Faster?

[indysteel]

Karen, speaking for myself, I don't focus much on my average speeds on climbing rides. They're just a whole other kettle of fish. I live in an area that allows for a lot of flat rides so I only compare apples to apples in determining how fast I'm generally going. If my average ride included hills, I think I'd try to avoid looking at my average speed unless I was comparing different passes over the same route. To measure my climbing "performance," I go more by how the climb or hill "feels," how steadily I paced myself, whether I felt in control, my heartrate, etc.

I would note however, that we don't have long, long climbs (over 2 miles) in my neck of the woods so I don't get to measure my speed or performance on the kind of climbs that our TE members in mountainous states do on a regular basis. I'd love to try though. For me, climbing is the thing I'd most like to be good at. The stuff around here is short and steep as a general rule and those walls of pavement really put the fear of God into me on some days. They take a certain fortitude that I'm just starting to acquire. I would gladly trade a fast ride on the flats for a strong climb.

I think any talk of average speed has to include the caveat that there's no real point in comparing yourself to another rider who might be riding totally different terrain, on a different type of bike, who is younger/older/thinner/heavier/better trained, etc., etc. There are too many variables. The better practice is to compare your own progress, in light of your own goals. For me, I didn't want to be the one bringing up the rear at every ride, so I've worked hard at improving my speed. It's not a goal in and of itself and every time I've gotten too worked up about it, I've had to keep my eye on the bigger picture: that riding my bike at any speed is more fun and better for me that sitting on my couch.