -- sometimes the rides get faster than the posted speeds if a lot of fast riders push the pace.

Start with an easy paced ride. You can see how you do, and learn some of the hand and voice signals, and get used to riding with other riders. Let them know you are new to group rides, and you'll get lots of encouragement. These slower rides are more casual, typically not drafting closely, and do lots of regrouping if the riders get spread out.

Then you can try a faster ride. I like both types, the conversational paced rides, and the ones that are just a little too hard for me, where I'm hanging in the draft, working hard to stay in the group.

I tried ONE last year. Most of the ride was right about my speed. Then for about a 5-7 mile stretch...they dialed it up another notch. Fastest I've ever been on a bike without mitigating circumstances, such as tailwind. 22-25mph...I was gassed at the end but I hung in there. Ended up with a calf strain that put me at lower speed/distance for the rest of the season though lol. I was definitely going beyond what I was used to. I'm trying to be a bit smarter about things and not push my body past what it's prepared for...I'm pushing 40 and things don't seem as forgiving as they were 15 years ago lol :mad:

In retrospect...I think part of the problem was riding 10 miles to the ride start...then 10 miles home. 50+ miles with some seriously strenuous stretches was just way more than my legs were prepared for.

1000. Definitely 1000. Unless you're over 200 lbs. Then it's 2000.

Not really, unless you're doing the same route in the same conditions every day.

Tail wind? Strava is useless. Headwind? Useless. Drafting anyone? Useless. Etc., etc.

Did we figure out if the thread starter is riding with a power meter?

Hah i am definitely not. Platform pedals and baggy shorts :)

Here's an illustration of the flat vs. hill thing from today's ride.

There's not much flat where I live, but hit a several mile stretch- the blurry pic- aved. about 180w,

& a hill for comparison. We powered up a low hill near the end, & got close to 300w for about a minute.

I'm not especially strong but tend to be in the top 1/3 of Strava segments, so don't see how a 300w average is realistic.

The fastest local club/team training ride averages over 20 mph & you see ~ 220w averages.

I know the question was about a 10 mile ride, but still.

A better way to think about it.

Effort translates far more directly to performance on steep climbs than on the flats. Up the climb, if you double your power, you just about double your speed. On the flats... not even close, thanks to air drag increasing sharply with speed.

If your primary goal was to go fast on flats you should get a recumbent.

X amount of power for a given distance is a useless way to think about the issue. It is far better to break the problem down by time, ie, What is my best power for 1 minute? 5 minutes? 20 minutes?

And any discussion of power is useless without a power meter.

You can get the DT Swiss rear PowerTap wheel for $700. One of the lower end Power2Max cranks will cost even less than that.

Well like I said before...I'm currently on a steel touring/cyclocross bike. $700 seems a bit over the top for an accessory seeing as how I havent gotten a proper road bike yet.