Truthful "average" speeds

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

As for verified results (though the way you people are carrying on I suppose I need something
signed in blood ;-) ) I averaged 21.25 mph in the 1 hour criterion ... The Velokraft feels faster
but at the moment I only have cadence due to a defective speedsensor so I can't give you hard
numbers. I usually cruise in 4th-6th gear which at my gearing means 18.6-24.4 mph. Fastest sprint
37 mph so far (cadence/gears) but I hope to reach 40 at the 2003 danish championships.

To quote myself: "Because some day I may be called upon by some to deliver on the B.S. Something for
everyone to think about."

You may want to check your <[email hidden]> in box ;-)

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

"Cletus Lee" skrev...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As for verified results (though the way you people are carrying on I suppose I need something
signed in blood ;-) ) I averaged 21.25 mph in the 1 hour criterion ... The Velokraft feels
faster but at the moment I only have cadence due to a defective speedsensor so I can't give you
hard numbers. I usually cruise in 4th-6th gear which at my gearing means 18.6-24.4 mph. Fastest
sprint 37 mph so far (cadence/gears) but I hope to reach 40 at the 2003 danish championships.

To quote myself: "Because some day I may be called upon by some to deliver on the B.S. Something
for everyone to think about."

You may want to check your in box ;-)

I did. Theres a mail from someone called Madison that says "Increase the size of your mangina". Not
sure I know what that means. ;-)

Anyway I said that the Velokraft stuff was not backed by hard numbers as its speedsensor is on
the fritz.

M.

Tonight's ride: 21 miles of 'lightly hilly'. The largest hill was 150-200 vertical feet. I rode
mostly alone, on my unfaired V-Rex and no computer, so all I have to go on is my elapsed time of one
hour, 15 minutes, with a 13 minute break (waiting to regroup.) That computes to a 20.3 mph 'rolling
average.' And that's on my slow bike.

Personally, I think it's laughable that anybody would doubt these speeds were possible. Heck, there
are a couple of 60+ y.o. 'bent riders in my club who can do those 'unbelievable' speeds, including
one who had a heart attack ten years ago.

--

John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24 --- _\\/\-%)
_________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

My 2003 results : scheel.netresultat.aspOpen ↗ It's all metric, "Gennemsnit" =
average speed. All measured times including any stops. No BS - its for my personal use. No nees to
BS myself.

Oops - very few average speeds above 20mph.

I got on my faithful rotator pursuit the other morning and realized my speeds were phenominal. On my
route where I can do 21 mph max I found I could now do 35 mph. Life is great. The training program
is really working. When I got to work, I realized my computer was set for kmh instead of mph. Rats!
I thought I was really getting fast. I guess Lance is still safe from me.....Bob

I too am a speedaholic! Specially when riding my fast bike. Last year I was commuting on my fast
bike several times a week (23 hilly mile one way). I would work hard in the morning when its cool
(getting in a good workout) then in the afternoon when its much hotter I would leave work with the
intention of taking it easy (its hot, my legs are a little sore). But then I hit the first flat
stretch or down hill. Now my adrenalin is going. I'm pushing hard on the hills and even more on
flatter sections. I've got the ride average speed up on the computer and trying to make it go higher
(or keep it from dropping when climbing). I get home soaking wet from sweat my 50 oz water bag near
empty and a new ride high on the trip average speed. Nows when I again think "I was planning on
taking a leisurely ride."

Didn't quite get to 21 mph computer average but I am 30 and ride a lowracer so I can't claim any
amazing feats just personal bests.

Craig Optima Baron

Cletus Lee <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Here's my honest averages:

I can keep up with someone riding 18mph or so. There are certain rides in which I have done
this. But I like to ride with a certain group of people who ride 15mph or so. So my usual
average when I am with these people is 15mph.

Like I have said before...not a speed demon and do not pretend to be. I ride for health and
camaraderie. I like to cruise.

Is there a 12-step program for Speedoholics?

