Never Appreciated I Was Such a "Slow" Cyclist

[The utility cyclist]

I ride a bike, I have a computer but it's for seeing how many miles I've done so I know roughly how many I've done/how manyleft to go and if might want to go further/curtail, how long it takes me/average speed is an irrelevance, it will be faster and slower on any given day.

That CUK is using numbers in this way just makes a mockery of what the main aspects are of the organisation, it's also completely bonkers to virtually pigeonhole people as 'not average' by coming up with the numbers they have, so now we have people thinking, oh right, I'm not even average, I'm not qualified/fast enough to be part of this, it's utterly contemptable and stupid without any thought as to how this impacts on people just out to ride a bicycle whether that's 600 yds to the shop for a paper and some woodbines or in any other scenario.
it's verging on exculsion, probably likely to put people off by definition of you not fitting the 'average' notional speed, whether that's a stop start average or actual top speed at any given point.
It just holds negative connatations.

I also noticed that the email that was sent to me by CUK re the magazine had every single person who was on a bike wearing a helmet in the photographs that were used. Yet more insidious creep!

[Redvee]

My commute to/from work is 10 miles each way and I like to do it at an average of 15mph, some days I achieve this, some I don't. It's usually the ride into work that lets me down as once I leave home I'm in work time, as soon as I clock out of work it's my time.

[mercalia]

I barely move by comparison to you lot. I wont embarrass my self saying how slow I ride

[MikeF]

I'm a slow cyclist. I know that because, on the road, I'm usually passed by other cyclists. Many give a cheery greeting as they pass which is nice.

Like Psamathe, I have recorded details of every journey (on different bikes) since 2014 on a Cateye computer, even going to the shops!

Most of my journeys door to door are between 10 and 11.5mph average moving speed. On a recent journey to Tonbridge I managed to increase the average overall moving speed to 13.5mph, but then having a pootle around there and returning home to higher ground my overall average was 10.7mph. It's very much harder to increase an average than to reduce it!

However very rarely on any journey is my maximum speed less than 20mph. Even on really slow journeys around town or shopping my maximum is above 15mph. I think this is significant for the design/use of shared pavements, cycle tracks and the like, but not usually recognised by those who don't cycle.

[karlt]

I do a 10 mile (each way) commute and I find it makes me want to do more in evenings and weekends, not less. My route is mainly countryside and I enjoy the wildlife and the time in the outdoors.

The commute is just how I get to work in an enjoyable and stress free way. I don't really think of it as cycling at all. It does, of course, help keep me fit for fun cycling (evenings and weekends). I'd happily do a lot more of that if I had the time.

I used to keep a log of times and such but now I just do it as the mood takes, occasionally flat out as fast as possible but more often just a steady pace, which is about 14mph for me. Sometimes an outright dawdle, and sometimes with an excursion into the Peak District for fun on the way home.

I work near the middle of Sheffield. Whilst half the commute is pleasantly rural, the first half is invariably uphill - I live near Chesterfield so heading south from work, whichever route I take, I get to start with two miles uphill and 450', via a busy suburban dual carriageway involving two horrific junctions which are haunted by tossers in white Audis who think that if you could get a fag paper between your handlebars and their wing mirror they've left more than enough room, left hand filter lanes to avoid getting stuck in, both on c. 10% ramps with 40mph traffic to filter into and tramlines at acute angles before I get to the rural bit. And even then it's more a thinner urban ribbon than truly countryside; for the latter I have to extend the commute by several miles and half an hour, which just isn't an option in the afternoon.

The steep hill at the end can [insert word here] right off as well. Not in the mood for it when I haven't had me tea yet and it's gone 6.

This after a full day of work just isn't appealing, and by the end I'm glad to stick the bike in the garage and be finished with the thing.

Though since you're near the Peak you probably know the area. Suggestions for avoiding Prince of Wales Road getting from Darnall to Calow are appreciated, although I've been years trying to find them.

