what is a good time for a 20 mile 30 k ride

reacher

guys i'm new to cycling so i need some help , i'm training in the gym but i will be on my new bike over xmas , not haveing cycled before i'm working on my fitness in the gym first ,
what would be considered a reasonable time for a 20 mile ride? 30k approx
one of the guys in the gym who is 42 do's this on a undulating course in around 1 hour , but he says if he goes at it he can do it in 50 mins
i'm 52 and will be racing him over this course , question is , is this a hard time to beat or compete against ?
or moderate ?

inseine

Read the post in training titled speed over 30miles.






and ignore it all :roll:

reacher

whats it say ? i cant find it

Bobbinogs

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12740263

reacher

found it , i'm none the wiser , is it a good time or average ? , its not a flat course thats for sure ,
plenty of up an down no major hills though ,
are they saying 20 mph is good

-=JK=-

i'd think that a 20mph average is good going on an undulating course.

if he does 20 miles in 50 minutes on an undulating course, he's pretty fast & you will lose the race.

i started off on shorter distances at slower averages. i can do 10 miles in 30 mins, but wouldn't have been able to when i first got the bike. i'm 40.

let us know how it goes

Bobbinogs

are they saying 20 mph is good

I think the conclusion is, it depends...!

Bozman

It's under TRAINING "speed over 30 miles" That should give you a rough idea but remember that we all cycle at different levels of pace and reality.

RonB

I think it means that "average" is a pretty meaningless term since there are so many variables going on in a ride, but 20 mph is good on an undulating course if you're out on your own & on a road (non TT bike).

Don't let that put you off though, once your get some confidence and road vs gym practice in I'm sure your times will improve drastically. Good luck...decided what you're getting yet?

mattward1979

If You aren't actually training on the bike yet, 20mph will be tough over 20miles on a bumpy course....

You will find that asking about peoples average speeds over distance will get you answers ranging from mildly exaggerated to ridiculously superhuman!!

Best thing to do is jump on your bike and time yourself over the route as a practice and take it from there..

As far as I am aware, 20mph over a 10 mile TT is considered "evens" so that's a good thing to aim for!

ShutUpLegs

Bobbinogs wrote:

are they saying 20 mph is good

I think the conclusion is, it depends...!

Make sure your computer is set to mph not kph :roll:

softlad

reacher wrote:

one of the guys in the gym who is 42 do's this on a undulating course in around 1 hour , but he says if he goes at it he can do it in 50 mins

24mph avge for a 20m rolling route - my guess is that your friend is probably lying...

acidstrato

20miles on a flat course in 50mins is good by any standard..for a 42year old, its pretty darn good.

on a varied course....i'd struggle that tbh

reacher

i thought i would give it a go anyway , i think it wil be tough , he is extremely fit , i guess its at the top end of being difficult then ,
my problem will be road fitness time on the bike as i cant get on it untill a week before the race realy , so i will get a couple of rides in ,


got it , a dave hinde , looks nice as well ,
chuffed to bits with it , got ultegra on it , looks real nice , my mate the one i'm racing advised me to get it ,
says it should be fast , just not as fast as his , he said

kettrinboy

i,d have to be having a very good day to ave 20 mph on an undulating 20 mile loop, in fact ive only done it twice in four and a half years cycling, 20 miles in 50 mins? if your mate can do that then he is fast, on rolling terrain 20 mile local TT round here only a few riders get below 50 mins , most are between 50-60 minutes, last year the winner clocked 46 minutes.

inseine

Whether he's talking rubbish or not (he is) just make sure you sit on his wheel all the way round then outsprint him at the end. Simple.

Rich Hcp

softlad wrote:

reacher wrote:

one of the guys in the gym who is 42 do's this on a undulating course in around 1 hour , but he says if he goes at it he can do it in 50 mins

24mph avge for a 20m rolling route - my guess is that your friend is probably lying...

That was my first thought.

"around one hour" that's not an hour is it?

Training in the gym doesn't train you for riding a bike, although you may gain stamana, so when you do get on your bike start of with sensible distances and don't worry about other people's averages.

