I've just realised that I'm scared of riding fast!

[Jezston]

There's a long, open downhill stretch on my commute and when I first started doing it I found myself holding back my speed as it felt scary when I was hitting 20mph+ (estimated)!

Two years later I find it hard going up the following hill because I've knackered myself blasting in high gear to get maximum speed down that hill

 

[Davidc]

I can't see the problem, just go at the speed you're happy with.

When I was young, invincible, and immortal (i.e. a teenage male) I used to ride as fast as I could. I don't now, even when descending in places where I could.

 

[fimm]

I can sympathise. I've just got a Time Trial bike, and it feels very different to my road bike. I'm slowly getting used to the feeling, but at the moment I'm getting up to speed and immediately slowing down again!

I went round a course that the triathlon club uses for 10 mile time trials the other day - it is a 4 lap course and I did 1 lap in eight and a half minutes. That is about 34 minutes for 10 miles. I could do that on my mountain bike... on the other hand I've done sub-30 on my road bike.

I'm sure I will get faster when I get used to it. Bumpy road surfaces don't help.

 

[Ferdie]

I can't see the problem, just go at the speed you're happy with.

When I was young, invincible, and immortal (i.e. a teenage male) I used to ride as fast as I could. I don't now, even when descending in places where I could.

I think that may be it. I slow down on descents too to my normal speed.

When I have been late for work I have cut my time in half at times but those have been very scary rides (especially going through Old Street/city road).

And bumps don't help either.

However if I ride into a group of cyclist commuters who are riding at speed I kind of feel safer and ride at their faster speed as long as I'm kind of 'sheltered' in the pack

 

[mgarl10024]

My averages are between 10 and 12, over a 7 mile commute. I've been cycling for a year now and am heavier than I should be.

I do notice though, that the faster I go (average), the more I focus on the speed, and the less I enjoy the rides. So, a ride where I average 10 can be really enjoyable, whereas one where I averaged 12 can be 'satisfying' because of the number but on reflection not very enjoyable. I also find (as has been said on here many times) that the difference between me dripping with sweat and panting, or arriving quite cool and collected, is about 2mph on the average.

Two colleagues of mine are all about speed - and they both say they don't enjoy the cycling and do it for other reasons. To me, this seems such a waste.

 

[cyberknight]

I can sympathise. I've just got a Time Trial bike, and it feels very different to my road bike. I'm slowly getting used to the feeling, but at the moment I'm getting up to speed and immediately slowing down again!

I went round a course that the triathlon club uses for 10 mile time trials the other day - it is a 4 lap course and I did 1 lap in eight and a half minutes. That is about 34 minutes for 10 miles. I could do that on my mountain bike... on the other hand I've done sub-30 on my road bike.

I'm sure I will get faster when I get used to it. Bumpy road surfaces don't help.

tt set ups do take a bit of getting used to, on a drag strip road i could do 28 mph + when i had tri bars on my roadie many years ago , for commuting i average 17-18 fully loaded.

Go with what you feel comfortable with and if you want to push then push !Only race against yourself and set a target , surpass it then go again .These little victories soon add up to something you will be amazed with.