n00b average speed?

-=JK=-

Hello all,

New to here & road bikes. Have had a BMC Streetfire with 105 for a couple of weeks now, and am after a few pointers about what i should be aiming for.

I'm 40, about 13.5 stone & reasonably fit (despite doing nothing for the last 5 years apart from snowboarding two or tree weeks a year). Bought the bike to lose some weight & to get out into the fresh air a bit more.

I have a couple of training routes at the mo, both about 17 miles total. One is fairly straight with a couple of long hills, and the other is more B-road & slightly flatter.

I have a speedo / HR / cadence computer, which is good at keeping me motivated to improve, and my max & average HR's are reducing and my average speeds & post-ride recovery is also improving.

My question is : what average speed should i look to be achieving over a ride?

I realise that i'm new to this, and at the start of improving my fitness but would like something to work towards. Long-term plan is to keep getting out on the bike through the winter & then be in a position to perhaps get out on a group ride or two in the spring of 2011.

Is it just a case of gradually increasing distance as my fitness improves & hopefully my averages will rise too?

Went out this afternoon & did 17 miles in 59 mins if that helps. Average HR was 175.

Cheers,

Justin.

Dave-M

Ave speed always hard to say. LIving in Essex I guess it's fairly flat. So who knows, maybe you can get in the 20s as you are already in the 17s?

I'd always thought a few posters on here were talking BS with speeds, but it does come gradually as you get fitter and perhaps weight less.

I've got a 17 mile loop I do, and at the start of May I could do it in 16.64mph ave, today I did it in 18.28mph ave.

fast as fupp

what is n00b?:

redddraggon

fast as fupp wrote:

what is n00b?:

That Freehub's middle name. And he does have dreams about average speeds.

RonB

Hi Justin & welcome to the Forum.

Since you already have a HRM/ computer setup I would suggest you first work out your training zones. From there you could mix up endurance training with some long tempo/ short power intervals. It really all depends on your interests. I personally don't think that just concentrating on your average alone will help you progress.

There's lots of advice here in the Training section and you could check out some books on the subject...Joe Friel and Chris Carmichael spring to mind. Good luck anyway, 17mph sounds like a pretty good effort to start with for sure!

MikeWW

Average speed was one of the first questions I asked a year ago. Seems a lot less important now
You seem to have made a good start. I'd target to break the 20 mph barrier within the next 3-6 months(depends how much you ride)
Good luck

-=JK=-

Thanks for the feedback folks. Will just keep getting out as much as i can (with rest days), and see what happens.

fast as - i'll tell you what a n00b is if you f=tell me what a fupp is ;-)

Essex Man

Was that really your average HR?! :shock:

father_jack

I did 10.9 miles in 34 mins.

danowat

avg speed is pretty much irrelevent, as routes, weather, climbs etc etc all have an impact.

As for your HR, I'd be interested to know what your actual MHR is.

a_n_t

Essex Man wrote:

Was that really your average HR?! :shock:

Doesn't sound too "out there". I will average about 180 on a 25 mile TT.

anto164

i was thinking that that was a bit on the high side (MHR that is)

As for the speed, you're doing alright, but we can't really comment more, as we don't know what the course you did was like.

a_n_t

anto164 wrote:

a bit on the high side (MHR that is)

I'm missing something, what's is his MHR?

Essex Man

a_n_t wrote:

Essex Man wrote:

Was that really your average HR?! :shock:

Doesn't sound too "out there". I will average about 180 on a 25 mile TT.

Must be a personal thing, but I'd be re-visiting my last meal pretty quickly at that rate.

a_n_t

Essex Man wrote:

Must be a personal thing.

well yeah, it's exactly that!

bodyworks

Have got to say 175 ave heart rate is way over the top I am 45 and only manage to get to 170 on very steep hills average about 140 -150 on most rides. Is there an issue with the contact on heart rate monitor, as I have problems this summer with very weird readings up to 250 bpm with the Garmin forerunner

MikeWW

bodyworks wrote:

Have got to say 175 ave heart rate is way over the top I am 45 and only manage to get to 170 on very steep hills average about 140 -150 on most rides. Is there an issue with the contact on heart rate monitor, as I have problems this summer with very weird readings up to 250 bpm with the Garmin forerunner

Sounds low to me but I guess we are all different. For reference I'm 47 and would be hitting about 190 going hard up hills and averaging about 160-165

a_n_t

Its fine, everyone is different. I'm 39 and my MHR is 196.

mattward1979

The general theme here is that everyone is different...

