Newbie

That puts you around 15.5 miles per hour but your question is hard to answer for several reasons.

- We have no idea of what terrain you were riding on. Were there hills? Lots of sharp turns?
- What was traffic like? Heavy city traffic or open rural road?
- How about weather? Tail or Headwind? Cold, wet, or icy?
- We also need to know the type of bike you are riding. BMX, Mountain Bike, Hybrid/Fitness, Touring, or Road Bike?

It's hard to generalize about at what speed other 16-year-olds might ride as there are out of shape teens who slog around on low quality, poorly maintained bikes that don't fit them. At the other end of the spectrum are serious young athletes who have already trained for a few years and are riding top end road bikes.

If you did that 12 miles uphill, into the wind, on a gravel road, while riding a mountain bike, then 15+ mph is exceptional. If you are on flat, paved road with no wind while on a mid-range road bike, that's a comfortable recreational cruising speed for many riders.

there were 2 hills pretty big and on open rural road. i went 6 miles out 6 back so tailwind for first half headwind for the ride back. not wet or icy but 31 degrees. and a road bike from the late 80's

when i reached flat ground i was always at about 17 or 18 mph

12 miles is a short ride. 17-18mph on the flat is a reasonable speed.

What is your purpose in riding?

i just decided to try cycling one day and i really enjoy it not sure if im going to try to do any races or anything

Then your distances and speed are reasonable.

Continue to have fun.

17 mph into even a light headwind when it's only 31 degrees is plenty cold enough to frostbite MY ears. You must have enjoyed the ride... if you weren't deterred by the cold. This cold weather is also a good time to read about how to adjust and maintain the late 80's bicycle. If the bike is a decent fit and you adjust the seat and such correctly you'll be much less likely to injure a knee or something. And a bicycle if properly cared for can last many, many years.

Be careful and enjoy. Cycling is a sport that you can keep for a lifetime.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by A Smitty [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Hey im 16 and i just started cycling about a month ago. I just got a lil bike computer thing that says your time speed avg speed etc. Today i went for a 12.1 mile ride in 46 min 17 seconds. Can anyone tell me how that is and what speed other kids my age might ride around because i really have no idea? Thanks

For a 15 year old with no real training from what I can ascertain, doing an average of 15.5 or so MPH average over 12 miles is actually very good. This means that any training you get or do will easily put you into the beginner of a serious rider (not racer) average of 16mph. Knowing that it should be nothing for you to exceed the average if you work at it. I have no idea what other kids are doing, my youngest daughter at 16 could ride her mountain bike 20 miles and average 14 with no training if that means anything. I think today most average kids average 0 mph because they just sit and play computer games and text message all day. Glad to see you are at least getting out to ride.

It you ever want to train to do a century ride here is a website with the hows and a mileage chart to follow to obtain that goal: kintera.orghtmlcontent.aspOpen ↗ You may be looking at that chart and saying, gee I already do 12 miles, but trust me if you want to do a century follow that chart to the letter, it's design to prevent over working oneself too quickly which can lead to injury and or burnout. Once you start the program your average speed will slowly increase. A "brisk" ride can incorporate interval training, interval training is the best way to train to increase average speed, see this site on how to interval train: cyclingmind.comIntervalTraining.htmlOpen ↗ Also core muscle exercise is very important to improve coordination and speed; see: munfitnessblog.comabs workout 1 bicycle maneuver or bicycle crunchesOpen ↗ And these core exercises help with the women too!! But when exercising you don't want to bulk up, you want to tone up, bulking up will slow you down on a bike if your goal is to be fast on a bike.

There is all kinds of information about training on the internet that you can research for free, books at the local library are a free resource too, use these resources and read, read and read some more. And you can always ask questions on cycling forums like this one.

thanks everyone for the info. i have an interest in starting to do races. probably not bike a thon type things but more along the lines of races with kids around my age. does anyone have any idea what i would need to bump my average speed up to to be able to at least keep up?

Before you jump into racing, you should find some group or club rides. Local bike shops should be able to direct you to some action. You will quickly learn group riding dynamics and the importance of drafting. The link below is a guide that can be used to classify group rides:

http://www.biketcbc.org/key.html

The speeds listed for an "A" group ride is a minimum. I have rarely been on a "A" group ride as slow as 18. Usually the speeds are 20ish or more. Also consider that these are riders mostly working together, riding for fun, fitness and just a bit of sport - racing will be faster yet.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by A Smitty [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

thanks everyone for the info. i have an interest in starting to do races. probably not bike a thon type things but more along the lines of races with kids around my age. does anyone have any idea what i would need to bump my average speed up to to be able to at least keep up?

In the beginning no fancy training is required, just regular riding. 4 or 5 times a week for an hour or two. You will see your average speed bump up pretty quickly. This will be the case for several months. As others mentioned, ride with a small group when you can. They will help you get faster and improve bike handling skills.