A good average speed to aim for??

[ndwgolf]

I’ve moved to a Road Bikefrom a mountain bike that I mainly used on tarmac.
My best average speed over ~60 kilometers on my mountain bike was 25.2 kilometers/ hour
My second ride on my road bike was 28.2 kilometers/ hour and I felt like I was going like the clappers........ in the real world how is 28 kilometers an hour for an overweight 61 year old??

Neil

[thirdcrank]

It depends on who you are making the comparison with. Compared with the a large part of the adult population, riding that sort of distance at any speed is admirable. Compared with older riders intent on pure speed, it's slow. The Veterans Time Trials Association publishes standards (in miles.)

https://www.vtta.org.uk/standards

[Paulatic]

It’s faster than anything I’ve ever done but that ride is flatter than anything I’ve ever done.
If you enjoyed the ride then to me whatever speed you did is irrelevant.

[ndwgolf]

It’s faster than anything I’ve ever done but that ride is flatter than anything I’ve ever done.
If you enjoyed the ride then to me whatever speed you did is irrelevant.

Yes I did mate and I agree, the speed is really irrelevant, just to be able to get out and have a nice ride is the main thing........ looking forward to another go in the morning [emoji1566]‍[emoji3603][emoji1566]‍[emoji3603][emoji1566]‍[emoji3603]
Neil


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels

[thelawnet]

I’ve moved to a Road Bikefrom a mountain bike that I mainly used on tarmac.
My best average speed over ~60 kilometers on my mountain bike was 25.2 kilometers/ hour
My second ride on my road bike was 28.2 kilometers/ hour and I felt like I was going like the clappers........ in the real world how is 28 kilometers an hour for an overweight 61 year old??
l

My local (non-competitive) cycle club has 14mph, 15mph, 16mph and 18mph categories. That's probably with a few more hills but in a group you should be faster, and also with a bit more experience than two rides

So 28kph is more than sufficient.

[Audax67]

At 60 I was averaging around 23 kph over 100k/960 metres climbed, so I reckon that 28 kph over 63k is excellent.

If I were you I'd be looking to do a qualifying series for PBP.

[ndwgolf]

At 60 I was averaging around 23 kph over 100k/960 metres climbed, so I reckon that 28 kph over 63k is excellent.

If I were you I'd be looking to do a qualifying series for PBP.

PBP??
Neil

[Brucey]

PBP = Paris Brest Paris

cheers

[Marcus Aurelius]

Forget average speeds, they are meaningless. Look at upping your normalized average power to weight ratio. This takes account of wind conditions and terrain ( amongst other things ) and will give you a better idea of how you’re doing. If you invest in power meters it’s easier to judge, but there are other ways to measure it as well.

[PH]

Forget average speeds, they are meaningless.

I thought they were riding for fun
So I'm sure they can decide for themselves what has meaning.
I had a lovely piece of carrot cake on todays ride, just what I was aiming for, I hope no spoilsport comes along and tells me it was meaningless...

[Marcus Aurelius]

Forget average speeds, they are meaningless.

I thought they were riding for fun
So I'm sure they can decide for themselves what has meaning.
I had a lovely piece of carrot cake on todays ride, just what I was aiming for, I hope no spoilsport comes along and tells me it was meaningless...

It’s meaningless, smash or don’t smash, there is no try.

[eileithyia]

17-18mph is a fair average speed. Better test is did you enjoy your ride, it is not just about speed. Yes I time trial, yes some of my rides are about applying some speed as training but not all and even when i up the speed I can still keep a watch out for what is going on around.... views / wildlife etc.

[flat tyre]

How long is a piece of string. I'm not too bothered about my own average speed, but when I go out on my own I tend to set myself some challenges, eg no of feet climbed in the ride, overall distance or getting back home by a certain time.

[amediasatex]

Average speed is a function of both rider and route and weather.

X kph with a tailwind is a very different proposition to into a headwind, likewise on a flat loop Vs. a hilly one.

[foxyrider]

I've done the whole 'speed is king' thing back in my racing days, 35-40kph was the norm on pretty much any ride regardless of terrain. These days i've got nothing to prove, I might do a hilly ride at 20kph or smash a 200 at 30kph - enjoying the ride is more important than the speed.

My usual yardstick for planning purposes is 20kph with 10m/km climbing - i'm not usually far off in bad weather and faster if it's flatter or nicer weather. For example I did a ride a couple of years ago, 258km with 5500m of alpine climbing, I did it in 13 hours with stops. That's just shy of 20kph with 21m/km climbing. Compare that to a 200km ride with 500m climbing, 2.5m/km completed at over 32kph, the effort involved is probably comparable, however it wasn't speed that made them 'enjoyable'.

As the great man himself has said, the main thing to do is 'just ride'.