Average Speed

[usedtobefast]

And thus begins the annual tradition of Durian using replies to any and every subject to tell us which pro team allowed him to tag along. I am suprised this one did not come with a picture.

here is the picture

 

[Boeing]

What is average size of all Bananas?

 

[daveinzambia]

Average speed means squat. You could be on the front, at the back, tail wind, head wind...

Once I averaged 13.3km for 4:58 into a gail force headwind whilst riding solo across the Nullabor plain.

Yesterday I did 200km with Team Garmin and my TSS score was 431 and IF was .742. Thats more of a predictor of effort.

Average speed in 2012 is like using toe straps.

I am sorry but average speed may mean squat to you in your training. That is not true for everyone.

if used over time, for riders that ride on their own on similar roads it can be a way of measuring an improvement

not everyone who rides a big is trying to be a professional athlete, but then you are good at grouping large numbers of people together and making assumptions about them...

 

[BroDeal]

I am sorry but average speed may mean squat to you in your training. That is not true for everyone.

if used over time, for riders that ride on their own on similar roads it can be a way of measuring an improvement

not everyone who rides a big is trying to be a professional athlete, but then you are good at grouping large numbers of people together and making assumptions about them...

I am an expert at that and, despite how it pains me, have to agree with Durian. Average speed means very little. You can be in great condition, need a half hour to get the engine warmed up, and your average speed will suck. As I have gotten older I have found that I need more time before I start feeling good during a ride.

 

[ElChingon]

It doesn't mean squat if you're too caught up with who your riding with and not what you are doing on the ride yourself. But I guess if you're out for a ride no measure of any kind is worth squat. If you're training though it all means something if you know what it means.

 

[daveinzambia]

I am an expert at that and, despite how it pains me, have to agree with Durian. Average speed means very little. You can be in great condition, need a half hour to get the engine warmed up, and your average speed will suck. As I have gotten older I have found that I need more time before I start feeling good during a ride.

But what is a useful measure. I am an unfit middle aged man trying to get fitter by getting back into bike riding. In order to motivate myself for this i want some sort of measure of how i am going on my rides and generally how things are changing with time.

I have limited time for training and tend to train on 2 or 3 largely similar routes all the time.

seems the easiest thing to compare is how long it is taking me to do those various rides. As i do vary the exact route slightly then choose to use average speed rather than absolute time. yes it takes a little time for my body to wake up, but generally it is the same amount of time on each ride.

I think for above situation average speed is a good fit. if you are training to race then maybe not, but in my case not sure what would be a better measure.

 

[Tapeworm]

But what is a useful measure. I am an unfit middle aged man trying to get fitter by getting back into bike riding. In order to motivate myself for this i want some sort of measure of how i am going on my rides and generally how things are changing with time.

I have limited time for training and tend to train on 2 or 3 largely similar routes all the time.

seems the easiest thing to compare is how long it is taking me to do those various rides. As i do vary the exact route slightly then choose to use average speed rather than absolute time. yes it takes a little time for my body to wake up, but generally it is the same amount of time on each ride.

I think for above situation average speed is a good fit. if you are training to race then maybe not, but in my case not sure what would be a better measure.

Time at X effort.

 

[daveinzambia]

Time at X effort.

Sorry not completely understanding.

So does that mean ever so often see how long i can maintain a specific heart rate?

 

[Tapeworm]

Basically yes. Or Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE).

So instead of "hold 32kph for 10mins" which is highly variable depending on terrain an environmental factors the holding of an effort or HR (or power) for a given duration would be better.

Timed climbs are also a good measure of effective effort as usually your speed would not vary AS much as on the flat.

 

[daveinzambia]

Basically yes. Or Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE).

So instead of "hold 32kph for 10mins" which is highly variable depending on terrain an environmental factors the holding of an effort or HR (or power) for a given duration would be better.

Timed climbs are also a good measure of effective effort as usually your speed would not vary AS much as on the flat.

OK thanks for that. Although i live in the middle of sydney and therefore most of my rides are probably too influenced by traffic lights to be useful, could head to the park every couple of weeks to do some controlled rides and see how it goes.

 

[Boeing]

But what is a useful measure. I am an unfit middle aged man trying to get fitter by getting back into bike riding. In order to motivate myself for this i want some sort of measure of how i am going on my rides and generally how things are changing with time.

I have limited time for training and tend to train on 2 or 3 largely similar routes all the time.

seems the easiest thing to compare is how long it is taking me to do those various rides. As i do vary the exact route slightly then choose to use average speed rather than absolute time. yes it takes a little time for my body to wake up, but generally it is the same amount of time on each ride.

I think for above situation average speed is a good fit. if you are training to race then maybe not, but in my case not sure what would be a better measure.

one unit middle aged male as a start. works for me

 

[Boeing]

And thus begins the annual tradition of Durian using replies to any and every subject to tell us which pro team allowed him to tag along. I am suprised this one did not come with a picture.

EDIT: I did notice that he posted the same info to two threads. I have this suspicion that after pro teams leave Australia, the riders regale each other with tales of a vegan stalker.

And we notice how much the average narcissist hates competition

 

[Boeing]

And thus begins the annual tradition of Durian using replies to any and every subject to tell us which pro team allowed him to tag along. I am suprised this one did not come with a picture.

EDIT: I did notice that he posted the same info to two threads. I have this suspicion that after pro teams leave Australia, the riders regale each other with tales of a vegan stalker.

And we notice how much the average narcissist hates his competition

 

[BroDeal]

And we notice how much the average narcissist hates competition

You do seem to get upset a lot. I would not go so far as to call you a narcissist, though. You are more like the crazy uncle who sits in the corner by himself complaining about everyone else at the reunion.

