What is your overall average MPH?

[nicole309]

Another post got me to wondering. What is everyone's average MPH?
Mine is a very slow 11.9

[mimitabby]

on hills? Bwahahahaha

how can you say? mine's about the same as yours, but sometimes i find myself comfortably going at 14-15mph.
it depends!

[nicole309]

I was just curious because someone had a post about an average group ride being 17 - 19MPH. That seemed really high to me. Of course I have gone faster, and slower depending on terrain. Some people keep track of these things through bike computers, etc..
I have on a few rides and that is how I came up with my number.

[jobob]

Here's an epic thread dealing with just that question.

Please don your flame-retardant suit before entering :D

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=7968&

[nicole309]

Thanks Jobob.
I always have such a hard time finding what I am looking for in past threads.

[mimitabby]

ha, i know exactly which thread THAT is.
very entertaining, I'm sure.

If people go in pacelines, the speeds are apt to be a lot faster.

[jobob]

Oh, no prob nicole, I just happen to remember that thread all too well. :D

All I needed to do was search a certain person's name.

[maillotpois]

Oh a stroll down memory lane... :rolleyes: :D Thanks, Jo.

[Jiffer]

My average pace changes with each ride depending on terrain, distance and elevation. I think I might have posted on that thread you mentioned, but I'll repeat just in case. Today I did what I called my "speed" ride. A semi-short distance that I pushed myself on for speed. It was 12 miles at 15.5 average pace. My last "long" ride was 25 miles at 14.9 average. On the tandem the other day, up some good elevation, I was REALLY pushing more than I have before on the tandem and we did 16.8 average. I go faster on the tandem than my single, while DH goes slower!

I might be a little faster than you, but I'm the slowest person I actually know who cycles, so it spurs me on to get faster and keep up!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Please don your flame-retardant suit before entering :D

Whoa, and how! :eek:

[Grog]

My average speed so far this year (road bike only, not including commutes): 23.66 km/h.

Last year (2006): 24.01

The year before (2005): 23.55

I am not interested in my speed in miles :D but you can get the conversion here: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=23.66+km+in+miles&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

That includes club rides, leisurely rides, rides with strong and less strong friends, stopping and starting, very flat and verrrrrrry steep.

And it's really not very important.

[Torrilin]

I've clocked myself at around 12mph. It's variable tho... I can't sustain that kind of speed for long right now. It seems to be slow for a road bike, but I'm on a commuterized mountain bike, so I'm ok with being slow.

Most of the time I don't worry about speed since I ride by myself. I'd rather worry about am I keeping a good cadence, am I pushing my gearing just enough, or am I pushing distance a reasonable amount. Those are easier for me to judge since I don't have a cyclocomputer.

[Jiffer]

I'm glad you posted this cause it makes me feel better about my speed! I've also been curious what other people's average speeds are. From that older thread that was posted, I have determined that I'm pretty average. I feel like such a slow poke around Dh and other cyclist friends we have, but I think I'm really quite average. Not the fastest, but certainly not the slowest. Just the slowest in my circle of cyclist friends, which is frustrating, yet spurs me on to be better. I, personally, have a definite desire to go faster. I want to be able to ride with other people and keep up. Be more physically fit, etc.

Anyways, thanks for posting this. :)

[ehirsch83]

it all varies with the terrain and the weather!!
like today, my average for 30 miles was 14.9mph. i had about 5 miles of climbing where I sat between 8-11mph(3,000ft climb in 4.5 miles about) I am a slow climber! but then my whole way home i was in the low 20s(going downhill)(on the way out going uphill with a headwind i was around 12-14mph).

Back in FL my average for most rides is closer to 18mph.

So I guess what I am trying to say is, you can not tell much about a rider or the ride by just the average mph, terrain and weather play such an important part(and also is it a solo ride or a group ride,etc.)

oh and one last thing, you can expect, when in a group ride, to ride a few mph above your normal average for the same ride, if you were to ride it solo.

