We care! I learned a long time ago that i like to push myself. We love to go as fast as we can even if that is not as fast a s a lot of the times mentioned here. I am not saying everybody or every ride should be like that. I think everyone should just ride and have fun. I am just saying for us the best rides are pushing hard and getting off the bike with an empty tank.

As always ride the way you like and have fun!

Wayne
I have a stoker who doesn't have to be the fastest, she just wants to catch that bike in front of us...

I'm just hoping we are doing as well as you when we hit 78.

Perhaps an example of "the Older I get the faster I was"?

The National record for elite men in a 40 k tandem time trial is 33.65mph For a mixed team 30.87 mph. https://www.usacycling.org/forms/records.pdf

Those are efforts by the fastest amateur cyclists in the country, with full TT setups (i.e. discs, areo bars, skin suits, booties, TT helmets) in a full TT effort for 1/2 to 1/4 of that distance.

I am certain, no one in the U.S. is averaging 30-32 mph for 100 mile regular rides, solo, much less doing it on a standard road tandem 25 years ago.

LeMond's TT in 89 is one of the few I have committed to memory....so although it wasn't "a quarter of a century", it was pretty close.

14.5 mph average on yesterday's hilly 32 mile ride.

I agree that you should go ahead and jump in on a group ride. If you're worried about it, take a gps or map. Then, if they turn out to be hammerheads, you can offer to finish the ride yourselves or take a shortcut to the finish area.

waynesulak:
As long as you are older than our great-grandkids, we are willing to share our motto!

B.Carfree:
Spent 3 months in Eugene back in summer of 2001 . . . some nice riding! . . . and we agree that: '80 isn't old!

Pedal onT WOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

We have been riding a tandem for about 10 months this time. We bought a new 1989 Santana Targa tandem in 1989 and rode it until around 1996, we had a son killed in a tragic car accident and it literally took years for us to recover. By the grace of God we have recovered and are now enjoying riding together. We like it so much that we have a new Calfee tandem frame on order that is supposed to ship next week and we can hardly wait.

Our typical average has gotten up to around 16 MPH, we ride the same course on a regular basis so I pretty well know how fast we will cover it. We started out averaging around 13 MPH and have steadily gotten faster, I hope that eventually are able to ride 18 MPH or better. Back in the early 90's we could ride with the local racers and stay with them. I am currently faster solo than we are on the tandem but that is improving.

We do like to go really hard at times, it is great to see the computer showing 32 MPH, and it is great to be able to hold 25 for a mile or two.

Take the group ride and see how it goes. Keep at it and you will get faster, the old phrase "to get fast you have to go fast" holds true. Do fun intervals and your speed will increase. I think they used to call it fartlek.

Wayne

Last year, my daughter [16] and I [49] did the one day Seattle to Portland ride [STP]. It's relatively flat for 200 miles and we averaged 18.5mph. The year before, my son [16] and I did the same one day ride at 16.8mph. The first 100 miles we averaged 19.5mph. It is amazing what a tail wind can do to improve your average. Our yearly average was 18mph with my daughter [who weights about 80lb lighter than my son] and 16mph with my son [who has physical complications because of his autism].

Although we never considered it a race to anywhere, we did have some spirited training rides of +20mph averages. Lots of memories on those rides.

Fast is cool...but having fun is better.

There are times to ride hard and use it all up, and other times to just enjoy the ride.

Decide why the group ride is desired, fun or performance, then set sights on that goal.

By the sound of it you should be fine in a group speedwise.

Have Fun

PK

I find that, if a ride is flat to moderate, I can average around 2 mph faster on the tandem (17-18), than on my single. My stoker/wife is fairly strong and is a help on the hills. When you keep company with singles, it is good to be patient...I find that if I try to accelerate from a stop, or try to climb, at the same rate as the singles, I tend to burn out. I wait for the flats or rolling terrain to catch up, and then they end up fighting to draft us! We can easily maintain 20-22, for extended periods, on the flats.

Too many variables... wind, elevation, good/bad day.

I wish every segment was like this one:
https://app.strava.com/rides/573526#8595466

Avg speed of 37mph and top speed of 53mph Too bad there was a headwind on the flat portions!

That sounds like Mrs. Grouch. She claims to have no competitive interest - until she sees a rider ahead that she thinks we can beat. From a totally relaxed purring little kitten to a snarling saber toothed tigress in less time than it took to type this. That's part of what makes me love her so much.