average speed getting less

radiation man

i returned to cycling to keep fit over 6 yrs ago, im 52 and my average speed on sunday was 15mph over a 36mile ride, some hills but mostly flat, i just cant seem to get a lot better average.

pipipi

That sounds good to me.

marcusjb

Everyone's average speed will tend to drop over winter - wind and bulky clothes are two major factors. Keep on at it and you'll be flying along come summer.

mistertommyt

It's easy to get hung up on average speeds, but really they mean little in terms of monitoring progress. Time of year, weather, climbing, all of these have an effect.

paul2718

Have you ridden faster in the past? And do you want to ride faster now?

Average speed is a very crude measure, for example the last couple of rides I've been out with a chap and we've intentionally made big efforts in multiple intervals. This isn't a good way of achieving a high average speed on that ride, but perhaps in the longer term...

Paul

dabber

I can only say what seemed to happen for me.

I'm 66 and started riding a bit over 3 years ago. I was averaging, like you, around 15mph and couldn't really seem to get that average up. Btw, I agree with the previous comments that average speed isn't the holy grail but it still became an objective for me.

Last year I completed my first 100 miler (and actually managed an average speed of just over 16 mph)... this became a bit of a watershed for me. After it I felt a lot more confidence to push on and my averages started to creep up.
The other thing that seemed to make a difference was when I got to the top of a climb, instead of maybe freewheeling a bit and relaxing I tried to keep the pressure on whilst still making a controlled recovery.
Now I seem to be able to average around 17/18 mph depending on terrain, length of ride, weather conditions... but basically similar rides to those earlier 15 mph rides.

Additionally, I got a Garmin 500 this year and sorted out my bifocal cycling glasses and I have average speed as one of the data fields displayed. As the ride proceeds I can see if my average is dropping below any target that I have mentally set myself. I have also used the Garmin Virtual Partner function which provides a similar pressure to push on.

I do ride with a club as well and riding in a group does help you push on a lot as well.

Don't take any of the above as a recommendation, just what seems to have worked a bit for me.

cabbageandbacon

radiation man wrote:

i returned to cycling to keep fit over 6 yrs ago, im 52 and my average speed on sunday was 15mph over a 36mile ride, some hills but mostly flat, i just cant seem to get a lot better average.

Mine was 15.5 for 48 mainly flat miles on Sunday, and there were 8 of us in a group. I'm not too concerned about my average atm to be honest, more interested in getting the miles in my legs 1st before i ramp up the pace.

keef66

If it's any consolation I'm 56 and started back on a road bike 6 years ago. Initially my average speed was 12mph-ish and it's gradually increased to 15mph now. I can ride at that virtually all day though.

I still get overtaken with depressing regularity by people who are self evidently going a lot faster than me; the obvious racing snakes don't concern me, but the last one was a young girl on a mountain bike, and that really stung!

I know what I'd need to do to improve, but I'm simply too lazy. I cannot imagine I'd stick to intervals and hill repeats when I'm not competing or even riding with a club.

Maybe in the next life...

Mikey23

I'm 62 and my average has been creeping up to around 14 although only 13 at the moment. According to strava I'm still the quickest in my age group on most of the local segments and that's all that interests me. I'm just very pleased that I can still get enjoyment out of riding a bike. Not sure how long I can keep going so every ride is a bonus...