[kiwi girl]

One thing that occurred to me about speeds reading through that old post (although I don't know how much difference it would make) are that there are two different ways that cycle computers can calculate average speed. One is auto stop/start (where it only counts actual riding time ie while the wheels are spinning - and divides the distance by that) where time stopped at lights etc doesn't count. The other computer setting is where you push 'start' at the start of your ride and 'stop' at the end so time stuck at lights counts - which would give you a lower average speed.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm glad you posted this cause it makes me feel better about my speed! I've also been curious what other people's average speeds are. From that older thread that was posted, I have determined that I'm pretty average. I feel like such a slow poke around Dh and other cyclist friends we have, but I think I'm really quite average. Not the fastest, but certainly not the slowest. Just the slowest in my circle of cyclist friends, which is frustrating, yet spurs me on to be better. I, personally, have a definite desire to go faster. I want to be able to ride with other people and keep up. Be more physically fit, etc.
Anyways, thanks for posting this. :)

If that post made you feel good, then mine will make you feel GREAT!.....
I ride over 100 miles a week except in bad winter weather. My bike is a 30 lb (when loaded for daily ride) steel road/touring bike, and I live in a very hilly rural area. My ride distances can vary between 13 and 70 miles. I'm 53 and have been riding only a year.
Regardless of distance, my average speed seems to always be somewhere between 8.5 and 10.5 mph, depending on the hills on a particular ride. My slowest speed is 2.5mph uphill (which I do almost daily) and fastest downhill has been 39mph, but I hit 30 on downhills almost every ride too.
I do hope to at least get to an average of 11mph by the end of this year. :rolleyes:
I'm slower than anyone I know. :o Yet I feel simply wonderful since I have been biking, and am much more fit. The physical benefits are too plentiful to go into! :)

P.S. My bike computer is set to "auto start/stop". If it wasn't my average speed might actually be a negative number! =8-O

[Jiffer]

One thing that occurred to me about speeds reading through that old post (although I don't know how much difference it would make) are that there are two different ways that cycle computers can calculate average speed. One is auto stop/start (where it only counts actual riding time ie while the wheels are spinning - and divides the distance by that) where time stopped at lights etc doesn't count. The other computer setting is where you push 'start' at the start of your ride and 'stop' at the end so time stuck at lights counts - which would give you a lower average speed.

I was going to comment on the same thing. My computer stops whenever I stop, so those times are not included in my average. So, by some standards, I'm slower than what I said. (Which was in the 14 to 15 mph range).

[Jiffer]

I was telling Dh about this thread and he said he has learned that where you live in the country tends to make a difference in what is considered average pace. He was talking with a guy at our LBS who races at a high level. In California, where we live, the average pace of cyclists seems to be a lot faster than in other parts of the country. I guess we're more competetive! We certainly have the ability to ride more often during the year because of weather and cycling seems to be fairly popular.

I found one post I read a while back interesting, which made me realize how different cycling is in other parts of the country. Someone was talking about how they used to laugh at people walking around the grocery store in their lycra cycling shorts and hobbling around in their cycling shoes with clips (yet now they are one of those people!). My first thought was, "At the grocery store?" This is just not something you see in California. For the most part anyways. People may ride their bikes to the store to pick up some milk, but they will typically not be the more serious cyclists who wear cycling shorts and clip in to their pedals.

So, my main point is, what is considered an average pace in one area may be completely different in another.

[Flybye]

Somewhere around 17 mph on a 20 miler. My legs are protesting but I am getting faster and working hard at getting there!

[suzieqtwa]

I am the slowest person I know. My average is 13-13-8 depending on the day,and distance I get passed by everyone,:mad: when I'm out riding on the weekend. I did 68 miles in the rain ,and cold ,and I think my avg was 13 something.

[annie]

Totally depends on what bike I am riding and what group - or no group - that I am with. If I am on my quick little road bike, and with a fast group, I can manage about 19-20 mph. That's with some pacelining. On my own, probably more like 16-18. Add in lots of hills and it goes down! With my touring bike and my BOB trailer, it goes WAY down. And I don't care. Speed is not what's important. It's getting wherever you are going. I finally got a computer for the touring bike last week, so I am not sure yet what average speed would be. I'm guessing around 11-12 mph, loaded for a week's trip. I don't even have a computer on my MTB.........

There was a time in my biking life that my average speed really mattered. Now, much, much less. I still want to push myself on occasions, but don't need to do so. I credit age :rolleyes: , and wisdom to know what my body is still capable of handling.

I do understand why Av. speed is important to riders. Especially if you are trying to find a group ride that suits your speed. Or if you have a goal to meet, or a competitive event for which you are training.

If you want your speed to increase, ride with faster riders. It is very challenging, and you'll really have to push yourself, you might feel like you want to die the first few times, but it WILL improve your time.

Mainly, - HAVE FUN ON YOUR BIKE! Whatever speed that means.

Annie

[KnottedYet]

It takes me a while to get where I'm going. And generally it takes me a while to get back home. But some times it takes me a bit instead.

