Are you Average?

Mark Alexander

I'm in the process of getting a training plan made up for me. When giving information to base the plan on, I was asked to rate myself poor through to excelent on a range of cycling traits.

However, one of the questions asked was endurance/stamina (long perods) after giving the answer average, I thought about it, What constitutes a long period?
Also, what time do I have?

On this forum some cyclists talk about making it to 10 miles, or 50, or 100 or more.
What is average? is it to be able to ride for 20 miles or 2 hours?

fossyant

Some folk can ride for hours and hours, clock up the miles but the average speed is down.

Depends upon what you are training for...... what sort of racing or events do you plan to do ?

whyamihere

How long is a piece of string? The longest ride I've done was a bit under 8 hours, my normal weekend long rides tend to be around 5. If I really push on the 5 hour ride, I could probably pretty easily cut an hour off for the same distance.

Anonymous

I'm an all rounder really.

I can go quite long and I can go quite fast sometimes, I struggle any sort of speed above 22mph for anything more than a mile or so. Most I've done on a bike is probs around 12 hours

chuckcork

I would think a possible answer is longer than an average club ride length of say 45-50 miles over 3 to 3.5 hours riding, beyond which endurance might start to become important and the ride considered "long".

All depends on what you are used to really, I would have 3 years ago considered 40 miles to be a long ride, having done plenty at that length and greater since I now consider anything less than that to be short.

Anonymous

Less than 1 and a half years ago, I did 12miles in one go and was amazed, thought I was well good

I'd have thought doing 50miles, to do another 50 on top of that simply multiply what you had for 50 by 2, but it seems it's more like 4 times as hard as getting to 50. I find 50 miles pretty easy now.

wolleur

I've been riding road bikes only 8 months or so, have done a few 60+ miles, my average ride tends to be between 35-50 miles.

Am trying to increase the distances slowly so i can tackle a 'ton' this summer.

I think nothing of a 20 miles in 1 hour (ish!)

It sometimes seems a backward step though- did 35 miles today and feel sore and a bit battered, I even checked my saddle height in case someone had messed around with it ubt had to come to the conclusion that my body was expecting a day off.

Just build up the distances slowly, it's nice when realise you're getting so much stronger and start planning rides to places people would be considering using the train for

Anonymous

20miles in 1 hour? Thats fast!

I cant do that, but after about 2 months of starting road cycling I was tackling hard and hilly 100+ mile rides, but I've took a backwards step.

It's like a bottle filled with water with a hole in the bottom, to keep it at the same level you have to keep putting a certain amount of water in, but to get better you have to put more in, it's like that for me, I stopped doing as much and I got slower and lost endurance, I'm currently building back up.


If you think about it, most road cyclists are above average, average is very slow.

Stone Glider

The answer has to be no. If you are on this site you will have an above average interest in cycling. As willhub said 20mph is fast for us average types (that is below average to site participants) it can get complicated.

Then there is the unknown factor of talent. Are you talented? If so you will have average scores far higher than average people. But you will not be making above average efforts. I told you it could get complicated. Unless you test your performance against a peer group you cannot know, and even then it will depend on the sample and the test.

Relax, be the best you that you can be, with all the limiteations that implies and enjoy.

Frank the tank

Average depends totally upon the field sample.

Virtually every cyclist I've ridden with are able to "rip my legs off".

Blokes at work though think I'm dead fit ('cos I'm not a fat b*****d) and can ride more than a mile.

I don't race, have no turn of pace, as such, but can ride at 16-16.5 MPH for 12 hours plus.

Am I average.................................................................NO BLOODY IDEA.

Anonymous

Frank the tank wrote:

Average depends totally upon the field sample.

Virtually every cyclist I've ridden with are able to "rip my legs off".

Blokes at work though think I'm dead fit ('cos I'm not a fat b*****d) and can ride more than a mile.

I don't race, have no turn of pace, as such, but can ride at 16-16.5 MPH for 12 hours plus.

Am I average.................................................................NO BLOODY IDEA.

I doubt every cyclists could "rip your legs off"....

Frank the tank

willhub wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

Average depends totally upon the field sample.

Virtually every cyclist I've ridden with are able to "rip my legs off".

Blokes at work though think I'm dead fit ('cos I'm not a fat b*****d) and can ride more than a mile.

I don't race, have no turn of pace, as such, but can ride at 16-16.5 MPH for 12 hours plus.

Am I average.................................................................NO BLOODY IDEA.

I doubt every cyclists could "rip your legs off"....

Thanks for that Will. I wasn't fishing for complements. The point I was trying to make though was, what is "average" depends upon the various individual perceptions.

As for the cyclist I ride with some of 'em are real "monsters" but placed against a premier calender rider they wouldn't be average, which is the point I'm making.

So in answer to the OP it's really unanswerable, would you agree.

Anonymous

Yea I guess.

I guess I'm above average, you are above above average, and so on

redddraggon

willhub wrote:

I guess I'm above average

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