Biking Question

musicgirl88

OK, I just went on a bike ride for the first time in forever! Man I forgot how many hills were in my small town haha...ok so I was riding in 4th/5th gear pretty much the whole time and went about 8 miles. I only stopped twice. Once to debate on wether I should go further, and once after I decided to go further and I was turning around to head back. My question is, about how long would be a good time to do approx. 8 miles? It took me about an hour. I don't know what is a normal amount of time for biking!

Thanks for your help

kaned_ferret

I'd say that's not bad - I did a 10k (6.2 miles) ride to my friends house a few weeks back, it took me an hour to get there. The ride back took fifty minutes (the weather was nicer when I came back lol)

I used my hrm during the ride and burned around 1000 calories across the 2 hour stint, and I felt stoked about it - you should too!

wellbert

I'd say a reasonable rate on a hybrid/comfort bike for a beginner is about 12mph average.
14-15mph intermediate
18mph advanced.

minus 1-2mph for a MTB. +1-2 for a road bike.

This doesn't take into account stops and such.

Rocbola

It depends on the bike, the hills, the wind, and the shape of the rider. If you worked up a sweat, raised your heart-rate, and breathed heavily, and you feel like you did a good job, than you did a good job. The rate of speed will increase gradually as time goes by, and your level of fitness and familiarity with the bike improves.

And i agree with what welbert said about the speed. And when i started riding my hybrid bike at 276 LBS, i was regularly riding 9-12 MPH. Now, i can ride it at about 15-19 MPH, and i can do those speeds, up a hill, on my road bike. Keep at it, bicycling is a FANTASTIC hobby, and it just gets more fun from there.

treetop57

The most important thing is that you did it for the first time in forever. 8 miles per hour is the best you've done in years. Woohoo!

In the MFP database, here's how it's broken down.

< 10 MPH, leisure.
10-12 MPH, light.
12-14 MPH, moderate.
14-16 MPH, vigorous.
16-20 MPH, very fast.
>20 MPH, racing.

But hills and wind can make a huge difference. I remember once going on a ride and not realizing that I had a 10 mph tail wind. When I had to turn around to go home, that 10 mph head wind was a killer. I was working a lot harder going 5 mph against the wind than 15 mph with the wind!

FJcntdwn2sknyluv

That's pretty good pace, I would say.. for a beginner.. I can clear closer to 20 in an hour if I'm REALLY pushing it!.. But I've been back on the bike for about a year now.. so great job!