Advice from a pro to a beginner?

CyclingObsession

I need some advice I have been cycling exactly a year, I started cycling to lose weight having no fitness levels at all, for a 35mile ride of maximum grade 5.5% hill on the end of my commute is an average speed of 17.4mph good? I have done a century 101 miles average speed 18.3MPH, Im trying to see how I stack against the pros. I am a solo rider not a member of a club.

dawebbo

Go on strava, plenty of pro's on there who post some of their ride.

mikeabanks

Sound like good figures to me although I am not a "pro" whatever you mean by that (cycling for less than a year myself). I take it you have met your weight and fitness targets? If you want to race in some way then a club is the way to go and you can measure yourself against other people. Alternatively use a GPS device and Strava to compare yourself with other people. It is up to you.

CyclingObsession

I have just signed up to strava so I think I will use that, yes I have reached my goal in that rescpect, started duatholons did two races seemed average in the first 1 and top 60 in the cycling ascpect of the second which is not badI suppose, that was out of 300+ people. what GPS would you reccomend?

kfinlay

CyclingObsession wrote:

what GPS would you reccomend?

Garmin Edge 200/500/800 depending on your budget

Strava also available on iphone/Android phone apps for free

HTH

springtide9

kfinlay wrote:

CyclingObsession wrote:

what GPS would you reccomend?

Garmin Edge 200/500/800 depending on your budget
Strava also available on iphone/Android phone apps for free
HTH

If you also like running, then maybe the Forerunner 310XT might be a better alternative (you can get bike mounts).
The downside about the 310XT's (or similar) is the screen is pretty small, which although is what you want for running, a larger display is preferable on the bike.

But it obviously does come down to whether you want a dedicated device for the bike and/or one for multisport events.

Dedicated GPS units are more accurate than mobile phones, so you get less errors in your data (meaning you'll complain less about Strava not showing you properly where you've actually ridden!).. but they obviously come at a cost.

southdownswolf

+1 for the Forerunner 310XT, I have been using one for a couple of months.
As I don't use it as a sat nav, just to record the data, I leave it on my wrist. The info all uploads automatically when I walk in the door and I can view on Garmin Connect + Strava. It is ideal for Duathlons/Triathlons as you can set up activities beforehand and it can even record your transition times.

kaptainscoot

I use the android app its nice its hasnt crashed on me at all plus its free or you can be a paying member for only 6 bucks a month or i think 59 a yr i could be wrong.

andyeb

For comparison purposes - I've been doing a 30 mile (each way) commute for 6 months and my average speed is almost always steady at 16.9 mph, no matter how hard I try. So I'd say you are doing pretty well.

Rob Somerset

This is hardly a topic for the Beginners section, one guy who considers himself a beginner doing 18mph avg for 100miles, another commuting 60miles a day.Big pat on the back to you both, I presume thats what you wanted? , but surely this is a serious training topic. To the OP; get in contact with a club who will be able help guide you to whatever level is your goal.

springtide9

It depends on what you class as 'Pros' :-)

Your times are good, but meaningless unless there is assent data TBH. 18mph on a flat route is a lot easier than 18mhp on a hilly route (and the only way to determine hilly vs flat vs in-between - is to know how much assent for a specific distance)

But if we are talking true pros.... Just pulled some data out of Strava for "Ted King" (who just happens to be on Strava)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_King_(cyclist)

Tour of CA, stage 4
http://www.strava.com/runs/tour-of-ca-s ... ay-8697302
Ridden by Ted King and 14 others at 10:31am on Wednesday, 16/05/2012

Distance: 132.0mi
Elevation: 9,496ft
Moving Time: 05:26:40
Max Speed: 59.3mi/h
Avg Speed: 24.3mi/h

So about 24mph over what looks like a pretty hilly route.

mikeabanks

The Garmin 500 is my recommendation if you are after a cycle only GPS.

Pross

Pros will average well over 25mph for 100 mile plus flat road races and this might drop to around 20mph on big mountain stages. Top British (amateur) time triallists will do 100 miles in well under 4 hours with the competition record being 3.22.45!! This will be on a flat course but is an incredible average speed of 29.5mph, 10 mph faster than my own average in my one attempt at the distance.

thefd

springtide9 wrote:

But if we are talking true pros.... Just pulled some data out of Strava for "Ted King" (who just happens to be on Strava)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_King_(cyclist)

Tour of CA, stage 4
http://www.strava.com/runs/tour-of-ca-s ... ay-8697302
Ridden by Ted King and 14 others at 10:31am on Wednesday, 16/05/2012

Distance: 132.0mi
Elevation: 9,496ft
Moving Time: 05:26:40
Max Speed: 59.3mi/h
Avg Speed: 24.3mi/h

So about 24mph over what looks like a pretty hilly route.

It's a bit scary that he got 4 KOM's and 4 2nd places on a route that if he knew they were there he may have really hammered those segments!

jgsi

Pross wrote:

Pros will average well over 25mph for 100 mile plus flat road races and this might drop to around 20mph on big mountain stages. Top British (amateur) time triallists will do 100 miles in well under 4 hours with the competition record being 3.22.45!! This will be on a flat course but is an incredible average speed of 29.5mph, 10 mph faster than my own average in my one attempt at the distance.

Above sums it up.
OP, if you are genuinely interested in how you stack up, then I recommend some local races either road, circuit or TT.
Can be done very cheaply and then you will see if you have any shortcomings against club riders.
Trying to compare yourself to professional riders is just plain dillusionary.

Frank the tank

When I first started riding I was told "Until you break even time you're not a proper cyclist" Even time being 25mph for an hour.

Well, by that bench mark, inspite of riding a bike for 15yearsish I've never cracked that.

However, I enjoy riding my bike so does it matter, not one jot fella. IMHO unless you're cycling competitively does it really matter what your figures are?