hands up those who can.

[gavroche]

6.30 tonight, I was on my way home when ahead of me I caught in my lights a bunch of cyclists. There were 8 of them, all lit up like Blackpool illuminations. What really striked me is the speed they were going!! The road was gently ondulating up and down but nothing serious. These guys were keeping a speed of between 25 and 28mph all the way. I stayed behind for a bit ( pretending it wasn't safe to overtake) just to watch them. Eventually,one of them started to drop off on a slight gradient.
I cycle on that road quite often and the best I have ever managed to do is 17mph! I understand it is faster as a group but hey! there is no way I could have stayed with this lot!!!
I am now resigned that I will always be a slow cyclist ( by the way, I will be 61 next week) so thats my excuse.
How many of you can substain that sort of speed for longhish periods?
Be honest now, no bullshit!

 

[derrick]

Am only 59 and i can't lol

 

[Paulus]

I can average 18 mph on a long ride, but that is my max . Too old to go fast these days.

 

[lulubel]

Are you sure your speedo is callibrated correctly? In every car/van I've ever driven, it reads a few mph faster than the satnav, which is presumably accurate.

And to answer your question, of course I can sustain that kind of speed.









Downhill

 

[Winnershsaint]

Just couldn't do it. I will be happy to crack 30 mins for a 10 mile TT when I try it out next year. Never averaged 20mph for any ride of any length so that seems a realistic target to aim for. I'm much, much younger btw, 54.

 

[YahudaMoon]

I dont think I would be able to keep up with them above speeds for long. Thats about 42 kmh

200 km in 8 1/2 is my personal best. You could say 8 hours for stopping thought that dont count where I come from

As Im no good at MPH / KM conversions or maths could someone tell me ?

I must point out the above route was flat with no wind, I average normally a 200km in about 10 1/2 hours

Not sure if I could do another 200km in 8 1/2 tomorrow though with a bit more practice dedication and thought, good weather I dont see why not.

 

[YahudaMoon]

If Im correct ? Thats 200km in under 5 hours

wow. Thats amazing

 

[Nebulous]

I was doing the bealach mor sportive at the beginning of September. About 15 miles or so in, along the side of the loch I was in a good going group and we were sitting at 24mph - thinking it was going great.

Then I heard a voice saying 'coming through' and this fast group went through as though we were standing still. They must have been doing about 30.

One of the front guys had deep carbon wheels, and they made a whooshing noise as they passed. I reckon for a newbie (50 next year) I'm doing ok- but there will always be a lot of people faster.

 

[Tyres23]

Not me my best ever is a fairly flat 23 miles average of 17.4 so they would never see me again !!! At the weekend hit a lovely shiny new Tarmac road got giddy hit 25 lasted a few minutes then back down I went to 18

 

[The Brewer]

Maybe next year, I only started back this year

 

[Dan_h]

Were they wearing similar kit? Perhaps with "Sky" or similar written on it?

An 8 man chaingang could probably hold this sort of speed, seems a bit quick for a bunch of commuters on the way home though!

Oh, and the answer is no, I could not hold that sort of pace unless the road goes downhill for a long way

 

[jdtate101]

On the flat with minimal wind, I suppose I could hold 22-26mph long term, but not much more than that. Any sort of incline would do me in quickly. My average over most distances is about 17mph.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'm a mere 57 and I've decided life's too short to rush things.

 

[snorri]

. There were 8 of them, all lit up like Blackpool illuminations.

I have noticed that some of these unconventional lighting systems can give the onlooker a false impression of speed.

 

[HLaB]

I think I can sustain a good speed but there are plenty faster. btw this is tonights chaingang but I was off the back in about 3-4 laps (10 miles).