Average Speed

[Catrin]

I haven't found myself stressing over my speed, it helps to be a beginner I like my computer because it help me to keep track of my mileage - I am not known for sticking to my own mapped routes It is nice to have cadence for the hills, but haven't allowed myself to obsess about the speed - though I could do so quite easily...

[chicagogal]

Like has been stated many times, speed day to day is affected by too many things, so I don't really compare from one day to another. However, I do my intervals on a loop, and without a power meter, I still like to know that I am putting out basically the same effort from interval to interval, rather than fading into oblivion. So, I do use my computer to compare these efforts. If I can't keep my speed up, my workout is over.

[arielmoon]

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.

[Bike Writer]

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!

[nscrbug]

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.