# Average speeds.. (roadies)



## eastcoastskiier (Jul 18, 2007)

:-?I basically do all my road riding solo because only a few of my friends are any serious about riding and our schedules never seem to match. To keep me motivated i purchased the Polar CS200 trip computer heartrate monitor and cadence sensor. This thing is awsome how it uploads your ride onto the computer and gives you a nice detailed view. By being able to see all my data from past rides i have been doing like 'time trials' against my old ride times. But since i dont ride with anyone normally i have no idea where i compare with other riders, and i would like to get into a few races. Nothing super competitive, but one in which there is some sense of urgency to get to the end.

right now im averaging :
     21mph on 20mile ride( moderate hills) no stop
     19.3mph on 60mile ride (few but hard hills) 4 stops 2min each

what is everyone else riding at?  what are acceptable times?


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## mlctvt (Jul 18, 2007)

These times you show are pretty good times. What I have found is my average MPH varies widly with different routes. My wife aqnd I used to live near the coast of Connecticut and we'd do 25-35 mile rides each night after work. We'd average between 18.5 and 20.5 mph. Now we've moved just a few miles inland and we're averaging 17.3 to 18.5 mph due to the loss of the nice flat 5 miles out and 5 miles back and more hills now. We did do the Fatest Century in the East one year in 5 hours flat (20 mph average) but we proabably couldn't do that now.  I think last yhear we averaged about 18 mph.


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## andyzee (Jul 18, 2007)

Presently at 50 years of age, I'm averaging about 17-18 miles per hour on any rides of 10 miles or more. Don't ride as much as I used to so my top milage has been about 50 miles.

When I was at my prime for bike riding, around 28-35 years of age, I very rarely averaged less than 20 mph, usually came in at 20-23 mph  and very rarely did less than 30 mile rides. Best 1 day ride was 175 miles, the norm for me would be 50 mile rides.


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## Goblin84 (Jul 18, 2007)

I really do not like MPH.  It isnt a good measure of how fast someone is.  I went on a seacoast ride sunday and avg around 22-23mph.  However yesterday i did a "scenic" ride and was much lower around 18, then when I really get into the mountains I am down around 15-16mph.

Doing your time trials is a great way to motivate yourself.  Keep records of your TT's and do them every couple weeks.  Hell even chart out your results (just dont get frustrated with diminishing returns).  

It sounds like you are in decent shape to be racing.  However you cant just be fit to be racing you have to be smart.  Your first few races you will be eaten up and chewed out the back until you learn tactics...which once again will only come with time.  Things like the random accelerations and attacks really beat up on new racers.  You need to be able to push yourself into the red zone, recover, then repeat like a million times. 

I am just getting into it all myself too.  repeats and interval work is your friend.  this is all very random and somewhat connected so sorry if its a confusing post.


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## cbcbd (Jul 19, 2007)

mlctvt said:


> We did do the *Fatest Century in the East* one year


You mean the one where riders avg around 250lbs each? 


Haven't really done too much riding lately, but I've been avg mid 17s for my 25 mile loop with rolling hills, high 16s for my 40-50 mile loops.


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## Marc (Jul 19, 2007)

cbcbd said:


> You mean the one where riders avg around 250lbs each?
> 
> 
> Haven't really done too much riding lately, but I've been avg mid 17s for my 25 mile loop with rolling hills, high 16s for my 40-50 mile loops.



Sounds about where I am.  Sometimes I can push up into the 18-19 mph territory on flat rides ~30 miles.  But it hurts.


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## mlctvt (Jul 19, 2007)

cbcbd said:


> You mean the one where riders avg around 250lbs each?
> 
> 
> Haven't really done too much riding lately, but I've been avg mid 17s for my 25 mile loop with rolling hills, high 16s for my 40-50 mile loops.



That's really funny, I should have checked my post for spelling. It's also funny because the main reason I probably couldn't do a 5-hour century is because I am fatter now, about 15-20 pounds fatter.


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## skibum1321 (Jul 19, 2007)

My average speed really depends on the terrain, length and group (if any). 
The Thursday night ride that I do is with a group and we tend to average ~21mph. 
When I ride on my own with some rolling hills and it's under 50 miles then my average is ~18mph. 
This past Sunday I average ~17mph for Climb to the Clouds (108 miles and up Wachusett) with a ride that was partially with a group and partially alone.

