What is "good"?

Devon Lad

I've been sifting through the forums for a while now, and am observing various average speeds, and also people asking the question "what is a good average speed?". Obviously this would depend on the area, but as a beginner I have no real way of telling what is a hard route and what isn't! The short route I do is 13km, often I do circuits, it contains 150m of ascent and descent, does this help? I was just wondering what a decent average speed to aim for over this kind of course would be?
Thanks alot
Will

petemadoc

Obviously this is different for everyone but for me I'd definitely want to stay over 20mph if I was doing a 13km ride.

Devon Lad

:shock: 20mph, I do the circuit twice but, still, it looks like I have some serious work to do!

Pretre

Best thing to do is to steadily increase the mileage - 26km is pretty short for a road bike ride - & frequency & then try to to do the longer route in the same time as the shorter one, etc.
Also, join a club - usually easy enough to find one in your local area that is happy to have less experienced/fit riders along on their more relaxed rides - often called a "cafe" ride or something similar

petemadoc

I'd probably drop under 20 if I did two loops and I weigh under 10 st so the smaller hills aren't too much of a problem for me. 20mph always seems to be the magic number I aim for on short less hilly rides though

Devon Lad

Extending the mileage sounds like a good idea, getting in and out of where I live involves quite a lot of climbing, with the circuit at the moment, it doesn't leave me much time on the flat, I guess more time on the flat would obviously bring the average speed up a little as i can maintain 20-25 mph on a still-ish day, the hills just seem to blight what would otherwise be a respectable speed but obviously that is where the practice comes in handy

furrag

It's all relative - some will want to be doing faster than 20mph over 13km, but beginners will flinch at the mention of those speeds being held for that long.

How long does it take you to the 13km course? About 30 minutes? Why not warm up for 10 minutes, cycle harder than you could hold for the whole course for 5 minutes, and then have 5 minutes of easy spinning, and then go again hard for 5 minutes before having a warm down of 5 minutes?

As leisure, I'd want to be doing that route in about 26-30 minutes which is about 16.5-18.5mph. If timed, I would want to be doing it in under 23 minutes which is about 21mph.

Anonymous

I'd increase my mileage, cruise on the flat, ride hard on the climbs and recover on the descents.

Devon Lad

sounds like a good idea, will try that next time I go out, I just better hope I have the spinning periods on the flat, else i won't be coming off the bike alive I'm not sure what it is about Devon, but it does do some good hills!

petemadoc

Furrag wrote:

It's all relative

As leisure, I'd want to be doing that route in about 26-30 minutes which is about 16.5-18.5mph. If timed, I would want to be doing it in under 23 minutes which is about 21mph.

I'd agree with this. at leisure speeds you'd be going slower. I'd be pushing with my head down to get over 20mph

ForumNewbie

Yes, 20 mph or more is a very good average speed if you have quiet flat roads and are on a 10 mile Time Trial. I can't get anywhere near that average on my Audax bike. I'm amazed at the average speeds people claim they get communting or going at a leisurely pace. I suppose if they are young, strong and with a light carbon bike it helps, but I still find it hard to believe guys can easily average 20 mph on a solo ride, especially as the ride is likely to include some slowing down at roundabouts, traffic lights etc. even if they are lucky enough to have no short sharp hills or headwinds to cope with.

softlad

there should be a separate forum for all of the questions about average speed. Perhaps all of the helmet discussion threads could go in there as well...

Your average speed is completely meaningless to others - just as their average speed is completely meaningless to you - forget about it.

Garz

Bear in mind most people post their better times i.e. their TT attempt and not their average loop speed. Don't beat yourself up over average speeds, especially as the longer the distance the less likely people can maintain that kind of statistic.

If im riding over the pennines doing a thirty miler for instance, I wouldn't expect the guy posting his av speed in the fens to be slower over the same distance. Compare your gains with yourself and don't worry what other people are claiming to achieve. 8)

AidanR

When I'm decently fit I'd hope to average 20mph on a 30+ mile route, so long as I don't have to stop for too much. That'd be really pushing though. I consider myself a recreational cyclist, though I would like to have a crack at racing at some point.

JackPozzi

AidanR wrote:

When I'm decently fit I'd hope to average 20mph on a 30+ mile route, so long as I don't have to stop for too much. That'd be really pushing though. I consider myself a recreational cyclist, though I would like to have a crack at racing at some point.

If you're averging 20mph on 30mile rides you should try some racing! I class myself as a racing cyclist, albeit a fairly mediocre one but I still manage to finish in the top half of the field in most time trials and I've never averaged 20mph in any solo ride other than a race!