average mph ?

NWLondoner

My average speed (garmin device) an a 25 mile round trip is between 12 mph to 14 mph.


However looking at my 605 i usually cycle at around the 18 mph or slightly above mark

Bear in mind this includes constant stopping and starting at traffic lights etc. (well that's my excuse anyway)

I got my bike up to 30 mph the other day on a nice winding road towards Mill Hill circus roundabout. It felt great nice and smooth and felt 100% in control.

xwolfgangx

i always trail every sunday morning.....my average 15 - 17mph for 26miles, my best time 1hr 32min..most flat road area.

on the road

willhub wrote:

on the road wrote:

It's very rare for the wind to start blowing in the opposite direction within 2 or 3 hours. I once done an average speed of 19.7 mph over 30 miles last summer, I did have the wind behind me on the way out but it didn't change direction during the ride and I was riding against the wind on the way back. I think the reason I got such a high average was because there was hardly any traffic and all the traffic lights were on green.

Normally I'd expect to average about 17.5 mph on a typical ride or higher if conditions are good and I strike lucky with all the traffic lights.

On my route there is like no traffic and traffic lights, would you say my average is poor on ok? Into the wind that day I was down to 13mph in some parts, I try to keep minimum of 15mph but the wind was blowing pretty hard.

Impossible to say whether it's a good or bad average. You set your own targets, so when you fail to meet your target or what you think you should doing as an average speed well then you can say you're not happy.

jeffcapeshop

i've just started keeping a record in the last few weeks (with http://www.mycyclinglog.com/ ) and they've all been between 13.5 and 16.5 (20-30 miles usually) on my mtb

going to be very interesting to see if my (much delayed) road bike makes a difference.

lilactime

just been out in the sun onmy new road bike and averaged 17.9 over 18 miles , personal best ( still didnt beat the hour thou , next time )

jpembroke

I've average 20.3 mph on a 25 mile route that includes 7 miles of climbing. Very chuffed with that. All very hilly round here so average speeds tend to be on the low side (16-19 mph) normally.

trw999

I'm averaging out around 16.5mph on all my rides in a hilly (ish) part of Essex - yes, they do exist!

Best is just under 20mph but it is improving all the time! See the blog for details.

Tim
http://timwilkes.blog.co.uk/

krakow

I think I'm going to be the slowest thus far. I did 30 miles on my fancy road bike today with an average speed of 13.1 mph, which is pretty typical for me, maybe edging up towards 14mph when it's not so windy.

My average on my commuter over a weeks worth of general around town commuting and riding is more like 11-12mph.

Any other slow coaches care to join me? I can barely imagine managing an average speed like most of those in this thread. :-(

feel

I'll join you. Think some of the people should be posting on the PRO TALK section. at least my speed is consistent with a road beginner :oops:

CyclingBantam

krakow wrote:

I think I'm going to be the slowest thus far. I did 30 miles on my fancy road bike today with an average speed of 13.1 mph, which is pretty typical for me, maybe edging up towards 14mph when it's not so windy.

My average on my commuter over a weeks worth of general around town commuting and riding is more like 11-12mph.

Any other slow coaches care to join me? I can barely imagine managing an average speed like most of those in this thread. :-(

I don't think comparisons can really be made between people on here. Of course there will be some people faster than others however all the routes are differient. You like I are on the slower side but I would be quite confident the top speeds don't have hils to cover like I do or a bike/road surface/traffic etc whatever it is that you have to encounter. Unless the whole forum travel to an indoor circuit to carry out highly regulated TT's then average speeds can be nothing more that idle chit chat, however interesting they seem.

Red Rock

on the road wrote:

Red Rock wrote:

17.5 mph over 20 miles is my best average...

I'm a crap cyclist

That's a good speed, don't be hard on youself.

Thanks

I'd misread some of the earlier posts, one being KPH, not MPH. Feel a bit better about it now. I know I'll get faster as the weather warms up. I was always a lot quicker on my MTB on hot summer days.

Red Rock

Rich Hcp

I tend to average 15mph

That'll inprove over the summer.

But I am nearly 43 and have crap legs

oldwelshman

willhub wrote:

I'm really dissapointed in myself.

Over 25 miles my average was 16.36mph and another 27 mile route I did earlier it was 17.17mph and this is on a road bike and I see people on MTB's beating me .

My best average over 10 miles is 17.9mph .


All these routes litrally have no hills, I get taken out big time on hills I must be so unfit and cant see any improvement.

I started cycling about this time last year on my heavy Saracen Xray MTB, cant say my speed has increase much from that allthough I remember keeping a solid 20mph on it for about 2 miles, on that same stretch I have boosts up to 25-30mph now but cant sustain these speeds at all, think I need to start running!

Yesterday I was pushing into a headwind for a short distance, maybe 15-18mph, and it was killing me I was pushing 17mph but I was right down on the drop bars and concentrating so hard.

Don't beat yourself up about your time.
0.5mph is nothing and if you take junctions into account and lights when you have to slow down the accelerate again, that has impact.
Diferent wind conditions also have impact and also how you feel on a particular day. Unless you compare with other on same route for same conditions it's meaningless.
15-18mph into a head wind is pretty good and riding into a wind is good training as you cannot hide from it
A couple of weeks ago I was blown to a stanstill in a headwind going down hill !!! I had to stop.
Throw all your computers away and sort a forum race out so you can all compare with each other
Just enjoy the rides and think of the good your doing yourself, even on the hard rides.
Computer readings can be so de motivating when you get a bad day, ( I just blame the traffic to motivate myself lol) you cannot go faster every day so don't panic.

peterdowning

I took to the road - cycling and running - in mid 2006 to get fit again.

