Newbie - What sort of average speed should I be achieving?

peejay78

23mph average speed on hilly rides.

200 miles per week, MINIMUM, NO EXCUSES.

springtide9

peejay78 wrote:

23mph average speed on hilly rides.

Is that 23mph on hilly rides in the Peak District... or hilly rides in the New Forest?

Buckled_Rims

I agree with all others who say average speed is useless to compare. Only on a race or ...cough cough (yes I know it's not a race).... Sportive will you be able to compare your speed.

The only time average speed becomes relevant is if you lived on a perfectly flat ground, have the same weather and no wind, no traffic, everyone is the same weight, height and body shape, and all riding the same bike with same gearing on a perfectly straight road.

peejay78

sorry - it was meant to be a joke.

23mph on the downhill sections.

a_n_t

springtide9 wrote:

and if you want to know how you compare to others... you need to

enter a TT

neeb

but I'm not sure what I should be aiming for realistically having only done about 90 miles on the bike so far.

Insofar as average speed tells you anything, if you've literally just started, don't have a history of cycling and have only done 90miles total then averaging 15mph on a hilly route isn't bad at all, especially at this time of year. Keep at it and you might be nearer 20 than 15 by the end of the summer.

paulbox

meanredspider wrote:

My advice is to worry less about what others do (or claim to do) and just focus on your own improvement - that's the one thing that really matters.

This is sound advice, my last 2 (or 4) rides have been to work and back the last two Fridays. The route is 23 miles each way and my average speeds (mph) have been as follows:

In Out
18/02 17.02 16.96
25/02 17.71 17.66

My commuting route isn't much different in terms of hills to the "leisure" route I was doing previously so I'm really pleased with the progress.

ademort

As others have mentioned, it,s impossible to say how you compare with your average speed. Are you overweight, is your physical condition fair, good, very good, in your opinion. What height/weight are you. What age are you.There are so many factors that you need to take into account. You can be sure that if you are averaging 20+MPH on your own then you are going well enough to join a club and paricipate in club rides.
Ademort

Pross

Chris Phillips wrote:

dilemma
dilemma
Can I be as bold to say that you have left a foul taste in my mouth with that puerile nonsensical uninformative outburst. your probably so far up your own bottom that you didn't realise how pathetic your so called comment sounded.your probably of the same build as those emaciated freaks who ride the tour de france,of which no sound minded balanced person would ever aspire to.If you haven't already realised this is a beginners forum with which genuine questions should be answered informatively with the emphasis on inspiring not discouraging newbie cyclist. Aimed at the future king of the mountains. AKA dilemma.

Now I'm the last person in the world to defend Dilemna but his only post that I can see on here is clearly sarcasm due to the ridiculous average speeds people tend to quote on these threads!

squigs

I have been on here for a year now and asked the same question back then, evry time someone else asks I always try to help them out as well.

Should you search every question before you ask?

I am doing the Dartmoor classic in June so an average speed means eveything to me at the moment. Reading other peoples comments who live in different areas makes for good reading.

Anyone have an opinion on cycling helmets :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

furrag

11 months ago, my first ride around Richmond Park: 25.5 miles - 1:46.29 - 14.4mph. Last week in my first race, the average speed over 24 miles was 23.7mph, and I finished 8th out of 39 starters. My first Richmond Park time over 3 laps was something like 81 minutes. 6 months later I put in a 58:35.

A lot of my slowness was a lack of confidence in handling. Ride regularly, don't be afraid push yourself, and join a club. Make local circuits and time yourself as a way of motivating yourself to become faster.

paulbox

Furrag wrote:

11 months ago, my first ride around Richmond Park: 25.5 miles - 1:46.29 - 14.4mph. Last week in my first race, the average speed over 24 miles was 23.7mph, and I finished 8th out of 39 starters. My first Richmond Park time over 3 laps was something like 81 minutes. 6 months later I put in a 58:35.

That's a fantastic improvement, well done!

If I could get to 23mph avg, my commute would only take an hour...

Furrag wrote:

A lot of my slowness was a lack of confidence in handling.

Me too! I came off last month(front wheel wash out on a bend), so I'm going round the corners almost vertically at the moment and obviously a lot slower than I was...

furrag

I can't average 23mph on a commute! I'm more than happy to average 20mph solo though.

Invest in a heart rate monitor, find your max heart rate and then your heart rate zones. With a commute of 23 miles, you can add in 2 x 20 minutes at threshold (approx 85% MHR). Good training if it's a clear run.

wildmoustache

There's a simply way to verify performance - post GPS and power data.

My impression is that only a tiny minority of people on this forum are putting out significant watts.

kingrollo

15mph is always a good result for me! and Ive been cycling over 20 years - last year I got my average up to 16.7 mph over a hilly 25 - and I was well chuffed - still struggling at 14.7 at the moment.

race tyres make a massive (ok 1 or 2 mph) difference - invest £50 in a set of michelin pro race 3 's - come back on here, shout 'wow' - and report the difference !