I frequent the roads around Streatley, Goring and Wallingford on many of my training rides so I can go up Streatley Hill (like I say, on my f/s mountsinbike) and despite averaging 19-22mph on many of the flat segments around there, I get passed nearly every time I go out. I followed one guy who was cruising at 23-25mph!!! Needless to say I soon got dropped 😉

I’ve recently moved from Bristol – some steep lumps, to The Fens – pan flat.
My average speed has gone from 15-17 to 17-19 with the fastest rides actually being on rides that have some small hills on the edge of the Fens. My legs aren’t used to the constant pedaling and headwinds on the flat and find rolling terrain much easier.
In both areas I’m usually just inside the top 25% of riders on Strava which is a much better way to judge that posting on hear but still doesn’t account for tailwind which can be significant.

inneresting stuff for us recreational roadies, and has largely avoided willy waving. 40yr old “born again” roadie, 5’10 and 68kg so more climber than sprinter build, usually ride solo, or with g/f and/or a mate who is a big diesel (like drafting a truck!).

When I started road riding (18 months ago) I’d heard our local club ‘A’ rides averaged 18mph so I set that as a goal to consider myself “road fit”. Live in largely flat area (Oxfordshire) but also have a nice hill loop sorted. On flatter runs solo or with the diesel I average 19.5-20, with the g/f or on the hill loop 17.5-18ish. Never formally trained, own a HRM but only for interest (bought it as motivation when I sat on a turbo trying to stop the rot with a broken arm a couple of years ago), but from flicking through other half’s Tri mags I would say vast majority of my riding is ‘threshold’, ie. as hard a pace as I think I can sustain for the length of the ride.

And headwinds are the Devil’s work!

16-18 is good as a general average with factors like hills and wind thrown in, as you usually get a pay off i.e what goes up must come down, headwind out tailwind home.
I tend to take peoples averages with a pinch of salt. Like when someone says we averaged over 19 yet someone else on the same group did 17. And these high averages seem to be when no ones looking. And can never be replicated on the race circuit
My fastest race average this year was just over 26mph in an hour plus crit, that bloody hurt. The same race at almost 25mph is a far ‘easier’ affair.
And I’ve done sub 3 hour and over 4 hours on the same 100km in the same year?

My fastest race average this year was just over 26mph in an hour plus crit, that bloody hurt. The same race at almost 25mph is a far ‘easier’ affair.

This sounds familiar… My crit speeds tend to be in the 25-26mph average speed, but the pace will often go well over 30 for several laps. I’d feel far better after an hour of sustained 26mph than a yoyo-ing attacky race that dropped down into the teens and blasted up to the 30s every other lap!

My century time at Ride London was 4hrs 36mins, but like I said, it was a very sustained pace. Get into the hills and it’s very difficult to hold threshold pace in the real world.

well with my 4hrs cycling goal per week which i never reach i can just manage 30km (18.6mph)in 1hr, and thats going for it, its reasonably hilly and performed on my cx with road tyres.
how people can sustain over 20mph on a hilly ride leads me to believe they either do lots and lots of miles in a week or they are skinny whipets.

30 is my commute, normal speed is about 17mph. Fastest I’ve timed it on the summer bike was a bit over 19mph.

IME, 19mph (31k) or so is about as fast as I seem to be able to go for short spins (up to about 30mi/50k); 17mph (27k) is my normal pace for the road and has been good for up to about 170mi/270k; for anything much over 300km I’d be settling down to about 15mph (24k) which pretty much ticks over indefinitely provided I can stay awake.

I recently borrowed a road bike off my brother-in-law. Just recently I have been racking up 50 miles a week on a Zesty, so I was keen to see how I would cope with a road bike and crazy road gearing (no compact on this bike).

My first ride with 1200 ft climbing was 15.5 mph av, and 2nd ride with my brother in law was 30 miles at av 16.5 mph.

Have to say – with all the mileage I’ve been doing on the Zesty (typically 22/23 mile rides in just under 2 hrs, with 1300 – 1500 ft climbing)I thought I’d be quicker on the road.

Reading the above, makes me feel a bit happier. Ultimately I have very limited time to ride my bike. All of the mtb riding I do is after the kids are in bed. Given a time scale I will always prefer to ride off road, but if I can fit some long road rides, that can only be good for my fitness. It is hard not to get too obsessed with average speeds, though.

“It is hard not to get too obsessed with average speeds, though.“

Yeah, that’s it, at the end of the day it’s no big deal. I’ve paid attention to mine for planning big rides, but speed isn’t the be-all and end-all. Distance and cake shops are equally fine measures of rides, as is time – two hours slogging through foul winter wind and sleet is still two hours’ considerable effort, even if you cover 30% or more distance in the same time on a summer’s day.

