How Fast

[jimboalee]

Don't use the 'open road' to assess your speed.

It is called the 'open road' because it is open to all roadusers.

You will start to take risks to beat your PB.

Owners of Garmin Edge or eTrex are able to analyse their data to sort out the 'flat road speed' >10 mph.
It doesn't matter what traffic or stops you encounter, the result will be a figure for your 'cruising' speed on gradients <2%, >-2%.

Criteria of >10 mph, +/- 2% are what I've found to give the most representative result.

Not surprisingly, the resultant 'flat road speed' gets lower as the ride gets longer,,,

 

[gaz]

Depends on where you ride, my rides are through london and an average over 13mph is a good day.

 

[kewb]

on average around 30mph and max at around 55mph ,














yeah right ,
average 16mph max out at 26mph your doing good for a beginner id say
if on an mtb av 12mph max at 18mph ,
rough guess at best op its all relative to were your at fitness wise and gear wise .

 

[briank]

Sambu, I gather from your reference to your dad's Giant that you're a young (fit) lad. It's only natural to wonder what is a decent rate of travel, so ignore those who say all that matters is whether you enjoy it. They've forgotten (if they ever knew) the pleasure of pain.

All that about road surfaces, terrain, wind, weight of bike etc is true. That's why the only sensible way to find out whether or not you're moving at a respectable rate is to join your local cycling club and try a few competitive events.

One time-honoured benchmark for a novice is half an hour for a 10 mile time trial. That, obviously, is an average speed of 20 mph: on a flat out and back course that's not as hard as it sounds. You could do it.

And if you can't, but turn up week in, week out for a few weeks (say four or five) one of two things will happen: either you will become able to hit the magic number or you will find that other riders treat you with extreme respect because they - we all - understand that glory is not in the getting but in the hurting: whether it takes 32 minutes or 22 to ride your 10 miles.

So go faster! Join a club! Compete!

All the rest is just ... pleasure.

Which is ok for us old gits

 

[Sambu]

Im 22 and wasn't very fit, used to be but haven't done any excersice or a long time due to an injury. im planning to join a club after my finals and start riding more. so far im averaging 16-18mph over 13 mile to 24 mile rides. I just want to go FASTER lol. thanks for the input.

 

[getfit]

As mentioned above, lots of factors can affect your average speed, even down to your own energy levels, hydration etc. I tend to mix up my routes but as I will return to commuting to work in the next couple of weeks, I am able to better judge any increases in performance. So what I'm saying is enjoy your riding but use a couple of routes to gauge your fitness/speed. Aim to test yourself on better days with little wind as this will give you a truer account.

GF