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Did my first 200km audax last month, only 3rd ride of the year due to illness (which is now back) rode an average 23km/hr. Hilly route from Halifax-Lancaster-Halifax.
I seem to be perpetually stuck around 15-16 mph, try as i might it doesn't get quicker. I think that's just my lot in life!
Spud - same here 🙄
Went out on my first roadie club ride in years this morning, hoping they would spur me on, but I managed to drag them down to my level though* 😀
Serves them right for dragging me round 50 miles and just shy of 5000 feet of climbing with that godawful headwind.
*and many thanks to them for not letting me get too far behind, slowing down for me, occasionally stopping at the top of hills and giving me a wheel to desperately cling to when required.
I averaged 7mph on a ride from Bonar Bridge to Ledmore Junction a few years ago. 30 miles, and I even had gears on the bike for once. Bit of a headwind, the road signs were fluttering. The other 90 miles were a bit faster. 🙂
I usually aim to average 10mph overall. I'm going faster than that, but I'm a great believer in stopping for tea and cakes, so that adds to the trip time and reduces the average. 🙂
If the scenery is boring I might do 15 miles in the hour.
My fastest ever recorded ride was 84 miles at 20.6mph, which was Hudds to Tadcaster and back over terrain best described as rolling. That's the only ride I've ever managed to get an average of over 20mph. My fastest 100 took 5h 2m for an age of 19.9mph! I think (all my rides are on Endomondo and I cba to check back) that there's around 3500ft of climbing for both those rides, but they were club runs with plenty of rotation on the front and in good summer conditions. The fastest I've managed solo is about 35 miles at 19.5mph over a flattish (mebbes 1200ft ascent) training loop that's an out-and-back with plenty of traffic lights etc.
According to my cycle computer I've done 287 miles in april so far at 11.2 mph so i'm a bit slow :-),but my 'road' bike is a thorn xtc with heavy marathon tyres,mudguards and a rack so I,m not excactly on a road ride to do fast miles,more just on a ride.
It's all about context.
"from the door" ride where i used to live in Oxfordshire was 59miles @18mph with about 1500ft of gain. Having moved to Heptonstall my "from the door" loop is now 23 miles but has 2300ft of gain and average speed is 15mph.
In my defence (ahem) 😳 the weather's been a bit shit, It'll be great to get some longer rides in though.
The bike does make quote a difference. I'm normally stuck around 15mph but that's on the tourer. I was out a few days ago on the carbon roadie and managed 17mph over a course of 73 miles and 3,800 feet of ascent.
A tired 50 miles at z2 power at 7pm in mid January with drizzly freezing temps on the heavy winter bike in heavy winter layers... 18.7 mph.
I'm not singling you out just using your time/distance/ave as an example.
I amazed at some of these averages posted that terrain must have a massive bearing on the average either that or GPS is actually not that accurate. I am just getting back into road riding after a years absence due to work but I used to ride with a group of friends every week that were basically animals on the bike, I had to be on top form to hang in the middle of the group and at the start of the year was being dropped on the climbs but slowly made progress by tasting the vomit in your mouth as you desperately tried to stop the elastic snapping. But the more I rode with them I slowly made it to mid pack obscurity and sometimes due to doing zero work on the front (they were happy with this as they know I'm not fast) even finished the ride quite strong.
The people in this group feature heavily in the top ten strava round my local riding which is basically all the routes South from a famous crystal palace cycling cafe down into the kent lanes, this area attracts riders from all over london so is not a cycling backwater.
Some of the group race and a are 1's 2's 3's and good 4's and one is a strong hillclimer and had finished top 5 in the bec and catford hillclimbs beating david millar in the process, they are also training to ride 40cols in a week in the Alps so are all doing local hill reps before work.
My point? On a group ride 50-70 miles venturing into the pain cave with some nutty through and off on fast sections at 32mph and long drags climbed at double figures the average will be 17.5-18mph.
I can't work out if you fat MTB'ers riding solo are super strong and should be racing as you will be make cat1 in a season, total bullshitters or live in Cambridgeshire?
I reckon flat landers being paced by a 7.5 ton truck 😆
I'm not singling you out just using your time/distance/ave as an example.
Example was a real solo ride in jan this year. In west Berks so more rolling than hilly, only 1545ft of elevation according to Strava, but it was meant to be a steady z2 so avoided bigger climbs.
It is sort of the point I was trying to make about it being a bit of a nonsense metric for comparison.
Probably more meaningful to state things like duration, NP and TSS as these are irrespective of conditions.
fat MTB'ers riding solo
🙂
Asking roadies how fast they ride is like asking fishermen what's the largest fish they've caught.
Maybe the notion that all the fastest riders are racing is flawed and all that leg-shaving, embrocation, doping and stuff is just a sham.
Example was a real solo ride in jan this year. In west Berks so more rolling than hilly, only 1545ft of elevation according to Strava, but it was meant to be a steady z2 so avoided bigger climbs.
Unless you specifically cherry picked that ride though, and/or the weather was monstrously windy (and behind you the whole way) that is very quick for a solo "zone 2" ride in January! Which I'm sure you know.
Just to add to MrSmiths comments (and Oldgits too) I ride out with RCC in London and on the 1st group Saturdays ride they have a drop policy, 30ks ave in and around South East London, the bumpy bits. The group is meant to capture 1,2,3 racers or of that ilk in training and they fly along. I've ridden with them quite a few times and whilst I stay with them, on the return into town I pace off because I just can't hack for that long over that distance at that pace. That's 18.4 mph ave over 3 hours around the bumpy bits of either Kent or North Downs of Surrey.
I'd like to invite some of you out onto one of our rides someday. This Saturday perhaps ?
All this "ave this, ave that" is pure conjecture, there are so many variables to take into consideration that any segment/ride has to be taken in a one off segment. A blow out, strong tail wind, paced, whatever, but average I'd wager they aren't....
You need to set some constraints on the question then, e.g.
There-and-back or circular routes only.
Solo.
Minimum distance and height gain.
Then you might get some more consistent and comparable answers.
Inevitably, folk will pick their "best" average for willy-waving purposes.
Unless I'm targeting specific zones, I aim for 20mph no matter what the terrain. For my ability, it's a good benchmark and forces me to press on no matter what the road is doing. I mostly train solo.
Chaingangs can easily creep towards 30mph average speed if you're riding with well-drilled lads...
For reference, Cat 2/3 peloton fodder, 23 min 10 and 56 min 25.
Fastest 100 was 4hr36 (22mph).
More Stannard than Froome. Happiest when eating wind on <7% roads.
Mostly ride in the Lancashire Pennines, average 1000m ascent for every 50 miles covered.
And can we stop talking in k's?
G
(Here's a Wednesday night team ride, a few stops to wait for slower lads... https://www.strava.com/activities/281733074#6603333442)
Unless you specifically cherry picked that ride though, and/or the weather was monstrously windy (and behind you the whole way) that is very quick for a solo "zone 2" ride in January! Which I'm sure you know.
Actually picked because it was very typical! Just pretty flat. FWIW, average power and NP both around 225w for that ride. I have worked on my road bike position quite a bit to make it more aero and bring it closer to the TT bike position, made a big difference to my avg speed.
I propose a loop of coniston as the ultimate benchmark. Short, bumpy, fast in places twisty in others.
Me, giving it beans, on a near perfect evening, barely 30km/h for an hour and a bit
https://www.strava.com/activities/281678738
You're luck to have the Coniston loop as your local evening ride! I love that road...
I have a 20 mile evening loop - it's exactly 20 miles door-to-door and I know I have to bury myself to average 20mph. It finishes with a 4 mile steady climb - I've almost killed myself trying to keep that average speed figure from dropping too much!
G
Hang on...
I aim for 20mph no matter what the terrain. For my ability, it's a good benchmark and forces me to press on no matter what the road is doing. I mostly train solo.
I have a 20 mile evening loop - it's exactly 20 miles door-to-door and I know I have to bury myself to average 20mph.
So 20mph is a "good benchmark for your ability" regardless of distance, terrain etc, and yet you have a one hour route where it's a struggle? Does not compute...
Unless I'm targeting specific zones, I aim for 20mph no matter what the terrain.
Favourable conditions and you'll likely be riding too easy. Tough conditions and you might be riding way too hard. Also doesn't take form (increases and decreases) or any progression into account. Is a bit of a useless metric to train to.
Njee, f you have a look at the route, it has a few traffic lights early on and finishes with a long climb. If I get lucky with the lights, you can get round in 55 mins, if I do it in rush hour, I often get snarled up at the M6 Tickled Trout junction, and then you have to play catch-up on the final climb.
I like the route because it's quite challenging...
Is a bit of a useless metric to train to.
I don't 'train to it', but it does seem to average itself out on the type of routes I do. I said I "aim for it", if my average is 17mph and I'm 20 miles from home, I'd expect to make that up on the home leg...
For reference, I live about 5-10 miles away from the start of the climbs around the Forest of Bowland so the homeward leg is usually a fast lick back down from the fells.
It's always been a benchmark for rides, older riders will be familiar with the term "evens".
G
if my average is 17mph and I'm 20 miles from home, I'd expect to make that up on the home leg...
As in get home in an hour, or get home with an ride average speed of 20mph? If you've done 40 miles to get to 17mph then you need to average 31mph to get home with a 20mph average...?
If you just mean to get home from that point in an hour then that would be a 17.9mph average, which isn't 20mph however you slice it 😕
Just trying to understand what you've written. I like things to make sense. Much funnier to just hurl insults eh?
As always on these threads there is a differnce between what I see out on the roads and what people on here claim to do 😕
As always on these threads there is a differnce between what I see out on the roads and what people on here claim to do
Really? I think there's just a wide cross section of riders on here (and out there.) If I have a scan down the strava feed for my local club, or the STW TrainerRoad group (and I'm sure the STW strava group if there is such a thing) it's pretty much the sort of variety seen on this thread. Nothing unusual. Add in regional terrain variations etc. and you have an even wider spread.
Edit... as an example, the STW TR group, although a small sample, has riders with w/kg all the way from 2 to 5. Quite a spread!
My average roadie speed is about 45 mph. I was expecting it to be much higher seeing as though at some points I get to the national speed limit.
I posted a link to a typical ride - last Wednesday's usual team training ride. The average speed was 18.5mph which included a few stops at the tops of climbs waiting for some slower lads.
But you'll always get some bellend that pulls you up and tells you that your claims are wildly different from reality.
If bellends like that took the time to look at the profile, they'd be able to see those stops. But they're probably too busy looking smug and wondering why nobody ever invites them on a group ride 😉
The average speed was 18.5mph which included a few stops at the tops of climbs waiting for some slower lads.
Average speed is based on moving not elapsed time
Average speed is based on moving not elapsed time
I bet you quote in KM/H as well to try and make it sound more impressive.
average speed should be based on door to door.
Stopping and starting lowers average speed significantly compared to riding through.
Edit... as an example, the STW TR group, although a small sample, has riders with w/kg all the way from 2 to 5. Quite a spread!
is it awfully cynical to assume that some STW riders are a little heavier than they're owning up to?
is it awfully cynical to assume that some STW riders are a little heavier than they're owning up to?
Must admit I'm more inclined to update mine if it goes down than if it goes up!
I posted a link to a typical ride - last Wednesday's usual team training ride. The average speed was 18.5mph which included a few stops at the tops of climbs waiting for some slower lads.
You've piqued my interest with your now deleted outburst, but I just looked at about 15 of your rides chosen at random from the last year, and didn't find one that was anything like 20mph, 18.4 as per the one you linked appears to be the fastest I can see (save for a 10 mile TT). They're nearly all in the 15-17mph range.
There's nothing wrong with this whatsoever, but it does basically affirm that threads like this are just willy waving exercises.
Maybe we should just declare our Strava YTD average - mine is 15.05mph, dragged down by mountain biking!
Must admit I'm more inclined to update mine if it goes down than if it goes up!
Damn right - if you do an FTP test and the number is lower it's because you're tired, and not rested, or that you've lost tonnes of weight.
[quote=gatsby ]
Mostly ride in the Lancashire Pennines, average 1000m ascent for every 50 miles covered.
And can we stop talking in k's?
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I suspect there might be calibration issues on a trainerroad group too.
This question arises at least every couple of months, usually posted by a newby that is the self-proclaimed gnarliest mtb rider on the local evening pub ride and is disappointed that he's not smashing Strava segs every time he rides his roadbike.
There's never going to be a right or wrong answer, the only way to see how you compare to others is to ride some TTs, (dragstrips and sporting courses), maybe do a bit of racing or ride sportives... Cos let's face it, everyone rides flat out in sportives.
Njee, I ride mountain bikes too. If you scrolled back over the winter months, that's mostly what you've been looking at. 🙄
But isn't racing a very different thing again? (TTs aside) Surely then it's not just the fastest rider that wins it's also about racecraft and tactics.
And which is better?
I've got friends that can beast me out on a ride, but I can beat them in a race. They push themselves harder in training, whilst I can up it more for racing. Who's faster?
I've got friends
Sorry, I can't take any of the rest of this post seriously.
But isn't racing a very different thing again?
To a certain extend, although it depends on the type of racing. But that's why I suggested a broad spectrum of different activities to compare your form to others.
[quote=njee20 ]And which is better?
I've got friends that can beast me out on a ride, but I can beat them in a race. They push themselves harder in training, whilst I can up it more for racing. Who's faster?
Faster isn't up for debate. As I said above, there's more to racing than being the fastest.
I have just got a lovely new road bike a few weeks ago and I bought my first GPS computer (Garmin Edge 200) to go with it.
I have ridden 5 rides on the new one and I am significantly faster than on my winter training bike. I put it down to much lighter bike, increased fitness and nicer weather.
However, the Garmin records my average speed over the total 301 miles as 20.2 mph which seems too good to be true!
The Garmin definitely struggles to get a good signal on wooded road climbs which I am less impressed with as the speed goes up and down a lot. Is this normal?
I am an old school rider and have always tried to break 'evens' as a target. It was a good training ride when I managed this around Surrey. I live in Epsom so normally have a long climb home at the end of the ride. I have to admit that I was a rider in one of the South East's top sponsored road teams for over 10 years.
Scotroutes, expanding on my last point, the majority of the racing I did was crit racing, where usually, the majority of finishers get roughly the same average speed. So yes, position and sprinting ability were what won the points.
If you want to know how fast you are, there's really no substitute for a time trial. If you want to know how you compare on climbs, try some hill-climb comps.
But everyone is different, and we all ride different areas/routes, so comparisons are pretty futile.
I'm signed up to the STW 500 mile/month group, so all my stats are there to browse through at will. Sunday mornings are usually Club rides, unless I'm 'racing' the MTB somewhere, so my fastest rides will be on that day.
I think my 'total' average is around the 14mph mark across all rides, which will mainly be down to MTB rides and that I lead the Steady Eddies Tues Club run where I lead from the back and always climb with the slowest rider on the night.
This thread is entirely pointless as average speed comes with so many caveats: distance, terrain, traffic, type of road and surface, number of riders, type of riders, bike choice, weather. There's an awful lot of meaningless willy-waving going on.
Also, measurements should be metric. It's much easier and it makes more sense.