If you ride with friends you only need to keep up and if you ride alone it’s not a biggie unless you want it to be. In which case do it properly and go racing 🙂

Went out for my “Sunday circuit” last night, aim to beast a 24 mile Strava loop I created. Loop was 22.2mph, total distance was 28.9 miles @ 21.3 mph with a bit of arse breathing at the end of a segment. Bloody flat round here though, loop is only 443ft, total was 779ft of climbing so a bit meh. Obviously times and speed are recorded with Strava/iPhone so take with a big pinch of salt!

Agree with that Bez, good post.

Hills and wind just make it meaningless. I was on a loop the other day, the wind was not that strong and the averages out and back were 2mph different and I was more powerful on the slower half.

My best for 25miles was 28.9mph I think, but I was on a strange looking bike with a pointy hat 🙂

I find the road surfaces really affect my averages on the road bike. I live in a rural area and the surfaces of the roads are shocking on the whole. Even when you’re not dodging potholes you get this very open, gravelly tarmac (I guess when it’s been cheaply resurfaced) that you can really feel the drag with every pedal stroke. I find as soon as I hit better maintained roads around built up areas (for example) I can maintain a higher speed much more easily. Mind you, I am rubbish.

Internet speed rule #1 – any quoted speed minus 2mph.

yes I’ve done 100 miles in JUST below 20mph IN A RACE, DOWN IN TT POSITION.
I’m not fast but not too bad, normal riding speeds 15-17 mph.

Some fast people on here 😉 (allegedly)

4.0 watts per kilo. About 19-20mph.

I’m way off the pace. My last 30 miler involved 2,413ft climbing in 2hr 20m with an average speed of 12.9mph

Then again I don’t have a dedicated fair weather bike or anything like that, just an old Bianchi I use for commuting which is pretty knackered.

Eggshellblonde- I don’t think your rule applies now pretty much everyone Strava’s. Any of my quoted times and speeds are taken straight from a Garmin 🙂

I train a lot on the road and like I say, nearly always get passed and in the context of this thread, I’m not too shabby 😀

On Streatley Hill, I’m about 800/1000 !!!

I’d agree with Eggshell blonde most people exaggerate.
Don’t know about streatly hill crosshair, but 800/1000. I’m in the top 100/2500 up the rhigos and a 20mph ride is very tough solo for me.

It’s in that 100 greatest hill climbs book so gets lots of attention 😉

A local 11 mile loop, I’m 10 out of 18 with 16.1mph, yet on another 2 mile segment nearer my house, 20.3 average only gets me 137 / 339.

It all depends on your locals 😉

I’d agree with Eggshell blonde most people exaggerate

I know another type. Some ride around on old steel tourers I only see them out on nice club bimbles, never really mention training. Others even say how they have not done much, feeling a bit iffy etc.

I know damn well they will be knocking out short 19s and 50s when the time comes 🙂

Hmmmm….

To calculate your real average speed, we need to know the time you set off from the kerb outside your house, and the time you got back to your house, and the distance you covered in that time.

I was always impressed by peoples quoted averages until I started racing and training for racing.

18 mph measured by the above method is a good average speed.
20 mph measured by the above method is even better.

Averages calculated by MapmyRide and other gadgets tend to be on the optimistic side…

The best test is to pick a destination 20 miles from your house and see how long it takes you to get there.

Ok Crikey, here’s one, 15 miles from my door until I pressed the lap button. Scott Spark 920, Rocket Rons 🙂

Not willy waving- just saying not all Internet folk are fibbers.

Hmm, I might have to plan a 20 mile route and see if I can get it done in my lunch hour… 🙂

I’ve been helping my nice to get fit over the last 20 months by taking her cycling every Sunday morning (apart from a 5 month break during the winter).

Last January she was barely able to ride 16k at 9.5kph average and was almost in tears riding over a motorway bridge towards the end of the first ride. On Sunday she did 102km at an average of 24.5kph (just over 15mph). Granted it was a pretty flat route at around 2,200ft. Very little drafting on her part as she’s not confident riding in close proximity, still wearing trainers, still with a slight phobia of letting rip downhill. There’s easily another 1-2 kph to be gained just from better technique and conservation of energy without making any fitness gains.

Given that she with a total cycling career of around 15 months and starting from a pretty piss poor fitness level can now do that week in week out I don’t see any reason to doubt that a fully grown man with years of cycling experience behind them would be able to do 25% more over a half of the distance.

4.0 watts per kilo. About 19-20mph.

For an average solo ride, I’d say that’s about right.

I can ride at a reasonable pace, often quicker than some mates. However compared to many on here I am very slow. I reckon oldgit nailed it, as he often does. 17-18 mph for me on a variety of west of Scotland varied routes. One of my fastest this year was etape Caledonia at 18.4, but that was big group riding.

Hmm strava eh? Stop for 10 minutes at side of road, then ride 1/4 mile as fast as you can, then rest 10mins again. You’re my hero 8).

I could post you 50 miles at 21.5 mph but again it was a race. That’s not my normal riding and certainly not normal solo training rides which as I said are more like 15-17mph.

Pinch of salt at all times.

Then you add luggage and it all goes shitshaped.

One of my fastest this year was etape Caledonia at 18.4, but that was big group riding.

See I can do that sort of speed reasonably comfortably local to me, but if you send me where theres proper hills (like Scotland) my average is gonna drop through the floor. That’s the problem comparing averages without knowing all the contributing factors; road surface, weather conditions, elevation, temperature, group size, etc. One persons normal is another persons extreme. My routes are generally pretty easy, rolling hills, lots of tree cover to get out of the wind, road surface varies but generally ok and if you’re up early enough you can even have pretty quiet roads.

Managed 15.4 moving average over 101 miles yesterday. Was breezy but had it behind as well at times and fairly flat.

Group rides can produce some high averages, but I’ve been on some bloody awful ones. For example a group would tear off at well over 20 with everyone riding ragged and not exactly doing their bit, more like showing what they can do. Then after a while everyone’s tired and it all slows down. The result is ‘technically’ a high average, but that’s not my idea of average speed!

It tends to be slower guys who over-egg their averages in my experience. The properly fast lads a) tell the truth and b) know that much like power outputs, average speeds mean nothing in isolation.

I’ve done a 100+ mile solo training ride at a nudge over 20mph but at a far lower AP and NP than another ride of the same time but 16mph average. And that’s with the rider as a constant. Throw in wind, elevation, different rider sizes etc and it’s a fairly pointless comparison.

MuppetWrangler – spot on. That’s my usual type of stuff, although etape is actually not much up and down. I reckon solo I’d average 17 ish, whereas having a laugh, but in a group I went a lot faster. Groups, wind etc, all huge variables

It’s human nature to be curious about where you fit in so to speak. That’s why Strava, when used in the right way, is meaningful because you are removing more of the variables and at least measuring the same piece of road. I mainly use it to chart my progress against myself- its a fantastic tool for that.

It’s human nature to be curious about where you fit in so to speak.

I see that, but I also think that this is what racing is for. Strava and sportives are racing without the emotional investment, racing for people who don’t want to put their ego on the line, racing in private so you can take your ball home when you lose.

Get a licence, get racing.
You’ll get a lot more out of it than comparing virtual times on a screen.

..and in a wider, more philosophical sense, you’ll contribute to cycling as a whole a lot more by actually getting out and getting involved in cycle sport rather than comparing numbers.

Again, depends on loads of things.
For example, myself and Weeksy of this parish have done a few events together and a few training rides. There was a bit of banter on another forum about how our training was coming on this year but due to time and work, we were unable to ride together that week. However, the wonder of Strava meant that when he posted a fast time on a local off road climb, I was able to go out and smash another 30 seconds off of it, thus scoring an important moral victory 😀 (he’s on holiday so can’t defend himself 😉 )

Look, it’s a tool and like all tools, is subject to abuse and misunderstanding.

Fwiw, I have raced, and plan on racing again in this Autumns Gorrick series but that doesn’t mean I won’t Strava all my training rides. Data is good 🙂

I recall doing 120 miles solo earlier this year ~17mph. Most of the day was at 19mph but my wheels fell off as I didn’t eat enough towards the end.

Can’t think of a 30 mile figure, I tend to do intervals usually.

Moan about Strava segemnts all you like, but they help your top end, and therefore your average threshold.

Only read the first page, apparently there are some very fast folks on here! I’d say I average just under 18mph for a 30-40 miler with around 2000 feet of climbing.

Given I’m consistently top 3rd on most of the larger strava sections on my local loops, I’m surprised I’m so off the pace compared to many on here.

It may not seem alot but I reckon I’d have to put in an awful lot more effort/training to get up to 20mph.

It seems to be a catchall phrase ‘get a license,go racing ‘
But for most people who ride it might as well be a million miles away.As a percentage of those who ride hardley anyone actually races. For good reason, its bloody hard !! Just about everyone I know who races on a regular basis, are way ahead of your normal guy on the street who rides. There’s just no comparison.For most people the commitment and training needed make it a non starter. The best thing about Strava is that it gives the ‘normal’ rider a chance to compare themselves against riders of a similar ability,age and even weight.

Yup, no interest in racing here either. I ride with my local club and – whilst I’m not the slowest – I’m a long long way from being the fastest. To get to a competitive level – even for local races – would require a level of commitment I’ve no desire to give. However it is nice to have an grasp of how well I’m cycling – or not – and this is where timing myself on regular loops helps.

That said, the one and only time I’ve raced downhill (off-road) was immensely enjoyable, even though I was buried well into the mid-table of results. This does appeal to me, but road racing in a group and riding a TT up and down a dual carriageway holds no appeal.

Back to averages, it’s good to see the actual climbing done on some of these rides. Knowing these 19/20mph averages were on roads with about as much climbing as a bowling green makes me feel a lot better 🙂