My max speed on the bike is 25mph and that was downhill

Spot check method....but the speed was fairly consistent/constant.

BTW, cruising along at 24-25 mph isn't all that hard on "fast" sections of road - which is what this was. It would alternate between flat, slightly downhill, and short/slight uphills....obviously nothing steep, since we maintained our pace fairly well. There was tons of trees around, and no wind, so we didn't have to deal with any headwinds.

It was probably only a few miles long, but it was a blast. Made the whole ride worth it.

It's done at the races all around the world every weekend, but are they doing it for an hour solo?
No way. Does a tailwind help? Immensely.

The last lap in a lot of Pro 1/2 Crits is done at over 32mph. In the Protour you have teams that will ramp the speed up to 35mph plus for the last couple of kilometers, and then the best sprinters in the world will kick it up to 42mph plus. And this is after 100 plus miles or racing.

Agreed. On a flat road at sea level, the lead guy needs to put out roughly 300 watts (or thereabouts) and the guys following need to put out very roughly 220 watts or less depending on the size of the group. Totally manageable for hours on end on a flat road if guys are sharing the work.

--Steve

A poster above said he was passed by a cat 2 racer soloing easily at 29mph. It may not be hard in a big bunch for some (it would be for me), but solo? I stand by my statement that that is world record pace.

My head is about to explode trying to comprehend these speeds..... I'll just be one of the guys that you all blow by as I get all aero and try to maintain a 17mph average :o

I held 25-26mph for a couple miles behind a guy once into a strong headwind. He was really pushing and it was all I could do to keep up with him. I finally let him go after about 2 miles though. I was nearing the end of a 40 mile ride anyway. We dropped my riding buddy about when this guy really started hammering.

Hehehe, my max speed is 48.2mph downhill. :D

That's 41.6kph into a strong headwind! Last strong headwind I was riding in I was struggling to keep 20-25kph on. How much sustainable power are you guys putting out (if you've been tested)?

we ride this section (Clara Barton Pwky) every sunday morning with the Bicycle Place, avg speed is 28-30mph for 4 miles. The paceline usually has around 40-50 strong riders

http://toporoute.com/cgi-bin/getSave...DUALCAODDWYXDW

you're so mean! Dropping your friend like that :(

Seriously though 30mph is possible easily depending on the tailwind. I forget exactly when but about last year it was really windy here in SoCal and I remember going at least 30mph down a flat stretch where I usually do 20-23.

Strong enough tailwind and anything is possible...Except the ride back into the massive headwind

It doesnt say he was away for an hour.

yep - solo breakaway from a pro/1/2/3 pack of about 80 or so riders. definitely not an hour or anything like that, but a few laps. i saw this same rider survive 10 laps solo in a crit once only to get nipped at the end. definitely an average speed in the upper 20's. the guy is super strong.

sorry, but age is can not be used as an excuse with cycling. ;)

that's the first time i saw someone brag about a relatively slow max. :rolleyes:

I wasn't pulling. The other guy was, or I never would have been able to sustain that speed for as long as we did. This guy was really strong and it was all I could do to stay on his wheel, but it was fun!!! :D

Eh, whatever. 48mph is fast enough for me. Maybe if I had a steeper hill I'd go faster...plus I've lost about 20lbs since I hit that speed. I think low 40s is the fastest I've gone recently downhill.

he he he....funny you should mention that weight thing.
On the downhills of that same ride I kept having to pull out of line while coasting and pass on the left.
Hint--It wasn't my stellar tuck abilities on the downhill.

I finally realized I was the fattest guy of the three!

When I first started riding two years ago, it was a mountain bike with 2" wide slicks.

There was a route I would take most mornings to Point Lookout on Long Island. Some of the guys on the forum know this area. You basically ride out on the Peninsula to the Atlantic Ocean, and then back to where you started. It's a 10 mile loop.

Occasionally I would see what looked like two Philipino guys in club kits on nice bikes. I didn't know enough about bikes at the time to recognize the name on the bikes. One day they pass me at the turn around point. I tell myself I'm oging to stay with them as long as I can. The first mile or so is in the city and then it's open road. They are doing 20 mph and I'm working hard, but keeping up. As soon as we hit the open road, the guy in the back turns around, smiles at me, and they blast off, literally. They were not sprinting by the way, they were in the saddle the whole time.

I'm doing my best to keep up, I've got no chance. Not even close. About half a mile down the road, there is one of those speed signs. The type of sign where it says speed limit 40mph, your speed is X. These guys pass the sign doing 35mph.

I pass the sign and to make sure it's accurate, I verify with my Cateye. Sign says 16 and Cateye says 16. I actually haven't seen these guys in a year or so (or I would drop them) but it was an amazing sight. I didn't even truly appreciate it until I got my road bike.

I know they kept it up at least until they dissapeared from sight which would be a mile and a half if I had to guess.

Just thought I'd share this story.

It's not an excuse. I've noted that, usually, cyclists in their 20's or 30's tend to be faster than those in their 50's or 60's. Endurance is another matter.

Yeah, I was doing a coastal ride one morning with a friend of mine and we were about 12 miles in riding with 4 guys in team kits cruising along at 19-20mph (they were actually chatting back and forth at this pace) and they just decided to pick up the tempo and off they went. We had no chance in keeping up with them at that point. It was fun to ride along though.

I don't put a lot of stock into dropping or being dropped by other people. There are plenty of riders who are faster than me. I'm sure there are some who are slower. Big deal...just ride.

Not another brag fest! What value are these threads? There is no way to verify the information. Anyone can say anything. 5 MPH or 50 MPH what does it matter as long as you are riding?

I'll take a stab at answering your question.

It DOES matter because people who post accompishments here (It happens all the time) are proud of said accompishments, and want to share them with people they consider friends here, even though most have never met.

The love of cycling brings them together here.

FYI....I didn't write about my experience hitting 29 mph in a paceline as a brag post.
I'm 48 years old, and if I felt the need to brag about anything it wouldn't be about what I did on a bicycle.

I posted it as a form of sharing my excitement about how I felt doing that. Somehow I figured someone might care to read about it, and maybe make a comment about something similar.

I can't tell you how many times the accomplishments others have made and written about here interested me because whether it was about them making their first century or their first 20 miles....the excitement in their words is great.

...and for people who think it's lame bragging or something, well, then I'd say just don't open the link and read it.

Sorry sounded like some 19 yo bragging. At 48 that is quite an accomplishment. You have a right to brag. Congratulations!

So I should correct my statement, threads like this don't have much value if you don't mention your age and experience. You have added value by mentioning these facts. And hope for the rest of us forty somethings! :)

:)
Not to mention a total hip replacement!