Originally Posted by
davester
I can't relate to this at all. Our rule of thumb around here is that, with only one exception (a crowded MUP along the water}, every 10 miles of riding equals 1,000 feet of elevation gain, in contrast to your 40 mile rides with only about 500 feet. The terrain dictates the average speed so there's no way on earth I could come close to 20 mph.
Yeah, I get it. For me the wind is normally my hills if I don't do a climbing ride. I ride right after work during the weekdays which means heading at around 3:30 PM. Most days that means I get headwinds for about 1/2 the ride that average in the teens with gusts into the twentys. I can have a super fast ride going and then spend miles amping up the effort and still fighting for the 14-15 mph range, it's frustrating at times. Most of my fast rides will be weekend mornings when it's usually calm. Yesterday's ride was an exception to the wind rule.
On a side note, what's sobering is to look at the pace the pro's ride through here at each year for the Tour of Utah. Those boys really kill it. Heck they are faster up the CAT 2 climbs than I am on the flat roads.