how slow am I?

[HappyAnika]

I live in one of the fittest counties in the nation, so when I see a very heavy person out jogging, my first thought is surprise, then my second thought is "Good for them, they are out trying to get some exercise and improve their quality of life".

Good for all of us, we are all out there riding (no matter the distance or speed), having fun and enjoying cycling for the exercise, the camaraderie , the scenery, etc.

Another thing I wanted to mention regarding averages on the computer, stop signs and traffic lights slow you down, but so can drinking (I'm no good at pedaling while reaching for my bottle and drinking), waiting for fellow riders who got caught at the light, slowing way down to find that coffee shop you looked up on google, the list goes on. When I ride home from work (20 mi.) I ride hard on the highway and into my town, but once I get into my neighborhood I slow way down to start cooling down, and to watch for children, squirrels, and cars pulling into the street who never look behind them first . Sometimes I'll note my average before I slow down and the difference between that and what my cyclometer says in my driveway can be really significant. Sometimes I'll focus on speed for shorter rides, but when I'm riding for distance I don't even care about speed. It all depends on what your goals are. And if your only goal is riding for fun then just try to have fun!

[Brandy]

Good points Happy Anika. My average improved today moving off of the bike path and onto the road. Even with all of the stopping we had to do at stoplights, it doesn't compare to the slowing that you have to do on a beach path...especially this time of year! It seems that there are many factors that go into calculating average speed. I'm just happy to be out riding!

[FreshNewbie]

Electric,

I will agree with the ladies who said that average speed involves many variables. I know it's hard not to compare yourself to other riders, but if you want to continue enjoy the sport you should only compare yourself to your own results. There are always someone faster than you, and at some point it will get too frustrating to not be able to catch that "rabbit". I think it takes some people less effort to improve their speed than others, and you might need a little more time, but if you put determination and chase it down with love for sport then you will get there. When I see someone in the street who is overweight but he/she is biking, running, etc it puts a smile on my face. Like someone said before, "pushing" is different for everybody. Experiment on different things: diet pre/post rides, different types of training, change of scenery and you might get better results. However, I must say that there are so many different women on this board, and everyone has their own opinion, and if they are asked they will voice it. Unfortunately, we don't see their facial expressions and emotions so it's hard to say if they meant their comment to be harsh or not. We are all in the same sport, some people willtry to encourage you and comment on your results, others feel that "encouraging" is not about only looking at a positive side of the story....
In the end you are out riding, doing it, enjoying and wanting to improve and that's awsome in my book