new to cycling--speed??

[Newbiecyclingme]

Hi all, I am new to cycling, only been on a bike 4 times. What is a typical Speed that a woman can do for a newbie, I want to improve but I feel sooo slow, Thanks

[redrhodie]

I wouldn't worry about speed if you've only done 4 rides. Just keep riding, and you'll see your speed improve naturally in a very short time. I actually remember my first ride, I went 8 miles, and I was toast. I didn't have a computer, but I probably averaged under 12 mph.

[kermit]

I ride for fitness and fun and the occasional sprint tri. You will get great responses from the hammerheads on here but I was always told to start with a high cadence (rpm) and low resistance and the speed would come. My friend who is training for an ironman duathlon just hired a trainer for her cycling. She was given a set time to ride in the small chain ring and keep a cadence between 80 to 90 rpm. The time on the bike increases every week and the speed for now is not a concern. Thats just my 2 cents. I know for me it has worked.

[owlice]

I often average under 12 MPH now! :eek: Last year, a lot of my rides were in the 8-9 MPH range, so my ~11 MPH is improvement!! I'd love to get to a consistent 13 MPH or so.

And oh, yeah, I ride mostly flat trails; we're not talking biking up mountains or anything here!!

[SadieKate]

Fast enough to keep the rubberside down. Next goal: ride in a straight line and predictably so you can ride safely with others.

[Tri Girl]

Like everyone said: don't worry too much about your speed. Most importantly- just have fun and enjoy yourself on EVERY ride. :D You'll get stronger, you'll get fitter, and you'll increase your speed.

When I started out I was obsessed with speed and getting faster. And I did. And then I got all burned out- and now I'm riding because I WANT to and I LIKE it and I go at whatever pace I want. I took the computer off my bike, but I think I'm averaging somewhere in the 10-12 mph range. A far cry from my 18-20 mph range from 4 years ago, but I'm having A LOT more fun now than I was back then and I'm riding for sheer pleasure instead of it being a "have to" kind of thing.

Ride the way you want. If you want to be a "hammer-head", do it. If you want to be a "smell the roses" kind of rider, do it. Just have fun no matter what kind of riding you do!! :)

[ny biker]

The bike you ride will affect this. Just by switching from knobby tires to slicks on my mountain bike, I rode faster on paved trails. Then switching from a mountain bike to a road bike sped me up again.

But yeah, just have fun.

[Zen]

I like to ride at a speed that makes me smile but not so fast as to make me scared.
In order to retain what little is left of my dignity I won't give actual numbers.

[Red Rock]

When I first started riding after a 20 year layoff, I did not have a computer. I think this was a good thing actually. My brother and Dad told me about them. Once I knew what it did I was like "cool".

By the time I actually purchased one, I think I had been riding for about 6 months. This was good for me because I was able to think about my body and how I was feeling as I rode. I had no direct speed in front of me as I rode. Since I was riding more I could feel my body become stronger. Areas where I would ride that were difficult in the beginning, eventualy were not much in the end.

If you find you are becoming a speed demon like TriGirl, you might want to disconnect the battery for a while. Then when you are ready, put the battery in and see how far you have progressed in the meantime. Just a thought.

I have an odometer on my road bike but nothing on my commuter or mountain bike. I have thought about it many times, but when I ride, I want to enjoy my ride. I can tell how I am doing physically by how I feel.

I hope this helps.

Red Rock

[chicagogal]

My cycle computer and I have a strange relationship. I use it on solo rides to make sure that I am at least maintaining my usual average speed on usual routes. However, sometimes I think that little computer makes me go slower. For instance, sometimes on group rides, I am feeling great, and we are flying down the road, and then a glance at my computer and see some crazy high number and then think to myself that I "should" be tired - that of course gets to my head and I end up feeling tired. Once last season, on a day when my computer was broken, a couple friends and I went out for a 30mi ride before work. I was doing a lot of the pace setting, feeling great despite some killer headwinds. When we got to the end of the ride, my friends were toast. They were like, "what was that?!?!?! we never go that fast/hard! Do you know how fast we were going?" Um, no my computer was broken, I was just having fun . . .