I used to commute up Pow road from work in Roth, 'kin awful road for bikes! My parents place is in Darnall, I'm at the top of the bypass so your commute is the obvious route but I use the loop into the centre (it's not actually that busy if you cut through the canal basin area and over the roundabout), behind the station then up Chessy Rd, slightly longer but quicker and the bonus of less tram and no stupid uphill lane changes, the climb is climbed and you can avoid M/head by cutting across to Coal Aston from the top of the park. Then you can lane it down to Chessy. (for a bit more of a challenge go up Derbyshire Lane through the park and across to Coal Aston. It might be quicker at CA to drop into Dronny and down through Unstone to Whitty? Of course you could tackle M/Head and go straight down the bypass - very fast once you get to the top!)

An alternative could be out via Woodhouse, Beighton, Halfway, Ecky and in from there but I wouldn't particularly fancy riding on a lot of those roads at commute times even if there is possibly less uphill involved - lots of rat running.

Heh. I've tried all of these except the Dronfield bypass from which I am officially banned (by Mrs Karlt). Woodhouse/halfway/ecky's quite good but is actually hillier; the climb up to Hartington is short but as Michael Flanders would say nevertheless nauseating. It does however have the wonderful Rotherham Road descent to Ecky where one can see how far and fast one dare go before braking for the bend at the bottom; my record is 45mph. It I'm thinking about slightly more aggressive tyres and the TPT but it's further and is long drawn out drag from Renishaw to Inkersall, followed by a short steep drag in Inky itself. Bottom line I suppose is it's hilly around here; man up, give up or shut up are the real options

[MikeF]

I don't think they mean the average speed of the average cyclist. I don't use a computer these days. But when I did, my average speed was usually around 13-15 mph......

My computer gives me an average - which builds through the ride and when I get home I record it (with loads of other info) in a spreadsheet (bit OCD'y maybe). Thus I know my average speed pretty accurately (or rather the average average speed!). Of course there are effects of stopping at junctions and at what point the computer decides you are stationary (i.e. how long it waits when stationary before starting to exclude time from the average).

Ian

I obviously do similarly to you. Whilst it's been raining I've just been juggling around with spreadsheet. For this year my overall moving average speed ie total distance/total time is 10.76mph on the Spa. That's door to door average. As you note traffic jam/holdup on a road or pedestrians on a shared path, as well as hills, will rapidly bring down a moving average. However I accept that others will travel faster than me, but I enjoy cycling around, and for short journeys it's the quickest means of transport especially when the faff of parking a car is taken into account!

It does concern me that too much emphasis on cycling as a sport is being used to promote cycling and this is how many non cyclists (motorists?) will see it - just a sporting activity, and not an everyday activity.

[Grandad]

Are you on a wind up? Promoting helmets is the complete opposite of being responsible. Do you have any idea the dangers/risks involved by wearing one and how that compares to other activities i dunno, like being on foot, in a car?

When CUK promote wearing them as normal, it does everyone a diservice, most of all those of us that don't want our ever dimishing freedoms taken away and safety reduced. go write a strongly worded letter to your MP so you can object against human rights, object against safety for people on bikes, for exclusion of some people at cycling events, uphold victim blaming, because that's what you're rolling your eyes for ...

+1

[Stradageek]

Removed the few cycle computers I owned years ago - they took all the fun out of cycling

[hondated]

I always found it was down to mileage.
When I commuted 30 miles a day I could hold 20mph average with panniers on a tourer.
Now I do about 6 miles a day and would struggle holding much more than 15 (without panniers), I'm not even sure I could reach 20 on a straight!

Welcome back some of us were getting concerned about your absence.

[hondated]

I do record my average speed from my cycle computer each ride and my average average is high 13's mph. Ride when I've got plenty of energy my average might be in the low 14's mph, sluggish day low 13's mph.

Yet article from CUK says an average cyclist rides between 15-20 mph! I've never managed a ride averaging even 15 mph. Maybe I should be "trying harder" and never appreciated I am "below average".

