Would a CC'er exaggerate?

[totallyfixed]

Since I joined the forum I realise I'm beginning to develop an inferiority complex. I love riding and go out usually [ok 99%] on my fixed most days. I would say I'm a strong club rider and am comfortable on a fast run. However.....
after reading on a thread the other day someone was doing over 24mph into a head wind, and also looking at the cycle log thingy and see an average of over 19mph my self esteem is taking a bashing.
No names no pack drill but could it possibly be that some people are exaggerating there prowess on a bike? Or, are they calculating there average in a different way?
I went out about 5pm and hammered round a 10 mile course [a bit lumpy] and my average speed door to door was 17.04mph. This is just pathetic when compared to many on here. I'm not obsessed with speed but I race hilly's so need to be reasonably quick.
Someone put me out of my misery.

 

[on the road]

Some do exaggerate, I don't believe it's possible to average 20 mph on a hybrid, unless it's km and they've forgotten to work it out.

 

[snorri]

Shhhh, You have to be signed up to the forum for a full year before getting the funny handshake and permission to apply the Correction Factor.

 

[darkstar]

I've not seen anyones cycle logs but there are certainly some very strong riders on these boards.

 

[slowmotion]

Some do exaggerate, I don't believe it's possible to average 20 mph on a hybrid, unless it's km and they've forgotten to work it out.

Oh bugger

 

[Crankarm]

Take it with a large dash of scepticism. Anyone who can AVERAGE 24mph on a hyrbrid riding into a strong headwind during the coldest winter for 30 years should turn pro immediately .

 

[wafflycat]

I've said this before at least a million times; I've never seen anyone on the forums write anything but the objective truth about anything.

 

[ComedyPilot]

I don't exaggerate my speed, there's not enough to do that.

I prefer my cycling to be 'look where I've been and what I've seen'.

I am not, never have been, and more than likely never will be a racing cyclist. I applaud people with such talents; I do not possess such skills or fitness, but I do have an overwhelming desire to ride and explore.

Horses for courses, but no 'willy-waving' in my camp.

 

[Debian]

I don't see the point of exaggerating lying about such things.

However, I'm by no means young and super-fit but on rare occasions when everything is in my favour I can average over 20 mph on my commute; it's 7 miles, give or take and I have done it in 19 minutes - once!

 

[GrasB]

totallyfixed, if you're talking about my average bare in mind that right now I'm in my ideal ambient temp range, I'll be quite comfortable when walking around outside in shorts n' T-shirt in while snowing . Once the air temp gets much above 15C I'll start to overheat & thus in the middle of summer my average speed will drop.

As for using the 'hybrid' term... my Boardman hybrid is as quick as any road bike over shorter distances but my partners city bike (which is also considered a hybrid) knocks about 20% off the top of her average speed compared to her road bike.

 

[gbb]

While there are doubtless some (probably quite a few) members who can achieve these speeds, i dont think most of us can...or want to ( because of the training and effort that's got to be put in, it's just too much hard work)

I'm happy where i am. If i put in a lot of hard work i can up my average to 18mph over 40 miles say, but usually average 15 to 16 mph over the 40 miles.

The funny thing is, over the last 7 years worth of cycling, perhaps 10,000 plus miles...i can remember on one hand the amount of times ive been overtaken easily by another cyclist, and thought 'bugger'

The reality is it rarely happens...so i can't be doing that bad....and by that logic, most of us aren't doing that bad either.

 

[4F]

Steve, given that this is cyclists meet point I think if you look at some of the averages on there you will see a whole range of abilities. Some take it very seriously such as Aran 20 who treats commuting as a training run and puts in super human efforts whereas others get just as much enjoyment pootling about and speed is of no importance.

For me I am quite content with 14 - 15 mph moving average however some days it will go down to 10 -12 and others 18-19 depending on what mood I am in / weather etc.

Having ridden with you you are certainly not a slouch and to be honest who cares what others are doing / averaging when you are cycling for your own enjoyment.

 

[beanzontoast]

Totallyfixed - I know exactly what you mean. Nowadays, I avoid threads that look like they are turning into a pi**ing contest to see who can outdo the rest.

 

[ASC1951]

Since I joined the forum I realise I'm beginning to develop an inferiority complex.

Well you shouldn't. Not many of us can get through chains 'every two to three months'.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

isn't it a bit like angler bragging about the length of their catch? i take it all with a pinch of salt, and don't bother mentioning my ability to do 30mph into a headwind up a 1:10