How fast are your solo rides?
12-27-13, 11:46 AM
#26
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What I don't like about my area is In have a lot of stop & go before I get to where I can just roll for a while... It's 8 miles to the top of Manhattan for me, then when I get to the West side MUP proper @ just South of the GWB it's a 10 mile stretch until Warren St... but there's construction, etc.. I'd love to find a true 20 miles of non-stop rolling in order to get a better idea of what pace I can hold solo.
12-27-13, 11:49 AM
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So you don't have to listen to other people complain about how boring their lives are, or how they don't like their job, so you can go at your own pace and stop for a picture when you want to, because most people say "Mount Baker is really steep, let's dress up in spandex and ride to Starbucks instead," to be alone with your thoughts.
12-27-13, 12:30 PM
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If you are doing a solo ride in a hilly area, focusing on maintaining a high average speed will generally kill your climbing. Your best climbing days (when solo) will be those days you conserve energy on the flats and save the energy for the hills. I find average speed to be pretty useless most times (time trial exception) as I live in a hilly area.
12-27-13, 12:46 PM
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Mine vary so widely that it is impossible to answer this question. My last one was about 17 mph at zone 2 (power) with no wind and minimal climbing. *shrugs*
12-27-13, 12:51 PM
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Way to many variables in average speed so it is pretty much meaningless. If your really interested in how you stack up vs. other cyclists get a power meter. Power is power and is directly comparable (focus on watts / kg). Just keep in mind that looking at your power numbers relative to the power figures for a high level competitive cyclist (say Cat 2 or better) is likely to be a very humbling experience.
12-27-13, 01:14 PM
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Just did the pull in from Strava and in 2012 on one of my road bikes my yearly average speed was 18.50mph. I only rode that bike for 892 miles though.
12-27-13, 01:46 PM
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join strava, then you can get an idea of what other riders are doing, including your area. You can also find local riding clubs there.
I like strava chiefly because I can look at how I've improved since I started.
I like strava chiefly because I can look at how I've improved since I started.
I have no idea how fast most people ride; I know in my area I seem to be on the slower end, but the NYC area is full of hyper-competitive people. Elevation is obviously an important factor in average speed but I'm not sure how people measure that. On my ride last weekend I went down about 600 feet and came up back up, so I don't know if that counts as 600 feet of elevation change or 1200 (not counting small rolling hills throughout the ride). I did a 35 mile ride in just under 2 hours, averaging 17.7mph with a 30 minute stop halfway through to drink water and have a stinger waffle. If it's a short ride with no elevation change (100 or 200 feet per 6 mile loop in Central Park) I can do 6 miles at 20mph, and 24 miles at around 17-18mph with no break.
12-27-13, 05:38 PM
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That's a sprint segment, probably at the end of the ride. Once you get over 30 mph with a mix of riders, things can get a bit chaotic with some pulling off while others struggle to hang on. They look like a strong group of very good riders to me.
12-27-13, 06:10 PM
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12-27-13, 06:24 PM
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I just came across a very interesting website that leverages Strava to look at long-term stats, of which, average speed is the most interesting to me.
12-27-13, 06:27 PM
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Depends on terrain..............but for me in the mountains mixing up climbs with flats and downhills I do about 17 mph. A few times I have done almost 20 but that was pushing myself to near exhaustion to keep that pace in the mountains.
12-27-13, 06:47 PM
#39
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First couple years riding it was all commuting, and in Arizona where it is flat except for freeway overpasses. I tried to keep it above 20mph while going and that was a good workout. Now I live in CA and ride for fun as well, and started racing this year. I probably average 15 - 18 mph for my solo rides (a lot of hills here). But on perfectly flat ground with a road bike, no wind, no stops and no commuting backpack, 20mph should be pretty easy. Get a power meter and then you can really know how you stack up lol. Or start racing - it's really fun.
12-27-13, 07:12 PM
#41
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Ha power meters are crazy expensive. I had been considering it for a while, then my bike was stolen off my third floor balcony. I took it as a sign to splurge! (And to keep my bike indoors ALWAYS)
12-27-13, 07:13 PM
#42
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Even if not, what makes you think they were trying to hold a nice, tight paceline? They all appeared to be from different teams, so I would expect some moving about. Rather, to me they appeared to be "strung out"--a formation that naturally occurs when going fast--and not in a cooperative paceline. As for the ride being a "waste", that's a pretty pessimistic assumption. If it was a waste, they wouldn't be doing it.
+1
12-27-13, 07:18 PM
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Although surgeon may be jesting, your comments and Slackerprince's lead me to question if either has ever raced or ridden a hi-paced training ride? The video shows fairly typical movement in such a ride. In fact, I thought it somewhat tame. The coasting appeared to be at the end of a segment, as FLvector says, or even on a slight downhill. Riders appear to ease and recover.
Even if not, what makes you think they were trying to hold a nice, tight paceline? They all appeared to be from different teams, so I would expect some moving about. Rather, to me they appeared to be "strung out"--a formation that naturally occurs when going fast--and not in a cooperative paceline. As for the ride being a "waste", that's a pretty pessimistic assumption. If it was a waste, they wouldn't be doing it.
+1
Even if not, what makes you think they were trying to hold a nice, tight paceline? They all appeared to be from different teams, so I would expect some moving about. Rather, to me they appeared to be "strung out"--a formation that naturally occurs when going fast--and not in a cooperative paceline. As for the ride being a "waste", that's a pretty pessimistic assumption. If it was a waste, they wouldn't be doing it.
+1
Don't mind me.
S
12-27-13, 09:17 PM
#44
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Although surgeon may be jesting, your comments and Slackerprince's lead me to question if either has ever raced or ridden a hi-paced training ride? The video shows fairly typical movement in such a ride. In fact, I thought it somewhat tame. The coasting appeared to be at the end of a segment, as FLvector says, or even on a slight downhill. Riders appear to ease and recover.
Even if not, what makes you think they were trying to hold a nice, tight paceline? They all appeared to be from different teams, so I would expect some moving about. Rather, to me they appeared to be "strung out"--a formation that naturally occurs when going fast--and not in a cooperative paceline. As for the ride being a "waste", that's a pretty pessimistic assumption. If it was a waste, they wouldn't be doing it.
+1
Even if not, what makes you think they were trying to hold a nice, tight paceline? They all appeared to be from different teams, so I would expect some moving about. Rather, to me they appeared to be "strung out"--a formation that naturally occurs when going fast--and not in a cooperative paceline. As for the ride being a "waste", that's a pretty pessimistic assumption. If it was a waste, they wouldn't be doing it.
+1
Then again my aims are vastly different. I work long hours six days a week and when I get on a bike i capitalize on the time I have and push myself hard. Most of the time. I do like the occasional easier ride, but even these rides are non stop spinning- just at a slightly easier effort.
12-27-13, 09:22 PM
#45
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Flat road I average 22-24mph. With hills in a ride, I average 15-17mph
12-27-13, 09:25 PM
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Texas: The Shoulder is Legally NOT part of the roadway. Riders can ride in all the roadways.
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12-27-13, 09:55 PM
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Jockeying for position, guys blowing up, others going too soon etc ...
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12-27-13, 10:35 PM
#49
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Good thing nobody else does that ride.
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12-27-13, 10:36 PM
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