New to cycling, 50 mile ride
#26
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I understand where everyone is coming from. When I said Cycling, I meant road biking. I have mountain biked before. I currently live in the panhandle of FL so the roads aren’t crazy...and I am fit. I have been out the last few months because I was actually hit by a car on my little fold up bicycle, so I was able to afford a nice bicycle. And yes I did my homework, which is why I went with an Emonda. I am new to road biking which is why I asked if the average was okay. Thanks to those who answered, I apologize if I offended anyone. And this was a Loop in the state and national forests...not one stop light.
I was able to maintain 20mph over several flat, straight rural miles on a club ride a few weeks ago but that was thanks to a nice tailwind.
Normally can only average 15-16 at best on a ride. Often less.
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Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
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#27
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31 yr old, fit 220 lbs, ex-mtb, on a nice bike, on all flatlands, in a park without stops? 20 mph for a 100 mile ride is your new goal.
Last edited by Riveting; 05-21-18 at 01:55 PM.
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Thanks again for the replies, I asked because a guy that I work with told me he is at 20.3 mph on a 20 mile ride. This is why I asked in the first place. I am going to do another loop this weekend and make sure it isn’t a fluke. I am a little upset because I already put a slight mark in the fork. I clipped in and couldn’t unclip...toppled right over. I felt like such an idiot. Haha
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You might consider asking at the LBS where the local group rides start.
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I'm with you. I did a continuous 48 miler yesterday that went about 2/3rds of the way through urban areas and stop signs and lights. I then did some 2.000 feet of climbing trying to build leg strength with big gears. 39-23 up 7% and 39-25 for the over that rate of climb for the rest that was as steep as 16%. Getting home all tuckered out the speedo says 11.5 mph average. I'm 73 and tried to keep the heart rate under 160 ppm but that was pretty difficult.
Last edited by cyclintom; 05-21-18 at 02:30 PM.
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Thanks again for the replies, I asked because a guy that I work with told me he is at 20.3 mph on a 20 mile ride. This is why I asked in the first place. I am going to do another loop this weekend and make sure it isn’t a fluke. I am a little upset because I already put a slight mark in the fork. I clipped in and couldn’t unclip...toppled right over. I felt like such an idiot. Haha
#32
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I'm with you. I did a continuous 48 miler yesterday that went about 2/34rds of the way through urban areas and stop signs and lights. I then did some 2.000 feet of climbing trying to build leg strength with big gears. 39-23 up 7% and 39-25 for the over that rate of climb for the rest that was as steep as 16%. Getting home all tuckered out the speedo says 11.5 mph average. I'm 73 and tried to keep the heart rate under 160 ppm but that was pretty difficult.
#33
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I had a concussion which knocked all the sense out of me. I can't remember the heart rate zones but that is my 85% region which is what I try to keep at for high-moderate training. Everyone else in our age group drops me so I assume that they're going higher.
#34
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You say you're, "on base" and chose the name of the greatest fighter of the Trojan War. May I guess you're in the military? How much is "not to much cardio"? Just keep riding...
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or there could just be multiple concussions in your group
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Thanks again for the replies, I asked because a guy that I work with told me he is at 20.3 mph on a 20 mile ride. This is why I asked in the first place. I am going to do another loop this weekend and make sure it isn’t a fluke. I am a little upset because I already put a slight mark in the fork. I clipped in and couldn’t unclip...toppled right over. I felt like such an idiot. Haha
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Some guys are just born with better aerobic genes than others. Consider yourself lucky you're probably better endowed than most of us here. With some more structured training perhaps you can be competitive racing in cat 3, 2, maybe even 1.
#38
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I've been riding since around 1975 or so. I raced some and do know proper training techniques and certainly don't ride like that too often. I was developing a poison gas detector for the military to detect all those WMD that the Obama people proclaimed never existed. Through an accident, I didn't pump out the test chamber completely while in a hurry to get the damn thing to work after I realized that the physicists had the formula all wrong. Entering the chamber, poison gas is odorless and colorless so I damaged my lungs without realizing it until later when I tried racing again. So while that was the end of my racing, it wasn't the end of my training program. It simply changed what my heart rate was for any speed. But your lungs heal pretty much unless they are totally ruined such as from smoking. Today I have about full lung capacity again.
I'm not one of those people who believe that unless other people can see your pulse in the blood vessels in your temples you aren't riding hard enough. Nor do I think that I should be able to keep up with a 25 year old.
I'm not one of those people who believe that unless other people can see your pulse in the blood vessels in your temples you aren't riding hard enough. Nor do I think that I should be able to keep up with a 25 year old.
#39
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I've been riding since around 1975 or so. I raced some and do know proper training techniques and certainly don't ride like that too often. I was developing a poison gas detector for the military to detect all those WMD that the Obama people proclaimed never existed. Through an accident, I didn't pump out the test chamber completely while in a hurry to get the damn thing to work after I realized that the physicists had the formula all wrong. Entering the chamber, poison gas is odorless and colorless so I damaged my lungs without realizing it until later when I tried racing again. So while that was the end of my racing, it wasn't the end of my training program. It simply changed what my heart rate was for any speed. But your lungs heal pretty much unless they are totally ruined such as from smoking. Today I have about full lung capacity again.
I'm not one of those people who believe that unless other people can see your pulse in the blood vessels in your temples you aren't riding hard enough. Nor do I think that I should be able to keep up with a 25 year old.
I'm not one of those people who believe that unless other people can see your pulse in the blood vessels in your temples you aren't riding hard enough. Nor do I think that I should be able to keep up with a 25 year old.
#40
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That's the beauty of cycling. As you age you don't have to keep up with the 25 year olds speed wise, you stay in your own age group. But it has been my experience, in all things endurance related, the older guys have it all over the kids. I see it everyday here in Florida. There are many mid to late seventy guys that seem to be able to ride a hundred miles at will...almost daily.
