Just when you think it can't get better...

I used to ride solo on Weds. after work then a friend of mine joined me and we were doing okay. Then I invited a guy to join us and I found myself stepping it up a notch to keep up. Then another guy joined us - let's just say my nickname for him is Superman...the boy can fly! So last month at this time I was really excited to finish a 20 mile ride with an avg. speed of 15.2. Then last night we all head out and we do a 25 mile ride. Heading back to the parking lot I check the computer and we averaged 15.6 mph!!! I just about did a happy dance...but nobody wants to see that.;) It really is amazing how quickly you can see improvments. This bike riding thing is way cool!!!

hey, all right!
give those boys a run for their money!

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Originally Posted by li10up

It really is amazing how quickly you can see improvments. This bike riding thing is way cool!!!

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it's true, especially when you try not to be the worst. Our body can put up much more than we think. I ride the best when I'm not looking how fast I go, but when I try to keep up with my boyfriend (who, by the way, knows how much I can take and always made me do 10% extra)
It's sometimes nice to have some positive competitors.

p.s.keep up the good work - Supergirl :D

Woo-hoo--high-fives all around! You're an inspiration to me.

I know just what you mean. I rode by myself for years and never could break the amazingly sluggish average speed of 12.5 mph. But just lately I've been riding with assorted others more often, and now I'm up to somewhere between 13.5 and 14 mph! Not fast for a lot of readers of these forums, but for me--it's like breaking the sound barrier!

AWESOME!!!

Keep at it. The more you ride, the better you will get!

It seriously took me a solid year of riding to get up to a 15 mph pace.

Riding with other people will make your average faster. My boyfriend really didn't seem improvements in his speed until he started doing a weekly group ride.

Plus, the fear of being dropped and lost, really can motivate your legs to MOVE FASTER!

Meaningful comparison of mph speed depends a great deal on how many/how high hills and inclines or even how many curves and turns there are in your ride- is that correct or am I missing the boat?

Thanks everyone. It's nice to have others appreciate your accomplishments regardless of how small they are.

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Meaningful comparison of mph speed depends a great deal on how many/how high hills and inclines or even how many curves and turns there are in your ride- is that correct or am I missing the boat?

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Comparison between others - that's true. But I ride the same 4 or 5 routes all the time and my avg speed as a rule has been between 14.2 to 14.8 mph. Getting my avg speed up to 15 mph on any given ride is my goal...so anytime I can get over 15 mph avg I'll be happy. But seeing 15.6 was just way beyond my expectations.

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Originally Posted by Lisa S.H.

Meaningful comparison of mph speed depends a great deal on how many/how high hills and inclines or even how many curves and turns there are in your ride- is that correct or am I missing the boat?

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Going with JuJu's post "...never could break the amazingly sluggish average speed of 12.5 mph..." I've had some rides in the San Gabirels and San Bernardino Mountians that I would have been estatic to have a 12.5 average