My point is that just going out and having fun without worrying about speed does not necessarily equate to going slowly. It just means listening to your body instead of being obsessed with some number on a tiny screen.

[moonfroggy]

my current bike is a mountain bike. last time i rode i managed almost 12 mph but really it depends on the roads and how steep they are and the whether and stuff. sometimes i go 8 mph on my mountain bike that's what my range is

i am eager to see how fast i will be able to go when i get my new bike. it will be a luna orbit more of a touring bike i am planning on slick tires.

[Crankin]

When I started riding, on a mountain bike with slicks, I didn't have a computer. After about 6 months, I got one. I seemed to be averaging around 12 mph. After I got my first road bike, (another year), I was able to get my average up to around 13.5-14. Then I got a carbon road bike. By this time, I was fairly obsessed, after 3 years. My average sat around 16 for a couple of years until burnout, illness, and injury brought it down. I still look at my average, but I no longer obsess on it. My goal is to enjoy myself. Basically, I ride in a hilly area, and on those rides my average is anywhere between 13.5 and 14.5. On flatter rides, it's closer to 15.5-16. I do have a computer on my commuter bike, but I never look at the average, just the total miles I have gone. It's a heavy steel bike, usually with a loaded pannier. I enjoy just cruising a long on that bike.
I feel stronger this year, and perhaps my average will go up. But, my goal is to not burned out/tired by the middle of the summer, which often happens. So, I am starting slowly.

[Skierchickie]

Just have fun. Everyone who has posted here has given some really good information. There is no "right" speed. As someone who tends to judge herself by comparing herself to others, I can say it just isn't healthy, and won't make you happy.

I've been riding off & on since I was a kid, so I really can't say where I was as a newbie. If I wasn't riding, I was swimming or skiing (i.e., when I'd get on my bike, I'd still be faster than if I'd been doing nothing). I was faster in my 20s, when I got my first computer. 20-some years later, yeah, I'm slower at everything. I'm also riding farther on my longest rides, though.

Right now, on my mtb, which I ride anywhere from 0-3 times per week in the summer, I'll average maybe 6-8 on singletrack trails. Faster on 2-track and dirt roads. On my road bike, which I ride by far the most, I'll start the season at around 13-15, and usually end up 16-18 by September (by October the weather is cruddy for biking, and I'm bored & ready to ski anyway, and enter my Fall Doldrum period until the snow flies). Hills vs flats, wind vs no wind - that will all make a huge difference. Yesterday (my second ride of the season), I did 23 miles at some speed, with a the wind gusting to 30 - I knew it was silly to look, because it just didn't matter. I had fun!

Example: Yesterday - I'm guessing 14-ish (that gusty wind was at our backs for about 10 miles). Last summer ONE TIME, on a point-to-point ride with big rolling hills and a 30mph tailwind, 19.5 (my most-fun ride EVER). On a typical solo 100-miler, 14-14.5 average, pretty darn consistently.

[DarcyInOregon]

For me, speed is important because it is a function of my heart rate. I ride because I love cycling. I have already put in close to 1500 miles since January 1, 2010. However the cardio fitness of each ride is important to me and I want my average heart rate to be in cardio zones 3 and 4 and my maximum heart rate in zone 4 or 5. In order to reach my desired heart rate zones, I need to push myself and give myself as much speed as is possible.

To answer the question, the desired speed you want is the speed that will place you in the heart rate zone you wish to be in. The speed will be different for individuals because of the differences in height, weight, age, fitness level, quality of bike, terrain and weather conditions.

And for me, a bike computer with a heart rate monitor is vitally important so as to provide me with the data that allows me to improve my cycling skills and fitness level.

[Tri Girl]

I have already put in close to 1500 miles since January 1, 2010.

Holy crapsticks, Darcy!! :eek:
I think I've put in a total of about 100 miles since Jan. 1st (counting trainer miles). I am very impressed!!

