I'm 52, and just getting back into cycling on a new Giant Defy 1. I'd like to know what average speed most riders manage on a typical, everyday ride.

Popcorn. Nom, nom, nom.

Well....I'm your age and I think my computer is a liar!!!!!!
It seems like when I'm cranking, the avg doesn't seem to budge, but as soon as I let up, the avg drops quickly.
I've been riding seriously, this time, for a year, and I like to cruise at 18. All flat here in Florida.
I can crank it up to 20-21 if I'm motivated.

S

sqrt(daily minutes not spent on BF / pi).

Anything under 17 and you might as well just walk.

Average speed questions will get you a lot of snarky responses here, because there's no such thing as a "typical, everyday ride" - terrain and road conditions differ too much - and because they tend to degenerate into "I'm faster than you" braggadocio-fests.

As a new 50+ cyclist, I suggest you have a look in the 50+ forum. There's a lot of people posting there with experience of returning to cycling at your sort of age.

Not that there's anything to stop you posting here, of course. The 41 could often be improved by an injection of age-related wisdom. Just not really on average speeds...

you asked, so for a measureable answer

63 years old last year for the races.....

20.45mph Ironman 70.3 Florida in 2013 for 56 miles

19.06mph Ironman Florida 2013 for 112 miles

hoping for a 20+mph average for Ironman Florida 2014 being 64yo

The race I'm trying to win is how I get to the finish line, not when (life). I keep my heart rate in the 130-150 range for the duration of my ride. My average ranges from 12.5-17.0 mph. The suggestion to look in the 50+ area is a good one. We (50+) have special needs....LOL

It doesn't really matter because someone may average 20 mph but only ride for 10 miles with no hills, someone may average 17 mph for 60 miles and half the people here artificially inflate their actual mph and mileage anyway.

But what fun would the 41 ...er now 42 dam-nit, be w/o the degenerative, declining, braggadocio-fests?


As one of the old guys, I finally figured out I need to compare my age group and the areas I ride to see what's out there. So, for those who care about such things (I do, it's my goad) use Strava. It's worth the $6 premium a month just to filter by our age group. Strava automatically tags segments that are already being tracked by some other Strava users so it's a no brainer. Just ride your route, and check to see what segments and who is on the leader board.


If you use Strava free version, your stats will be compared with every young snarky 41-type and if like me, you will rate about 273 of 279.

only fast folk will reply.


fast folk and a few liars in the mix.

It seems like a reasonable question to novices.

But too many variables to make anything meaningful out of it.

I suggest you find a local bicycle club and start riding with more experienced riders.

Depends on what you mean by average. A couple of friends I ride with let me know their average speed was 10mph. I thought that very odd since I'd ridden with them at a much higher rate but they explained that when they go on a long ride (say 50mi or so) it will typically take them 5 hours. They may stop and get some water, use a restroom, have a snack, take a picture and when it's all said and done it will be about 10mph. On the other hand I rarely stop that much. When I'm riding reasonably strong I ride at about 17mph. I can ride faster for some time but not for real long. My Garmin is set to ignore speeds under 2mph. When I get home my average will typically be about 14mph of actual riding due to slowing for a light here or there, the slowing that happens when I stop...and other periods of time when I may just ride more slowly. So although I can cruise at 17 reasonably comfortably, on a typical flat land ride I will probably average around 15mph or so. I'm 62yrs old and have had two heart attacks and am on beta blockers to hold me heart rate down.

it is reasonable. when i started i was very unsure if i could ride with others. only when i started to ride with a couple of guys did i realise how much i refer riding on my own....they were too fast for me.

They spell and punctuate better, too.

It depends.

Up Hill or Down Hill?

Head Wind or Tail Wind.

nice one. do they type one handed better than me? oh wait..forget i said that.

Good grief people, this isn't rocket science. If you go out on a normal day, take a ten mile ride at your normal pace, returning from where you started, then punch the button on your trip computer, what does it say your average speed was??? On my last ride, it was 12.35 MPH. Unless I push it, or piddle around on my ride, I'll be within one MPH of that every time. Gee, I'm sorry I asked. I expect semantics if I ask a political question, but not over something as simple as this. I hope it's just a Monday morning thing!

Things wrong with your post

1. Asking a question asked a thousand times and thinking it applies differently to you
2. Using Average speed as a metric
3. Getting mad when the question is turned into an argument, its the internet its gonna be an argument
4. Getting buttuhurt
5. Being slow

Things wrong with your post...

1) I'm new to cycling. It may have been asked a thousand times before, but I've never asked it, nor have I ever had it answered.
2) I find average speed to be useful information. As I ride more, I expect my average speed to gradually climb, which tells me I'm getting better as a rider, as well as stronger, and healthier.
3) I am not angry. I was just dismayed that a bunch of supposedly mature adults turned a perfectly valid question into a sophomoric pissing contest like a bunch of teenagers on Facebook.
4) I don't even understand that one.
5) I'm 52. Until you are my age, and haven't ridden seriously in years, don't judge me.

Theres no such thing as a normal pace. You ride at different intensities based on training goals. At any given intensity you speed will vary greatly because of a whole bunch of things, hills, wind, road surface, are you in a bunch, are you running gp4000s tyres, have you slammed your stem etc...
My rides go from 18 to 33 kph.

It's not a Monday morning thing.

Have you done a search on average speed? Every post about average speed (and there are a lot of them) have the same responses. Go look.


The thing is this ...

What is a "normal day"? What is a "normal pace"?

One day it will be sunny and warm with no wind and I might ride a flat route.
One day it will be cold with no wind and I might ride a flat route.
But when I ride on cold days I tend to ride a bit slower than I do on warm days.

One day there will be a slight wind ... one day there will be a heavy wind ... one day the wind will come from this direction ... one day the wind will come from that direction ...

One day I will ride a flat route .... one day I'll include a few little hills ... one day my whole ride will be a hill climb to the top of a mountain ... one day I'll ride a series of fast rollers ....

One day I'll to a short ride ... one day I'll do a long ride ...

One day I'll feel fresh and ready to ride ... one day I'll be tired for various reasons and my ride will be a slog ...


What's my average speed? It depends entirely upon ... so many things.


And can you compare your average speed with mine? Of course not. We're not the same people, we're not in the same place, we don't ride the same routes, we haven't been through the same life experiences ...

Maybe ... maybe not.

I've read other posts. I just wanted fresh information. I understand your point, but for some reason, unless I poke around, or ride flat out, my average speed will be between 12 and 14 MPH - I'm a new rider, and I'm old and not in great shape, yet. I guess I expected others to be able to analyze data and come up with a narrow range that is fairly representative of their average speed just as I have. I guess I was wrong. Seems people would rather argue rather than participate in a mature discussion. I'm disappointed. I expected better of my fellow cyclists.