Am I the worlds slowest rider?

Mikey joe

Hello

I commute to work to work daily (17 mile round trip) it normally takes me about 40minutes each way. I travel on an old giant chicago mountain bike with knobbly tyres and a pannier bag. The commute is pretty much flat but the last mile is fairly hilly. I also go for a few spins on my road bike usually around 40-60 mile trips normally do this from march to sept. I've also done a few longer rides up to 130miles. My computer reads that I've done just short of 7000 miles and if I were to estimate my average speed over that distance I'd put it about 12.5 mph.

However when ever I see folk on here posting about ride times/average speeds etc they always seem to ride far faster than me. Eg. a guy who commutes 23 miles each way to work who does it in 1h-1h20m each way. Also I read of a girl who posted her average commute speed as about 17mph but then explained it was low as she was "only a girl" (her words not mine).


I'm 33, fairly fit (I think). So.. Am I just really slow or are other posters above the norm.

BTW I'm not really bothered as I'm not in a rush - just curious.

Cheers

Mj

Eat My Dust

Don't worry about average speeds. They don't really mean much. And anyway people like to stretch the truth a bit.

redddraggon

Don't worry about what average speeds people post, 8.5 miles in 40mins on a MTB is good (assuming it's not totally flat and you have to deal with lights).

Commuting average speeds are destroyed by traffic lights anyway.

Just enjoy your riding and don't worry about statistics.

Mikey joe

cheers - as I said I'm not really bothered by this. when I meet other cyclists some I pass others leave me for dead so in my opinion I reckon I'm about halfway on the "ladder"

I was just curious as to what other folk travel at.

Unfortunately I travel mostly on a cycle route so it's mostly traffic light free so can't really use that excuse ;-)

May have to find a few!!

CiB

Just did a d/l of mine from the last 12 months, and a longer time period prior to that on a different bike, and dumped them into Excel.

2001 miles / 104h 47m is roughly 19mph average (current nice road bike)

1513 m / 90h is about 16.8 avg, on the prev bike, good, but not as good as current...

There are too many factors to make this anything more than a 'oh really' though, like the fact hat only 'proper' rides are logged, not the ambling to school with the kids or family outings etc. Just the quicker efforts over a decent distance, so in effect self-selecting to the point of giving a false high.

Eat My Dust

Mikey joe wrote:

I was just curious as to what other folk travel at.

This is what I travel at!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2RyLqWiikc

Mikey joe

cheers that's interesting. I use my bike to collect the shopping go to the pub etc. I'll also be using it to transport my daughter around once I get myself a child trailer. which I'm hoping to order soon


Nice use of the local environment to increase speed EMD :-)

ride_whenever

It's the knobblies slowing you down. With a set of high volume slicks you'll be able to sustain a higher speed.

biondino

I lap Richmond Park about 19mph average, but my fastest ever commute was a smidge over 16mph average (14 mile round trip through central London). It averages about 15mph and is often slower.

However, when you take into account that the bike computer doesn't count the time when I'm stopped, this would reduce my average speed by maybe another 2mph in total. So 13mph total average speed, even though I'm not a slow rider (I'm not a fast one either by the standards of the forum, but I very seldom get overtaken when commuting).

So that's one way these figures get distorted.

fooshnicken

I wouldn't worry about it too much. My commute is 7 miles each way, on my mountain bike it can take anything from 22 mins to 30 mins depending on lots of different factors like the weather, the tyres that are on the bike that day etc. On my road bike I can do it considerably quicker but at the end of the day just do it in whatever time you are comfortable with...it's not a race

dmb4

to answer your question I am the worlds slowest rider, no, I have that honer

Mikey joe

I reckon I can still beat you. However as the worlds slowest rider I also have the honour of being the worlds best at track stands. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference

ademort

You are definitely not the slowest rider in the world, that title must go to my ex-wife. She is Dutch so you would thimk that cycling comes as second nature.In her case think again, we could set off to the beach a ride of 6Kms, it would take us 50 minutes. I would freewheel more than i would actually pedal and she would still tell me to slow down. By the way she is not overweight,and i found it embarrasing to be overtaken by everybody, old people, young children and women carrying two children on one bike.
Ademort

pottssteve

I travel everywhere at an average of 20km/hr for some reason, whether I'm eyeballs out or kicking back, hills or flat. :?:

biondino

pottssteve wrote:

I travel everywhere at an average of 20km/hr for some reason, whether I'm eyeballs out or kicking back, hills or flat. :?:

You ride a Segway and I claim my £5.

squeeler

Don't worry I do a daily round trip of 13 miles on a mountain bike with slicks and a pannier at an average of just below 12.5 :oops:

I'm often surprised by the average speeds you hear about on this forum as I consider myself above average fitness in general but maybe way below average for cyclists?