I started seriously riding in the mid 80s. My first goal was 8 miles. Pretty soon I was up to what
worked out to a 14 mile loop. Then I set a target of doing that in a hour. As I biked

Quoted message said:

more, 14 mph averages became easier.

Later I started riding with a club and discovered pace lines and the speed advantages of working
as a team. Sometimes I could get up to 20 mph with the peleton but usually finished with a 15-16
mph average. About 15 years ago, I started having problems hanging on to the end the peleton and
soon I was getting dropped after about 15 -20 miles.

I stopped biking with a group and sought (all too often unsuccessfully) a goal of 15 mph. I biked
less and less. It was less and less fun. Then about 4 years ago I got a 'bent and that put the fun
back in biking for me.

Making a 15mph average was easy on a 'bent. Could I do 16??. It was not long before the 14 mile
loop was just too short. I stretched that up to 20 then thirty. Some time in 2000, I was out for
my usual Saturday AM ride and saw a group of serious cyclists pass me going the other direction.
There were 4 recumbents in the group! I turned ans asked the trailing recumbent if I could ride
along. Pretty soon I was a regular. Some of these guys were pretty fast. I worked at it until I
was usually one of the ones at the front of the pack. I could always count on having some one to
push me to doing a little better. Last Saturday, I managed to average 18.2 mph for the 40 miles to
our brunch stop. That is probably a personal best for me on that loop. I commute regularly to work
it is 6 miles. Sometimes I take the long way. I always take the long road home. The hike and bike
trail that I use for most of my ride is rough and it is difficult to make any speed. In spite of
that, last Thursday I averaged 16.5mph on my 12 miles in to work.

I keep telling myself that I don't need to hurry. There is no one else biking during my morning
commute so no one is pushing me but me. This morning, I set out with the good intention to make a
leisurely ride into work. By the time I rolled into the parking garage, I had worked my average up
to 15.5mph. I had also clocked 12 miles.

Is there any hope? Is it wrong to test myself each day in this way? How much is too much? BTW, I
am my happiest when I am speeding dow the highway with a devilish grin on my face.

Well I'm a toad on average speed but yesterday I got my BikeE up to
39.1MPH !!! that's my fastest yet 🙂

cbb said:

I too am a speedaholic! Specially when riding my fast bike. Last year I was commuting on my fast
bike several times a week (23 hilly mile one way). I would work hard in the morning when its cool
(getting in a good workout) then in the afternoon when its much hotter I would leave work with the
intention of taking it easy (its hot, my legs are a little sore). But then I hit the first flat
stretch or down hill. Now my adrenalin is going. I'm pushing hard on the hills and even more on
flatter sections. I've got the ride average speed up on the computer and trying to make it go
higher (or keep it from dropping when climbing). I get home soaking wet from sweat my 50 oz water
bag near empty and a new ride high on the trip average speed. Nows when I again think "I was
planning on taking a leisurely ride."

Didn't quite get to 21 mph computer average but I am 30 and ride a lowracer so I can't claim any
amazing feats just personal bests.

Craig Optima Baron

Cletus Lee <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Here's my honest averages:

I can keep up with someone riding 18mph or so. There are certain rides in which I have done
this. But I like to ride with a certain group of people who ride 15mph or so. So my usual
average when I am with these people is 15mph.

Like I have said before...not a speed demon and do not pretend to be. I ride for health and
camaraderie. I like to cruise.

Is there a 12-step program for Speedoholics?

I started seriously riding in the mid 80s. My first goal was 8 miles. Pretty soon I was up to
what worked out to a 14 mile loop. Then I set a target of doing that in a hour. As I biked

Quoted message said:

more, 14 mph averages became easier.

Later I started riding with a club and discovered pace lines and the speed advantages of working
as a team. Sometimes I could get up to 20 mph with the peleton but usually finished with a 15-16
mph average. About 15 years ago, I started having problems hanging on to the end the peleton and
soon I was getting dropped after about 15 -20 miles.

I stopped biking with a group and sought (all too often unsuccessfully) a goal of 15 mph. I
biked less and less. It was less and less fun. Then about 4 years ago I got a 'bent and that put
the fun back in biking for me.

Making a 15mph average was easy on a 'bent. Could I do 16??. It was not long before the 14 mile
loop was just too short. I stretched that up to 20 then thirty. Some time in 2000, I was out for
my usual Saturday AM ride and saw a group of serious cyclists pass me going the other direction.
There were 4 recumbents in the group! I turned ans asked the trailing recumbent if I could ride
along. Pretty soon I was a regular. Some of these guys were pretty fast. I worked at it until I
was usually one of the ones at the front of the pack. I could always count on having some one to
push me to doing a little better. Last Saturday, I managed to average 18.2 mph for the 40 miles
to our brunch stop. That is probably a personal best for me on that loop. I commute regularly to
work it is 6 miles. Sometimes I take the long way. I always take the long road home. The hike
and bike trail that I use for most of my ride is rough and it is difficult to make any speed. In
spite of that, last Thursday I averaged 16.5mph on my 12 miles in to work.

I keep telling myself that I don't need to hurry. There is no one else biking during my morning
commute so no one is pushing me but me. This morning, I set out with the good intention to make
a leisurely ride into work. By the time I rolled into the parking garage, I had worked my
average up to 15.5mph. I had also clocked 12 miles.

Is there any hope? Is it wrong to test myself each day in this way? How much is too much? BTW, I
am my happiest when I am speeding dow the highway with a devilish grin on my face.

Jack Pagel <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Seems that no matter what my "top" speed is, all in all I still average between 10 and 13 mph.
That also includes my rest stops, snack breaks, etc. Speed is nice, but I usually try for
"duration". I get passed by "techno geeks", and end up passing them while they are resting at a
watering hole.

I have often thought some of the published average speeds were inflated also. I average between 13.8
mph and 16.9 mph average depending on how fast we are pushing it. This includes 2 very long hills
where we climb about 6 mph for a long time. The duration of these rides are between 16 and 26 miles
total. I guess it is possible to average over 20mph on a ride but not generally for me. We do stop
several times which I know affects the overall average. Marci

Last time I will post on one of these "speed threads".

I rode last night from my home to my wifes place of business.

16.2 measured miles.

52 minutes.

P.S. Thanks John F for your support.

kim

when I say I did a 5 hour or 4.5 hour that is total time out from start to finish. I run the clock
and check the miles later.

Last Sunday's Elephant Rock Ride in CO. I had a tough ride for the 100 miles. Total time out on the
ride was 6.5 hours that includes all stops, the two flat tires, a couple of sag stops, a couple of
storms, a 20 minute wait for the train to go by. My average speed for the ride was in the 14mph plus
range. My ride partner computer stops the clock when he stops, his average speed was 18.8 mph.

Our morning rides here for the 20 mile to 15 mile loop average 20mph. That is total time from start
to stop and includes the stop lights and stop signs.

Total time out divided by your total miles is the best average speed to record.

Keep spinning

JS

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Total time out divided by your total miles is the best average speed to record.

While it may be the most honest, it may not reflect several aspects that we want to measure.

1. Is my bike faster than yours?
2. Am I faster than you?

If I do a century and carry 8 lbs of water and don't stop for cookies, I may complete it faster than
you. While you on the other hand may stop for cookies, spend too much time checkin' out the lycra
babes at the rest stops and turn in a much slower total time than me. Which one of us is the better
rider? Which one of us has the faster bike?

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

Cletus, when I carry the 8 lbs of water and don't stop for cookies, those are the 4.5 to 5 hour 100
mile rides. On those rides you just have to be content on the scenery that goes by.

I take it I missed MOM again this year?

Did you ride it?

John

Cletus Lee <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

checkin' out the lycra babes.........

One of the best reasons to not be concerned about high speed.... I'm usually slow enough that
all of the really fit ones pass me. If I was a wee bit faster I wouldn't be just getting a
fleeting glimpse.

Hmmmm.......need to train harder.

Jerry

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

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This should make you all feel better about yourselves. On an average 20 = miler here in the billiard
table state, I average 10.5 to 13.5 on the = cateye. I try to catch up to riders ahead of me. I try
to make faster = riders work to catch up to me. I push 16 or 17 for as long as I can. = Sometimes
when I feel good, I bust a gut and get up to the low 20's. So = what? Last year at Northbrook in the
TT I rode about 18 which got me = last place at 2 minutes plus. Then there are guys like Frank Geyer
(sp?) = who did the TT in 1:09!!! (That's from a dead stop to an average over 36 = MPH.)=20

This thread just shows how relatively slow the fastest of us are = compared to people who have the
genes and train hard to go real fast. = However fast or slow I go, my goal is to be able to get back
to where I = started. To the fast ones out there, my admiration. To the others, let's = go for a
ride and have some fun. Speed doesn't mean anything unless = you're racing.=20 "Robert Siegel"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message =
"]news:[email hidden]

snip

------=_NextPart_000_0022_01C32ABD.CF6627F0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

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6.00.2800.1141" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>This should make you all feel better = about=20 yourselves. On an
average 20 miler here in the billiard table state, I = average=20
10.5 to 13.5 on the cateye. I try to catch up to riders ahead of me. I = try to=20 make faster
riders work to catch up to me. I push 16 or 17 for as long = as I can.=20 Sometimes when I feel
good, I bust a gut and get up to the low 20's. So = what?=20 Last year at Northbrook in the TT I
rode about 18 which got me last = place at 2=20 minutes plus. Then there are guys like Frank
Geyer (sp?) who did the TT = in=20
11:09!!! (That's from a dead stop to an average over 36 MPH.) = </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>This thread just shows how relatively = slow the=20 fastest of us
are compared to people who have the genes and train hard = to go=20 real fast. </FONT><FONT
face=3DArial size=3D2>However fast or slow I go, = my goal is=20 to be able to get back to
where I started. To the fast ones out there, = my=20 admiration. To the others, let's go for a
ride and have some fun. Speed = doesn't=20 mean anything unless you're racing. </FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr=20 style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DVI>"Robert Siegel" <<A=20
=
href=3D""][email hidden]">[email hidden]</A>= >=20 wrote in
message <A=20
=
href=3D""]news:[email hidden]"=

Quoted message said:

"]news:[email hidden]</A></DI=

V>
<DVII> </DIV>
<DVIII><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>snip</FONT></DIV><STRONG><FONT=20 face=3D"Arial Black">
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In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Cletus, when I carry the 8 lbs of water and don't stop for cookies, those are the 4.5 to 5 hour
100 mile rides. On those rides you just have to be content on the scenery that goes by.

I take it I missed MOM again this year?

Did you ride it?

My son decided that Memorial day weekend was most opportune for him to visit. So I had to miss this
year's MoM.

Next year?
--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -

"Torben Scheel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My 2003 results : scheel.netresultat.aspOpen ↗ It's all

metric,

Quoted message said:

"Gennemsnit" = average speed. All measured times including any stops. No BS - its for my personal
use. No nees to BS myself.

Oops - very few average speeds above 20mph.

Yep, sometimes average speeds above 20 mph are a bit like big fish stories. On the Tour de France,
the average speed for the whole race is about 23 mph ( the fastest ever average speed in its 100
year history was less than 25 mph for the winner). I kind of wonder about average speed claims that
are higher than that. Sure, I can reach and even exceed those speeds in a short sprint, but my
average for all my riding is well below that.

Brian Tailwind/V-Rex

"brian hughes" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yep, sometimes average speeds above 20 mph are a bit like big fish

stories.

Quoted message said:

On the Tour de France, the average speed for the whole race is about 23

mph

Quoted message said:

( the fastest ever average speed in its 100 year history was less than 25 mph for the winner). I
kind of wonder about average speed claims that

are

Quoted message said:

higher than that. Sure, I can reach and even exceed those speeds in a

short

Quoted message said:

sprint, but my average for all my riding is well below that.

Those guys on the Tour are pretty slow aren't they. Too bad they outlawed bents cause they're gonna
have to stay slow. There's really nothing much they can do to change their pitiful averages. We've
got guys on low racers that average 30 mph + on their training rides. Hell we've even got guys that
average over 20 mph on their commuter bikes going to work.

You may need to re-calibrate your computer if your average is under 16 mph or so. You are probably
doing better than that and just don't know it. See thread on roll out method of calibration.

I am glad I started this thread with nothing more than a short note from my local Gainesville
Cycling club that stated the club's roadies average 20-21 on their longer rides through moderately
rolling hills. That undisputed fact opened the flood gates for comments from the majority of us on
this NG who report our speeds truthfully.

I have long wondered why a few jerks seem so desperate to "impress" us with their ridiculous reports
of unrealistic speeds.

Again, I know that there are some very fast, very well conditioned bike riders on this NG... and we
all know who they are. (No, I am not one of them. My good-day 16-17 mph average is plenty for me.
And on long rides, 15-16 feels terrific. I would just about have to live on my recumbent to improve
that very much.)

--
Gator Bob Siegel EasyRacers Ti Rush "sittn' pretty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"brian hughes" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yep, sometimes average speeds above 20 mph are a bit like big fish

stories.

Quoted message said:

On the Tour de France, the average speed for the whole race is about 23

mph

Quoted message said:

( the fastest ever average speed in its 100 year history was less than

25

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

mph for the winner). I kind of wonder about average speed claims that

are

Quoted message said:

higher than that. Sure, I can reach and even exceed those speeds in a

short

Quoted message said:

sprint, but my average for all my riding is well below that.

Those guys on the Tour are pretty slow aren't they. Too bad they outlawed bents cause they're
gonna have to stay slow. There's really nothing much they can do to change their pitiful averages.
We've got guys on low

racers

Quoted message said:

that average 30 mph + on their training rides. Hell we've even got guys

that

Quoted message said:

average over 20 mph on their commuter bikes going to work.

You may need to re-calibrate your computer if your average is under 16 mph or so. You are probably
doing better than that and just don't know it.

See

Quoted message said:

thread on roll out method of calibration.

"sittn' pretty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Those guys on the Tour are pretty slow aren't they. Too bad they outlawed bents cause they're
gonna have to stay slow. There's really nothing much they can do to change their pitiful averages.
We've got guys on low

racers

Quoted message said:

that average 30 mph + on their training rides. Hell we've even got guys

that

Quoted message said:

average over 20 mph on their commuter bikes going to work.

You may need to re-calibrate your computer if your average is under 16 mph or so. You are probably
doing better than that and just don't know it.

See

Quoted message said:

thread on roll out method of calibration.

I was actually surprised to learn the average speed at the Tour de France. Since these guys are the
best DF riders in the world and get the aero advantage of riding in pace-lines, I would have guessed
their average speed would be higher than 23 mph.

Anyway, maybe I calculate my average speed differently than most, plus I'm normally riding in
traffic with plenty of stops and starts. But when I read through a lot of these average speed
claims, I start thinking I must be the slowest rider around. But when I jump on my bike, I'm usually
the guy doing all the passing. I rode a century a few months back. Only 7 riders (all riding in pace
lines I should add) out of about 250 finished ahead of me (pushing my own air all the way) . So
maybe I'm not really as slow I would look if I posted my average speed for this year next to the
guys you know (oh, what the hell. It's 15.9 mph = 2422.2 miles/152 hours 31 min).

Brian Tailwind/V-Rex

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

My good-day 16-17 mph average is plenty for me. And on long rides, 15-16 feels terrific.

Quoted message said:

I would just about have to live on my recumbent to improve that very much.)

Do you mean that not everybody does???

--

Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager clee.orgclee.orgOpen ↗
- Bellaire, TX USA -