Not bad for a beginner

dg74
dg74 Posts: 656
edited February 2009 in Road beginners
Just had my first ride out on my new steed. Thought I'd only done a couple of miles (2-3) but when I got home I just worked out my route on MapMyRun.com.

Turns out I done 8.58 miles in 49 mins 38 seconds. That (using their MapMyRun workout calculator) comes out at average speed of 10.37 mph, ave pace 5.47 per min/per mile, my BMI of 26 and I burnt 388 cals.

Not bad for someone who hasn't ridden in 15 years or so. Few weeks of that and I'll be pushing those figures right down.

Comments

  • geerfree
    geerfree Posts: 74
    not bad, aim to increase your average speed by at least 1mph each ride.
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  • Tempestas
    Tempestas Posts: 486
    geerfree wrote:
    not bad, aim to increase your average speed by at least 1mph each ride.

    I tried that once, but after 25 days I seemed to plateau :lol:
  • dg74
    dg74 Posts: 656
    geerfree wrote:
    not bad, aim to increase your average speed by at least 1mph each ride.

    I aim to go one better. My new job is 7 miles from home, that's 14 miles there and back and I work 4 days per week (long shifts tho). That 2/3 times a week plus weekend rides will see me ok within a month or two. Saying that, I'm not exactly a racing snake so this is just going to be done to gain better health with a view to riding within a club in 6-8 months.

    I'm looking long term here....
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    geerfree wrote:
    not bad, aim to increase your average speed by at least 1mph each ride.

    It will end in disappointment, set more realistic goals, say 1mph per month. You will increase your speed faster at first but you will plateau eventually.
  • Mettan
    Mettan Posts: 2,103
    dg74 wrote:
    Turns out I done 8.58 miles in 49 mins 38 seconds. That (using their MapMyRun workout calculator) comes out at average speed of 10.37 mph, ave pace 5.47 per min/per mile, my BMI of 26 and I burnt 388 cals.

    Looks like a good start - with 3-6 months of regular riding you might be able to up that to 13-15 mph avg over the 8.58 miles. Could always aim for a Sportive in the summer?
  • dg74
    dg74 Posts: 656
    Mettan wrote:
    dg74 wrote:
    Turns out I done 8.58 miles in 49 mins 38 seconds. That (using their MapMyRun workout calculator) comes out at average speed of 10.37 mph, ave pace 5.47 per min/per mile, my BMI of 26 and I burnt 388 cals.

    Looks like a good start - with 3-6 months of regular riding you might be able to up that to 13-15 mph avg over the 8.58 miles. Could always aim for a Sportive in the summer?

    A sportive would be good but maybe the summer is a bit too close? I plan to ride as often as possible so who knows but I think I may aim for fitness first then move on up to sportives.
  • Mettan
    Mettan Posts: 2,103
    Just as a brief mention - The Northern Rock Cyclone has a 33 miler in June - seems like a well run event (Newcastle).

    http://www.cyclosport.org/eventdetails. ... eventid=38

    http://www.cyclosport.org/events2009.aspx

    I did a couple last year - good fun.
  • teulk
    teulk Posts: 557
    Mettan wrote:
    Just as a brief mention - The Northern Rock Cyclone has a 33 miler in June - seems like a well run event (Newcastle).

    http://www.cyclosport.org/eventdetails. ... eventid=38

    http://www.cyclosport.org/events2009.aspx

    I did a couple last year - good fun.


    I did the great north bike ride last August It was the first organised ride id done - 55miles in 3hrs50. Im looking at doing the 62mile Northern Rock ride in june - i just know its going to hurt :D
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  • Chaz.Harding
    Chaz.Harding Posts: 3,144
    Mettan wrote:
    Just as a brief mention - The Northern Rock Cyclone has a 33 miler in June - seems like a well run event (Newcastle).

    Thats if the Northern Rock Cyclone doesn't fold in, and go into 'government administration' :wink:
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  • Gav888
    Gav888 Posts: 946
    Im also a beginner, only been riding a couple of months and not for 15 years prior to that, and the other night I did a 8.5 mile route, mainly flat but 5 roundabouts, to check my cleat alignment, having stopped twice to adjust them (there still not right) and slowing down for the roundabouts I managed 33 min and a ave of 14.4 mph, but dont worry to much about your ave speed as things like junctions, traffic, hills etc can kill your ave speed, I tend to go by my speed on a flat section of road, and that is about 16 / 17 mph to give me a very rough idea of my performance.

    Im trying to find a nice bit of road, approx 10 mile long and time myself on it without stopping, then again every month to see how my time is compared... or if you want to get really technical, try measuring your watts!
    Cycling never gets any easier, you just go faster - Greg LeMond
  • ferrets
    ferrets Posts: 12
    just bought my first road bike. Its a specialized roubaix elite (08) i paid £1100.00 from my local bike shop, made enquiries with my house insurance about getting it insured but they came back with a silly quote. Any advice regarding who to insure with would be great. Thanks.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I have all my bikes on my home insurance with direct line, about £10k worth. The charge? about 30 quid...

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