 

[marathon marke]

As I have gotten older I have found that I need more time before I start feeling good during a ride.

When I was doing ultras back in the '80s, it might take me 30 miles before I started feeling good. Now I'm in my mid-50s and wondering how long I will have to ride before I start feeling good again. (just trying to add some levity to the thread)

 

[usedtobefast]

When I was doing ultras back in the '80s, it might take me 30 miles before I started feeling good. Now I'm in my mid-50s and wondering how long I will have to ride before I start feeling good again. (just trying to add some levity to the thread)

about an hour

 

[Aristarchus]

Where I ride, there are some variables (namely the wind near the rivers) that make average speed a shaky metric. I'm not very gung-ho about my stats, but my HR monitor tells me pretty quickly how much I'm fighting the wind to maintain a certain speed. If I could breeze through an area at 30 km/h yesterday while maintaining 135 bpm, and today I'm doing the same at 170+ bpm, then it is easier to show the extra effort I'm putting in.

 

[DirtyWorks]

But what is a useful measure. I am an unfit middle aged man trying to get fitter by getting back into bike riding. In order to motivate myself for this i want some sort of measure of how i am going on my rides and generally how things are changing with time.

I have limited time for training and tend to train on 2 or 3 largely similar routes all the time.

Sounds familiar. This is what I did, some variation of this might work for you.

1. Get a mobile phone that has gps radio and someone's written a GPS tracker application for it. Nokia, Blackberry, Gphone, iPhone all have apps. I use a blackberry and GPSLogger. Awesome. No voice plan needed! Just turn off the mobile phone radio.

2. Create an account at Strava.

3. Ride your ride aiming for a personal record, then upload results to Strava.

Training rides are different. Shorter and designed to break your muscles down. I like working hills both steep and not steep but grinders depending on the workout.

I really like the gym too. I have great results with very little riding and most time in the gym with slow technique, 10-20 reps not quite to failure. This much gym time is controversial. Works for me.

Average speed is a pretty frustrating metric unless you keep the tests relatively short, 5-10 minutes maximum. IMHO, a GPS tracker application is far better.

 

[Boeing]

But what is a useful measure. I am an unfit middle aged man trying to get fitter by getting back into bike riding. In order to motivate myself for this i want some sort of measure of how i am going on my rides and generally how things are changing with time.

I have limited time for training and tend to train on 2 or 3 largely similar routes all the time.

seems the easiest thing to compare is how long it is taking me to do those various rides. As i do vary the exact route slightly then choose to use average speed rather than absolute time. yes it takes a little time for my body to wake up, but generally it is the same amount of time on each ride.

I think for above situation average speed is a good fit. if you are training to race then maybe not, but in my case not sure what would be a better measure.

heart rate monitor and measure recovery time between intervals

 

[ElChingon]

2. Create an account at Strava.

Strava is pretty cool, amazed at the number of people using it and its fairly new. I like seeing the achievements and how one compares to others, assuming they weren't driving around in a car :?

The more you use it the more you can gauge your own stats.

 

[Boeing]

Strava was a novelty for like 5 or 10 rides. like all the gps data stuff I grew uninterested in looking where i'd been and I looked at it maybe once. and the only real benefit I get out of all these gizmos is my recovery time between big efforts while riding. morning group rides its group tempo so alleged personal bests aren't real. The other thing is I rarely take the exact same routes every training ride except the weekly group rides and then again same as above.

So what are they good for like dude check my strava and beat that bro? really ok I'm gone log on and compare and contrast myself to everyone. really? for what exactly? I dont set the car gps to bread crumb either. What for again?

 

[ElChingon]

Strava was a novelty for like 5 or 10 rides. like all the gps data stuff I grew uninterested in looking where i'd been and I looked at it maybe once. and the only real benefit I get out of all these gizmos is my recovery time between big efforts while riding. morning group rides its group tempo so alleged personal bests aren't real. The other thing is I rarely take the exact same routes every training ride except the weekly group rides and then again same as above.

So what are they good for like dude check my strava and beat that bro? really ok I'm gone log on and compare and contrast myself to everyone. really? for what exactly? I dont set the car gps to bread crumb either. What for again?

They're meant to track your training, the added social aspect is pretty ridiculous as you state where somebody might get a tow once and set a world (well Strava) record. Who really cares about what the other people are getting achievement-wise. It has benefits when you gauge your own performance against yourself on a predefined route. I do like having friends in a common group where you know they're not getting tows and compare to your training buddies or just friends who ride.

 

[Boeing]

They're meant to track your training, the added social aspect is pretty ridiculous as you state where somebody might get a tow once and set a world (well Strava) record. Who really cares about what the other people are getting achievement-wise. It has benefits when you gauge your own performance against yourself on a predefined route. I do like having friends in a common group where you know they're not getting tows and compare to your training buddies or just friends who ride.

I get that but I really dont benefit from anything other than recovery time and time in zones. not lap time not speed or route time too many varriables unaccounted for. all of which is rather basic or genetic on strava. and the whole map my ride thingy is wack. I was here. ok great did they have your road id with them too?

 

[cycladianpirate]

Where I ride, there are some variables (namely the wind near the rivers) that make average speed a shaky metric. I'm not very gung-ho about my stats, but my HR monitor tells me pretty quickly how much I'm fighting the wind to maintain a certain speed. If I could breeze through an area at 30 km/h yesterday while maintaining 135 bpm, and today I'm doing the same at 170+ bpm, then it is easier to show the extra effort I'm putting in.

This, but for everyone, no matter where they live. Average speed is of no value whatsoever.

 

[chain chain chain]

Flat, calm day time trialing is all about avg speed. Ask Lance. Agree avg Joe has to calculate too much variables.