Concentrate on your thing, your speed will improve aas you get used to routes and the bike.

Then you want to find out what your friends route is and try it.

My guess is that his directions will be a bit vauge.

I'm not saying hes a liar, but the detail may be lacking and a few miles rounded up and the time it takes rounded down.

The main two things are to stick to your thing and enjoy it.

reacher

in fairness , he has been cycling for some 20 odd years and was i believe at age 19 on the cusp of welsh national standard , what ever that equates to , then took up another sport
he how ever uses it now purely for fitness , one or two i hour rides a week , the rest training on weights , and static bike sessions
i'v seen him in the gym where he do's all his training and he is something else on the static bike , pushing big settings for good distance , so i guess 50 mins would be in his range as my brother is the same sporting background as me and he is doing 1 hour for that distance after 6 months on a bike with no gym work , i realy cant see it being that hard ,
how ever i could be wrong of course ,

Rich Hcp

You never said that!

But you do have to be wary of show offs!

42 isn't that old, and you may not be able to match him, different people/bodytypes have different strengths and weaknesses.

You must work your way to a good time and give yourself time to recover from gym or bike, otherwise tou peak and slide backwards.

Its not all about the time, its about enjoying yourself and beingfit

reacher

Rich Hcp wrote:

You never said that!

But you do have to be wary of show offs!

42 isn't that old, and you may not be able to match him, different people/bodytypes have different strengths and weaknesses.

You must work your way to a good time and give yourself time to recover from gym or bike, otherwise tou peak and slide backwards.

Its not all about the time, its about enjoying yourself and beingfit

yea , sorry about that , it was only after when you said about the times and people exaggerating them ,
my main aim is fitness , but its proving to be an experiment in what happens when you apply yourself to gym work based totally around cycling , which i have never done previously , although i have always trained , the weight drop is dramatic and the increase in fitness leval is quite supriseing ,
he is just a target to aim for rather than just train , he is the only guy in the gym that trains on a bike seriously so i had no measure of whats good or bad ,

he says it cant be done , that i wont be able to do this time without hours spent on the road ,
so its turned into a challenge of sorts , although i plan to start doing road work before i race him , i wanted to see how fit you can get in the gym first ,
c

mattward1979

Personally I would have to agree with your friend on that point...

gym work is a great supplement to riding but nothing beats time in the saddle for improving your cycling!!

Will be very interested in the results though!

Good luck!

reacher

results of this experiment are as follows for any one thats interested , not ever haveing owned a bike before , i rode one a bit as a young lad to play around on , so i was able to pedal around ok with out falling off ,
took the bike out 2 days ago with toe clips for the first time , pretty average as i was all over the place with the gears , and the bike to be honest , finally worked it all out after about 45 mins , job done ,
changed to cleats this morning to tackle the course set by my mate ,
his time is 55 mins for the exact course i was doing , although he got the distance wrong , its less than he said according to my bike computer , if its accurate , and i think it is according to car distance ,
how ever its quite a ride , pretty undulateing and he was right its a good testing run , and very , very cold , the wind blows straight off the severn estuary all the way their and back , its a straight run their and back no traffic lights , circuit as you boys say ,
my time was 1 hour dead , exactly the same distance , average speed was 17 .5 mph
i'm pretty sure i could knock 5 minutes off this time after a couple of rides ,
biggest problem was the sheer cold , my feet were completely numb and my hands were so cold i could'nt feel to shift the gears comeing back ,
body was ok as i was wearing a jacket , in fact i was so cold when i got off the bike i fell over my feet were so numb ,
i'm 52 so now i'm hooked on cycling i guess , never too late ,considering he is 42 and has been cycling this course for a good few years i thought it was a fair effort , what do you reckon ?

jibberjim

Yes being 5 minutes down on the guy sounds pretty good effort for your 2nd ride! Was his done in the same conditions? On an hour long ride simply the weather differences can slow you down many minutes - Cold air makes for dense air, and cold roads make for higher rolling resistence.

