Question about average speeds

[AllezGirl]

I live in Philly...which has turned into a very cycling friendly city. Even having a Bike Philly event this year, modeled after the Five Boroughs tour...

I haven't ridden in Pittsburgh, but I know a boatload of cyclists from that area. Most are racers, and very strong hill climbers, go figure

[Batbike]

I grew up in Pittsburgh, but the race started long after I moved away...

in fact I used to think I was pretty alone out there - hardly ever saw other cyclists, but it seems like a pretty hopping scene these days - even weekday races down where they used to do the drivers tests down near the zoo

I grew up in Pittsburgh too! I was only 13 when I moved away, but I still remember riding my pink 10spd JC Penney bicycle all through the hills of Pittsburgh! Of course, NEVER went downtown and on Canton St. -- WHAT A HILL ... I can't even imagine TRYING to ride up it, let alone actually doing it!!! The grade itself makes it almost straight-up, then back before 2005or 2006, the road was cobblestone ... the whole idea of riding a bike up that hill makes my mind boggle!

[Eden]

boy its been a while (I guess I didn't quite move away before the dirty dozen started (left in '90), but seems like it was more just a small group of friends before the late 90's) My favorite ride was from my house in Carrick all of the way out to around Cheswick and back. I aways had S. 18th street to look forward to on my way home as my big climb.

[AllezGirl]

It's still cobblestone...at least as of November 06.

[Batbike]

WOW! still cobblestone ... obsolutely AMAZING that there are cyclist who can climb a 37% grade cobblestone road!!! I am in total AWE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AllezGirl]

oops...the pic didn't work! (It was of the cyclist beating the runner)

Well...here's Danny's account of at. Apparently there are some that not only ride up it once, but multiple times!

"A party atmosphere developes atop Canton Avenue each year. Those riders who have already made the hill stand at the top, and cheer on those riders attempting to make the hill (some needing more than one try). Many rookies fail to make Canton their first attempt because either they don't take the hill seriously enough or another rider(s) crashes in front of them. In the Canton Avenue Challenge (cyclist versus runner) this year, sprinter Ryan McDermitt (on bike) barely beat shoeless runner Joe Ross on the cobblestones. A triathlete, Joe finished the DD this year. You may remember Joe on the cover of Sundays Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper last year - running against Cummings (on bike) up Canton. In another challenge, Joe Vallese & another cyclist (both on bikes) clearly beat triathlete Billy Kanarek (DD finisher this year) who ran up the steps alongside the cobblestones. Rather than just wait, some people feel the need to ride up (conquer) Canton multiple times such as 52 year old Greg Ellis who climbed it 4 times. "

[RoadRaven]

Just going back to the discussion on page 1...

When I first got on a bike, I was obsessed with my average speed and how to make it better.
As I got more experienced, time on the bike became more relevant and useful and my average speed an interesting statistic but not a goal...

Pedal Wench, Geonz and Eden have hit the proverbial nail on the head.

Averages are only useful in terms of measuring your performance over the same or similar course/s. If you zip over to BikeJournal and look at one of my months, you'll see that while I race at an average speed of somewhere between 27-32kph, most of my rides are under 26kph average.

If I am doing hill reps, my average for the ride will be under 20kph, and yet the power output and intensity of the ride will be much much more than when I do a recovery ride on the flat and average 25-26kph.

Regarding joining group rides...

Our club gives suggested averages for each of the six grades...
For example, the beginners grade (G) often has a winning/finishing average of 28-30kph over a 17-20km course while the top/elite grade (A) often has a winning/finishing average of over 40kph over a 35-40km course.

[equus123]

Myself nor my teammates go by the average speed calculation. It's really not needed at a certain point. The only thing we use when talking about pace and speed is the speed we actually ride at. Big difference between that and calculated average speed on your computer. For example, we'll go on a 35 mi ride. On any given road we're between 19-23 mph. However when we get back to the bike shop and get off our bikes, the computer may say that our average speed was like 17.5 - 18.3. Big difference. So we just go based on what speed we physically ride at. It's easier and better anyway because like everyone has said - terrain, wind, temp, elevation, lights, stop signs, etc. - all affect your speed.

That's my 2 cents

[Possegal]

i mentioned that i'm from pittsburgh and that some of these nasty hills are right near where i grew up. i have been back there a lot lately and on one trip i drove the couple of blocks to one of the streets on the 'dirty dozen' hill challenge. in fact, i was probably there when they had the 2007 challenge and i should have paid better attention.

anyway, this is boustead ave in pittsburgh. though it is claimed to be a 29% grade, they say it is likely steeper than canton ave (the 37% one talked about here) in the middle of it, just that boustead is longer and flattens at the top so it lowers the overall grade of the road.

can't believe people bike up this and i can proudly say i have no intention of ever trying. and trust me, the photo doesn't do it justice. not sure if there is a photographic way to really show how steep it is!

[nancy sv]

How do I determine my average speed? I just say s - l - o - w

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

anyway, this is boustead ave in pittsburgh. though it is claimed to be a 29% grade, they say it is likely steeper than canton ave (the 37% one talked about here) in the middle of it, just that boustead is longer and flattens at the top so it lowers the overall grade of the road.

can't believe people bike up this and i can proudly say i have no intention of ever trying. and trust me, the photo doesn't do it justice. not sure if there is a photographic way to really show how steep it is!

I guess the photo does not do it justice at all because it looks pretty much like the hill going up to my house! (in rural NY) FWIW, I "zoom" up my hill at 2.5 mph.

Anyone have a link to the photo mentioned earlier of Canton Ave?

[Possegal]

trust me, i don't speed up boustead in my CAR, in fact, i won't drive up it, only down it. so yes, apparently the photo does not do it justice. i'll have to try the angle from the top of the hill when i go home next week, maybe that will convey it better. in fact, i bet it will, so i will try that and resurrect this thread yet again.

here is canton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Avenue and here is video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxWceFTkLRU
37% grade, on cobblestones. the guy who posted this video posted some other streets, but not boustead. you should see links for some other streets on the page for the canton video. suffolk street is also not far from me, as is canton.


let's see if i can add the pic of the the man running in his socks who challenged the bike winner, and beat him. running up canton faster than the biker.

hopefully you can see how steep canton is from these links/pics, and like i said, folks say boustead is probably steeper just that the grade of the road is for the whole road and since it is flat at a few spots, the 28% grade doesn't rightly show how steep it is at some points.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

AAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

[Possegal]

he he he. now naturally these are not roads that i ever felt the need to try, nor was it necessary to travel on them. for me at least. pity the folks who need to drive them because of where they live! especially in the snow! as a kid riding a bike in pittsburgh i learned quickly how to get anywhere with the least amount of hills. but that didn't mean no hills. at least it never meant any of the dirty dozen hills.

[jobob]

Good grief !!!