Sy Reene

Not to split hairs, but I think in your example, the rider would just be looking at the current speed field, not the average speed field, if we're talking some sort of garmin device.

Mark Dominck

Yes Otto I totally agree even though I prefer to avoid long several mile climbs when I do short climbs I like to power up them seems better to get them over with than to drag them out going slower.

Phil_gretz

I was feeling strong on Saturday. I finished my one-hour ride in 57 minutes, a personal best...

gregf83 

Fixed the link.

Below is MvDP's ride data from the last 100km of yesterdays' race. Can't imagine how average speed would be of any use at any time. Most of the time the front groups were in view of one another.

fooferdoggie 

this is the most power I have ever averaged. 189 was the best and that was last year. going to a new bbq place to get a order and I was going to be late I guess. it was a 19 mile round trip. I even hit 450 watts on this little hill that was a record too.

Aroyobob

I was taking trip once with a rental car and was playing with the display showing average MPG. One of the displayed metrics was for "best MPG yet" or something like that. During a long downhill I found that if you reset the current trip, let the car coast for a minute, reset the current trip again, the average MPG for that short segment would be the best MPG yet at around 125 MPG. Like an arcade game that shows the top scorers, in that car for as long as they rented it, people would be wondering how someone reached 125 MPG.

To answer the OP's question, just turned 63, tend to average between 14 - 16 mph on flat terrain (200' change in 10 miles,) over a 21 - 26 mile ride. Depends on how strong I feel, if I've been getting a couple of rides a week or more (stronger,) or less (weaker.) Headwinds can always make it tough. Max speed might be 20 for a half-mile under my own power (on a good day,) with some 22-24 going down into the underpasses.

I find that by about the half-way point there are so many data points that it's difficult to move the average up much after that (have to ride at above average speeds for extended periods, hard to do,) and much easier to drop the average by riding slower than, huh, the average speed, easier to do. The best averages were a bit above 16mph last summer but get there it means not letting up for the whole trip which is not easy nor necessarily pleasant. Sometimes watching the average becomes a goal and you can become a slave to the average which takes some of the fun out of the ride and makes it more a chore.

Some days the average might just tell you you were out of shape and had a headwind.

Mark Dominck

Sounds like my rides

wphamilton

This average speed for an hour changes 2-3 mph depending on how relaxed I am in the parking lots before and after. Cropping it is like cheating - just crop the fastest hour then but then it's not an "average one hour ride", it's the fastest of a one hour ride. So for me, the metric doesn't mean much.

If I keep track of anything, it's how long does it take me to get to the store, the pharmacy, etc. That makes sense to know, but it's surely not a performance measure.

subgrade

I fail to see any substantial difference - whether you're trying to beat your time over a set course, or trying to improve your average speed is essentially the same, only you don't have to ride the same course if it's the latter.
Since I prefer to mix my rides up as much as I can (they are still all flat though), I find the average speed to be a more useful metric.

sean.hwy

Strava let's me know I am not that fast.

Ever get passed by one of those guys in that top 1% of strava? Two days ago while riding in the hills I hear "on your left" out of no where. The guy blew by me like he was on an ebike. ha-ha. I looked the guy up and it was the Jeff Linder from the youtube channel norcal cycling.NorCal CyclingNorCal CyclingNorCal Cycling

BCAC

I mainly ride with 2 groups on 7 different routes. I’m typically solo for the last 4 miles or so. I usually look at my average speed when I get to the solo bit and try to make the number go up by the end of the ride.

So yep, I look at average speed.. Sometimes I even compare how I did this week on a particular route, to the last time we did the same route. Tons of variable, such as wind and the quality of other riders. But since I’m competitive with myself, I take a peek.

coffeesnob

you rode 40 mph on a bike?

fooferdoggie 

I have had a guy draft me while I was going 26 on my e bike that was impressive. I have had roadies pass me while I was going 25. I don't usually go that fast. her lI get a kick out of it when a roadie passes me. Now she na guy who is hardly peddling or not at all on his ebike I have fun passing them and it gets my heart rate up.

Ivabig1

Speed depends on ur age and your fitness goals and riding conditions

sean.hwy

I can avg 20mph for about 2 hours on the flats.

I can do 25mph for about 20 seconds. Hopefully in a few years I can work up to 25mph.

fooferdoggie 

I gave up on average I ride too much in the city and such so it depends way to much on my route. Now Ijsut want to be able to work as hard as I can. going by wattage it does not matter where I ride.

BlazingPedals

My average for one hour tends to depend on what the group is doing, not what I'm capable of. I may hang at the back or I may zoom off the front for a few miles and do circles in a parking lot until they catch up. Either way, I average what they average.

Zuzus pedals

And if you come to a fork in the road ... take it.

The only time I would care about average speed for one hour is if I was doing a one hour time trial! Otherwise, I'll head out, warm up and then do one or more short sections at good speeds but pooter so slow in between and on the cool-down that the overall average speed for the ride (usually between 2 and 2.5 hours) will only be 14-ish mph. For comparison, I've done 20.7 mph for 2 hours solo, so 14 mph (slower than that if you figure in the fast sections) is really easy riding with not a care in the world about the overall average.

So in addition to elevation profile, temperature, wind, road quality, solo or group ride, etc., your purpose on the ride affects your average speed. It all makes average speed a less-than-ideal metric for day-to-day riding. Blast some repeats sometimes, do a strong continuous ride without caring about the speed (only the effort) other times, recover other times ... and maybe see where your average speed stands every so often on a course you're familiar with and in as similar weather as you can get vs. the last time you rode that course.

rsbob 

When I was 32, my average for 1 nano-second on the flats with no tail wind was 32MPH. Then I retreated back to my 20 average after barfing up a lung or two.