An average cyclist will ride at around 15 – 20 miles per hour, depending on how they feel on the day, weather conditions etc.

Ian

That's good as my average is 10mph. I,d be happier f I could pedal as efficiently as those cycle travellers I have had the pleasure of cycling along the side of on the odd occasion.
They seem to pedal really slowly but do it for mile after mile.

[Flinders]

My average used to be 10-11mph at first when I got back on the bike a few years ago (based on my mileage, time, and me guessing about stops). I got it up to 12-13mph. Then I got fitter and got it to 13-15 depending on distance, terrain, weight on the carrier, and how I was feeling.

Then a break for a few months, and I got a computer.
It said about 12mph (I had it set to stop when I did). I did get it higher, I think I made about 14mph once, but then had another enforced break, and have been taking it slowly since, so not sure how it is now. I never got as fit as before, so I think I was about right with my guesses.

I'm in Staffs, and not the moorlands, so some ups and downs but not much of any note. I can do 30 downhill on a straight if I push really hard, and up to 20 on the flat if the surface is good and I'm feeling good.

When I started I did find the assumption by some writers that that even 'beginner slow' cyclists can easily do 15mph a bit offputting when I was doing only about 2/3 of that.

[Flinders]

sorry, mixed up quote and edit.

[bryan.fanson1]

Grief!
Speed?

Goodness me, it's all to do with ascent per mile.
Live somewhere "normal" and no doubt I could average 15mph or more .................... round here?
Don't make me laugh

Try riding 20/30/40/50 miles with circa 100ft of ascent per mile like I do just about every time I'm out.
Today for instance.

Screen Shot 2017-08-03 at 15.51.29.png

Got to love Cornwall. I'm down near St Just in the far west, and all my rides from home look like this (or worse). My 'easy' ride is 7.9 miles round trip with 648ft of acsent, an average of 82ft of climbing for every mile ridden. This is the school run I do with my 9 year old son, weather permitting. I ride a recumbent trike because of disability and I've yet to record a double figure average. Do I care? Not a bit I'm just glad to be able to get out and ride and spend time with the wife and kids doing something we all love in one of most beautiful places in the world. I do like to keep track of figures to see how I do on a particular ride or if I've improved since the last time, but numbers don't drive my cycling habits. And let's just say I rely on certain homemade Cornish delicacies for nutrition.

[bertgrower]

When I used to ride with a fast touring group we use to average around 10 mph over the day, but that inclued hills and some rough stuff. I recount a "fit" rider who was from Lincolnshire asked what distance we were going to do on a October ride, when told about 60 miles , he expressed dispointment. On the day he was on the back all day and last up evey hill , even though some other riders where on fixed.

Regarding the artical, it is aimed at sport cyclist (pseudo racer). It may discourge some . I do find it surprising that some riders on here saying they average 20 mph loaded. I find that hard to belive. For short distance yes, but to keep it up over the hills and for distance you need to be on a stripped down bike.

[Nigel]

I do record my average speed from my cycle computer each ride and my average average is high 13's mph. Ride when I've got plenty of energy my average might be in the low 14's mph, sluggish day low 13's mph.

Yet article from CUK says an average cyclist rides between 15-20 mph! I've never managed a ride averaging even 15 mph. Maybe I should be "trying harder" and never appreciated I am "below average".

An average cyclist will ride at around 15 – 20 miles per hour, depending on how they feel on the day, weather conditions etc.

Ian

The article mostly shows that the CTC Editing Department didn't have a good battery in their pocket calculator.

An average cyclist will ride at around 15 – 20 miles per hour, depending on how they feel on the day, weather conditions etc. So let’s say a 20 mile ride will take approximately 90 minutes...

Pocket calculator time: 20 miles, 90 minutes is 1.5 hrs. 20/1.5 = 13.3mph. So, "an average cyclist" can't ride fast enough for a CTC article ?

I think an "average cyclist" number is more likely to be 9-15mph average. The higher figures I see around are either club-racers, or "average apart from the uphill bits".


- Nigel