Do people lie?
Discussion
About how fast they can average there weekend / evening ride?
Or do we have either
Now I am in no way a club rider but do commute often on my bike and currently in training for a 500 mile in 4 days charity event so feel I fall into Mr average cyclist. I went out last night out of Edinburgh and average over 18 miles 16.6 mph.
I absolutely felt like I had blitzed myself and at points was doing 25 mph on the flats (albeit for only minutes at a time) and 33 down the hills but dropped time and speed when climbing (trying to keep 12mph average up)
I know I shouldn’t care and I know my diet doesn’t help at times (13.5 stone 5.9) but I feel I’ve got a long way to go to getting close to riding by myself and averaging 18mph. I say this as I averaged just over this for the Caledonia Etape this year which was due to the great conditions and the fact at points I could hide in a group.
Or do we have either
- undiscovered Lance Armstrong’s
- They ride at club level and are on a bike week in week out training?
- Lying the average folk don’t average 20mph plus by themselves?
Now I am in no way a club rider but do commute often on my bike and currently in training for a 500 mile in 4 days charity event so feel I fall into Mr average cyclist. I went out last night out of Edinburgh and average over 18 miles 16.6 mph.
I absolutely felt like I had blitzed myself and at points was doing 25 mph on the flats (albeit for only minutes at a time) and 33 down the hills but dropped time and speed when climbing (trying to keep 12mph average up)
I know I shouldn’t care and I know my diet doesn’t help at times (13.5 stone 5.9) but I feel I’ve got a long way to go to getting close to riding by myself and averaging 18mph. I say this as I averaged just over this for the Caledonia Etape this year which was due to the great conditions and the fact at points I could hide in a group.
Everyone on PH set 20mph+ average speeds, some lap Richmond Park in under 3 minutes and others reach Brighton from London in 45 minutes.
All of this is done on a folding shopper with three speed hub gears.
In all seriousness, it's a mix of some having talent and others believing iPhone app data and maybe (just maybe) a few tall tales.
All of this is done on a folding shopper with three speed hub gears.
In all seriousness, it's a mix of some having talent and others believing iPhone app data and maybe (just maybe) a few tall tales.
I am just terrible at sustaining speed on my own, i still do it on the mtb when i am out on my own, i end up going slower and slower.
On my old road bike i couldnt seem to get above an average of around 12-14 mph, poor really but then i tend to look all over the place and not just focus on going as fast as possible.
On my old road bike i couldnt seem to get above an average of around 12-14 mph, poor really but then i tend to look all over the place and not just focus on going as fast as possible.
Garlick said:
Everyone on PH set 20mph+ average speeds, some lap Richmond Park in under 3 minutes and others reach Brighton from London in 45 minutes.
All of this is done on a folding shopper with three speed hub gears.
In all seriousness, it's a mix of some having talent and others believing iPhone app data and maybe (just maybe) a few tall tales.
more than a few tall tails All of this is done on a folding shopper with three speed hub gears.
In all seriousness, it's a mix of some having talent and others believing iPhone app data and maybe (just maybe) a few tall tales.
I know what you mean, and I'm sure people lie, there's also a lot of people that because they can't do something themselves don't think others can!
My cycling has improved a lot over the last 6 months whilst I've been doing 20+ miles every day, I've also lost a fair chunk of weight which helps. I also ride with a club, this helps as there are no haters, and there are always people that are a LOT faster.
With regards to average, I think there is always going to be people that wish they were faster, personally speaking I can do a flat 50 miles at 20 mph + average, as I did it last Sunday, when hills are in the mix that does drop, but over the last few long rides I've done I have been at 18+ no matter what route we have taken.
20 miles isn't far enough to get a far idea really, 40-50 is a lot more telling than 20 for averages etc.
My cycling has improved a lot over the last 6 months whilst I've been doing 20+ miles every day, I've also lost a fair chunk of weight which helps. I also ride with a club, this helps as there are no haters, and there are always people that are a LOT faster.
