What's your average speed?

[Audax67]

And the micturation contest begins! There seem to be three walls this time: speed, being so tough not to need a group and most scientific ride measurements.

Group? I need a bloody winch these days.

[Tangled Metal]

How many walls did I hit with my post?

I'm as fast as I need to be and as slow as I choose to be. So I don't really care anymore.

[Audax67]

As long as you don't hit the post, à la Geraint...

[peetee]

After my lay off I returned and had to fit a triple crankset. Determined to get fit again I bought a bike computer to give myself some impetus to increase my speed on the hills. I haven't looked at it yet! Whether that's because I am eyeballs-out and unable to focus or my brain is subconsciously stopping me from looking (or both) i have yet to work out.
I used to average 17-18mph on a fast training ride. Now I am 25% heavier and half as strong so any average speed calculations are going to reduce me to tears.

[gbnz]

Normally about 12.5 when by my self. Funnily enough hills dont seem to make much difference as i tend to ride slow on the flat but compared to many others i dont slow as much when starting upwards.

I had the same when down in the Dales in July. On a fully loaded touer I was passed by several roadies, all in the very best gear. That said, though I wasn't racing, the roadies ended up up being no more than 30-40 metres in front for the next several miles.

Until we hit a drawn out uphill slope. With no intention or real effort I suddenly found myself sailing past them To make it even better, had the thumbs up from a couple of motorists who'd ended up stuck behind this group - at least one appeared amused at my passing!

[mattheus]

Aha - now the "I wasn't racing, but ..." pi55in9 contest. It's surprising how many threads attract this kind of post!

[The utility cyclist]

And the micturation contest begins! There seem to be three walls this time: speed, being so tough not to need a group and most scientific ride measurements.

what a complete load of twaddle! A question was asked and people are giving their own thoughts, approx av. speeds (which like everyone has said will vary hugely dependant on external factors alone) and experiences. I haven't ridden in a proper group for yonks, I don't even see what that has got to do with anything with regards to being "tough" if you're a solo rider, so you'll ride faster in a group than not, that's generally to be expected, for me, I prefer not to ride in particularly large groups if at all, and a lot of people feel that way from what I read.

I really don't see where your beef is quite honestly, there's no peeing contest here

[DNC123]

Must agree. astonishing has riding in a group got to do with anything?

Edit. I didn't write astonishing, but the censor changed my three letter abbreviation! W...T...???

[The utility cyclist]

Aha - now the "I wasn't racing, but ..." pi55in9 contest. It's surprising how many threads attract this kind of post!

And another, typical poster who can't accept that in some situation another rider not hammering it went past some other riders on the road who may or may not have been racing or were going slower to account for fatigue/ability and or waiting for the weakest member. The other person may or may not have had a bit of a carrot dangled and may have put in a little more effort, but who cares!

You and another poster seem to be bloody uptight about people relaying their experiences and their speed, we all go at differing speeds, I get passed and pass others, some days I'm 'fast' (for me) and then hit the wall, some days I'm rubbish out the gates, some days I absolute smash it, some days I'll go hard then easy and vice versa so someone that caught up and passed I might catch up elsewhere.

If it isn't impinging your safety then it's none of your concern never mind to get your knickers in a twist as to how fast others ride, relax or you'll have a heart attack one day!

[cycle tramp]

.....slow enough so I take in the views, the sights and sounds and the passing of seasons...
...fast enough so when I go out for a ride there's tstill enough day left to finish the 'to do' list

[TrevA]

So far this year I’ve done 5193 miles in 344 hours according Strava. That’s 15.096 mph. This is my true average speed over all types of terrain and all types of riding. Yes, I record all my rides, even pootling into town just for my own personal interest. The total includes the Gospel Pass and the Tumble as well as lots of hills in Derbyshire, so not all flat - 145000 feet of climbing in total, but only 28ft per mile on average.

[reohn2]

.....slow enough so I take in the views, the sights and sounds and the passing of seasons...
...fast enough so when I go out for a ride there's tstill enough day left to finish the 'to do' list

[Mike Sales]

It's useful to know your average speed.
I remember meeting a bloke who had recently started cycling after a health problem, in the LBS.
As we chatted he seemed to be a likely recruit for our CTC group, so I invited him to ride with us.
His reaction was that he would not be able to keep up.
I asked him if he had a computer, and what was his typical average.
!8 or 19 mph!
You will have no problems I told him, and sure enough he soon started riding with the fast boys!

[gazza_d]

Like everyone else my average speed varies by day, ride, what's in the bag, weather.
yesterday I did 2 runs to car dealers as car was in for a service. 4.3 miles and basically pancake flat.
Ride home was into a 15mph NE wind and was 11.8mph
Ride back to garage along same route was 12.4mph

for rides I do regularly, such as my commute, I like to use strava as that breaks the ride down into segments, and I measure my performance there as an overall average can be altered if you slow for a chat or even just take a few more minutes to warm up and drop into the groove.
Strava also calculates an average climbing speed for the ride, so again a good indicator of fitness on a regular route in reasonable weather

[crossy]

Knowing my average speed would make me depressed as I’m that slow. Saying that it must be above 7.5 mph as I can get round an audax in the 12.5kph time limit (sometimes only just).How do people judge average speed? From start to finish with the time running all the time or do they pause the the time when they stop. Mine is from start to finish overall average.