Depends .... If you buy an average Trek, no, it will not help.

It is nice to know that some things in life are dependable, like the idiocy of the 41.

Now I view the 41 as the "Bicycling Magazine" of BF forums. If you read either one for a couple of months you have read all that either one has to say.

Very apt, yet no matter how much you try, you still end picking up the magazine, and logging on.

And does that make the 33 Road? Velonews? Lately I'm afraid it could be slipping into Road Bike Action.

Speaking of Bicycling Magazine, now that I've canceled that for the reason you said, what's another good cycling magazine to subscribe to?

Seagull, the running analogy just doesn't work for a bike race. Your analogy of finishing a marathon would be more applicable to finishing a hard timed century, like Six Gap, and to a lesser degree a TT.

In an actual bike race, its all about crossing the finish line first. The amount of time it takes really doesn't matter.

The difference has a lot to do with drafting and the dynamics that creates. Just as an example, assume a 50 mile RR, I go out on an early break, set a blistering pace, get caught with 1km to go and finish dead last, but put in a time of 2 hours even, while the effort is admirable, the result sucks. Conversely, if the same race develops where no one gets away, and the pack slows and starts playing games to set up the sprint, and I take the sprint, but my elapsed time is 2 hours 20 minutes, that is good even if I'm slower.

If we're talking a one day race, its about placing, not time, and running concepts like doing a better time or setting a PR just don't translate.

Do one mass start race, and I think you'll understand.

And the answer to the rhetorical question, so I shouldn't go if I can't win is obviously no, you should go. However when you go you should try to place as high as possible and not in the lowest elapsed time.

Just another example why average speed is the wrong metric. Tonight I rode for an hour; did time trial intervals, 4x8. My average speed was only 18.2mph, but it was a very hard workout.

I could have easily averaged 21-22mph with less effort, but would not have targeted what I wanted to work on, or got as much benefit from the workout.

So telling you I average 18.2 mph really tells you nothing useful.

What if I put Sram on it?

And along the same lines, in the exmaples I posted the first one with the tempo and anaerobic intervals was much harder than the second one that was a more steady effort, even though the speed was slower, and much of the route was the same.

Very average.

I went on a solo 112 mile ride, went along the coast, over some hills, bike path, city street, open road. I managed 17.5 mph over that distance, went from 17.2 at 90 miles to 17.5 finishing. I wasn't in a hurry nor racing. I did this on a 2008 Fuji Cross Comp with 700x30c knobby tires, into a headwind for the first 90 miles. Lots of fun. Does that give you an average?

That seems pretty good for being on knobbies. Do you race cross?

I did once. Placed 14th out of 29 in the Cat 4 race. Was fun, just not my thing. I've gone on many rides that had all the elements of a cyclocross race, but without the race. I figure I'd be faster on a lighter, slick tire bike, but I just don't care enough. Gotta have fun, doesn't matter the pace.

Depends on how knobby the tires were. I have moderately knobby tires on my cross bike and measure with my power meter a 10-15% increase in effort to do the same speed.

They are getting more worn (new ones on Friday). Either way they don't start off that knobby (Kenda Kwick). Perhaps the extra input needed makes me a stronger rider, that and riding most every day.

I just thought of a way to answer this absolutely correctly........but still kind of meaningless....
My garmin currently has about 2500 miles on the ODO. Working out the average speed based on the total time time the data has been recorded over gets me an average of 15mph on the dot. So when I ride I average 15mph. BUT that includes all warm ups, warm downs, time spent pushing with a puncture, uphill, downhill, into and with the wind. It includes solo time and drafting time and everything else you can think of.

So from now on my official and totally correct answer to someone asking what my average speed is on a ride is........15 mph

s£$t I'm slow

Soooo, you ride 400 miles a week? ;)

With that said, my rides average between 14 mph (recovery) to 24 mph (races and fast group rides)

What most of you can't appreciate is that, unlike the small minority that rule this place, many of us just ride. So for most of us, we can pull an average speed out of our asses that basically describes our riding ability.

God I don't miss this place....

While I did state my average speed, you'll note I also had said I didn't really care what it was. It was neat to know that on that ride I was faster than I usually am, but I don't go for a particular speed other than moving. I just go out and ride, sometimes for a specific distance, but mostly to just go out and have fun. Unless you're actually racing, or training for a race, it doesn't really matter. It just helps to gauge whether you'll be able to keep up with a certain group.

Bye

Is it analytically possible to post in this place that you don't miss this place, without contradicting yourself.

At the very least its ironic.

And if you don't miss this place, will you check back to see if anyone responded?

If not then you might miss it.

Rly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brian Ratliff (Post 10567280)

No, actually, he is quite right on this one.

---

Nah, he isn't.

There she is, tagging along behind me

honestly... usual ride flat, not much wind.. 21.5-22.5
normal ride by myself w/ around 2000ft gain/loss 19-20mph
slow ride with friends 17.5-19.0
fast group ride with stop signs, lights etc... 23-27mph
10mile tt 24.5mph
56miles (triathlon) 22.4mph (70.3 Vineman)

Yes, I am. Prove me wrong.

Edit: not counting time trials.

My average varies widely depending on if it is early in the season or late in the season. In KS, I don't do much of anything in the winter and my fitness drops dramatically so when I get back on the bike in the spring, I am slow (avg around 16-17mph solo on a 40 mile ride). Additionally, I am a pilot and am away from home for around 20 days out of the month so I can't ride at all during that time. That said, by the end of the summer I am up to around 19-20mph avg on the same solo rides and 21-23mph on a 30mph group ride over similar rolling Kansas terrain. What does this mean? I guess it really means nothing. I enjoy seeing improvement but my job combined with my Raynaud's Disease in the winter just doesn't allow for me to focus the time on riding that I'd like to. I think I could be substantially faster and more consistent under different conditions but that's just not the way it is. The most important part about this whole thing is I absolutely effing LOVE being on my bike. I look forward to it so much when I'm out flying a trip. Just get out on your bike, enjoy what you're doing, and if you have the time and energy to commit to being on the bike, you will get faster.


Edit: By the way, whoever said umd is showing off needs to calm down. I enjoy looking at other people's numbers and his info was actually useful. In fact, most of the time umd posts useful info. Seems like people get pissed at him almost as much as they do with botto. I don't get it.

People love to hate.

People who spout off a bunch of baloney don't like getting called on it. Rather than admit they don't have a leg to stand on, they would prefer to cast aspersions on the messenger of their indictment.

lol
That's like someone saying: "The goal of a pole is to stand erect. Don't agree? Prove me wrong."
If you wanna go on thinking a race has a goal, go ahead, but you're wrong.

So you are going with a silly pedantic semantic argument here. Maybe it's not the race's goal to win, but the goal of racing is to win. Does that make you happy?

You take bikeforums stupidity to an absurd new level. Saying that "the goal of a race is cross the finish line first" is not the same thing as saying that the race is an entity that pursues it's own goals.

But if he does not post his number then how would we know that he is so good? ;)

And if you bother to do some search on the Internet then you will find out that UMD IS AVERAGE. It will be very hard for him to impress other racers. So the guy is being pretty honest about himself.