New riders that can't yet manage a 15mph average?

BruceG

essjaydee wrote:

I too use strava via Iphone app, but not convinced that it's 100% accurate :roll:
These are the stats from my commute home tonight;
Time 00:44:20
Elapsed Time 00:44:46
Max Speed 23.1 mph
Avg Speed 16.1 mph
Cadence N/A
Device Strava iPhone App

Now I can believe this, as it was a good run with light winds and I was working well 8)

And here's the stats from Mondays ride home;
Time 00:48:37
Elapsed Time 00:49:19
Max Speed 37.4 mph
Avg Speed 15.1 mph
Cadence N/A
Device Strava iPhone App

Checkout the max speed :shock: This done on a disc brake heavy hybrid with a rack and 5kg bag, on a flat road, and I'm a 16 stone ex smoker....I don't think so.....hence I'm a bit wary of the accuracy of strava. Nice site and a great app for keeping track of mileage though 8)

I agree does seem a little odd, you may be right to be wary, but as you say ok fot tracking mileage

RoadMeridaBen

BruceG wrote:

Fairly typical summer ride
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/106373619
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/94908456

Fairly typical winter ride
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/125217118
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/137967936

There is bugger all elevation over the distances you've linked there I'd call that a pretty much flat route, nothing to brag about lol

Frostys

BruceG wrote:

Fairly typical summer ride
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/106373619
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/94908456

Fairly typical winter ride
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/125217118
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/137967936

Bruce, I have friends that live in the Col strewn area in which you reside and in no way are these "hilly" rides. Before you hurl banal insults at me for my narrow minded and selective viewpoint I would like to extend an invitation to you. I know the OP personally and he rides mtb's to quite a respectable standard with a group in the MTB Forum called Slow Rides for Unfit People, now you may be wondering what this has to do with you, well, this group has organised a road ride for April 15th in the Peaks. Perhaps you could come along and demonstrate to the OP and myself your prowess as a "grimpeur" on a 75km route with just shy of 1400m of climbing yes meters not feet.

Or failing that how about the St Georges Sportive in Princes Risborough 22nd April 110km and 1530m of climbing and also only about an hour and a half from you. I'm looking at 4 to 4:30 for that but you should be in what? 3:30?

Oh and anyone else who would like to tag along is more than welcome

suzyb

Sorry I never meant to imply that my bad experience was because of others. But from my POV embarrassment = bad.

al_kidder

Pigeons in flight wrote:

Do you mean, you can't manage a 15mph average on your own? Don't want to teach you to suck eggs, but maintaining a certain speed on your own and in a chain gang are two v different things. With the latter, the shielding you get from wind resistance makes a considerable difference.

Hate to bring basic arithmetic into the discussion, but drafting at low speed, assuming no headwind, just doesn't matter. Wind resistance is proportional to the SQUARE of the relative wind speed. If you're riding at 40 kph (25mph), the square is 1600. At 20 kph, the value is down to 400, so you only get 1/4 of the help that a pacier rider would have.
Personally, I hate the view when drafting, 'though anyone who wants to play racers is welcome to sit on my tail.

If you're an older beginner, without a history of a lot of leg exercise, you're probably behind the 8 ball as far as turning into a road rocket goes, simply because muscles don't grow as easily past your mid 20s

johndoran

I'm pretty sure that if I was capable of riding 50 miles at evens over a rolling terrain allowing for all the traffic and slowing down for junctions etc I wouldnt be posting about a 10 mile TT time of about 26/27 minutes. Even on a road bike.

Pigtail

I'm intrigued by some of this discussion about the link between 10 mile TT times and 50 mile plus times. I'm concerned about how the thread has gone though, so I'm going to start a new thread in training.

nhoj

I think we would need to see the course for the 10 mile TT. A 26-minute hilly 10 mile TT might not be unreasonable compared to a 20 mph flat 50 (actually 19.5 mph; I don't think Bruce reached a 20 mph average in any of his rides).

Teece

My daughter won the tour de france on a tricycle.


And it was hilly.

briantrumpet

Teece wrote:

My daughter won the tour de france on a tricycle.

Did she have one of these on the front?



TBH, if she didn't, it's tantamount to cheating, and I'd hope that she'd be stripped of the title.

wishitwasallflat

I bet she had a steak sandwich Alberto gave her in that basket for her lunch going that fast!

ForumNewbie

BruceG wrote:

Fairly typical summer ride
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/106373619
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/94908456

Fairly typical winter ride
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/125217118
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/137967936

BruceG, when you were talking about your hilly 50 mile rides and I mentioned the 56 mile hilly sportive I had done, I honestly thought we were talking about similar types of routes. However I see your 50.62 route had 1,543 feet of climbing and reached a maximum height of 279 feet.

