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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 | 12:03 AM
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Your average speed...

Just curious about what your guys average speeds are, I know this is totally a loaded question but I'll try and narrow it down.

What's your average speed on a 2 hour reasonably flat ride, pushing yourself hard.

Mines about 15.9 mph so far.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:06 AM
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about 43mph
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:08 AM
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Originally Posted by photonick
Just curious about what your guys average speeds are, I know this is totally a loaded question but I'll try and narrow it down.

What's your average speed on a 2 hour reasonably flat ride, pushing yourself hard.

Mines about 15.9 mph so far.
define: "pushing yourself hard"
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:10 AM
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I guess I should say on your daily or weekly ride, not commute not cruise but when you go out to ride hard be it training or for exercise. Maybe its a question that can't be answered.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:11 AM
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I'm riding a Worksman Industrial Bike (ie, a Slow Bike). On the White Rock Creek/ Lake trail, my best average speed so far is 15.7 mph. I would say that's not far off, maybe better than the average rider out there (not to be confused with the average serious rider!). But there are occasional people that pass me like I'm sitting still (ie, probably doing 25 mph or better). That's about a 1-1/2 hour ride, varying depending on route. And it is reasonably flat, and I am pushing myself, maybe not hard, though.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:13 AM
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20 to 21 MPH
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:15 AM
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I'm curious because I'm kinda finding what sort of average speeds I should be looking to work towards when I do long rides trying to keep cadence.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:17 AM
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about 120mph if I start off at the right altitude.

30~35km/h for 2hrs, then I feel like crap.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:18 AM
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17.4 on a flat solo 100 miles/ 22.6 on a 10 mile TT effort from a dead stop/ 19.1 on a solo flat 42 miles/14.5 for 100 miles with 10,000 ft of climbing.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:21 AM
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=o

wow im weak hahaha.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:23 AM
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Originally Posted by photonick
I'm curious because I'm kinda finding what sort of average speeds I should be looking to work towards when I do long rides trying to keep cadence.
The recommended cadence for long rides (100+ miles) is about 85-100 rpm. Faster than round-the-block riders, slower than racers. 85-100 rpm preserves the knees.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:28 AM
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i did ~18mph on a hilly* route yesterday, i was way psyched.


*oklahoma
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:35 AM
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Captain Slow here, 15mph on my usual route
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:35 AM
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I wish I had a way of knowing my RPM's my cateye just tells me average speed. I've been doing 15-16. I did a 2.5 hour 40 mile cadence ride without stopping and averaged about 15.9.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:43 AM
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Originally Posted by photonick
I wish I had a way of knowing my RPM's my cateye just tells me average speed. I've been doing 15-16. I did a 2.5 hour 40 mile cadence ride without stopping and averaged about 15.9.
Have you got a watch? If so, you can count your RPMs ... revolutions per minute.
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:44 AM
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my average speed is... too slow
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:53 AM
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You guys got an easy way to calculate pedal rpms?
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Old 01-16-08 | 12:56 AM
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Originally Posted by photonick
You guys got an easy way to calculate pedal rpms?
I just told you ... read post #15. You can tell time and count, right?
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Old 01-16-08 | 01:01 AM
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Yah I read it, and understood it.
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Old 01-16-08 | 01:11 AM
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Originally Posted by photonick
Yah I read it, and understood it.
Well, it doesn't get much easier than that. Just like taking a pulse.
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Old 01-16-08 | 01:12 AM
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So you just do that intermittently during your ride, like say every 10 for example?
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Old 01-16-08 | 01:17 AM
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Originally Posted by photonick
So you just do that intermittently during your ride, like say every 10 for example?

Once you settle into your most comfortable, natural cadence on flat ground, check the time and start counting for 15 seconds (and multiply by 4), or 30 seconds (and multiply by 2), or 60 seconds. Count the rotation of one foot ... in other words, every time your right foot (or left foot, whichever is easier) reaches the top of the circle, count it as one rotation.

You might do this 2 or 3 times to double check, but you'll likely discover that your numbers are approx. the same.

If you climb a hill, you might be curious what your cadence has slowed to, so you might count there as well.
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Old 01-16-08 | 01:27 AM
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I don't think I've ever done a "mostly flat" ride of more than 30 minutes at a hard pace. (too boring - I like to do a lot of climbing.) If I do, it's a recovery ride.
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Old 01-16-08 | 01:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Edonis13
about 43mph
******************************???
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Old 01-16-08 | 01:46 AM
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Thanks for the RPM advice for some reason when you first said it it seemed like too much to juggle while i'm riding but i like the idea of multiplying it by 4.
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