Welp, different people progress at very different rates, too! I see a number of new riders each year and some of them are just disgusting. One lady was riding 15 mph for 20 miles on her second ride, on a hybrid... and *then* found out she was riding on about 30 psi! I know for my first three years I was averaging between 11 and 13 mph. It wasn't until I started riding everyday and sometimes twice a day that I made big improvements - but I also made improvemetns in technique at the same time. And sometimes the bike makes a difference (um, like inflating the tires :-)). Now I don't have to ride every day to keep my speed.