My ride was 55.78 miles and had 4,860 feet of climbing, reaching a maximum height of 1,002 feet. That's the sort of route I thought you were saying you could do at an average of 20mph. Your average speed of 19.5mph for your route is still very fast for that distance, but you must admit it is a bit misleading to call it a hilly route.

RoadMeridaBen

I wouldnt quote average speeds from sportive rides as obviously its not riding solo :P

Heres an 18mph average (solo obviously) not sure if its classified as hilly
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/91595390

As for 15 average for a new rider if you push yourself it shouldnt take long to achieve, I was averaging 18 within about 2-3 months :P

puddle-rider

Oh dear, what did I start? :shock:
I did not mean to start a contentious thread, but I like riding in company and want to get into road riding a bit more, when I read the home pages of local cycle clubs I get a bit concerned about keeping up and not being a nuisance by riding to slowly. Distance is not my issue having ridden C2C last year in two days, 100 miles 1st day in 10 hours including stops, 75 miles second day in 8 hours including stop and this only after having a road bike for a few months. I am regulairly riding 25 to 35 mile routes and am working myself up to doing a few 50/60 mile sportive type rides this year.

Team4Luke

puddle-rider wrote:

Oh dear, what did I start? :shock:
I did not mean to start a contentious thread, but I like riding in company and want to get into road riding a bit more, when I read the home pages of local cycle clubs I get a bit concerned about keeping up and not being a nuisance by riding to slowly. Distance is not my issue having ridden C2C last year in two days, 100 miles 1st day in 10 hours including stops, 75 miles second day in 8 hours including stop and this only after having a road bike for a few months. I am regulairly riding 25 to 35 mile routes and am working myself up to doing a few 50/60 mile sportive type rides this year.

have you found a club, do they have a suitable section, if not why not, ask them, further if they don't ask them if they would be interested in setting one up and yourself promoting it. It's a similar issue for ladies, we have always struggled because, we had none, in turn none would join, we now finally have a lady rider who organises monthly rides for the ladies and follows more have joined, success breads success. You then would have progression from the new group to the club main ride.

briantrumpet

puddle-rider wrote:

Oh dear, what did I start? :shock:
I did not mean to start a contentious thread [...]

Well, any thread about 'average' speeds is probably going to have the following cast of characters:

1) "No-one cares about average speed" (but has in their signature their best TT time.)
2) "Well, I can do xx miles at yy mph" which the ISP (Internet Speed Police) will pick apart.
3) "Every club should wait for you, no matter how slow you are."
4) "It's easy to do 20mph in a group."
5) "Just enjoy riding and you'll get faster."
6) "You won't get faster unless you push yourself."

Plus probably many more. It's rather like the dice game that Mozart 'composed' - he wrote all the bits of a Minuet, but until you play the game, you don't know what order they're going to come out in. But they'll all come out in the end. Then you put the game away, and start all over again when someone rolls the dice by asking that 'innocent' question.

Oh, each of the characters probably has something useful to say, but I wouldn't want to spoil the plot by saying what.

Frostys

Always Mr Contentious PuddleRider lol

a340driver

Stop worrying, get on your bike, push hard when you feel like it, relax when you don't but keep getting on the bike. Eventually you'll stop worrying more easily.

DavidJB

briantrumpet wrote:

puddle-rider wrote:

Oh dear, what did I start? :shock:
I did not mean to start a contentious thread [...]

2) "Well, I can do xx miles at yy mph" which the ISP (Internet Speed Police) will pick apart.

ForumNewbie

RoadMeridaBen wrote:

I wouldnt quote average speeds from sportive rides as obviously its not riding solo :P

Heres an 18mph average (solo obviously) not sure if its classified as hilly
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/91595390

As for 15 average for a new rider if you push yourself it shouldnt take long to achieve, I was averaging 18 within about 2-3 months :P

Hi RoadMeridaBen, I didn't mention the average speed I did in the sportive - I was showing the elevation gain to show as example of a 'hilly' ride. For what its worth, I was riding it mostly solo and my average speed was rubbish in comparison to your average of 18 mph.

I would definitely agree that your route is hilly with one especially killer hill early on by the look of it.

leshere

smidsy wrote:

Wirral_Paul wrote:

inseine wrote:

Since when have they been called velo clubs? :?

He's in Rutland - its posh around there and so they're velo clubs rather than cycling clubs!!

