RB1-luvr

59 years old. Was a cat 3 roadie in the late 80s early 90s. Now I place last in Masters 50+ cx races, which is fine. It's fun. I average about 14-15.7 mph on my road rides with about 1,800' of climbing. 40-65 miles the avg drops to about 13.4.

BlazingPedals

LOL! The bike is better than me. My body protected the bike from most damage. The front wheel is unaffected, the front tire has a hole in the sidewall that's big enough to stick my thumb through. The 'snakebike' pattern in the tube is a pair of slits an inch long. I have plenty of spare tubes, and now I have a new set of tires on order rather than compliment the spare on the rear with another spare on the front.

Finger ended up NOT broken, just bruised.

Eric F 

I did the "Wafer" (78mi) version. It was enough for me, and I finished pretty much right in the middle of the standings - overall and age group. I used my gravel bike with 35mm Pirelli Gravel H (rear) and M (front) tires, and 38Tx11-42 gearing. BWR is a really awesome event, and I plan on doing it again next year. Next up, is the Bovine Classic in Atascadero.

TiHabanero

This will sound controversial going against convention, however what is the point of "racing" if one does not have a chance of riding at the front? I raced for 10 years on the road and 5 years off-road, then dabbled in TT for another 5 years when it dawned on me that I was chasing something that I did not understand. In the last TT I did it came to my mind half way through that this whole racing thing is pointless unless I can actually win, which I couldn't and never did except the very first race I entered.
From that point forward riding has been about the joy of the motion, yakking it up with a buddy as we roll the road, or saving a ton of money commuting to work and running errands. No longer do I chase my ego from one event to the next or compare my times with everyone around me as if they knew me and gave a crap about my times or anyone else's times. Just their times are important to them.
If one cannot win, why do it? To be the fastest middle-packer? Not to finish last? Seriously? Pathetic. One races to win. Period.

Jtmav

At 71 my usual ride is 25+ miles 2-3 times a week. My average is 12.5-13.5 mph. I’ve stopped obsessing about my ride stats and started enjoying my ride a bit more. I still keep my eye on speed and cadence but at this point in my life it’s all about staying present and being grateful. I’m impressed by some of the stats I see some of you post, good on you.

PeteHski

I mostly agree. But you can still race yourself and/or your peer group. I enter events with a view to beating my own PRs and competing against my friends at a similar level. There are faster guys outside of my little bubble, but that doesn’t bother me as long as I’m doing my best and enjoying the ride. I entered the L’Etape du Tour last year and finished somewhere in the top 5000. But it was an epic ride, I finished 2nd in our group and nobody really gives a crap who actually won it overall anyway! I don’t bother with local crit races and TTs for much the same reasons you stated. Crits are not worth the danger to be an also-ran and TTs are not worth the mindless effort unless you can win and even then nobody will care.

Eric F 

If you don’t win every time, racing is pointless? I can’t agree with that.

For me, racing was a progression of my fitness, skills, and tactics. It took some years to figure out how to sharpen my strengths into weapons, and learn how to best deploy those weapons in battle. However, I also entered races where I knew I was going to struggle, simply because it pushed my weaknesses, and minimizing my weaknesses put me in a position to exploit my strengths more often.

I’m long past my days of racing the way I used to, but am really enjoying the current gravel racing scene. I will never be competitive at the upper end, even within my age group, but that’s not a concern for me. I’m plenty satisfied finishing with the feeling that I did the best I could on that day, and maybe learned something I can do better next time. I also like riding a high-quality bike that helps me get the most out of what a I have to give.

rsbob 

Completely agree. I compete against my PRs and those in my age group on Strava 65-70. Don’t need to risk myself by competing against others especially since I know I only have mediocre speed compared to some retired racers.

Back to the original question about 25 miles at a brisk pace. After 15 years I rode with 2 others 36 miles and maintained an average speed of 18 MPH. Today I did a solo ride climbing 2000’ and 54 miles at an average speed of 17 MPH flat. Managed to bag a 3rd overall on a mile sprint because it is rather obscure, but I’ll take it. A year ago did a solo flattish 30 miles at 20 MPH.