I will often get passed on climbs by young guys and at the top they will be leaning over the side of the road puking. I'll just ride past and continue. Once in awhile one of them will jump on their bike and try to keep up but steep drops scare most of them and I'll just ride away. 45 mph isn't something that shouldn't scare most people. One bad bump and you can break a wheel. On a really windy ride on flat ground with a compact crank and a tailwind, I was spinning at 37 and apparently that was too scary fast for everyone.
#41
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To get to 20 mph for the ride:
You need a combination of more power, a more aero position, and/or drafting other riders. Wind resistance goes up dramatically as your speed increases.
From this bike speed calculator, using defaults except for a 220 pound rider. These are estimates, but you get the idea.
17.2 mph on the "tops" (maybe less aero than the hoods? ) : 183 watts
20.0 mph on the tops: 275 watts. That's 50% more power!
20.0 mph in the drops: 201 watts. 10% more than 17.2. I think this is too low, it might be more like 220 watts or so.
20.0 mph with triathlon bars on a tri bike: 174 watts. Less than the 17.2 power!
Drafting in a group, depending on number of riders, cross winds, etc: anywhere from 15% to maybe 30% power saving. And there's the motivation to hang on to the group, too. I often do 3-4 mph faster on a group ride than riding solo.
You need a combination of more power, a more aero position, and/or drafting other riders. Wind resistance goes up dramatically as your speed increases.
From this bike speed calculator, using defaults except for a 220 pound rider. These are estimates, but you get the idea.
17.2 mph on the "tops" (maybe less aero than the hoods? ) : 183 watts
20.0 mph on the tops: 275 watts. That's 50% more power!
20.0 mph in the drops: 201 watts. 10% more than 17.2. I think this is too low, it might be more like 220 watts or so.
20.0 mph with triathlon bars on a tri bike: 174 watts. Less than the 17.2 power!
Drafting in a group, depending on number of riders, cross winds, etc: anywhere from 15% to maybe 30% power saving. And there's the motivation to hang on to the group, too. I often do 3-4 mph faster on a group ride than riding solo.
Last edited by rm -rf; 05-21-18 at 07:16 PM.
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#45
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Thanks again for the replies, I asked because a guy that I work with told me he is at 20.3 mph on a 20 mile ride. This is why I asked in the first place. I am going to do another loop this weekend and make sure it isn’t a fluke. I am a little upset because I already put a slight mark in the fork. I clipped in and couldn’t unclip...toppled right over. I felt like such an idiot. Haha
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I'm a 68 year old ex racer, more ex than racer, actually. My personal best is 17.9 for a 44 mile coastal ride with medium rollers. Last Saturday, six of us did a 62 mile metric century with a 15.1 avg with pretty brutal headwinds, and 2500' climbing. I' say you are doing great. Forget the naysayers, go find a fast group and just ride. If you are scamming us, shame on you.
Just to clarify, my Garmin only times rolling miles, it pauses at stop lights, coffee stops, etc.
Just to clarify, my Garmin only times rolling miles, it pauses at stop lights, coffee stops, etc.
Last edited by Slightspeed; 05-22-18 at 07:06 PM.
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That's a lot of bike for a commute, in terms of geometry and comfort. For a commute, I'd definitely make sure you've got the most tire that thing can handle on there. And something a little tougher to avoid flats to/from work. At that, maybe even a tubeless.
Road ground speed is super NOT relevant. One local race sim ride averages 22mph overall and 24+mph in the flats. The other A+ ride that's in town where the hills are cracks out at about 18 1/2.
The best thing to do at this point is to use Google and Facebook. Find the local B-group ride. Usually they are no-drop and about 25 to 50mi. Try it out.
If you get dropped, you get dropped. If you never get dropped as a cyclist, you're not challenging yourself enough. It's a rite of passage.
Road ground speed is super NOT relevant. One local race sim ride averages 22mph overall and 24+mph in the flats. The other A+ ride that's in town where the hills are cracks out at about 18 1/2.
The best thing to do at this point is to use Google and Facebook. Find the local B-group ride. Usually they are no-drop and about 25 to 50mi. Try it out.
If you get dropped, you get dropped. If you never get dropped as a cyclist, you're not challenging yourself enough. It's a rite of passage.
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That's a lot of bike for a commute, in terms of geometry and comfort. For a commute, I'd definitely make sure you've got the most tire that thing can handle on there. And something a little tougher to avoid flats to/from work. At that, maybe even a tubeless.
Road ground speed is super NOT relevant. One local race sim ride averages 22mph overall and 24+mph in the flats. The other A+ ride that's in town where the hills are cracks out at about 18 1/2.
The best thing to do at this point is to use Google and Facebook. Find the local B-group ride. Usually they are no-drop and about 25 to 50mi. Try it out.
If you get dropped, you get dropped. If you never get dropped as a cyclist, you're not challenging yourself enough. It's a rite of passage.
Road ground speed is super NOT relevant. One local race sim ride averages 22mph overall and 24+mph in the flats. The other A+ ride that's in town where the hills are cracks out at about 18 1/2.
The best thing to do at this point is to use Google and Facebook. Find the local B-group ride. Usually they are no-drop and about 25 to 50mi. Try it out.
If you get dropped, you get dropped. If you never get dropped as a cyclist, you're not challenging yourself enough. It's a rite of passage.
I have always wanted a road bike, so that is what I went with. Especially since I spend a lot of weekends camping up in the mountains, about 8 hours from me. I have the itch now. I’ve been going out now, knocking out a 20 mile ride, changing gear, then taking my MTB to the local trails.
anyways, thanks for the tips. I’ll google groups near me