In 2007, I did 110 rides, average distance 27.5 miles, average speed 17.07 mph,average cadence 79. AvHRmax 69.5%

YTD in 2008, 40 rides, average distance 27 miles, average speed 16.74mph, average cadence 76. AvHRmax 69.4%

I also have been running my 10k's slower in 2008 too. Now average 50.05 mins i.e. over the dreaded 50 mins

A bit worried about the age thing here. Being 47 in 2008 and one year older than 2007, is it age making me slower or am I looking for an excuse?

I think I already know the answer to that!

CrookedCucumber

peterdowning wrote:

In 2007, I did 110 rides, average distance 27.5 miles, average speed 17.07 mph,average cadence 79. AvHRmax 69.5%

YTD in 2008, 40 rides, average distance 27 miles, average speed 16.74mph, average cadence 76. AvHRmax 69.4%

Is the difference between 17.07 mph and 16.74 mph even statistically significant? I doubt that it is, unless your average speed from one ride to the next is consistent to within about 0.05 mph

jed1978

18mph over 22.5 miles

only second ride ever, so pretty happy so far.

Anonymous

I did a ride other day and I got my fastes average so far, 18.2mph over 11 miles.

Is 18mph fast for a pedal bike?

on the road

Well you're certainly faster then the average bloke on a bike :P

nic_77

Well my average for the year to date is 31.56km/h (19.61mph)
Thats a total of 882.17km in 27:57:04 (athough that does include some turbo training)

I track my training on www.howfarhowfast.co.uk
(apologies for plugging my own site, but you can create a free account if you wish to track your performance)

Tom Butcher

I don't really try and hold a high average over longer distances but I once rode 60 miles up the A6 and back and decided to try and average 20mph - averaged 19.8 which I thought was OK given that there are a few towns and villages and sets of lights on the way - most times my average for longish rides like that would be somewhere between 16.5 and 18.5 depending on the weather, terrain etc.

Yesterday rode up to Matlock up the A6, took the hill up through Tansley to Alfreton, Swanwick, Ripley, Denby, Derby and averaged 19.9 for 39 miles which was pressing on but not absolutely killing myself.

Russell Smith

15.9 mph over my set course, for what it's worth the higher the Average over a a route that you ride regularly would show an inprovement in your general fitness.

Climber_Andy

18mph for 43 miles yesterday, fastest ever - I am shocked and nigh-disheartened by some of the nonchalant average speeds. 3 years of road cycling and :? clearly I'm no natural talent.

cacbyname

16-19mph for me depending on hillyness and distance. I've averaged 20mph only once on a normal ride so chapeau to all the speed merchants here. I can manage 26mph for a 10 mile TT with a pointy helmet etc.

Anonymous

cacbyname wrote:

16-19mph for me depending on hillyness and distance. I've averaged 20mph only once on a normal ride so chapeau to all the speed merchants here. I can manage 26mph for a 10 mile TT with a pointy helmet etc.

Pointy helmet makes you got faster? Do they have striped on too?

Today I would of avaeraged about 18.4+mph to college today but I took a different route and got lost and had to go slow on parts due to the condition of the track and people in the way so ended up at 17.3mph over 12 miles

leehellcat

I average between 14.5 - 16.5mph doing my commute to work, and weekend fun trips. I do 17 miles each way to work and back, and tend to do 30-50 miles when I can get out at the weekend.

I have only really been cycling regularly since xmas 2007, due to time constraints previously, but quite pleased so far.
Aiming to reach 23mph so I can get to work in 45 minutes, as thats close to how long it takes in a car !!

I'm using a Specialized Crossroads Hybrid. If I can get to 23mph, then I'm going to treat myself to a proper drop bar road bike with skinny little wheels !!! 8)

popette

leehellcat wrote:

I average between 14.5 - 16.5mph doing my commute to work, and weekend fun trips. I do 17 miles each way to work and back, and tend to do 30-50 miles when I can get out at the weekend.

I have only really been cycling regularly since xmas 2007, due to time constraints previously, but quite pleased so far.
Aiming to reach 23mph so I can get to work in 45 minutes, as thats close to how long it takes in a car !!

I'm using a Specialized Crossroads Hybrid. If I can get to 23mph, then I'm going to treat myself to a proper drop bar road bike with skinny little wheels !!! 8)

do it the other way around - buy a gorgeous light bike with some sh"t hot wheels and then you'll go 23mph

neeb

'm using a Specialized Crossroads Hybrid. If I can get to 23mph, then I'm going to treat myself to a proper drop bar road bike with skinny little wheels !!! Cool

A 17 mile commute on a hybrid bike at an average speed of 23mph? That's quite a challenge!

My average speed commuting is consistently about 3mph slower than my average on a "proper" ride, even a much longer one. Junctions, heavier bike, jeans instead of lycra, rucksack, less motivation...

The whole average speed thing is an evil slave-driver really. Unless knowing what it is is making you happy, best to turn it off. There are so many things that can influence the average speed for a given ride that it's misleading as often as it's useful.

neeb

do it the other way around - buy a gorgeous light bike with some sh"t hot wheels and then you'll go 23mph Smile

Absolutely! Apart from the bike being faster, the psychological influence of having a nice new shiny bike is worth at least an extra 2mph..

chopper1

I aim for about 20mph on average.

Skindog

Just got new computer, done 17 miles - fcuked. Average 13.2 :oops: