Average Speed, What's Yours?

[Milkfloat]

Back in the day my average speed was sulphate

If you are talking chemicals mine was C9H13N

 

[FishFright]

If you are talking chemicals mine was C9H13N

Thats the one

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It depends how you measure it. Over my cycling lifetime of 52 years the distance from where I first put foot to pedal to where I am now is about17 miles, tonight it will have gone down to about 300 yards when I get home. Any one care to do the arithmetic?

Easy 0.32 MPY

 

[Rusty Nails]

How do you define average speed? Does it include all types of riding including to the shops, out with the family, riding to work, in town, out in the countryside, or just when trying to go fast.

Most people have several average speeds.

I am proud to say that I am so fast I can set off the 5mph warning signs along Cardiff Bay barrage.

 

[freiston]

I only ever look at average speed on my touring bike (my only other bike is a folding bike). According to my little wired Cateye Velo 7 (calibrated by measuring rolling circumference whilst sat on bike), my rides (moving time) usually average between 10 and 12 mph; very rarely does it deviate from this range and then I don't think I've seen it deviate by more than ½ mph . I tend not to keep (or pay particular attention to) ride stats other than a quick look at the computer at the end of the ride before resetting it to zero. I haven't noticed any particular or significant reason that makes it 10mph on one ride and 12 mph on another. My speed is very inconsistent during a ride, often going down to 6 or 7 mph on a climb and regularly over 30 mph downhill. On my little rides, the computer is not much more than a toy; on longer rides and tours, it is a planning and navigation aid. Average speeds matter to me only for knowing when I will be somewhere or how far I will get before needing to think about somewhere to sleep.

Most of my regular rides are circular or at least finish where they start, so I have as much climb as descent and I get wind from all directions. I usually ride with a bag or two and I'm not "lightweight". I have recorded gpx files (on my phone using OsmAnd) of my regular routes and looked at them on Google Earth - average climb and descent per mile is around 70~75 feet.

 

[Colin Grigson]

This was my ride yesterday … I appear to be consistently just over 19mph regardless of perceived effort, it’s very flat where I live which helps with average speed … it would be great to go over 20mph for a ride one day but I don’t see that happening anytime soon …

 

[Alex321]

Cycling becomes much more enjoyable when you stop worrying about the numbers. Just enjoy the ride

That is true for some people, but not for all.

Some of us just like looking at the stats. Others of us have a very competitive streak, and like to compare our results against others. And some of us like to have targets to push ourselves against.

So don't assume that everybody will get more enjoyment without worrying about the numbers.

 

[gcogger]

For context, I'm in my late 50s and 117kg in weight. I'm working on the latter - can't do much about the former

I can average up to 16mph on shorter routes (say, under 30 miles), more commonly ~15mph if longer and more hilly (and if I'm not pushing so hard!), and ~11mph if I'm out with my wife

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Usually 14-15 mph.

If I do something like the Kendal/Shap/Orton/Kendal loop then it's about 10mph.

Currently though it's 0mph due to shoulder problem.

 

[classic33]

Usually 14-15 mph.

If I do something like the Kendal/Shap/Orton/Kendal loop then it's about 10mph.

Currently though it's 0mph due to shoulder problem.

Why are you pedalling with your arms?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

How do you define average speed? Does it include all types of riding including to the shops, out with the family, riding to work, in town, out in the countryside, or just when trying to go fast.

Most people have several average speeds.

I am proud to say that I am so fast I can set off the 5mph warning signs along Cardiff Bay barrage.

What did it say? Please speed up!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've just skimmed through this thread. I think about two or three people actually admitted to being as slow as me I'm not admitting it though

 

[tyred]

I've just skimmed through this thread. I think about two or three people actually admitted to being as slow as me I'm not admitting it though

Pass me the calendar and I'll measure mine.

 

[Rusty Nails]

What did it say? Please speed up!

What did what say?

I ride a gravel bike 95% of the time, mostly on the road, although also on trails/paths. Sometimes in the city, sometimes in the countryside, sometimes in the mountains, sometimes on the flat, sometimes just to admire the scenery, sometimes to run errands and sometimes to try and keep fit. I rarely do exactly the same ride and don't note my average speed for all those different examples because it would be meaningless so I don't have an overall average. When I go out on my mountain bike no ride or terrain is the same and average speed doesn't mean a thing so I don't monitor it.

Today I did a ride that was a mix of scenery and fitness, much of it through city roads with traffic and traffic stops, including one junction where the traffic was stopped for 5 minutes and another stretch where I watched a dredger going through a narrow channel, on which I averaged 13mph.

Are these threads just for cycling geeks and performance improvers who monitor and record every ride?

 

[itboffin]

i ride slow in the week as in dont care what speed i'm at then totally smash it Wed & Sat club rides, the slow riding has made me a better fast rider.