bike_curious?

I've only been cycling for about 8 weeks. I just got a speedo which has helped me pace myself and it always amazes me when I'm pedaling my fastest, head down, sweat dripping, white knuckles, muscles burning... and someone sails by me going 25 or so without effort. I averaged 16mph for a 30 mile ride and I'm just wandering: how fast you guys are going and how long did it take you to get up there?

making

A speedo?

I average 14 mph in traffic downtown Indianapolis. I often go much faster out in the country, probably closer to 17 mph. Some people go much faster and some not. For me it depends on how long I sit at lights and stuck in traffic. I suggest you buy a heart rate monitor, determine your target heartrate, and ride accordingly.

daoswald

There's an oft-repeated saying you'll here eventually if you hang around here:

"It never gets easier, you just get faster."

I remember three months ago; I was at an earlier stage in my conditioning. I passed a family, assuming that I would just blow by them. I remember for the next mile or so keeping a pace of about 19mph. Finally I stopped at a light, out of breath. One second behind me was the mother in this family. She said, "You keep a nice pace, but it will take a lot more than that to get me winded."

I know I've improved since then. But it was actually a nice comment because it gave me somewhat of a goal to work toward; maintain a 20mph pace solo without getting all winded.

bike_curious?

That's good advice. I've heard that before so I'll look into the heart rate monitor. I live in Orange County and am lucky to be close to some really good bike trails so I don't have to contend with cars and traffic light.

mazdaspeed

I'm also a fairly new cyclist. I've ridden maybe a total of 200 miles on a road bike in my entire life. I just started riding to ride (not riding to class or whatever) this summer. On flat-ish ground with no wind I can comfortably cruise in my big ring at 20-22mph for at least 15 miles (haven't gotten the chance to go farther than that since I put the speedometer on, so I won't speculate on how far I can go at that speed). I can do ~25mph for a few miles before I have to slow down for a while (solo). The fastest I've gone on flat ground alone (not sprinting/out of the saddle) is 30mph, which was difficult and not something I could sustain for very long.

For what it's worth, the first time I ever rode a road bike (0 miles on a road bike) was last year, a singlespeed one I later used for going to class. I took it to the bike path and rode around 3 miles at maybe 14mph before my legs were very tired and I decided to go home because I didn't bring water.

I've improved very dramatically in a short amount of time, as I figure most people would. If I keep improving at this rate I will be extremely fast after winter's training. Maybe I just have good genetics, I don't really know. I'm on the University's cycling team now so I'll see what happens when I race in the spring.

Hope that answers your question.

mattm

these days, i'm cruising between 20-25 on the flats, and uphill i try to stay at or above 13 or so (20 km/h).

overall avg speeds are 14-18 mph now, compared to 13 mph about five years ago (on hilly terrain).

some say "numbers don't matter," but they've already figured out what their target numbers are.. or are concentrating on stupid numbers like post-counts. enjoy the data.

key

fast enough...

filtersweep

These posts usually end up full of hubris (although that is yet to be seen here).

Avg speed is pretty much meaningless. It is dependent upon so many things that it is impossible to compare "apples to apples."

You will find that if you believe you are always riding at 20mph, you will be lucky to be averaging 17 or 18.

If you really want to be faster, I suggest taking a more structured approach to "training." It tends to suck the fun out of riding, but it is effective. Again, buying an HRM is sound advice.

botto 

incorrect.

MrCrassic 

If you pedal faster, harder and longer, you too will sail by at 25 without much effort.

Just for completeness, when I started I was averaging maybe 15 mph on the same roads that I now go at 21 average. It just happens.

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Funky Chops

Its hard to believe, but you do get faster. A lot faster. The first year I was cycling, I could only ever manage to average about 12 mph over 10miles, flat out at 20. 1 year later I've improved hugely, and I can now average about 17mph over the same distance, going flat out at about 35mph.

Just keep at it, and you'll find you get faster and faster.

Spreggy

At 8 weeks, you've only just begun to get your legs to work, your ligaments in shape, and your nerves able to turn your legs around smoothly. Focus on riding skills like improved cadence, looking back without veering, riding no hands, etc,and pile up the miles.

And avg speed means nothing, too many variables. Get that heart rate monitor and a training manual (like Friel's Training Bible or similar) and make yourself a training plan.

olafub

I've been riding very regularly all summer and have increased my average speed and distance considerably. I figure by the end of next month I will take off the training wheels and then...WATCH OUT.

ehidle

I remember when I first start road riding, it was all I could do to even GO 18mph, let alone average 18, even on the MUP. Now, for the same perceived effort, it's more like 27-28 and sometimes 29. 30+ with the help of some occasional wind.

umd

As we see very frequently, noobs who just got their computers often forget to calibrate them. Did you? Anyway, speeds don't matter, they are affected by weather and terrain, yadda-yadda-yadda. As mattm said you will figure out some target speeds for yourself on your own routes but it is completely worthless to compare them to other people.

Edit: here is the best way to measure things. If people are passing you, you aren't going fast enough. If you are passing people, you're good

aham23

it happens. everyone gets passed. well, maybe not umd, but most of us anyway. this past summer i was out on a beautifully calm afternoon. i was feeling good and settling into a nice rythym around 19 mph when BAM ultra tri dude blows past me out of now where like i was a 3 year old on this;



there is always that guy out there who is faster.

later.

wanders

This kind of speedo?



...adding white noise to the hubris.

JamisVE

+1 right on the money

roy5000x2

I don't think average speed means much of anything on a solo ride. I've been following the train of thought that says you have to ride slower before you can ride faster. It feels really energizing averaging 12 for a few hours a day after a hard ride. Well, as long as you can keep up with the fast group ride, you're doing something right.

danny124

I ride 20 miles a day and I average 16 to 16.5 mph. I'm also 57 years old too.

waterrockets 

I have this chart on my WKO chalkboard just for these threads (this chart shows my average speed for each week since the end of last year). I go slow unless I'm racing. Looks like ~18mph. Everyone's right though, average speed doesn't matter.

MSchott

Good response. I'm 51, recently back into the sport and my average speed is creeping into the 15.3 mph area. In my 30's I ran closer to an 18 mph average. My goal is to lose about 10 more pounds and get my avg speed up to 16 mph.

Age, type of bike, wind, hills, gearing, tires and many other factors affect average speed by the way.

boyonedar

I'm very much a newbie and bought my first bike just over a month ago. im ride about 5 days a week for 20ish miles and avg about 16-18 mph. this very much depends on the ride though even for a newbie. i was riding rock creek park in DC. this is flat ( about 1-2% grade) with very little hills and i could really cruise. Now i ride more rural area and its alot more hilly (3-5% grade). Im lucky if i avg 15-16 now.

umd

I don't really look at my average speed either. I have too much variation with climbing, recovery rides, riding with the wife, etc. But because charts are fun, I just created a chart of it in SportTracks for the heck of it.

DougG

I find that to be very true, probably because I only look down at the speed readout when I know I'm going fast and want to see the number. So every time I look, I'm going 18-20, and then at the end of the ride I find out I've averaged about 16.