Training for 60 mile Century

[Eden]

I love how people talk about averaging 17/18 mph as "hardly any speed." I would kill to be able to average that! I did 69.5 miles today and my average was just over 15 mph. I can maintain 17 mph for a lap (of 15 minutes) or two over the course of a ride, but not a whole ride.

I'm not saying Grey has done this this, but many people, when they say they "average" a certain speed, really mean, when I look down I most often see X speed. It doesn't necessarily mean they really averaged that speed over the whole ride. It tends to inflate one's actual average speed, because few people look down when they are doing 8mph...

Keep in mind also that conditions (is it flat, hilly, windy, lots of stop lights etc) and how long you are riding (its easier to keep up a good amount of speed for a short distance than a really long one) will affect how fast you can go, as well as whether or not you are riding in a group. Being able to paceline and draft will greatly increase the average speed you can maintain.

In the end, unless you are actually involved in a race with them, its best to not worry about or to try to make comparisons to other people (especially on the internet.... where you often know nothing about all of the above).