Quote Originally Posted by SadieKate
I really want to offer encouragement to everyone who is concerned about how her yearly mileage compares to others. Remember that it isn’t the number of miles a year you ride but that the miles you ride are satisfying and help you attain your goals.
I totally agree with your advice and appreciate the encouragement. However, the reason I (and probably other newbies) am curious about this is not to compare myself to someone else but to see if I am progressing at a "normal" rate. What I mean is it would be comforting to know that all you biking machines started out only being able to ride 15 to 20 miles at a time and at a speed less than 15 mph. I've started keeping a bike journal and can now see that I've gone from an average speed of about 12 miles an hour to 14.x an hour. Yesterday's ride broke the 15 mph avg. barrier! I've gone from being able to comfortably ride 12-18 miles to being comfortable at 20-25 miles. I know these aren't hugh strides but I am making progress. I think we newbies want to hear that everyone started out like this. That we're normal and not just worthless couch potatoes with no hopes of ever riding a century! At least I'm hoping ya'll didn't just jump on a bike one day and were able to crank out all those miles. Sometimes I wonder if the truely new folks are reluctant to write about their miles and speed...I know I am ...you ladies are intimidating...and I mean that in a good way...I'm very impressed with what ya'll can do. And I hope one day I can say I accomplished some of the things you ladies have.