Best thing to do is get a base performance level for yourself, and constantly try to do better each time.

Im 16.5 stone but my forte it brute force for short periods, so doing my rather bumpy 5 mile commute in under 15 mins isnt a challenge any more, but doing a 50 mile in anything under 3 hours seems WAY beyond me as I need to drop weight and work on endurance.

Sounds like you are doing just fine though

sejackans

Whilst on Holiday in France last month, I cycle 10 miles to a friends house and the back home. My heart rate (oh i,m 43) on the way back averaged 169, thats about 15bpm higher than normal, at a brisk pace

Why?

Beer and red wine


And i started cycling about 2 years ago and used to do a 16.7 miles one hour dash, now i would be disappointed if I did 60 miles at 18mph, with some bumps thrown in. So where you are now seems a goodbase to build on

kettrinboy

i,m 47 and my highest ever average HR has been 163 bpm or 91% of my max, over a 10 mile flat out thrash with a highest maximum of 180, i suppose if the OP,s maximum is around 195 he could average 175, or he has got his average and max hr,s mixed up, 17 miles in under an hour is fine for a solo road ride, with more training you should be able to improve it significantly, on a really good day i could do 20 miles in an hour but mostly do 17,5 to 19,5 depending what bike i,m on, hybrid or road.

acebobby

This is an interesting subject to me as I am also a new rider, I weigh 16 stone so need to loose alot to help increase my average. I do a 16 mile loop which is quite hilly and I have managed to drop it to exactly an hour, I am now going to work on some different routes and use this original loop as a mini time trial once a week to see if I significantly improve!
The thing I wonder about is the heart rates, my nurse told me that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age, I'm 36 so I am aiming for a maximum of 184, note this is max and not average, and whenever I train at the gym anywhere near 180 I feel like my heads about to explode and can only hold it in that range for a short time. I dont use a monitor when out on rides, do you think its worth investing in one?

a_n_t

acebobby wrote:

my nurse told me that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age

I'd find another nurse!

danowat

The thing is with heart rate, the actual BPM figure can be wholey irrelevent between people, because your actual MHR is a personal thing.

Its the %MHR thats the important figure.

220-age, or any of that other bunkem, is theoretical, and can be way out.

StanwaySteve62

welcome on board JK, some good rides round 'our' way, I'm local to you and often loop out and back through the colnes to stisted and bradwell then to kelvedon and back to Stanway
For the record I'm nearly 48 and down to 17stone from 19stone due to the 2000 miles I'ce done this year.
My measured max HR is just under 200 and average around 160 at an average of just under 17mph.

acebobby

a_n_t wrote:

acebobby wrote:

my nurse told me that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age

I'd find another nurse!

Well thats exactly what I am wondering about, (not finding another nurse), but I am open to opinions on the best way to find your ideal heart rate! Remembering that this is posted in the beginners section, fitness and leg muscles are at the beginning of development for cycling!

Bobby

redddraggon

acebobby wrote:

a_n_t wrote:

acebobby wrote:

my nurse told me that your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age

I'd find another nurse!

Well thats exactly what I am wondering about, (not finding another nurse), but I am open to opinions on the best way to find your ideal heart rate! Remembering that this is posted in the beginners section, fitness and leg muscles are at the beginning of development for cycling!

Bobby

Ramp test

Pross

I'm still amazed by the amount of people who think 220 minus age is even a good rule of thumb. The only way to establish your maximum level is to test it. As this thread shows it will vary greatly and is completely individual.

To the OP, pretty much as the others say don't concentrate purely on an average speed - it is an often asked question but means very little. Establish your maximum heart rate and then use that as a guide of how hard to train (look up training zones). One thing that confused me a bit is that you say your maximum heart rate has come down. As your maximum is your maximum I assume you mean the maximum you achieve on the ride has come down. If this is the case then you aren't riding as hard as you were before. This could be because you are still riding at the same speed and getting fitter so if you work on heart rate rather than speed your average will increase (all other things being equal).

StanwaySteve62

My max heart rate is what i got to on my HR monitor at the top of hill giving it all I could.
that is MY MAX

danowat

StanwaySteve62 wrote:

My max heart rate is what i got to on my HR monitor at the top of hill giving it all I could.
that is MY MAX

You should have really repeated the hill 3 times to be sure , if you don't throw up, you haven't reached your max

Pross

StanwaySteve62 wrote:

My max heart rate is what i got to on my HR monitor at the top of hill giving it all I could.
that is MY MAX

No it's not your maximum is 172 as that's 220 minus your age