If you really want to beat him - get good at reading the conditions to find a fast day, take care over getting as aerodynamic as you can all the time. And probably spend some money on some very decent tyres if you've just got what came with your bike.

meanredspider

So it's 17.5 miles. At 20mph that's 52.5mins by my calculation. If his best time was 55 mins he's coming up somewhere short of the magic 20mph yardstick.

20mph is a good average and will depend a bit on your bike as well as you. I do a very hilly 15+ miles into work and, even after 2500 miles of practice, 19.5mph is my best speed (I'm 46 next week).

Getting the details right will make a difference - tight-fitting clothes, good tyres at a good pressure, that sort of thing. Also be aware that his time might have been set in the summer - even warmer air can make a measurable difference to your time over that distance. I'm also slower in the wet (as I have less confidence in the brakes and the grip around sharp bends) and in the dark (can't see the potholes so clearly).

Nothing will beat practicing the ride.

reacher

his was set in the warm or to be exact warmer than this morning was , last summer actually , so its possible he had a lot less head wind ,
thats 45 mins on a road bike for me , then this attempt , i know i can do faster as i'v never ridden the course before and he has done it for a few years now as a training run for the velodrome , the cold and a head wind that froze my feet and hands completely was a huge problem on the return leg , plus i simply know that i can go faster and also get faster over the summer ,
its been interesting non the less as he thought my training method would not work and cross over to the bike ,

Phill Thom

I am also relatively new to road riding and have a lovely 21 mile mid week ride mapped out. It has a few quite steep but short hills on it and I get around it in 1 hour 8 mins which includes a warm down mile.
Going to try it flat out next time just to see how fit I am. And doing it in the daylight would probably also take a bit of time off.

reacher

jibberjim wrote:

Yes being 5 minutes down on the guy sounds pretty good effort for your 2nd ride! Was his done in the same conditions? On an hour long ride simply the weather differences can slow you down many minutes - Cold air makes for dense air, and cold roads make for higher rolling resistence.

If you really want to beat him - get good at reading the conditions to find a fast day, take care over getting as aerodynamic as you can all the time. And probably spend some money on some very decent tyres if you've just got what came with your bike.

it says mavic aksium race on the wheels , its a dave hinde bike , are these good or average or poor wheels ?
they came with the bike ,
my brother mentioned this point about the wheels as well .
you are right about the weather i went at first light in the freezing cold and i found out that this is the coldest part of the day , an hour later it starts to warm up ,
also again you are right his was done warm weather , how ever i need to correct myself his was about a mile and a half longer apparantly , so i'm more off the pace than i thought

gazeds

did 20 miles in 57.23 mins last summer, i was well chuffed.I turned 51 last year. Like somebody said it's a hell of a job to do the same time in the winter, also i've found that with doing most of my cycling in a hilly area i find it difficult to keep long distances at high speeds, maybe just over doing it.

brin

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Bobbinogs wrote:

are they saying 20 mph is good

I think the conclusion is, it depends...!

Make sure your computer is set to mph not kph :roll:

Easy mistake to overlook as your 'mate' may well have done

brin

For all gym work is a good supplement to keeping fit, as mentioned nothing beats time spent in the saddle out on the roads. Why do you seem so obsessed with the 20m distance? as you get more confident on your new bike and enjoy it more you will no doubt start entering sportives, rides of 50m+ where your average will drop dramatically to around 14-16mph.
Personally i would ignore the invitation to race and just concentrate on my own goals, you are just starting off - its a big world out there on 2 wheels, races and time trials will come along eventually, pointless is trying to attempt them 1st you will only demoralise yourself, find another riding buddy in similar circumstances to youself and work together, you will enjoy it more.

reacher

he did it in 50 mins today , at worst its 19 miles but i would say its 20 miles or just a fraction under , 23 or 24 mph then ,
big target going on what he is doing on the spin bikes , i have a bit of work to do , 8 weeks to go ,
not to worry my times are improveing every week thats the important thing ,
then a couple of runs on the road should see me ready , although he has upped his training some what since i started an told him some of my times an distances ,