I find that riding with groups is much more enjoyable for me. I don't have many friends that ride but I still do group rides. You can always find some groups in the area. 
For Eastern Mass:
CRW
NEBC (race training, but you don't have to race)
North Shore Cyclists
Nashoba Valley Pedalers (a little further west)
Plus a ton more race groups...


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## MonkeyBrook (Jul 19, 2007)

I live in RI by coast, depending on inland ride or coastal ride...I average anywhere between 17.5 and 20 mph but most of the time it is in between because I mix up the terrain.  If I hit Rt. 1 (Follow RI Firm Tri rt.), I can average 22-24 depending on wind and hangover.  The majority of my rides are solo.  To original poster, you are probably averaging a bit higher than most.


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## Charlie Schuessler (Jul 21, 2007)

Outdoors on the road bike for the year I average 17-18 mph.  Weeknight rides average 25 miles with weekend rides around 45 miles and day by day, living in a mountainous region, it always depends on weather, road, traffic and physiological conditions.  Closing in on 50, the body decides when to take it easy or go flat out.

GO LEVI!


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## eastcoastskiier (Jul 21, 2007)

thats one of my goals, to be able to hit the 5 hour century, a feet that i think would be easier with people, but a greater accomplishment alone. 

im thinking about dsriving down to delaware, and just pounding out some miles of the flats down there.   hell, only i would know that the only reason i could keep that high of a pace was becasue of the flats, (but i would probably keep that part a little secret.)


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## 56fish (Jul 21, 2007)

Geez..now I feel like a puss...

14+/-mph for me.  10 to 30 mile rides w/ 90' ave. vert gain per mile.  

Our resident bike guru & buddies: 19mph; 50 - 100 miles w/ 110+' vert / mile!:beer:


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## Goblin84 (Jul 21, 2007)

I normally dont measure vert per mile.  I often measure vert on a scale (1-10) of how how much my body hates me during the ride.


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## eastcoastskiier (Jul 21, 2007)

i count how many times during a ride that after sprinting o the top of a hill i want to puke... generally i can sprint 3 -4 moderate hills before i say F$^*-it im doing this one slower

i have seen some nifty cycle computers that by using gps and an altiminter tell you al that nice data, right now the budget doesnt alot for allll the extras i want


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## Goblin84 (Jul 21, 2007)

yeah, I have my eye on some really nice ones.  GPA, Alti's, heart rate monitors, all the good stuff.  You can download your ride date too and do some cool stuff with it on your comp.

I just need about $500 and I will be all set.


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## AHM (Jul 25, 2007)

*Ave Speed is very terrain and wind dependent*

Anything over 20 is a pretty good average for a road ride, but that is still very terrain/wind dependent.  When riding roads (I am primarily an mtb rider) a very hilly 25 miles takes 75 min so that is 20 mph (2500 verts).  However riding in Michigan this past weekend, I was easily able to average 25 just due to the lack of serious hills.  Wind can also play a huge role, and drop speeds to 15 mph if its a stiff head wind.  Finally, my current road bike has a compact crank (50/34) w/ a 12 - 27 rear.  This combo is very interesting and allows you to pedal the big ring in hills where a traditional crank would drop to the 42 or 39 and yet still drop down to the 34 for anything steep.  In a big DH you can outrun the compact, but it is certainly an interesting set-up.

As for training alone.  You need to use some sort of measure to assess your progress.  Using a computer or HRM or simply a clock is a great way to monitor progress.  I strictly train alone and have for a long time, so the use of my Suunto X6HR has been very beneficial.  One way to think about the training is to combine fast, interval based rides (1 hr with possibly hill sprints) with long, stamina building rides (60 - 100 miles).  Have fun, great riding season so far!


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## jplynch019 (Jul 27, 2007)

*Average speeds*



Charlie Schuessler said:


> Outdoors on the road bike for the year I average 17-18 mph.  Weeknight rides average 25 miles with weekend rides around 45 miles and day by day, living in a mountainous region, it always depends on weather, road, traffic and physiological conditions.  Closing in on 50, the body decides when to take it easy or go flat out.
> 
> GO LEVI!



@ 20 - 24 MPH.  rolling hills w / some steeper climbs.  As with Charlie, fast (very fast) approaching 50, so it depends on the day.  :beer:


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