[DarcyInOregon]

Holy crapsticks, Darcy!! :eek:
I think I've put in a total of about 100 miles since Jan. 1st (counting trainer miles). I am very impressed!!

Tri-girl, thanks! My miles are a particular achievement because I had a bike accident on November 13. No, I don't know what happened other than I didn't crash; the doctors ruled out stroke, heart attack and low blood sugar, so a side gust may have gotten me. I decided to do loops on the bike trail inside the local state park. I was only at mile 3 and I woke up sprawled out on the trail. I had been unconscious for 90 minutes. I spent the weekend in the trauma center with severe concussion, multiple fractured ribs and a right punctured deflated lung. However, good comes from bad, and the doctors told me the cycling has burned off the bad fat inside the torso, the fat that surrounds the pancreas and invades the heart and liver, and that I have exceptional heart, liver and kidney health. I got back on the bike on January 1, biked through the pain, in some snow and a lot of rain and a whole lot of headwind, and put on the miles. I still go to the gym too. I am trying my best to get my body fat down to 24% and it is a long journey.

One thing that works for me is using the training log on MapMyRide. It is because Map has fitness challenges. I join multiple fitness challenges for bike miles and I am surrounded by alpha male cyclists. I am not an alpha anything, and my speed has to look like the pace of a turtle compared to them, but it sure is a motivator to keep up with the alphas and hold my position in the top ten on the Leaderboard for the challenges. I keep my training log public too, so that anyone can look at it, see how much I weigh (horrendous), see exactly what my heart rate, speed and distance is on each ride, and doing so motivates me to do my best, even during the bad winter weather.

[Jiffer]

I am a stat freak, so I am giving you specific stats. :) I started riding a tandem with my husband in the fall of 2006. I got my own road bike in summer of 2007. I started logging my rides in January 2008. Here are four rides from January that year and four recent rides from this year, one of them yesterday. Remember, I had already been riding a tandem for a year and a half before the 2008 first entries, along with my own bike for six months, though I didn't ride much, if any during the previous month or so during the holidays, so it was beginning of season, just getting back into riding at the beginning of the year.

I'm giving you miles, ride time (not including pausing for signals and breaks), average pace, and feet of climbing. The amount and grade of climbing makes a huge difference in over all time and speed. Note the lower mileage in the 2008 rides verses the 2010 rides. Of course I gave you some of my better rides for 2010, but some of the shorter and/or slower rides that I didn't post are recovery rides or training rides where I was focusing on intervals, not over all time.

1/19/08 - 8.91 miles, 0:37:25, 14.3 pace, 747 ft
1/21/08 - 17.58 miles, 1:24:39, 12.5 pace, 916 ft
1/29/08 - 8.79 miles, 0:40:41, 13.0 pace, 486 ft
1/30/08 - 16.80 miles, 1:16:00, 13.1 pace, 660 ft

2/13/10 - 64.50 miles, 3:42:59, 17.4 pace, 2,195 ft
3/05/10 - 70.95 miles, 3:50:54, 18.4 pace, 1,226 ft
2/19/10 - 43.78 miles, 2:23:41, 18.3 pace, 1,047 ft
3/20/10 - 32.47 miles, 2:00:36, 16.1 pace, 1,898 ft

The last ride, on 3/20, was yesterday. That is a club ride with some pretty substantial climbing. I have done that ride at a faster pace, 16.5, when the club happened to go especially fast during the first 10 mile flat section and I was able to keep up. Yesterday, the club went relatively slow in the beginning, but I wanted to focus on the climbs anyway. I keep track of how fast I do climbs on specific routes and I did all those climbs faster than I ever have before. I was SO excited. :D If you have a way to track laps on your bike computer, I highly recommend using it for small sections of rides that you want to improve on. It motivates me to go faster and I "know" if I did something faster. I don't have to rely on the average pace for the entire ride to know I am improving.

