Opinions on my pace

Dippydog3

Heretic views perhaps, but I think speed is irrelevant.

Leaving aside factors such as wind, road, weather, tyres, bike etc. it is still not really a measure of what YOU can or should be able to do.

As a beginner you should be just building up miles to condition your body to be used to being on a bike and then you should be doing heart rate or perceived level of exertion training.

Speed is a byproduct. It will come if you train properly.

simon_masterson

okgo wrote:

southdownswolf wrote:

At my clubs last 10m TT in August, out of the 28 riders, only 6 people went under 24 minutes. I guess it is a pretty poor standard at our club...

Yes it sounds it. At ours nearly everyone goes under 24/25 minutes and it isn't a fast course.

Simon is getting a lot of stick, it's been suggested by various cycling professors that nearly everyone can reach a certain w/kg threshold with training. I forget the exact number, but from memory it's probably enough to do what Simon is saying IMO.

Thanks; I was beginning to question myself for a moment there! I went to my wife's dad's club for their very light hearted Boxing Day 10 last year - it was freezing cold, and though I myself had done no cycling that month and nothing you could call 'training' for the few months before that, and posted 30 mins on my old steel bike, the best time was well clear of 25. The bloke on the ordinary didn't fare so well though.

Sutton_Rider

We really are all different, if we weren't we would all be in the grand tours every year. I took up cycling in July 2014 previously a master couch potato. I've cycled about 1000 miles since on a cheap road bike on flat roads. I average 16mph and can top out at 30 for a few seconds, the longest distance is 38 miles. I have done 10 miles in around 32 mins. I'm a couple of pounds over weight and 62 years old. Now I don't know if all that makes me good, bad or average, but I am enjoying what I'm doing and to me that's the important thing. I think sometimes people loose sight of why a lot of us are riding in the first place.

beski

I agree Sutton, Strava & tracking how you are doing/improving is an incentive which adds to the enjoyment. Just try to compare your own times & not get over concerned with competing against others

bflk

Sutton Rider wrote:

We really are all different, if we weren't we would all be in the grand tours every year. I took up cycling in July 2014 previously a master couch potato. I've cycled about 1000 miles since on a cheap road bike on flat roads. I average 16mph and can top out at 30 for a few seconds, the longest distance is 38 miles. I have done 10 miles in around 32 mins. I'm a couple of pounds over weight and 62 years old. Now I don't know if all that makes me good, bad or average, but I am enjoying what I'm doing and to me that's the important thing. I think sometimes people loose sight of why a lot of us are riding in the first place.

Some of those figures are close to mine but I don't think I can hit 30 on the flat unless the wind is behind me. Most of the TT or at least TT like roads near me happen to be straight E-W and I can average over 20 one way but struggle on the return. I had a target this summer to do my local TT at >20mph but missed it, did 21mph out but way below the mark into the wind on the return. Mind you that was solo not in an organised event.

markhewitt1978

15mph is a decent pace. I tend to average between 13mph for very hilly and 17mph for very flat.

Make as a change from these usual threads where the OP would come on and say "I'm been cycling for two weeks and I can average 19mph, is that ok". :rolleyes:

okgo

Why rolleyes?

markhewitt1978

Because someone who's never cycled before and straight away is claiming those sorts of averages is lying, basically.

okgo

Ketchup with that chip on your shoulder?

simon_masterson

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Because someone who's never cycled before and straight away is claiming those sorts of averages is lying, basically.

It's a bit silly to generalise - whilst cycling specific fitness takes time to develop, I wouldn't be surprised if someone that is already fit from another sport managed that early on after taking up cycling, particularly if it's over a short distance at maximum effort.