On a balls out PB ride home I can get to 14.6mph average but there is literally a stream of sweat, snot and spit swinging from my mouth and nose and my legs will be like jelly :shock:

However, I'm just about to get a "racer" so hopefully that will get my av speed up by 10% or so?

Mikey joe

squeeler wrote:

Don't worry I do a daily round trip of 13 miles on a mountain bike with slicks and a pannier at an average of just below 12.5 :oops:

I'm often surprised by the average speeds you hear about on this forum as I consider myself above average fitness in general but maybe way below average for cyclists?

On a balls out PB ride home I can get to 14.6mph average but there is literally a stream of sweat, snot and spit swinging from my mouth and nose and my legs will be like jelly :shock:

However, I'm just about to get a "racer" so hopefully that will get my av speed up by 10% or so?

This sounds like me!!

I averaged just over 10mph this morning. But in my defence it was dark, there was a blizzard blowing into my face all the way and I was kept busy trying to avoid the swerving cars.
And I didn't have any porridge before I left.

vorsprung

I live in Devon. To commute to work I cross the Blackdown Hills

On the trip in I take a slightly longer and slightly hillier route which is 27km usually in 1h10m
This is approx 14mph average

The way back I use the main road and a less hilly route. There is also a gradient drop that favours coming home. My best time for the 24km home trip is 59 minutes or almost 15mph

I use a single speed road bike with 28mm Marathon plus tyres, drops and a large saddle bag

The fastest journeys to work are when i spot another cyclist ahead and try and catch them

meagain

Sounds pretty quick to me (but before you get too complacent, I'm very nearly double your age - so TRY HARDER!!).

pottssteve

Biondino,
I like the makeover - didn't you used to be a bald man?

I don't ride a Segway, so no fiver, I'm afraid.



I'm just sh*t at riding a bike

itboffin

I've done my commute at an avg. of 21mph over 15 miles and at 13mph just depends on my mood, weather, traffic etc etc etc.

to be honest these days i'm far happier at 15-17mph stopping to take in the view, talk to farm animals :shock: and so on, so if you took out the hills that would prob. be much slower avg. the important thing is i'm enjoying riding more and more

STEFANOS4784

I wouldn't listen too much to peoples average times, i thought the same as you but realistically i dont think they're entirely accurate because as soon as some sort of actuall ride is mentioned a lot of people suddenly announce about how they're so slow :roll: :?

STEFANOS4784

P.s, i can't find proof of this but i don't mind going for a ride :arrow:


P.p.s it can also be slightly de-moralising but when i think about it the only people likely to post on here are going to be pretty well up with their cycling

Anonymous

I'd like to listin to other people's averages but then it just makes me feel slow, today I did 30miles averaging 18.5mph and by the standards in this thread I reckon it's super slow, with about 1min total stopping time and taking into account I'm on a road bike with 700x73 Mich Krylions on and it was not super windy.

softlad

willhub wrote:

I'm on a road bike with 700x73 Mich Krylions on

surely 700x73 would slow you down..???

Anonymous

Forget average speeds...as a previous poster said just go the speed you feel comfortable with on the day...if you feel strong then go for it, if not then relax....the more you ride and the longer the ride then natural fitness prevails and your speed increases as a result...with weight loss a major factor aswell...

I personally am probably slow when I look at some postings on here...but remember lots of guys here are 'very good' cyclists and ride the occasional race....others are just giving there minds a treat....others like to boast.

If guys are not racing....why are they besotted with average speeds?

On a big mile hilly ride, if I can do 15mile/hour I am going very well....in winter this falls to 11-13mile hour....not very fast I know but I find it alarming...I do a good few sportives usually throughout the year and I always end up middle of the finishers....surely that means my speed is very average for the standard cyclist?

Your maybe not the fastest...but I bet you enjoy it better than the fastest....imagine doing a run as fast as you can physically can go...christ you wouldn't have much memories apart from major suffering....

I've read countless artivcles from pro's saying when in the big Mountain ranges that they dont really see the mountains or scenery as they are so focused...thats fine for Pros I suppose...its there job...but imagine doing that when its your hobbie?

mangizmo

great post, I have started club riding again, everybody is so serious these days, in order to stay on the pace, I have had to buy a full on road bike, ditch the pannier, carry next to nothing apart from some tyre levers and a mars bar, I can do it, I can stay with the fastest boys, but I am sitting here toaday after a 60 miler yesterday on very hilly Dartmoor terrain....followed by a 40 miler today....I am totally knackered, and so is anybody else that has done the same
I cant help thinking that all this flat out stuff carrying no weight is a little OTT, as I say, I can do it OK, but speed is not really the main thing for me, I want some good company, some great terrain...average speed/ heart rate/ pedal cadance...who cares ?
I think that the standard seems to have risen, really good road bikes are much cheaper, but I still liked it better when everybody was on touring bikes with saddlebags and panniers with the sandwiches inside