Average Cycling Speeds

Coltsman4ever

I'm somewhat new to road cycling (as of May of this year) and I'm wondering how I stack up with other cyclists.
My times have been getting faster and faster.
Right now I'm averaging 20.7 mph on a 20 mile course. Total ascent is 425 feet and total descent is 548 feet. I would consider this a fairly flat course overall. Top speed is 37.9 mph.

What is yours? Hopefully you have ascent and descent numbers as well. If not, no big deal.

Cyclink

You may want to check out the MFP Strava group:
http://app.strava.com/clubs/gs-myfitnesspal

That gives you all kinds of data about other people's riding. Usually their elevation is about minimum and maximum, not total climbing, but you can see the course profiles.

I'd say 20.7 mph for 20 miles over a relatively flat course (about 21 feet per mile of climbing) is pretty good. You'll find that around 50 feet per mile (more than 800 to 1000 feet per hour), speed drops very quickly.

If you didn't start and stop at the same place, something is up with your elevation numbers (they should be the same when you return to the same elevation you started at)).

Coltsman4ever

You may want to check out the MFP Strava group:
http://app.strava.com/clubs/gs-myfitnesspal

That gives you all kinds of data about other people's riding.

I'd say 20.7 mph for 20 miles over a relatively flat course (about 21 feet per mile of climbing) is pretty good.

If you didn't start and stop at the same place, something is up with your elevation numbers (they should be the same when you return to the same elevation you started at)).

I return to the same place I start at but I do somewhat of a large circular course. I'm not headed to one location and then turning around and coming back.
Thanks for the info on the Strava group. I use Endomondo and Strava both to track my rides.

Cyclink

I return to the same place I start at but I do somewhat of a large circular course. I'm not headed to one location and then turning around and coming back.

Regardless of the shape of the course, unless there was a major earthquake while you were gone, the start location will be at the same elevation it was when you left, so that ( total climb - total descent ) should always equal zero.

It's a problem with a lot of the barometric altimeters in use today. Changes in temperature, humidity, and pressure can all trick the unit into thinking you did something very different from what you actually did. Some software lets you correct the data with US geological survey data so it's more accurate.

The 5 guys I ride with at work usually have about 400 feet of variance in the number of feet we climbed over the ride. Same guys, same time, same group, same course.

The reason it's annoying is that you might have climbed 548, you might have descended 425, or it might be neither one, making it really hard to compare raw data accurately.

Coltsman4ever

I return to the same place I start at but I do somewhat of a large circular course. I'm not headed to one location and then turning around and coming back.

Regardless of the shape of the course, unless there was a major earthquake while you were gone, the start location will be at the same elevation it was when you left, so that ( total climb - total descent ) should always equal zero.

It's a problem with a lot of the barometric altimeters in use today. Changes in temperature, humidity, and pressure can all trick the unit into thinking you did something very different from what you actually did. Some software lets you correct the data with US geological survey data so it's more accurate.

The 5 guys I ride with at work usually have about 400 feet of variance in the number of feet we climbed over the ride. Same guys, same time, same group, same course.

The reason it's annoying is that you might have climbed 548, you might have descended 425, or it might be neither one, making it really hard to compare raw data accurately.

I'm using my GPS with Endomondo to track distance and it shows me ascents and descents during the ride as well. It is completely possible that I climbed 425 feet and descended 548 feet over the 20 mile course. I'm not sure what you're getting at saying the 2 numbers should equal zero. This would only be true if I was riding out to a certain spot and then turning around and heading back on that same course. Correct?

Cyclink

I'm using my GPS with Endomondo to track distance and it shows me ascents and descents during the ride as well. It is completely possible that I climbed 425 feet and descended 548 feet over the 20 mile course. I'm not sure what you're getting at saying the 2 numbers should equal zero. This would only be true if I was riding out to a certain spot and then turning around and heading back on that same course. Correct?

The ascent and descent numbers have nothing to do with whether you did and out and back course. It tells you how many vertical feet you climbed and how many vertical feet you descended while you were riding. You gained 425 and lost 548, but ended at the same elevation where you started.

If you started and stopped at the same spot, it means that during the 20 miles you rode, you climbed 425 feet and descended 548 feet... which would put you 123 feet below the road.

If you started and stopped at different places, say start at home and ride to work, then the numbers could be different from one another.