With regards to average, I think there is always going to be people that wish they were faster, personally speaking I can do a flat 50 miles at 20 mph + average, as I did it last Sunday, when hills are in the mix that does drop, but over the last few long rides I've done I have been at 18+ no matter what route we have taken.
20 miles isn't far enough to get a far idea really, 40-50 is a lot more telling than 20 for averages etc.
I've wondered this, I often see posts from people who have pulled a 30 year old MTB out of the garage then got to work 15-20 miles away in 20 minutes and felt fine.
I know I've only been going six weeks now but have been doing at least 10.6m/17k a day and some days will do 20m/32k (avg 17k in 44 mins)
I am aware I have a MTB, I've been riding out looking for footpaths etc in the countryside but they all have massive swing gates I can't possibly get my bike through
I know I've only been going six weeks now but have been doing at least 10.6m/17k a day and some days will do 20m/32k (avg 17k in 44 mins)
I am aware I have a MTB, I've been riding out looking for footpaths etc in the countryside but they all have massive swing gates I can't possibly get my bike through
drakart said:
I can only imagine that the guy destroying the Alpe D'Huez hairpins and all the roadies last week on his Brompton is a PH'er.
WTF?? Is this real? Is there video somewhere?Getting back to the OP's question, I think it totally depends on geography.
Since I started commuting to work again, I've covered 900 miles at an average pace of 11.73mph. This is a commute into Central London with traffic, roadworks, traffic lights and such, plus the odd stop off in a shop where I forget to pause the GPS tracker.
I'm unfit and 18 stone, but I could take that 900 miles to rural Norfolk and - given that I can comfortably maintain 21mph on the flat - I reckon I'd comfortably average somewhere around the 17mph mark. Take me to the Cairngorms, however, and I doubt I'd average 7mph, even with the descents!
CooperS said:
About how fast they can average there weekend / evening ride?
Or do we have either
Now I am in no way a club rider but do commute often on my bike and currently in training for a 500 mile in 4 days charity event so feel I fall into Mr average cyclist. I went out last night out of Edinburgh and average over 18 miles 16.6 mph.
I absolutely felt like I had blitzed myself and at points was doing 25 mph on the flats (albeit for only minutes at a time) and 33 down the hills but dropped time and speed when climbing (trying to keep 12mph average up)
I know I shouldn’t care and I know my diet doesn’t help at times (13.5 stone 5.9) but I feel I’ve got a long way to go to getting close to riding by myself and averaging 18mph. I say this as I averaged just over this for the Caledonia Etape this year which was due to the great conditions and the fact at points I could hide in a group.
I'll average 18-19mph running on a zero carbs training ride of 60km riding on my own.Or do we have either
- undiscovered Lance Armstrong’s
- They ride at club level and are on a bike week in week out training?
- Lying the average folk don’t average 20mph plus by themselves?
Now I am in no way a club rider but do commute often on my bike and currently in training for a 500 mile in 4 days charity event so feel I fall into Mr average cyclist. I went out last night out of Edinburgh and average over 18 miles 16.6 mph.
I absolutely felt like I had blitzed myself and at points was doing 25 mph on the flats (albeit for only minutes at a time) and 33 down the hills but dropped time and speed when climbing (trying to keep 12mph average up)
I know I shouldn’t care and I know my diet doesn’t help at times (13.5 stone 5.9) but I feel I’ve got a long way to go to getting close to riding by myself and averaging 18mph. I say this as I averaged just over this for the Caledonia Etape this year which was due to the great conditions and the fact at points I could hide in a group.
By zero carbs I mean I'll be running VERY low in the diet as well (so little to no carbs prior to ride) as not taking any carbs with me on the ride, just a nuun-based drink
My average speed on the last triathlon was just over 20mph, that was after swimming a mile and conserving for the 10km run.
So, whilst I'm sure there's a bit of poetic license at times I'm sure there's a good few riders on here that are decent enough to post the times you're talking about - it all comes with practice and getting the weight down.
In 2004 I was just under 16 stone, now I'm 12.5 stone and I'm the same height as you.... I'm still slow for my age group in Triathlon (I'm 38)
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff