Riding speed

Daniel Crispin said:

When I purchased my bike a month ago my average speed was
15 Km/H with peaks at around 24 Km/H.

Now a month later I have an average speed of 27 Km/H with
peaks at 40 Km/H....

I am just wondering how much more it can improve.

First of all, congratulations on the rapid improvement.
You've gained mostly aerobic fitness so far, which rises
quickly at first, then plateaus.

The upper limit for cycling speed over distance is about 30
mph (48 kph). That's how fast the world's best cyclists
have been able to ride on a "normal" bike for one hour on
the track.

Quoted message said:

I always go as fast as I can,

That's not the way to get faster, at least not over the long
term. Right now, early in your training, you can see gains
from just about any type of riding. But that won't be the
case several months or years from now. For best results, you
need to mix up your workout effort from day to day by riding
in specified heart rate zones:

tinyurl.com35hk2Open ↗

--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA bike.terrymorse.combike.terrymorse.comOpen ↗

Daniel Crispin said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean on
flat ground with no heavy front wind that is.

Quoted message said:

When I purchased my bike a month ago my average speed was
15 Km/H with peaks at around 24 Km/H.

Quoted message said:

Now a month later I have an average speed of 27 Km/H with
peaks at 40 Km/H...

Amateur bicyclists, especially in England, use the 25 mile
TT as a standard of performance. The event is a "time trial"
where a solo rider rides for the best elapsed time on an out
and back level 'straight' course to-achieve the shortest
elapsed time. If you can do that in an hour, you are above
the average of most clubs.

Quoted message said:

I am just wondering how much more it can improve. I always
go as fast as I can, I don't stand up to gain speed, I
pedal always seated.

Standing is generally considered sprinting, something that
enables putting more force on the pedals for a limited time
and puts the rider into debt. A good TT rider will not have
any excess power to waste sprinting to the finish line if he
is riding at his best speed up to then. On the other hand
there are riders who always seem to have a reserve for a few
moments when needed. This is what young racers have in
criterium races where there are few breakaways. These are
the riders who win these events.

Don't worry about it and just ride. When you start catching
up to any rider you see ahead, consider entering a TT and
see what you can do. Of course you can make your own course
and test yourself. Out and back 22.5 miles takes care of any
light breeze or wind that may occur. If you have a good
Cyclometer, you can watch your average as you ride.

The Tour de France winner averages better than 25mph for the
entire race some years, but that is not a solo effort.
However it includes climbing some major mountain passes so
that gives you an idea how fast the pack moves as they
rotate leaders in the flatlands.

Jobst Brandt [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

The Tour de France winner averages better than 25mph for
the entire race some years, but that is not a solo effort.
However it includes climbing some major mountain passes so
that gives you an idea how fast the pack moves as they
rotate leaders in the flatlands.

Plus, they often have long "parade segments" where the
entire pack rolls along at a comfortable pace for a while
(also lowering the average speed). It seems to me these are
getting less frequent in recent years though... someone's
always trying to "create a miracle".

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of
the $695 ti frame

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark Hickey said:

Quoted message said:

The Tour de France winner averages better than 25mph for
the entire race some years, but that is not a solo
effort. However it includes climbing some major mountain
passes so that gives you an idea how fast the pack moves
as they rotate leaders in the flatlands.

Plus, they often have long "parade segments" where the
entire pack rolls along at a comfortable pace for a while
(also lowering the average speed). It seems to me these
are getting less frequent in recent years though...
someone's always trying to "create a miracle".

Udo Bolts was grumbling about that very thing last year. He
said the pace was pushed so high all the time that perennial
domestiques like him had to push rather hard to avoid
getting time-cut in the mountains.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden]
sfu.cawiredcolaOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio
Mazzoleni Fan Club

"Daniel Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean on
flat ground with no heavy front wind that is 😉

In the year since I bought my bike my "cruising speed" on
flat ground has increased from about 14 mph to 18.5 mph. I'm
also curious to see how fast I can go. For those of us who
use English units 20 mph (32 km/h) is a big milestone. I
recently was able to increase my average speed by about 0.5
mph just by rotating the handlebars to get a more aero
position (I have a hybrid).

Every time I hit 30 mph or so going down a hill I think
about how the pros can maintain this speed over flat ground
for an hour and I am just amazed.

Jeff

Quoted message said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean on
flat ground with no heavy front wind that is 😉

I can maintain a little over 20mph on the flat with no
wind, which is to say, almost nowhere I ride during most
of the year. When I was still young and strong, I could do
a bit more.

Quoted message said:

When I purchased my bike a month ago my average speed was
15 Km/H with peaks at around 24 Km/H.

Now a month later I have an average speed of 27 Km/H with
peaks at 40 Km/H....

That's good progress.

Quoted message said:

I am just wondering how much more it can improve.

That's hard to predict. Variables include your genetics,
your training regimen and diet, the frequency and severity
of illness and injury, and a host of others.

--
Robots don't kill people -- people kill people.
irobotmovie.comirobotmovie.comOpen ↗

Daniel Crispin said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean on
flat ground with no heavy front wind that is 😉

Depends what I'm doing. On the flat sections of my ride to
work, I've done about 19 to 20 mph for many, many years. But
this year it seems to have dropped by about 1 mph. Maybe I'm
getting close to 60 years old.

I go a bit faster if I'm doing recreational rides, either
solo or with guys who like to go fast. I go slower if I'm
riding with my wife, or if I'm just in a mood to cruise and
enjoy the scenery.

Quoted message said:

When I purchased my bike a month ago my average speed was
15 Km/H with peaks at around 24 Km/H.

Now a month later I have an average speed of 27 Km/H with
peaks at 40 Km/H....

I am just wondering how much more it can improve.

Hard to say. You've improved quite a bit already. But your
maximum depends partly on your dedication (serious training
involves pain) and partly on genetics.

How carefully did you choose your parents? ;-)

--------------------+ Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove
rodent and vegetable dot com, replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

(Jeff) said:

"Daniel Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean on
flat ground with no heavy front wind that is 😉

In the year since I bought my bike my "cruising speed" on
flat ground has increased from about 14 mph to 18.5 mph.
I'm also curious to see how fast I can go. For those of us
who use English units 20 mph (32 km/h) is a big milestone.
I recently was able to increase my average speed by about
0.5 mph just by rotating the handlebars to get a more aero
position (I have a hybrid).

Every time I hit 30 mph or so going down a hill I think
about how the pros can maintain this speed over flat ground
for an hour and I am just amazed.

Having my bike for 2 weeks now, using GPS, I average 14 to
16 KPH and frequently peak at 29 to 31 KPH. Sometimes it
feels like I've run out of gears and I need a higher one.

Michael J. Klein [email hidden] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

"Frank Krygowski" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Daniel Crispin said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean on
flat ground

with no

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

heavy front wind that is 😉

Depends what I'm doing. On the flat sections of my ride to
work, I've done about 19 to 20 mph for many, many years.
But this year it seems to have dropped by about 1 mph.
Maybe I'm getting close to 60 years old.

I go a bit faster if I'm doing recreational rides, either
solo or with guys who like to go fast. I go slower if I'm
riding with my wife, or if I'm just in a mood to cruise
and enjoy the scenery.

Quoted message said:

When I purchased my bike a month ago my average speed
was 15 Km/H with peaks at around 24 Km/H.

Now a month later I have an average speed of 27 Km/H
with peaks at 40 Km/H....

I am just wondering how much more it can improve.

Hard to say. You've improved quite a bit already. But your
maximum depends partly on your dedication (serious
training involves pain) and partly on genetics.

How carefully did you choose your parents? ;-)

--------------------+ Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove
rodent and vegetable dot com, replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

LOL! Well I was not given a choice... dang I knew I got
screwed with that whole getting born thing... no one asked
me anything prior to it. Then when I came out they wacked me
on the ass... 😉

Well 20 MPH is a good pace. Roughly 32 KM/H...

When I ride for fun, I still like to go fast, I consider
biking exercise and it feels wrong to go around slowly while
trying to get in shape 😉

I've average 15.5 mph on rides that are about 25 miles. At
times I need to stop and go in traffic getting to the park
which tends to slow things down a bit. Overall my max speeds
are on weekends when there is less traffic. my best being
17.5 on a 36 mile ride. The average speeds in the park are
more like 18mph.... It does amaze me as well as to how the
pros maintain such high speeds...

v

"Michael J. Klein" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 1 Jul 2004 11:31:11 -0700, [email hidden]

(Jeff) said:

"Daniel Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean on
flat ground

with no

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

heavy front wind that is 😉

In the year since I bought my bike my "cruising speed" on
flat ground has increased from about 14 mph to 18.5 mph.
I'm also curious to see how fast I can go. For those of
us who use English units 20 mph (32 km/h) is a big
milestone. I recently was able to increase my average
speed by about 0.5 mph just by rotating the handlebars to
get a more aero position (I have a hybrid).

Every time I hit 30 mph or so going down a hill I think
about how the pros can maintain this speed over flat
ground for an hour and I am just amazed.

Having my bike for 2 weeks now, using GPS, I average 14 to
16 KPH and frequently peak at 29 to 31 KPH. Sometimes it
feels like I've run out of gears and I need a higher one.

Michael J. Klein [email hidden] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

"Daniel Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Frank Krygowski" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Daniel Crispin said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean
on flat ground

with no

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

heavy front wind that is 😉

Depends what I'm doing. On the flat sections of my ride
to work, I've done about 19 to 20 mph for many, many
years. But this year it seems to have dropped by about 1
mph. Maybe I'm getting close to 60 years old.

I go a bit faster if I'm doing recreational rides,
either solo or with guys who like to go fast. I go
slower if I'm riding with my wife, or if I'm just in a
mood to cruise and enjoy the scenery.

Quoted message said:

When I purchased my bike a month ago my average speed
was 15 Km/H with peaks at around 24 Km/H.

Now a month later I have an average speed of 27 Km/H
with peaks at 40 Km/H....

I am just wondering how much more it can improve.

Hard to say. You've improved quite a bit already. But
your maximum depends partly on your dedication (serious
training involves pain) and partly on genetics.

How carefully did you choose your parents? ;-)

--------------------+ Frank Krygowski [To reply,
remove rodent and vegetable dot com, replace with
cc.ysu dot edu]

LOL! Well I was not given a choice... dang I knew I got
screwed with that whole getting born thing... no one asked
me anything prior to it. Then when I came out they wacked
me on the ass... 😉

Ah, if we could choose our genetics we'd all be 6 feet or
taller with Lance Armstrong's cardiovascular system and Brad
Pitt's looks. LOL

Michael J. Klein <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Having my bike for 2 weeks now, using GPS, I average 14 to
16 KPH and frequently peak at 29 to 31 KPH. Sometimes it
feels like I've run out of gears and I need a higher one.

Michael J. Klein [email hidden] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

Hi, what kind of bike are you riding? With the speeds you
have mentioned, a road bike shouldn't be running out of
gears? I think it would be helpful for you to read the
following, particularly the section on "Gear Shifting" -
sheldonbrown.comindex.htmlOpen ↗

Life is Good! Jeff

(Jeff Starr) said:

Michael J. Klein <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Having my bike for 2 weeks now, using GPS, I average 14
to 16 KPH and frequently peak at 29 to 31 KPH.
Sometimes it feels like I've run out of gears and I
need a higher one.

Quoted message said:

Hi, what kind of bike are you riding? With the speeds you
have mentioned, a road bike shouldn't be running out of
gears? I think it would be helpful for you to read the
following, particularly the section on "Gear Shifting" -
sheldonbrown.comindex.htmlOpen ↗

For example, I averaged just over 13mph during a recent
race. Another, I averaged just under 10mph.

The first was as part of a 5 man (old farts) team in a 24
hour MTB race.

The second was the AZ state hill climb championship (on
a tandem).

Both were part of team efforts that resulted in 1st
place finishes.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of
the $695 ti frame

I bike to work every day on a 12KM route. There are 2 hills,
10 red lights, etc. When I started doing this, it took me 28
mins one way. Now, it's down to 24 mins on my MTB or 21 min
on my road bike. So that's around 30-34 kph, counting all
the stops.

On my weekend rides, I am usually able to maintain 40kph for
half an hour or so, or 35kph for 1.5 hours, non-stop

It's said that the pedaling power output roughtly =
C*speed^2.6, for speed over 30kph. So you need 60% extra
power to gain 20% more speed, for same bike, same riding
position and road condition.

"Daniel Crispin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am curious, what speed do you guys ride at? I mean on
flat ground with no heavy front wind that is 😉

When I purchased my bike a month ago my average speed was
15 Km/H with peaks at around 24 Km/H.

Now a month later I have an average speed of 27 Km/H with
peaks at 40 Km/H....

I am just wondering how much more it can improve. I always
go as fast as I can, I don''t stand up to gain speed, I
pedal always seated.

Dan

(Jeff Starr) said:

Michael J. Klein <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Having my bike for 2 weeks now, using GPS, I average 14
to 16 KPH and frequently peak at 29 to 31 KPH.
Sometimes it feels like I've run out of gears and I
need a higher one.

Michael J. Klein [email hidden] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan
Hsien, Taiwan, ROC Please replace mousepotato with
asiancastings
---------------------------------------------

Hi, what kind of bike are you riding? With the speeds you
have mentioned, a road bike shouldn't be running out of
gears? I think it would be helpful for you to read the
following, particularly the section on "Gear Shifting" -
sheldonbrown.comindex.htmlOpen ↗

Apples and oranges, Mine is Yukon MTB. Michael J. Klein
[email hidden] Dasi Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC
Please replace mousepotato with asiancastings
---------------------------------------------