Is 16mph over 10 miles good for a beginner?

Fajita Dave · Jan 17, 2016

ASFOS said:
View attachment 311731 I have been making improvements-i did the exact same distance about 15 minutes slower 3 weeks ago. I just want to ride quicker and longer basically

Riding faster and riding longer are two completely different things. The #1 factor for both is a very good diet with the right amount of calories. In either case being lighter always helps for climbing. On flat ground and descending weight doesn't make much of a difference.

You can always ride longer if you just go slower to pace yourself. Work on your pedaling technique to be as effecient as possible. Any muscles that aren't involved with powering the bike need to be kept relaxed. As you ride more you'll build endurance.

Riding faster is mostly about strength and conditioning. Interval training on your rides will help you build the strength to ride faster. Theres a good chance your average speed will be lower while interval training. Training on a heavier setup will also help improve your fitness.

I agree with everyone else that you need to forget about tracking your average speed for now. I don't see anything wrong with keeping the data, but don't pay much attention to it. If you can't ignore it then you need to take it off.

As a disclaimer I am new to road biking but these are the things I've gathered as I gain experience. I have been mountain biking for years so it was a pretty easy transition to the road.

P.S. For endurance training try to ride for a set duration of time. Mileage is VERY subjective depending on the route and conditions. Instead of trying to ride 20 miles, just try to ride for 2 hours or whatever else seems appropriate for your current fitness level. If you can't reach your duration goal your pace was probably to fast.

Trek_5200 · Jan 17, 2016

it really varies. I do a lot of double digit hill climbing and ride solo. A fast pace day will be 14 mph approaching 15. I've done some flat rides where I was able to do 16 mph over 150 miles but there was very little elevation on those rides. Yesterday I rode 75 miles , climbed over 5,000 feet and rode at 15 mph, while today I needed a recovery and kept it at just over 13 mph. Fastest was in the 16-17 mph range on 30 mile rides. My speed will also go up and down based on whether I've done mid-week rides or not. So there really is no consistent average.

kjdhawkhill · Jan 17, 2016

config said:
Something tells me this kid doesn't get it. He wants to hear validation that he's doing so awesome that he'll be averaging 25mph in the next 6 months.

That's what I want to hear, too. But even more, I wish it would be true. Actually, since we're hoping for silly gains, I think that I should be averaging 27mph on my MTB next week.

I'm not gonna knock the OP too hard, though. He's looking for validation, probably because he can't geek out on his own improvements like those around here who have years of data stored online somewhere.

Trek_5200 · Jan 17, 2016

Best way to benchmark one-self, rather than pose this kind of question on a forum is just go for some group rides.

pedalbiker · Jan 17, 2016

Didn't you have a thread like this a while ago?

If you have aspirations of racing, then no, it's not particularly good for a beginner.

If you're morbidly obese and trying to save your life through exercise, then it's absolutely phenomenal.

There's a range, but honestly, it doesn't really matter a bit.

And to preempt the whine that accompanied your last thread, no, I'm not making fun of you.

pedalbiker · Jan 17, 2016

ASFOS said:
I have been making improvements-i did the exact same distance about 15 minutes slower 3 weeks ago. I just want to ride quicker and longer basically

Then stop asking meaningless questions and go ride.

It took me 15-20,000 miles before I could routinely go out and average 18 mph solo on a typical ride without killing myself. Took me close to a 100k miles before I could go out and average 20 mph on a solo ride without killing myself.

The point? It takes a helluva lot more time and effort than you've put in. Come back and ask this question in five or six years (but you won't need to by then).

Trek_5200 · Jan 17, 2016

local club has guidelines for estimating speed and joining a group ride. Their suggestion is the speed has to be for four loops of Central Park to be meaningful or roughly 25 miles.

ASFOS · Jan 17, 2016

pedalbiker said:
Then stop asking meaningless questions and go ride.

It took me 15-20,000 miles before I could routinely go out and average 18 mph solo on a typical ride without killing myself. Took me close to a 100k miles before I could go out and average 20 mph on a solo ride without killing myself.

The point? It takes a helluva lot more time and effort than you've put in. Come back and ask this question in five or six years (but you won't need to by then).

thank you very much I just didn't realise it'll take that long

pedalbiker · Jan 17, 2016

Trek_5200 said:
Best way to benchmark one-self, rather than pose this kind of question on a forum is just go for some group rides.

This. Great point.

Best way to A) push yourself beyond what you thought you could do and B) get utterly destroyed. Hopefully B will then motivate you to go harder on your hard days now that you actually know what hard is.

pedalbiker · Jan 17, 2016

ASFOS said:
thank you very much I just didn't realise it'll take that long

Maybe it won't. Or maybe you'll never be able to do it. Most people would never be able to do that. Everyone's different. But you won't know until you've put in a few years.

That's the same for most anything. To get good at something requires a whole bunch of time spent doing it.

