few more Qs - blotchy, speed and pre morning eat/drink

[longers]

Is this the average speed that should be aimed for when commuting then?

Robert says this upthread and it makes a whole lot of sense to me -

I wouldnt advise treating a commute like a time trial, it just invites poor judgement and wrecklessness.

Or you could ride like this. <- some tidy skills but not how I want to get to work, your mileage may vary

edited for: editing.

 

[longers]

On the eating thing, I read a few years ago in C+ that a ride like you describe on an empty stomach is good for encouraging the body to become accustomed to burning fat and this does your endurance good.
I know it works for quite a few people but not everyone is built the same, so you may have to experiment with what works for you.

 

[gbb]

Is this the average speed that should be aimed for when commuting then?

Age, fitness, traffic conditions, traffic lights, hybrid vs roadbike, all come into play. 16 mph average isn't going to happen for me if i'm continually confronted with junctions and TLs. My commutes pretty straightforward and uncluttered, so i'm lucky
Even at 15mph average, not many cyclists overtake me. Thats not being smug..its just a fact. I don't consider myself an ubercyclist by any stretch of the imagination, but i'm fitter than most 52 year olds i know (who dont cycle).
The plateau theory..i think most of us do. As said, without a lot of effort over some considerable mileage, i think most of us peak at one point or another. For me, age limits what i can reasonably achieve. Now...if only i were in my 20s again...then that'd be a different matter

 

[Norm]

Age, fitness, traffic conditions, traffic lights, hybrid vs roadbike, all come into play. 16 mph average isn't going to happen for me if i'm continually confronted with junctions and TLs. My commutes pretty straightforward and uncluttered, so i'm lucky

All that stuff can make a huge difference. On the bikes alone, I posted last week that I was disappointed with my average (11mph) and max (17mph) after an off-road ride so jumped straight onto the road bike after already being out for an hour and moved to an average of 16 and a max of close to 30.

I used to commute along the Thames, 9 miles each way and I'd take around 30-35 minutes, depending on whether I was going in (uphill) or coming home. Now, I commute across the top of a local hill, nothing huge but it's added a couple of hundred feet of climb to my journey and it takes about 5 minutes longer.

Traffic lights can add 30 seconds if you catch them wrong, so a few sets can make a big difference to the times. The ride into Windsor is only 4 miles for me but the half-dozen sets of lights in the last mile make a difference, not just to the time but also because stopping and starting is (obviously) harder work.

etc etc

As gbb says, really, just with some personal examples.

 

[gillelive]

thanks for all the input people, i certainly think i need to drink more, my average speed as others have said i am going to live with and concentrate more on time in saddle and some longer runs up to 20-25 miles......