Quote Originally Posted by patel_shital View Post
just one question ? my average speed is around 13-15 MPH. is it too slow for women ? i ride with my husband (we work at same place ). and he rides too fast. he need to be slow down just to keep up with me . how do i improve my speed ?
Sorry PS... we all seem to have missed your question.
13-15miles? Thats about 21-24kph
This is a good steady speed for commuting. It is neither a good or bad, or slow or fast, speed for women or for men.
Commuting is about getting from one place to another and we all do it at different speeda for different motivations.

For example, 2 of my colleagues commute to work, they commute in work clothes and don't want to arrive sweaty. So they average about 15-18kph (about 10mph I think).

When I commute, I treat it as either a training ride (so average about28-30kph) or as a recovery ride (and do about what you do.

The way to get faster, if this is your goal, is to keep on riding. If your husband is too fast at the moment, ask him to draft you. This means tucking in behind him - this way you will be able to travel slightly faster than you would sitting either in front of him or beside him: when you draft off someone, they take the brunt of the head wind, so it enables you to go faster.

Ask him to ride at a speed just above what you could normally do own your own. If he wants to encourage you, he should be able to support you in this way sometimes.

If he needs to go faster some days, do not feel let-down. Let him go and ride in on your own. Riding on your own will also make you strong because you have nowhere to hide from the wind.

One of the greatest pleasures I get from cycling is from the days when my ride plan matches in with my partner and we get to ride together.

Riding together all the time would be frustrating to both of us. He is a national champ with a title to defend - he has to ride hard and long at times. I am a competent female veteran, but have no chance at all of ever being as capable and speedy and strong as him.

But the days we do get to ride together (when he needs a gentle or recovery ride) are some of the best rides recorded in my bike journal.