Average Speed

When I first started I was obsessed with speed to the point that I now do not allow the computer to be on average while I am riding. Only when I am done do I look at it.

For the most part, I know, after a ride, what kind of effort I put in and that, in the end, is what matters for fitness and strength. It is kind of nice sometimes to realize, all things being equal, you did a specific route faster and with less effort and know that the hard work is paying off.

I use a computer to track mileage and being a beginner with a very heavy bike my avg speeds are slow in the 10-11 mph range. But this also includes time spent walking the bike partially up a hill and my walk speed is 3 mph. Nearly every ride still has me walking the bike up one or two of the more significant hills. I only have one route that is flat and only get to that one on occasion. In that case mileage increases to 12-13 mph range.

What I have come to rely on even more is time spent on a particular route and that has been decreasing. For the first 2/3 of the summer I didn't have a bike computer so my guess is that my mph was in the 7-8 range because my time spent on individual routes has improved considerably.

I also carry a camera and stop to take a lot of photos so this decreases average speeds with all the stopping and starting.

My goal for next riding season is to increase avg to 12 mph and don't think I can seriously get much higher than that without a new bike that is lighter and has more than 7 gears.

My only real reason for wanting to get any faster at all is to be able to add to my mileage per ride without increasing the time spent.

Compared to my turtle pace most of you sound like racers to me! :D

Ehh...I used to totally stress-out about my crappy "average speed", which on most rides is usually somewhere in the 14's or 15's. But then I realized that all of my riding is done in very traffic-congested areas, with stop signs and/or stoplights every 1/2 mile (or often more frequently), as well as dealing with wind on nearly every ride...so that will definitely bring my average speed down by a lot. I'll check it, every so often on longer rides...but generally I don't concern myself with it anymore. If I remember, I might check it at the end of a ride just to see how I did.

I'll check my average speed at the end of a ride just to see what it is but I don't obsess over it becasue as others have mentioned, a lot of different things can affect ones average speed (a ride with a lot of climbing, higher winds, lots of stop signs / lights, etc.). I do a lot of riding just for fun and towards the end of the season this year and (my year was pretty messed up, too with a 6 week long break and then not riding too many times per week thereafter) my average was getting up to 15.5mph. As I ride more next year I of course hope to improve it but I'm not going to obsess over it.

aside from speed, I always like to finish a ride fresh enough that I could do another 10 miles if I had to.

My speed may have gone up this year but my total mileage is only 1/4of what it was last year thanks to injury, addition of 90 year old FIL to household with all that that implies, sucky sucky weather during the summer and general life stresses. My aim for next year is to just increase my overall mileage at about the same pace.

I also got a trainer for Christmas, which means that I might be able to achieve this, but am thinking that I only want to count road miles.

Is the question asked because you just want to know if your avg speed is going up? (probably not)

Are you asking this question because you want to know if your physical conditioning is better? (most likely)

I'm no physiologist but I think you need to look at your resting heart rate, your elevated heart rate for some fixed duration and how fast your heart rate drop back down. For instance, if you ride hard and come to a stop at a light/stop sign, does your heart rate drop down quickly or does it take a long time for you to recover. Panting longer time or shorter time.

Speed is one thing but your heart rate, elevated heart rate, how fast you recover is more of an indication to your conditioning.

Some are naturally gifted at running, or swimming, or bike riding. Others are not. It's not that you are out of shape but rather your physique isn't built for the sport. I'm small with short legs. Can't possibly run against someone with European or African ancestry. For each step they take I need to take more than one...

Pay attention to your heart rate, how fast it responds to physical stress and how fast it recovers.

I was looking for some kind of metric that I could use in 2011 to have some kind of idea improvement. After this discussion here I've decided that average speed just isn't it. I think an occasional self-imposed 'time trial' will get me closer to what I was looking for, along with general fitness/heart rate/how my body feels/etc. Thankfully my heart rate recovers quite fast, and while I certainly won't say that I never find myself panting, it passes quickly. This does help :)

I do appreciate all of the comments, they have been quite helpful :D

I've found avg speed was something to obsess about when I first started riding but now I don't worry about it. I'm not competing,I'm not getting paid,I'm not a professional,so I don't have to have that be a factor on daily rides. Ride with someone faster,or better than you and it will make you faster. When I ride with my DH I push myself to keep up and my speed goes up. I like to do this every so often to show myself possibilities. He does this this himself during racing season,he will ride track races he's not going to win to condition himself for road races he can.

Do all the people who have average speeds of 14-15mph live in the flats? I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and try as I may, the average speed on my bike computer is always between 10-12 mph. I may be going down at 30mph and going up at 5mph. It seems like 13-14mph (when I look down) in the very few flat areas.

I notice after not being able to ride much due to rain, that I am somewhat out of condition. It seems that even the rides that I think of as 'flattish' and relatively easy are full of hills that I notice more when I haven't ridden for awhile.

I am trying to gradually improve my speed and not feel so frustrated with myself.

I would not set your training goals around average speed. However, average speed can give you some useful information when taken into account with the rest of the ride conditions.

For example, when I am doing one of my large team rides, if I see that our average was 20mph or more on the way back into town, I might think, wow, this ride was really "race pace" (for me, maybe not for most of the guys). Of course, this is in a large group, and I will never put myself into the wind unless I need to bridge a gap or go for the town line sprint. On the other hand, if I do a ride on similar terrain by myself or in a small group and the average is 16mph or less, I may see it as a good aerobic, endurance ride if we were rolling smoothly. Or, it could be poor training for me if I am leading new cyclists, for example, and we are stopping or regrouping a lot. A 16mph average or less could also mean a really good, really hard ride if I'm out in the mountains where I spend a lot of time sub-10mph but at or above threshold.