Oxtox · Jan 17, 2016

ASFOS said:
What do you normally average?

here's some of my average speeds...18.1, 14.3, 16.9, 19.0, 15.2 and 17.7 mph.

so, what does that tell you? (hint: there's no context to the rides they came from, 'nothing' is the correct answer)

stop asking this question, any reply you get will have zero relevance to your riding.

ericm979 · Jan 17, 2016

ASFOS said:
thank you very much I just didn't realise it'll take that long

You're young. It'll take you less. But you're not going to see significant improvement in three weeks! So quit obsessing over it. Just go ride and have fun. Do another test in three months. If you have been riding a decent amount (10+ hour a week) you'll see some improvement then.

The improvement curve is S shaped. It takes some amount of riding before you see much improvement because you're not fit enough to do enough riding to get a significant training effect. Once you get fit enough to do a decent volume you can see some significant gains. Assuming you keep at it and add volume and intensity as appropriate, the steep part of the curve can last for some years. At some point you approach the limit of your combined genetics and training load and the curve levels out.

Trek_5200 · Jan 17, 2016

its the same with body building. it takes time for the body to aclimate and begin to adapt to the stresses and demands placed on it.

den bakker · Jan 17, 2016

well you could throw in some intervals/fartleks short periods you go fast, catch your breath in between.
for example, half a mile or a mile with 20mph then relax. (flat ground).
or attack an uphill and catch your breath at the top.

factory feel · Jan 18, 2016

if you were going uphill, then it's an ok average, I suppose.

JCavilia · Jan 18, 2016

ASFOS said:
thank you very much I just didn't realise it'll take that long

What you need to realize is that it doesn't matter. You may never average 20 mph on a long solo ride (I never did, and I've been riding for 45 years), or you may turn into a really strong rider eventually. The numbers you are obsessing about DON'T MATTER.

Go ride your bike. Have fun. Throw the computer away.

Fredrico · Jan 18, 2016

ASFOS said:
Been cycling for under a month now and tried to test my speed for 10 miles. I went round about full gas but not sure if 16mph is any good? The ground was quite bad loads of tears and bump. I reckon I could do 17mph if I was in better ground conditions. How do I increase to 18-19mph? Im 17, weigh 90kg and my bike is 13kg:/. View attachment 311727

Not bad at all. Half the time you went faster than 16 mph. :yesnod: Respectable.

And come on guys, what's the fun of refusing to quantify your riding abilities? It's quite natural, especially when just starting out. Rider is testing his limits, tracking his progress. I kept a time and distance log the first 10 years. It inspired me to challenge my capabilities, explore different training techniques, and improve. The only feedback was that time and distance data I wrote down after every ride, noting the route and how I felt. Go for it!

Notice, however, the short rides can be intense and the distance your legs are capable of increases over time, but ya gotta eat and drink the longer the rides get. Be willing to pace yourself. Don't expect the same average speeds as with the 10 mile jaunts.

Those 10 milers will make the legs strong within a season, probably. It takes 4 or more years for the cardio system, the heart, lungs, capillaries in the muscles, to catch up. So expect improvements even after you get fast enough to stick with the club riders. :yesnod:

That's the wondrous thing about cycling, always a surprise accomplishment somewhere in the future, a sudden breakthrough. Hard to predict. The variables are many: weight, muscle strength, VO2 max., how "fresh" rider is. Each ride is a new one with new possibilities. Hooking up with club riders may not be a bad idea. They'll teach you how to "suffer," how to welcome suffering and work with it.

"No pain, no gain," but in cycling the buzzword is "power," watts, not strictly "strength." Its not how hard rider can go, but also for how long! Competitive cycling is a sport of attrition. Boxing comes to mind.

QuiQuaeQuod · Jan 18, 2016

I agree with much of what is said here, in the cautionary vein. Personally, I don't think 10 miles is long enough, nor should the miles matter. I would test myself against time, an hour each time, if I wanted to do this.

To the OP:

Find an out and back route OR a loop (to control for wind), one that is flat (as possible where you live), one that does not have many stops (lights/intersections), and that is 10 miles or so. Use this route to test yourself on occasion. Once every 2 weeks at most, but given the time to improve, I would suggest once a month.

And keep in mind that two data points might make a line, but you need three to see a trend... because your progress will not be linear.

pittcanna · Jan 18, 2016

10 Miles is not a great judge of riding strength. It takes me an average of 5 miles just to get warmed up and loose. You are young, what you should be doing is finding other riders to ride with. Group rides are the best for younger riders, they teach you more then just the fitness aspect of it.

Also every ride isn't a race, I know it is fun going fast, but sometimes you have to just slow down and look all around.

SwiftSolo · Jan 18, 2016

Take everything you read on a forum like this lightly. A lot of the answers you'll get are about self-aggrandisement and have nothing to do with helping you along.

In our area of the Pacific Northwest a 18 year old holds more KOMs than anyone else. You're starting at a good age and will see quick improvement if you ride a lot.

ASFOS said:
thank you very much I just didn't realise it'll take that long

Is 16mph over 10 miles good for a beginner?

Fajita Dave

Trek_5200

kjdhawkhill

Trek_5200

pedalbiker

pedalbiker

Trek_5200

ASFOS

pedalbiker

pedalbiker

Oxtox

ericm979

Trek_5200

den bakker

factory feel

JCavilia

Fredrico

QuiQuaeQuod

pittcanna

SwiftSolo

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