So my average is probably "a while".

[pyxichick]

I've been riding for about a year. I live in the flat midwest and I average 15-17 on group rides of 30 miles or so. However, I did a TT the other day and my average was around 18-19 for 7 miles. I wonder if that's fast enough to outrun a cougar... Probably not.:rolleyes:

[salsabike]

Thanks for that giggle.


It takes me a while to get where I'm going. And generally it takes me a while to get back home. But some times it takes me a bit instead.

So my average is probably "a while".

[Suzi-Sue]

i'm usually somewhere between 13-15mph. i am aiming to try and get this to about 18mph average this summer, anyone got any good training tips to help increase the speed?:confused:
So far i have a 16mile route that i time myself on. I dont own a bike computer, but use this site to track my progess.
www.mycycling.net (it's pretty good)

I'm thinking if i just push harder, get stronger and more stamina, the average speed will eventually go up:) can't wait until it does!

I look up to those of you averaging around 18, well done!

[redrover77]

I ride a steel touring bike, so...

Unloaded - on flat terrain, about 15mph, on hilly terrain, about 12-13mph
Loaded (with an added 10kgs or so) - on flat terrain, about 12-13mph, on hilly terrain, 10-11mph...

Definitely room for improvement! :)

I get totally intimidated by ppl who say they average 20mph... HOW??? :eek:

[redrover77]

I ride a steel touring bike, so...

Unloaded - on flat terrain, about 15mph, on hilly terrain, about 12-13mph
Loaded (with an added 10kgs or so) - on flat terrain, about 12-13mph, on hilly terrain, 10-11mph...

Definitely room for improvement! :)

I get totally intimidated by ppl who say they average 20mph... HOW??? :eek:

I should add that these are averages over distances that are at least 30 miles and over...

[DDH]

I'm not sure if mine stops calculating when the wheels stop spinning or not, but I am really slow right now, I average around 11 mph. That is on some pretty hilly terain, but that is all I can ride around here.
I don't worry about speed so much though right now. I want to be able to get better on these hills.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey, I hit my new all-time lowest average speed record this morning! :cool:

Believe it or not, my average on this morning's 12 mile ride was.....7.6mph! :D
I know why....first there was about 2 miles of low highway uphill grade in granny gear. Then I had several miles of steeper uphill on a VERY rocky freshly graveled wooded road where I had to pick my way between 2" rocks the whole way. Finally I got to the top and looked forward to the long downhill home on that same gravel road- but had to pick my way through the boulder-riddled lunar landscape the whole way down, slogging through fresh gravel and riding my brakes all the way down home. Despite the obstacles it was fun- got to watch some cool cows and goats grazing amongst rusted model T fords...and I also passed some people looking for a lost hog. I spotted the giant red hog a bit further up the gravel road and doubled back to tell them where it was. :p
It was a good ride, and I wouldn't have traded it for one of my "zippy" 9-10mph rides. ;)

[Chile Pepper]

I'm around 20-22... km per hour. If you want to feel faster, try setting your computer to kph. Works for me. That and the fact that everything is metric here.

[Batbike]

:eek: don't want to go there again!!:eek:

as for speed, i feel the actual #'s don't matter because it is not how fast you ride but what you put into the ride that counts. A short fast ride has merit; a long slow endurance ride also has merit; as for every ride in-between.

personally, unless there is a real reason for me to worry about speed, like how fast it took me to get home because i promised my kids i would be home in time to get them to XYZ place, then it is not an issue -- well, unless i am working on sprints or speed work for the day -- it is not important. Speed is nice to know, but not something to work on ... the work is in the overall bike ride, not a computerized speed. :)

[GLC1968]

Wow, that other thread scared me! :eek: I must have missed it the first time (and I'm glad that I did!)

I'm super competitive by nature so when I first started riding (a little less than 2 years ago), I was dying to know how my average speeds compared to everyone else's. I only rode with guys, and most of them could kick my butt and did on a daily basis. I was always worried that I wasn't fast enough to ride with groups. I would hang back on all group rides so that I'd avoid getting in someone's way, and I rarely pushed myself because I was afraid of running out of steam before the ride was over. This was true when I rode with anyone...including DH. The only time I rode hard was when I was alone because then I figured that if I bonked, no one else would have to put up with me. I know...backwards thinking...but whatever. About a month ago, something happend that made me stop thinking about whether or not I was fast enough/good enough...