(I lived in Oakham for 3 years)

That can not be it check out the Long Eaton cycling club- they are Long Eaton VC and that is no way posh

But then there is VC de Londres not exactly Rutland unless the county has bloated like my waistline

skelkelly

daysofspeed wrote:

kingrollo wrote:

. and cycling in a group , with your club kit on - IMO makes you a real cyclist.

Everyone is allowed an opinion and it might just be a misinterpretation of the phrase, but as a new cyclist that sounds like a rather pompous outlook.

I assume me, on my newly bought bike in my beg borrowed and what I can afford gear after getting the bike am a second rate or 'phoney' cyclist?

Personally, you cycle, you are real. You sit on your ars* watching TV instead, then no, not a cyclist.

Each to their own I guess.

Well said that man. I don't go anywhere near club rides yet but I do 40-50 mile sessions regularly and average 16mph + on a 30 miler, I think that makes me a real cyclist.

Even if you only do 10 miles and it takes you an hour, that still makes you a cyclist in my book. Just get out, ride and enjoy.

singleton

Why all this talk of average speeds?

I can average over 25mph on the downhill bits Does that count?

sancho1983

I've not got a road bike yet so feel a 'cheat' posting here at the moment. Have been riding my mountain bike for a while now which has made me want to go faster and further.

I do a 16 mile loop near me which is relatively flat, I usually average 14 on a heavy mtb(I could drop a few kilos too...) so I hope having a road bike may add 1mph to take me to this 'magical' 15mph.

Although I would rather complete a 50 mile ride in pretty much any time than be too concerned with average speeds.

Anyway, op, I live very close to rutland, so if you want to feel superior and fancy a ride sometime I'll always be up for it, you may just have to wait a few weeks until my bike arrives (none in my size in the country apparently)

sancho1983

Oh, and I've used imapmyride for one ride recently, do people generally think strava is better?

MarksMintness

sancho1983 wrote:

Oh, and I've used imapmyride for one ride recently, do people generally think strava is better?

Yeah I started that but found it didn't track the ride very well with the GPS signal. Started using strava and no problem at all. Plus the stats and website is brilliantly addictive!

sancho1983

Thanks, I'll change now before I add too many miles!

leshere

I am in the same position as the OP here i.e.wondering if there is a club for me and if not what I need to do before I am at a club standard but I live in Surrey with a lot of choice. Some clubs are more welcoming than others and some a larger and therefore have lots of different groups. I had it in mind to ask an old cycling friend of mine if he would take me out and give me some coaching on riding at close quarters...of course another factor is that I am looking for a club that will take on my son as well who still needs coaching and races...
In terms of fitness I am aiming to replicate in cycling what I did walking (24 hour events, ultra-distances) In walking these were 50 mile, 100 km and 100 mile events. Not sure what the cycling equivalents would be...non stop to Edinburgh?
From what I know of previous events speed matters if you want to complete...walk at 3 kph and 100km is a 33hour plus slog walk at 5.5 kph and you might make it for supper if you make an early start. SO on a 400 mile ride there is a big difference between being able to thrash along at 14 mph (where I am now) and 20 mph (where I might be)...I am inspired and I would be out training but I fell off the bike yesterday (due to those neat click things on the pedals that hold your shoe in) and have a knee with an large egg shaped swelling coming out the side!

Gizmo_

leshere wrote:

I am in the same position as the OP here i.e.wondering if there is a club for me and if not what I need to do before I am at a club standard but I live in Surrey with a lot of choice. Some clubs are more welcoming than others and some a larger and therefore have lots of different groups. I had it in mind to ask an old cycling friend of mine if he would take me out and give me some coaching on riding at close quarters...of course another factor is that I am looking for a club that will take on my son as well who still needs coaching and races...
In terms of fitness I am aiming to replicate in cycling what I did walking (24 hour events, ultra-distances) In walking these were 50 mile, 100 km and 100 mile events. Not sure what the cycling equivalents would be...non stop to Edinburgh?
From what I know of previous events speed matters if you want to complete...walk at 3 kph and 100km is a 33hour plus slog walk at 5.5 kph and you might make it for supper if you make an early start. SO on a 400 mile ride there is a big difference between being able to thrash along at 14 mph (where I am now) and 20 mph (where I might be)...I am inspired and I would be out training but I fell off the bike yesterday (due to those neat click things on the pedals that hold your shoe in) and have a knee with an large egg shaped swelling coming out the side!

The word you need in the cycling world is Audax.

100/200 miles, 200/300/400km are not uncommon. Plus there's LEJOG.

Teece

Just managed 60.3 miles at 15.0mph. Am really chuffed. Just thought I'd share that with the gentlemen of this forum.


Carry on.