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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Your average speed...

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Old 01-16-08 | 02:16 AM
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0.0000000001 mph faster than the guy next to me
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Old 01-16-08 | 05:11 AM
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12mph

....

on a tall bike
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Old 01-16-08 | 06:42 AM
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i average a solid 17.5 mph and am working to reach the 18 mph mark. I much prefer higher cadence type riding also, I dont go lower than 100 rpm as I too find it is easier on the knees.

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Old 01-16-08 | 06:50 AM
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14-16 mph on winter training rides around here. 18+ mph doing intervals in the summer (it's very hilly/windy here).

23 mph+ on training rides and in races. Which is the only time it matters.
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:10 AM
  #30  
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Using this calculator:

https://www.analyticcycling.com/GearS...ence_Page.html

I have a 54t chain ring on the front (yes, 54t) and on a flat ride, I'd be pushing the 11t on the back. If I maintain a cadence of 80 rpm, I'll be doing 31 mph on a windless day while in the drops.
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:18 AM
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Originally Posted by NoRacer
Using this calculator:

https://www.analyticcycling.com/GearS...ence_Page.html

I have a 54t chain ring on the front (yes, 54t) and on a flat ride, I'd be pushing the 11t on the back. If I maintain a cadence of 80 rpm, I'll be doing 31 mph on a windless day while in the drops.
There are no windless days and there is no consistently flat terrain in NY's Hudson Valley.
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:19 AM
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Cateye quality with cadence: https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...Cyclocomputers

$35

My average speed on my last ride was 14 point something. It was hilly, windy, and cold.
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:24 AM
  #33  
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It all depends, really. If in a group, I can do 25+ mph on a flat, windless road for 2 hours......or at least I assume I could as I've never found a road like that yet.

If I'm doing it solo, I'd estimate going at it about 20-22mph depending on how I felt.

Most rides I do involve quite a bit of wind and a whole lot of hills. That and riding mostly solo means that I'm lucky to average 16 on most of my rides.
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:25 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by patentcad
There are no windless days and there is no consistently flat terrain in NY's Hudson Valley.
Yeah, the calculator only takes into account speed, cadence, gearing, and tire/wheel size.

I have a ride file from the last Seagull Century (a.k.a., Assategue Century--pretty flat) where, for most of it, I led the Team BBC train. We finished the century at just a smidgeon under 21 mph.
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:30 AM
  #35  
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"What's your average speed on a 2 hour reasonably flat ride, pushing yourself hard."

About 19.5 mph when alone
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:39 AM
  #36  
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From: Struggling up a hillside in Vermont, USA... ..........................................
It is a well known fact that average speed is SO variable...

Get a power meter and you will see how the slight change in enviornmental conditions changes your speed..

My power will be much higher with even the slightest wind but speed much lower...




My average speed....

Slower than I would like....
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:49 AM
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35mph
up a 30% grade incline
into a headwind



on my nephew's tricycle
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:51 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by volleybrad
35mph
up a 30% grade incline
into a headwind



on my nephew's tricycle
Wussy.
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Old 01-16-08 | 07:58 AM
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Getting some practice with WKO+, I created a chart of average speed the last 28 days. It looks like I'm averaging around 17mph over time.
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Old 01-16-08 | 08:50 AM
  #40  
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Originally Posted by Edonis13
about 43mph

Edonis13 and I use the same coach.
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Old 01-16-08 | 09:43 AM
  #41  
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solo flats, maybe 13-19 mph depending on the type of ride, stop-n-go, etc. hills, probably lower. Avg speed is so much a function of ride type (training/length/rest day), group/solo, hills, that the only answer w/meaning is "did I ride the same course faster than last week/month/year?"
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Old 01-16-08 | 09:48 AM
  #42  
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I averaged >26mph in a race last year, but that was only for 1:40.

Comparing your speed outside the context of a particular race is kind of a pointless exercise though.
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Old 01-16-08 | 10:38 AM
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photonick - you should invest in a computer with avg cadence if you can. It's one thing to spot check your cadence, it's another to see what the avg is over a whole ride. The slow bits really bring down your avg cadence.

I thought I spin okay but my avg cadence on some hillier rides is usually in the mid 60s (I typically maintain 80s and 90s on the flats). Flatter routes, mid 80s if I work on it. On the trainer, mid 90s for an hour or two. I used to be able to maintain 120 rpm for an hour or two on rollers but that's no longer the case.

As far as avg speed, based on going medium (135-137 avg heart rate) I go about 18 mph on a flatter route for 2 hours. Hillier riders are harder, I might avg 145-150 and avg 17 over a similar time. When I wasn't training as much as I am now, I'd go about 15 mph on flatter rides and avg 145 bpm. For me a hard ride is avg 155-158 bpm but inevitably I don't go much faster than 18 or 19 mph for some reason. Races I might avg 165-168, which is normally about my blow up bpm.

Add 2-3 mph avg for riding with 2-3 other people. Add 8-10 mph avg for racing.

cdr
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Old 01-16-08 | 11:20 AM
  #44  
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I start my rides at my back door and finish there. My average velocity on every ride is zero.
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Old 01-16-08 | 11:26 AM
  #45  
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Here's how I learned what 90-100rpm feels like:

Go to Sheldon's gear calculator, enter in your numbers, and calculate for both MPH @ 90rpm & MPH @ 100rpm. Either print the sheet out or remember the numbers. Then, when you're riding, take note of how fast you're going, and then switch to the gear that allows you to maintain that speed at 90-100rpm. After a little while, you'll start riding at that cadence naturally (if you aren't already).
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Old 01-16-08 | 11:28 AM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by carpediemracing
photonick - you should invest in a computer with avg cadence if you can. It's one thing to spot check your cadence, it's another to see what the avg is over a whole ride. The slow bits really bring down your avg cadence.

I thought I spin okay but my avg cadence on some hillier rides is usually in the mid 60s (I typically maintain 80s and 90s on the flats). Flatter routes, mid 80s if I work on it. On the trainer, mid 90s for an hour or two. I used to be able to maintain 120 rpm for an hour or two on rollers but that's no longer the case.
Yeah, it's amazing how I feel like a "spinner," but come back and see an 87rpm average. One useful view into cadence is a distribution chart. Here's mine from a 1-hour SST ride yesterday. This resulted in an 81rpm average(!):

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Old 01-16-08 | 11:36 AM
  #47  
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Old 01-16-08 | 11:53 AM
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I average about 14 to 16mph on a 40 mile ride on a flat road, as they all are in Houston.
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Old 01-16-08 | 11:56 AM
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Training - I'll average about 20mph for an hour's cycle. Includes one or two pretty big hills on the course I'm thinking of and a few smaller ones as well. Not sure how long I can keep that though.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:21 PM
  #50  
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All flat down here, but always windy for at least 25% of the ride. I do a daily 20mi workout that I average around 20-21mph.
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