Eclectic AND Lenusik:

Here's my cut on this whole issue:

Sunday I did a ride that was 45.51 miles with 5500 feet elevation gain. My average speed for that ride was 11.2 mph. Lots of steep climbs and many steep hills to descend with nasty hairpin turns, traffic, and other slower cyclists to pass (if you could do so safely).

Yesterday I did a ride that was 63.68 miles with 3700 feet elevation gain. My average for that ride was 14.5 mph. The hills aren't as steep, and the descents are pretty straight which means "let er rip". In fact, on two of the descents (about 3+ miles each) I chased people down.

Out here in Northern CA and the Northwest we don't have the humidity and overbearing heat that some of you do elsewhere. We just have lots of hills. I would suggest that you find out the AVERAGE ELEVATION GAIN on your rides to give you a better idea of comparing mphs. Also, some days you'll be faster than others- how you feel, the weather, temps, etc all make a big difference.

The 2 days I give as examples had temps from 60- 85 degrees and nice SW winds to keep us cool. BIG DIFFERENCE! If it had been warmer, my speeds would have been slower.