This is the first in a new series where we answer readers’ questions. I got thinking about it the other day because a reader, also a health care professional, commented on what amazing resource we are. She says she directs her patients–mostly women in midlife, who are interested in getting more physical activity in their lives–to our blog. “You’re so relatable,” she said. Though I don’t much like that turn of phrase, I know what she meant. If we can do it, you can too. She also said that we cover between us all an amazing range of activities: hiking, cross country skiing, kayaking, running, swimming, biking, Highland Games, weight lifting…So if you have questions send them our way, using the “contact us” form on the left hand side of the blog. I’ll forward them to the appropriate blogger. We’re not experts by any means but we do have a wealth of real world experience with many, many physical activities.
Here’s the first question, from a new-ish cyclist who has just acquired a bike computer.
Why is my average speed so slow? I’m riding along above 20 kph, often above 25 kph, the entire time but when I get home and look at my stats my average speed is always in the high teens. What’s up?
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Hey, I know that feeling. I have on my first Garmin screen just a few things displayed. In the largest boxes I have speed and average speed and I often have average speed goals in mind when I ride. But it’s a challenge. I’ve often wondered about that exact same thing.
Here’s some of what’s going on:
Do you look at your speed when you’re going slow? I don’t. I look at my speed when I’m zooming downhills or going fast in a big gear with a tailwind. Slogging uphill? Not so much. So I think the feeling of going fast and not going slow just reflects what we pay attention to.
Does your average speed include your warm up and cool down? That can, for obvious reasons, drag down your average speed.
How do you get out of town? For me, it’s either through traffic (slow) or on a multi-use pathway (there’s a speed limit, which I follow.) When I was working with a cycling coach he’d ask me to turn my Garmin off for those stretches. They don’t count.
Do you have our bike computer set to autopause so time at traffic lights and stop signs doesn’t count towards your average speed? You might also consider setting it to something above zero since cyclists often come to rolling stops to avoid unclipping.
Even if it’s set to auto-pause at 3-5 kph stop signs and traffic lights affect average speed because we slow down in advance of them. Cyclists don’t tend to race up to stop signs and red lights. We noodle and wait for the light to change, right?
Finally, you are spending less time at the speedier speed. Consider a 20 km stretch of road with a very strong headwind/tailwind and you’re riding out and back, 40 km total distance. If you cover half the distance at 20 kph into the wind and half the distance at 40 kph with the tailwind, your average isn’t 30 kph. Your total time would 1.5 hours. Speed=distance/time so it’s 26.6 kph. Not s speedy as you might have thought. Ditto for hills. Slow up and fast down means you spend more time at the slower speed. 🙁
So cheer up and take heart that these things affect all of us. Happy riding!
For more on getting faster see
- How to get faster and increase your average cycling speed
- 15 Proven Ways to Get Faster
- Tips for beginning cyclists who want to go faster