1989Pre 

How many feet of climbing are you talking about? It matters. If I live on the Gulf Coast or West Virginia's eastern panhandle would be a huge factor. Me? 25M, 1250 feet of climbing, 17mph.

jadmt

closer to 65 than to 64 and I feel like a slug...I took about a 30 year break from cycling before starting up last July again. I used to be much faster. I have put on about 2500 miles since jan 1st so times and speed is picking up a bit. I will be disappointed if I can't do a fairly flat century later this summer in 18-19mph range. I probably should get a real road bike but maybe that really won't make much difference. this ride was on RTP tires ie fat 51mm 26" slicks.

rsbob 

Evidently being a slug is relative. 17.7 Ave with over 1,100 climbing is not too sluggish in my book unless your goal is a 2o MPH ave.

bruce19

Too many variables involved. Terrain? Group vs solo? Wind/temperature? Time of season and, thus, fitness? I can say that I have a route that is 17 mi. with about 70 ft/mi of elevation., In April I'm doing it around 13 mph but in September I'm at or near 16 mph. That's the best I can do for the question. FWIW I'm 77 and 10 lbs overweight.

jadmt

I really do want to get back in shape to be doing longer rides ie 50-70 miles in the 19-20mph range. maybe I am not being realistic but been seeing some increases. I really want to get back on a real road bike to see if that makes a difference or not. maybe there really is not that big of a difference so I should re-valuate what I am shooting for.

BlazingPedals

Just a post-crash follow-up. As it turned out, my front wheel WAS broken, it was just the carbon fairing over the aluminum rim; but I am replacing the wheelset anyway. For now I'm using a spare front wheel. I'm currently in Matthews NC visiting my son & family, and brought the bike for possible rides. By now all my scabs are gone, although the skin still looks bad. I'll order some new wheels when I get home.

I had a club ride a few days before leaving. The fast pack took off before I could get out of the parking lot and they were gone. So I rode at my own 'best pace' which turned out to be 20.9 for 28 miles. That was definitely more 'brisk' than a normal brisk ride.

Melliman

Turning 70 Tuesday. Fourth time out today after 10 year lay-off. 16 miles, relatively flat, 12.6 mph, 131 average heart rate.

DaveLeeNC

I keep thinking that I have seen my last 19+ mph average on a solo training ride (74th birthday in a couple months). Then there was yesterday's ride - https://www.strava.com/activities/9283891777 - 34 miles at 19.1 mph. 17.5 to 18.5 in rolling terrain is more my norm for a good solo ride. Never been a racer, BTW.

dave

rsbob 

I’m 68 and just did 18 miles today at 18 MPH @ 140 average watts. Was not pushing it today as my Wattage confirms. Tomorrow is a climbing day (2500-3000) with about 45 miles. Average speed will probably be about 15-16.

easyupbug 

In our retirement community we have a small 3 to 5 "Old Duffers" group ride fairly often. We are very casual about tracking speed but as we range (when last checked) from 71 to 77 our focus is being for all of us to be able to ride again after a days rest. Safety is first in our minds with our avg speed probably not much more than 10 mph in the usual 18 to 20 miles as long as all are doing well. At 72 I can go a little faster than the group, but why.

HIPCHIP

I used to average 14-17 MPH for my longer rides and could get up to 20-22MPH for short sprints.

PaulH

Back when I was commuting a 25 mile round trip every day, my average speed was about 10 mph -- 1:20 from home to office and 1:10 from office to home.

GhostRider62

Most of my routes are 60-65 feet per mile elevation gain and I am happy with 16 mph average on a zone 2 ride but mostly do 15 mph average because I don't really focus on speed. So a 40 mile ride with 2500 feet in 2:30-2:40 is good for me.

I'm hoping to have less than 50 hours moving time over 1218km and 13,000m of climbing over 2-4 day event in France this August, so, like 15 mph moving average would be fine but no idea if it is doable at this point in my life, I have the motor but the chassis is rotted out.

Edit: I did 5 hours yesterday with 55'/mile averaging 14.6mph but the last two hours were in tourist mode. I wish I could average 18mph in the hills.....again......maybe in the next life.

rsbob 

Did 42 miles today with an 18 MPH ave with 1200’ climbing. got a PR on a 18 mile segment I have been trying to better since 2021 by 20 seconds. The last really good attempt last year was interrupted by a black bear in the road.

DaveLeeNC

You aren't dedicated if you let a minor issue like a threat to your life stand in the way of a new PR

dave

ps. Nice ride.

BTinNYC 

I've named my average brisk speed Rául.