My husband and I planned a Sunday ride and we decided to take our touring bikes. We rode out to a local plantation that we ride to often, but this time we took it slow, took tons of photos and planned on taking a tour at the plantation once we got there. As we approached our destination, DH started having a mechanical problem with his bike that basically left it unrideable. We ate our lunch, but skipped the tour in the interest of getting back before too late. We rode about 5 miles up the road to a local country store and then I left DH there while I rode home to get the car. We were still 20 miles from home, it was 90 degrees and the sun was blazing (2 pm ish). DH sat down and resigned himself to waiting 2.5-3 hours for my return. I decided that I wouldn't let that happen so I hammered. I rode as hard as I could on my heavy bike, attacking every hill, and hammering in the flats. When I got home, I threw the rack on the car and drove back to pick him up. He was stunned when I arrived. I'd averaged 17.5 mph over hilly terrain (about 1500 ft of climbing) for 20 miles on a 32 lb touring bike after having already ridden for 24 miles. And in the heat, no less. This was obviously an extenuating circumstance, but because if it, now I know that I am capable of more. I know that I can push myself and I can do well - I figure that if I could do that on my own (no drafting) on THAT bike...I'm going to be capable of way more on my road bike that I ever thought. It's weird, but I don't think about my speed anymore. Now I ride based on how I feel, if I'm feeling strong, I ride fast...if I'm not, I don't. I don't really know why, but that one ride changed the way I think quite a bit.

Anyway, I ramble on...my point is that it's really tempting to want to compare your speeds to others, but the best thing to do is to know your own abilities, ride your own ride, and only compare your speeds to your own speeds over time. :D And if you want to get faster, I think the best way to do that is to challenge yourself and ride with people who are faster (when you can).

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm around 20-22... km per hour. If you want to feel faster, try setting your computer to kph. Works for me. That and the fact that everything is metric here.
Hey what a great idea. In fact, I'm gonna set my bike computer to METERS per hour instead of KM!!! :D :D :D

[Chile Pepper]

Hey what a great idea. In fact, I'm gonna set my bike computer to METERS per hour instead of KM!!! :D :D :D

Go for it! You'll be smokin'.

[Jiffer]

GLC1968 Thanks for sharing that great story! How totally inspiring! I could totally relate because, as a new rider, I have a big goal to get good enough to keep up with other people and I'm always wondering how my pace compares to others, specifically a friend of mine. I'll get a chance to find out on Monday when we ride together. I know she's definitely faster than me, but I'm curious if I'll surprise myself if I really work it to keep up with her.

I have learned that I can usually do a lot more than I typically push myself to do. Though it's no fun to go all out and kill yourself every time, it's nice to know you CAN when you either have to ... or just make up your mind to. It sounds like you had an amazing ride. What a feeling of accomplishment!

I can also relate to trying to pace yourself to make it through a ride and not really knowing how much more you could have pushed it had you tried. Your story inspires me to choose to push even harder and see what I can really do! (At least some times!)

So, thank you! :D

[nicole309]

Well, at first I felt bad about posting this thread since there was already an extensive one about this topic. Looks like it wasn't so bad after all....

[rij73]

I've been riding for almost 3 months. My training ride of doing 3 to 7 laps around the local park always seems to be at about a 13.5 mph average. My first ride of ONE lap of that park was at 9mph average so I'm thrilled with the improvement!

[weathergal]

I usually average 12-14 mph by my cyclocomputer, but that's counting declerating to stops, and depends on wind direction, hills, etc. On Biking Across Kansas this year, I passed a bunch of people, but many people passed me, so I'd say I'm about average. :p Of course, it was kind of a bummer on the day there was a bit of a tailwind and I was making good time, to hear people passing me say that they had left 2 hours later than I did. I stopped at every SAG stop though, so it probably depends on your goals. Some people like to hammer, some like to stop and smell the roses.

[solorider]

great thread-
I've only been riding three years, and I've been tracking my mph this year just to set a different goal for myself. the last two years I really worked on increasing the total number of miles I could ride, and got to the "metric century" (yep i love changing to metric too- just being able to say century feels great!) that's 62 miles. I was thinking over the winter of trying to do 100 miles and do a real century this year, but decided to work on speed instead.

