Average Speed Question

[sweetride]

Newbie question here...

When a club ride advertizes as a 15-17 or a 18-20 mph ride... do they mean your average speed including flats, hills and decents OR do they mean just your average speed you ride along flats (or rolling hills).

I ride about 17-19+ average when headed out on my regular ride from home that just has mainly rolling hills but has 3 "good" hills that drops my entire ride average to 13-15.

I don't want to join a club ride and be way over my head. Thanks to all!

Diana

[Veronica]

Ha - my husband and can't even reach consensus on what that means. Thom figures our average century speed including time stopped at rest stops. I figure our average speed based on time on the bike.

He thinks when a club advertises average speed they mean only on the flats. I think it means overall ride average including climbs and descents. At least I'm always consistent with myself.

V.

[KSH]

It's the entire ride... which includes hills, slowing down, sprinting, etc.

The best way to know your average, is to have a computer that gives it to you. You would be surprised at how you can't really calculate it in your head.

And, if your cycling groups are like ours... if they advertise a 16-18 MPH average... they really average 20-22.

[SadieKate]

I kind of agree with Thom. For our local club, the advertised speed is the cruising speed of the group after they are outside of town. It does not include rest stops or the warm-up/cool down. Our local rides are mostly outside of town but start in town and may cruise some bike paths on the way. The expectation is that you can maintain the average pace outside of town. Your average for the entire ride will be a far lower number. However, each club may be different due to terrain and the local club's culture.

[emily_in_nc]

Our club's advertised pace for rides includes warm-ups, cool-downs, hills, everything except rest stops. It's the overall average speed you'd see on your computer at the end of the ride (assuming it turns off and on automatically when you stop and rest). Heck, I could do "18+ mph" rides if that only meant cruising on the flats, but as it is, I'm more of a 14-16 mph (overall) average speed gal at the moment. And, in our club, often rides are indeed above the posted speed. For instance, on a "C" paced ride (advertised at 13-15mph), you often see a large proportion of the riders doing 16-17 mph average in the front, but the leader generally leads from the rear and goes with the slowest rider, around 13 mph on a C-paced ride, for example.

So, I guess there's just not one good answer to the original question!

Emily

[agl1975]

I don't know the answer either. On flatlands I can do 17mph - no problem, but hills - yikes. Downhill - 25+mph - Uphill - less than 10mph. My husband and I plan to join on the club rides this coming weekend and want to make sure we ride with the right group. What do you do if you can't keep up? Or if the group is too slow?