Average Speed on your Commute?

CyclingObsession

I usually average between 17-19MPH over a 35mile round trip, I find it impossible to get to 20mph I have done it once, I find that the lights and potholes and other cyclist slow me down, I tend to cruise at 20-22mph closer to home its 25-30mph as roads are better and slight downhill sections. Does anyone else find it near impossible to maintain a 20mph average.

daviesee

I can maintain 20mph+ when rolling.
Account for junctions, lights and traffic - not since I was in my mid-twenties.
Still trying though.

CyclingObsession

Its a reall let down when you have been maintaining that speed for 90% of the ride and those lights obviously hills too kill the speed down to 18

rubertoe

You shouldnt worry about speed on the commute IMO, it should be about getting from A-B. I dont worry about speed, i worry about time.

CyclingObsession

I like to use my commute as training

bompington

This sort of thread comes up regularly here - so here are some regular answers:
- firstly, there are too many variables for any figures to be meaningful. Wind, weather, how hilly is your route, how many junctions, how long the lights hold you up, even road surface.
- so if you really want to compare yourself, try strava, which at least fixes the route, but not any of the other variables (I'm sure by now people will have gone out and driven a segment, carefully speeding up on downhills and slowing down on climbs - and holding an average of, say, 26mph, just to perplex people) or, as plenty will tell you, go racing or TTing
- My average speed on a commute of similar distance, but I'm sure much, much hillier ;-), is about 27kmh, but it typically varies by ±5 with the wind, and the extreme records are 38 and, err, 18. Though that one was into a screaming blizzard the whole way.

- if what you really want is for us to tell you how fast you are:

Well done. You're really fast.

rolf_f

CyclingObsession wrote:

I usually average between 17-19MPH over a 35mile round trip, I find it impossible to get to 20mph I have done it once, I find that the lights and potholes and other cyclist slow me down, I tend to cruise at 20-22mph closer to home its 25-30mph as roads are better and slight downhill sections. Does anyone else find it near impossible to maintain a 20mph average.

You're my hero

Kieran_Burns

The thing is:

Absolutely balls out, on the fast carbon bike with a light tailwind my PB is 37 minutes to home, 36 minutes to work (12.2 miles, country commute, no traffic lights)

Cruising on the Tricross, just cycling in: 45 ish minutes

Meh.

It's fun to try and beat times and I like to try, but... meh.

peat

rubertoe wrote:

I dont worry about speed, i worry about time.

In a constant A-B, average speed is the same as time.

rubertoe

Peat wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

I dont worry about speed, i worry about time.

In a constant A-B, average speed is the same as time.

I know that, if it takes me 45 minutes 30 x in a row that the speed will equate to an average. However. i am not looking at the speed, just how long it takes.

FWIW I am slow, probably why i dont bother with the speed.

Kieran_Burns

Peat wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

I dont worry about speed, i worry about time.

In a constant A-B, average speed is the same as time.

Not strictly true. If you use something like Endomondo, you can have auto pause on which takes out the stop / start aspect of the journey and shows your moving time.

CiB

If it's willy-waving you're after you've picked the right day. Any speed less than 20 is a disappointment to me ( I have a lot of disappointment) but avg commute speeds are usually around the 17 mark, some days down as low as 15 and just once it was 20.1; what a day that was.

Today was a good day - avg speed over 21.1 miles was 19.34 for the thrash in. Twas fun, except for m'colleague shouting encouragement out of his car window when he passed. Berk.

rick_chasey

Anywhere from 28kph to 19kph depending on traffic lights.

So by and large, the 'average' bit is irrelevant.

peat

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Not strictly true. If you use something like Endomondo, you can have auto pause on which takes out the stop / start aspect of the journey and shows your moving time.

True, that feature is handy for weekend/evening rides when you have the odd snack'n'chat stop, but the purist in me dies a little inside.

CyclingObsession

CiB wrote:

If it's willy-waving you're after you've picked the right day. Any speed less than 20 is a disappointment to me ( I have a lot of disappointment) but avg commute speeds are usually around the 17 mark, some days down as low as 15 and just once it was 20.1; what a day that was.