Because I usually ride solo, I didn't have any idea how I was compared to others, except that on the few organized rides i've participated in, I tend to pass more riders than pass me. I also anted to try and ride with some local serious riders that post weekly rides, and they all say average speed is 20 mph and I wanted to know if I could keep up at all before I tried to join them.

it seems like there are SO MANY variables though- I ride a hybrid, not a road bike, as i like the dirt roads (i've never seen a red hog though- I'm jealous of that experience Lisa!), but I live in a fairly flat section of the country, but it can sometimes be pretty windy...so not sure I know what the right speed is yet- but i've been averaging between 16.5 and 17.5 on rides of greater than 30 miles.

I totally agree with just having fun though-I think I'm going to cover up the mph indicator on my bike computer on my next ride and see if I'm faster or slower.

[Geonz]

"There will always be somebody older *and* faster than you."

Hey, I averaged 12.9 on this a.m.'s commute - worked a *little* harder than yesterday's 12.3 but mainly... I had cleaned the chain.

It's how it feels, not what the numbers are :)

[GLC1968]

Jiffer - glad my story helped!

And now I can add one more new experience that I just had last night...

I ride with a women's only ride on Tuesday nights and last night I was late, so I'd missed the group doing the 30 mile loop. I joined the group doing intervals instead. As we were warming up, I was talking with the leader who is a former racer and has tons of experience with all the different group rides in our area. I told her my goals and how I'd love to try riding with more groups (besides just the women) but that I was afriad that I couldn't keep up. She said that the drills we were about to do would totally help. Anyway, we went and did our intervals and what an experience!! I've never done anything like that on a bike before and man...it was a rush and a nightmare all at the same time. :p After we were done, she caught up to me on the ride back and said that if I could ride like that, I didn't need to worry about being dropped. Man...that made me feel really, really good!

Now my new goal is to be able to do the same set of intervals and be as fast on the last one as I was on the first! :D

[pumpkinhead]

I was out for a 17 miler @ 6am this morning and averaged 18miles/hr. Pretty much 98% flat and 2 overpasses.

[Andrea]

I have no idea what my total average speed is, but, like most of you, it depends on the company and the situation! I race, so my speeds tend to be up there.

The Tuesday night ride from my team's sponsor shop averaged 24.5 mph on rolling terrain (it's prettymuch an all-out hammerfest) last week. I felt like superwoman after keeping up with that one...
On a 30-40 mile solo recovery ride, I'll usually just spin @ around 17-18mph

Most of the time, I'm somewhere in the middle.

[coyote]

I took a different route to work this week and was quite pleased with myself that I had increased my average speed by 2 mph. But then I realized I went down a really steep underpass.....I reached about 27 mph. I'm going to disengage the computer the next time I take that route and see what my average is then. But wow that underpass is fun :)

[cinnamon_toast]

Does anyone know approx what your speed increase is when group riding? Not necessarily doing pace lines but catching some draft.

[Eden]

Does anyone know approx what your speed increase is when group riding? Not necessarily doing pace lines but catching some draft.

It's commonly accepted that a person drafting will use about 30% less energy. Now speed is still all relative and will totally depend on the person you are drafting. You may not see any increase in speed at all if the person you are drafting is not speedier than you are, but get to your destination fresher, having worked less hard.

[cinnamon_toast]

Ah!! That makes complete and total sense.

[Starfish]

GLC, thanks for your stories! I always find good things to think about with your posts.

All these posts have made me commit to myself that I will find a club in a neighboring town, if I need to, and find some people to ride with. And, there is one group of people locally who are really nice, but out of my league. I can't hang with them at all. But, this fall, dammit, I am going to at least start riding with them, and if I can only hang on for a mile, well, maybe someday it will be two miles.

Thanks everyone, for wonderful posts. They are inspiring.

[RoadRaven]

It's commonly accepted that a person drafting will use about 30% less energy.


Thanks Eden... I need to remember this! I consistently get dropped in my new grade (in the local club), but don't come in too far behind them, so if I can stay on, then I might even have a chance of getting the top ten points that are available!
Riding these races at similar paces but on my own makes me strong - just got to sort my cornering, and my ability (or lack of) to surge!




As for averages... well, interesting bits of info, but as so many others have already said, averages are only truly useful in relatio to yourself unless you are comparing averages in the same course/day...

When I can do the week I like to do I will usually have:
min 3 rides with approx 25km averages,
1 hilly ride - approx 18kph average,
1 race... somewhere between 30-32kph

That would give me an overall average for the week/month/year of 24.8 kph (15.5miles)

If I add 2 mountain bike rides with my youngest son in the front paddock (about 10kph av)... my overall average will drop to 20.57mph (thats 12.85 miles).

And that is why I do not record my average in bike journal - I only record distance and time.