I hope my specific numbers are an encouragement to you to see how one can improve over a relatively short period of time. I remember a club ride a couple of years ago when I was climbing and being passed by pretty much everyone. A woman went passed me at a much faster pace and my first thought was, "I hate her." :( And then I though, "No ... I don't hate her. I want to BE her! Some day I'm going to BE that woman." :D But wondered if I ever really could be. :confused: And now I'd say I'm relatively close to riding at the pace she was riding that day. Woo hoo! It is only recently that I'm "really" starting to feel good about the speed of my riding and intervals is a huge part of that. I highly recommend intervals. But just getting out and riding at any pace and distance will help you improve.

[invsblwmn]

I agree that it totally depends on the bike. I used to ride 16-18 mph on my cannondale. On the mountain bike with knobbies, it was more like 12mph. On my cattrike speed, I average 10mph and am thrilled with the speed on 20" tires and 3" ground clearance from my girlie parts. Your speed is your speed. Ride enough to get sweaty but not so hard that you can't get home. Enjoy! :)

[Bike Chick]

Tri-girl, thanks! My miles are a particular achievement because I had a bike accident on November 13. No, I don't know what happened other than I didn't crash; the doctors ruled out stroke, heart attack and low blood sugar, so a side gust may have gotten me. I decided to do loops on the bike trail inside the local state park. I was only at mile 3 and I woke up sprawled out on the trail. I had been unconscious for 90 minutes. I spent the weekend in the trauma center with severe concussion, multiple fractured ribs and a right punctured deflated lung.

Wow, Darcy! How scary! You are an inspiration. Keep up the good work though. And I can't believe you have already done 1500 miles! You're an animal.

I was like a lot of ladies here and my speed increased with my mileage, especially since I was only riding with the guys and I had to ride fast to hang. I obsessed about it and worked to get faster. I did but wasn't having as much fun. I don't worry about it anymore and ride a lot by myself. I enjoy it a lot more too. Just ride your bike. It'll come.

[kenyonchris]

For me, it depends on who I ride with. If I ride with a weaker rider, I average 16-17 mph. But I spend a lot of time with Hammerheads (and most of them men). I let them pull and average 18-22....until they make me pull!! :)

Doing Amgen in a few weeks and I am so out of shape it isn't funny. The weather has been terrible, moving, and getting married. So I may do it in and under 12 average.

Got a Garmin for the Pinkarello....and love it! I need to get my HR up higher.

[Zen]

Though I have never monitored my cycling speed...but I think to be a good cyclist on a regular basis a person must get a speed of 15-20 mphs.

Being a "good cyclist" has nothing to do with speed. If you had some idea of what your actual riding speed is you might amend that statement.

Interesting signature.

[tangentgirl]

I often average under 12 MPH now! :eek:

Glad I'm not the only one.

[Chile Pepper]

Glad I'm not the only one.

You and me both. On the other hand, I'm so much stronger than I used to be--a much better climber, with much better stamina. Hills are part of the issue: nothing is truly flat here, so it's always slow one direction and pretty fast the other, which averages out to 12-13 mph for me. And realistically, I ride alone, I'm 45, and I'm not interested in speed training. The pace isn't going to magically pick up on its own.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Being a "good cyclist" has nothing to do with speed. If you had some idea of what your actual riding speed is you might amend that statement.
Interesting signature.


Oops....she's GONE.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Speed depends SO much on so many factors, such as age, weight, condition, bike type and weight, temperature, hydration, gears, terrain, experience, weather, blah blah blah...
so much so that I believe to compare speeds between people is almost meaningless.
The right speed is what's right for you.
I average about 10mph. I'm an 56yr old cyclist with no athletic background on fairly hilly terrain with a loaded steel bike, and I ride for health and enjoyment. Works for me! :p

[Jiffer]

Yeah, I did want to mention again how much the terrain makes a difference. I can do a relatively flat ride to the beach and back at a 20 average, (the only time I have gotten a 20 and it's a total thrill :D) or I can climb 7,000 feet and get a 12 average.

A lighter bike, clipping in and pedaling efficiently make a big difference. Keeping your tire pressure up (i.e. pumping before every ride ... making sure you don't have a slow leak and/or brake pad rubbing ;) ). The weather, fueling, etc. All of these things play a factor in speed in addition to your strength and ability level.