Im there with you I had one day it was 20.1 also best feeling ever reaching that, I think it was pure luck getting lights and fast on hills etc. Ive had as low down as under 15, had a 36mph head wind which decided to change direction so had it both ways

Agent57

About 15-16mph on the Brompton. But I only do 3 miles.

CiB

CyclingObsession wrote:

I had one day it was 20.1 also best feeling ever reaching that, I think it was pure luck getting lights and fast on hills etc. Ive had as low down as under 15, had a 36mph head wind which decided to change direction so had it both ways

I don't have lights & junctions (2 maybe) so it's all down to which route, wind, & me. Like rubertoe it's time that does it, <1 hour is my target but clearly if I bust the hour the avg is going to be > 20.

Bikequin

This is the 2nd thread in 2 days where you've opened up by telling everyone how far and how fast your commute is. I assume that you've started the 2nd thread as no-one took the time to say how amazing you are on the first? So to save everyone having to read exactly the same post tomorrow - here it is "You're amazing".

cyclingprop

Rick Chasey wrote:

Anywhere from 17.5mph to 11.88mph depending on traffic lights.

So by and large, the 'average' bit is irrelevant.

No, you are not on the continent.

rick_chasey

cyclingprop wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Anywhere from 17.5mph to 11.88mph depending on traffic lights.

So by and large, the 'average' bit is irrelevant.

No, you are not on the continent.

I hope you're not serious. *cracks knuckles*

mr_ribble

27 mph every day.... and I don't even try.

MonkeyMonster

IT_DrunkBoffin wrote:

2.7 mph every day.... from the sun lounger to the fridge and back

mr_ribble

DOOOOOOOMMMMBARRRRR

MonkeyMonster

Mr_Ribble wrote:

DOOOOOOOMMMMBARRRRR

http://www.sharpsbrewery.co.uk/shop/?id=72

Wobbit

14mph average for my 10 mile commute along a mix of canal paths and roads on my mtb.

Gizmo_

First time out yesterday; 14mph or so. Partly because the traffic in east London is nasty, partly because buses have this ridiculous habit of stopping and getting in the way, and partly because I wasn't interested in nailing it all the way.

optimisticbiker

Oh dear... I try and nail it all the way some of the time... my best to work is 17.25mph, my worst is high-13s, coming home I've never bettered 15mph, typically 13.5mph (its uphill). That's moving time but obviously slowing for lights/traffic/etc drops the average even if you dont take the stops into account. Coming round Regents Park I can maintain 22mph but its about my limit. Basically I've got puny legs

meanredspider

It is a bit of a nonsense to try to compare speeds on different routes. My most direct route (13 miles) I'm lucky to average 16mph on the way home. For comparison, my 40-mile return loop , I can average nearer 18mph. My Etape C average over 81 miles was 17.6mph despite the shocking wind.

Yukirin

16-18 over 11 south London miles, though can be as low as 13 and no less effort spent.

roger_merriman

As ever route and type of bike makes a difference, at moment i'm averaging about 8mph. new bike arrives friday should see a little increase next week but realistically it's a short route with dog walkers, deer etc.

monkeydan

Hmmm... I am beginning to think that I suck at this cycling lark. My commute is 6.5 miles (Stockwell to Hammersmith) but I can't seem to do it in under half an hour, which makes my average speed 13 miles per hour!!

No idea how much time I spent stopped at the lights but I hope it's fairly significant as otherwise I would be really depressed :-(

I downloaded Endomondo but it always has problems linking to a satellite or whatever it does and I gave up using it after a few days. After my usual journey home from work one day I checked it and it had only picked up the last 200 metres of my journey giving me an average speed of something like 0.2 miles per hour!

I'm on a SS, 42/16 which I think is 76 gear inches? Anything bigger than that and I struggle to get up to speed.

Thinking about dropping the bomb on a 'proper' road bike (i.e. one with gears), maybe that will help with the speed...