PB!

[Lazy-Commuter]

All this cycling I've been doing lately seems to be paying dividends. I set a personal best for my commute in this morning and I wasn't even trying! Knocked about 3 minutes off and was comfortably under 40 minutes, average 12.72. Who knows, maybe I'll overtake someone soon rather than being overtaken! To all the new/returning cyclists out there just persevere and you'll soon see rewards.

Is it just me or does the weather help? I've also been noticeably quicker in the last couple of weeks. I put the slicks back on last weekend due to the woods drying out sufficiently and that obviously helped, but I was going quicker prior to that .. even on the wobbly knobblies.

I always feel like my legs work better when it's not too cold, but is it also down to being less encumbered by all the layers I've been wearing through Winter?

Well done, Helen, by the way.

 

[MadoneRider1991]

I've recently joined Cyclogs and seem to be near the bottom of the pile for my average speed. So tonight I decided to see whether I could crack the 12mph barrier. Result 12.9mph! I got rather hot and sweaty so will have to go back to my usual pootling pace on the way in otherwise I won't be very popular with my colleagues but maybe I'll aim to break 13mph on the way home next time. Thank you to all my fellow Cyclogs Cycle Chatters for giving me something to aim at.

well done

 

[HelenD123]

Is it just me or does the weather help? I've also been noticeably quicker in the last couple of weeks. I put the slicks back on last weekend due to the woods drying out sufficiently and that obviously helped, but I was going quicker prior to that .. even on the wobbly knobblies.

I always feel like my legs work better when it's not too cold, but is it also down to being less encumbered by all the layers I've been wearing through Winter?

Well done, Helen, by the way.

There was still a very slight chill in the air this morning I thought but it was beautiful, with sun and no wind. Maybe the secret is just being relaxed and enjoying it. I was wearing my usual long trousers and windproof so it's not that I've changed into summer gear yet.

 

[jimboalee]

I could tell a long story about when I took the "PB" challenge.

My route was out of central Birmingham. Nuff said.

After a month or so, I was taking so many risks, it became dangerous.


Roads with cars and trucks are not the place to have personal TTs.

Be mindful.

On another thread, I have outlined how you can calculate your MEDIAN speed, which discludes stops and slow sections by filtering speeds slower than Average minus 1 Standard deviation.

This is how I measure my performance.
I can stop at lights; and ride slow alongside the traffic, and that doesn't effect the MEDIAN.


Attempting the fastest overall average means NOT stopping and riding down the cat's eyes = danger.

 

[HelenD123]

The thing is, I really wasn't trying this morning. My aim is to get to work safely and to not be a sweaty mess when I arrive so I take it steady. Half of my route is virtually traffic free and the rest is pretty much non-stop cycling with only a couple of sets of lights, no weaving in and out of traffic. I'm just trying to up my natural pace on the long stretchs.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

There was still a very slight chill in the air this morning I thought but it was beautiful, with sun and no wind. Maybe the secret is just being relaxed and enjoying it. I was wearing my usual long trousers and windproof so it's not that I've changed into summer gear yet.

Yeah, I nearly added a layer back this morning (i've been down to long sleeve top and shorts for a week or so), but decided against it at the last minute. Glad I did .. I was just right.

So, for me, there's an element of lighter clothing, plus the change of tyres. Also, now it's a bit drier in the woods I can use the shorter route without getting plastered in mud (fun at the weekend .. not when going to work!!) and that's quicker, partly due to it being shorter (less time spent dodging tree roots and splashing in mud which inevitably slows me down) and partly due to the other (drier!) bridleway having loads of barriers on it (presumably to stop cars) that I have to keep stopping and climbing over.

I think relaxing must help as well. I think my improvement is made up of all these factors. Plus, I guess going quicker for a week or two pushes my base level up a bit.

Good point, jimboalee. I do record an overall average (mean), which is OK for me 'cos there's not that much traffic on my route. However, I put the effort into the off-road bits and the bits that are on the really quiet roads. I time those individually and compare those day-by-day, so if I end up taking a bit longer on one of the busier bits due to not wanting to get squished, so be it.

My main challenge is the climb out of my village each morning: around 6% over about 1km, with a couple of bits in the middle steeper than that. It's on a very quiet no-through road so my time is usually just down to me and how my legs are feeling. It's unusual to see a car and - as there's only a dozen or so houses up there - most people are used to seeing me and tend to be quite patient with me.

 

[snorri]

I've recently joined Cyclogs and seem to be near the bottom of the pile for my average speed.

Maybe I should up my average just to encourage you?
I record my mileage accurately on Cyclogs, but don't really care about my speed so just enter enough hours and minutes to give an average speed which looks reasonable, say 11 or 12 mph.

 

[marinyork]

Cyclogs hasn't been working very well for me, it has added up the totals completely wrong and seems to be down most hours this week. There are plenty of people in the 11-12mph mark.

 

[summerdays]

I dream of it saying 11 mph ... just to be double figs would be good - but at least I must make it look like it isn't only for those who go fast.

 

[marinyork]

Depends what sort of riding you do. Some of the rides I do with other people come in at 9mph and one in January came in at about 8.5mph I think which normally drags my average down a bit below 11mph. I wouldn't not do them or log them though.

 

[HelenD123]

Cyclogs hasn't been working very well for me, it has added up the totals completely wrong and seems to be down most hours this week. There are plenty of people in the 11-12mph mark.

I've never had any problems with it, but I've only been using it since the start of the month.

 

[HelenD123]

Depends what sort of riding you do. Some of the rides I do with other people come in at 9mph and one in January came in at about 8.5mph I think which normally drags my average down a bit below 11mph. I wouldn't not do them or log them though.

I agree. The ride I did on Sunday was just over 9mph because we were stopping and starting and taking photos and stuff. It doesn't bother me. I'm mostly interested in the distance. I just like to push myself now and again and the Cyclogs stats were a useful motivator.

 

[MrRidley]

Is there a problem with cyclogs today? i cant get access to it.

 

[marinyork]

Same here. Before it went down the totals were totally wrong.

 

[summerdays]

Was fine for me