Subjective but Serious Question....What is fast?

Northern Ivy

Northern Ivy

New Member
Being a new roadie; what do you consider to be fast? For all of us normal guys that have a real job but train moderately hard what is the bench mark?

Yes I am looking for a measuring stick; and I wanted to get some other folks perspective.

Just to compare apples to apples. Let's assume a 30 mile ride with 1500 of climbing. What is fast for a solo effort in average speed; and what is the speed that you could do your share of the work riding in a group?

And I guess I should define fast; I am not talking TDF fast; but I am thinking a speed where you could ride with 95% of the "roadies" out there; and could likely hang on the wheels of the other 5% of the non elite riders.
 
I'ma go ahead and say you're a little lucky some dude's bike fell off his car on the GPS near Clifton today.
 
Ok, serious answer. I always considered 20 mph to be fast. That was on a reasonably flat course. I guess 1500' in 30 miles works. In a group, say 22.

20 mph may not get you in the 95% realm. But then you may preclude that goal with the moderate amount of training comment. I think 20 mph solo on a 30 mile course with 1500' of climbing allows you to hang with 90% of the "real roadies" out there. Or if you can hang on an A ride, that works too.

It's subjective. Because now that I hit those numbers I redefine them and say that 21 is fast. Or 22. And so on.

I do think you need to ride with people to get a better measuring stick though. Group rides then races will open up a new world of fast for you.
 
Great response....

Norm, great comments. And your thinking is much like mine. It seems that when I am out on a solo training ride of the loop that I describe my average it typically in the high twenties to low 21s. The average on a Garmin is so subjective though as if you roll to a red light (assuming auto pause) and you hit a lot of red light your average is down.

I have been riding with the same group of guys for a few month now and our typical 50 mile loop (flat 1066' climbing) was a 22.5 average. And our hilly loop (1466' climbing) was a 20.5 average.

I am training for a a TRI right now so the bike is only one portion of the my training, but I love the idea of racing on the bike. But the problem is my criteria of fast; does not even meet the criteria for slow for road races. But I would love to get involved with a road team as I find the tactics and strategy pretty darn fascinating.

As I have been thinking about this more and more I have been thinking about the relationship of riding and training vs. the concepts of speed and strength. I find that you ride to be fast; and you train to be strong. Strength allows you to make a move with a break,bridge a gap or attack on a hill; where as flat out speed is more about maintaining pace. But this is just my screwed up way of thinking about it.
 
walter said:
I'd say your best bet for a measuring stick is to register for a race and go from there.
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+1.
I also agree w/norm in terms of general numbers.

James you are overthinking things a bit, it sounds like you need to enter a race or at least find a really hot A ride to jump into and see how you fare.

You may get dropped in a race but thats part of the process in getting fast. IMO if you like going fast and work at it it's inevitable that you will be fast.
 
Or a time trial. That's fairly pure.
In road racing there is a lot more than speed.
 
Thanks again everyone

I am known to over think just about everything so this is really no different! If I was not afraid of the "big crash" that happens in all slow people races I would do it tomorrow.

Thanks for the input I will go back to over thinking now!
 
Northern Ivy said:
If I was not afraid of the "big crash" that happens in all slow people races I would do it tomorrow.
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Enlighten me on this. Ive been toying with the idea of a few road races. I know Cat 5 is a sketchy rider get together, but it seems like something you need to experience and learn from. No?
 
kush said:
Or a time trial. That's fairly pure.
In road racing there is a lot more than speed.
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Strongly second this. The rider who is purely the fastest is not always the winner of road races, but he/she wins the TT every time.
 
Northern Ivy said:
I am known to over think just about everything so this is really no different! If I was not afraid of the "big crash" that happens in all slow people races I would do it tomorrow.

Thanks for the input I will go back to over thinking now!
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As Kush mentioned, a TT is a great way to see where you are at. The 6mile one especially since just about everyone has done it. I would say a crit race is not a good measure. Unless you just so happen to ride off the front. It takes time to understand the strategy involved and in the 4 I have done, and the strongest guy was not always the winner. I was beat multiple times by people I have absolutely crushed in moutain and cross races, so there is alot more to it then just pedaling hard and going fast.

Enlighten me on this. Ive been toying with the idea of a few road races. I know Cat 5 is a sketchy rider get together, but it seems like something you need to experience and learn from. No?
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you should definetly hit up the A ride sometime. Worst that happens is that you get dropped. After doing the BB crits, I think they definetly required more paying attention than any cross or mtn bike race I have done, but I wouldnt go so far as to call them dangerous. Stakes of crashing certainly can be though.
 
jShort said:
Enlighten me on this. Ive been toying with the idea of a few road races. I know Cat 5 is a sketchy rider get together, but it seems like something you need to experience and learn from. No?
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Yes, you need to experience it. IMO there are better & worse races to get your experience in. I feel the P'burg race is the quintessential beginner race. But it looks like P'burg is off the map for both road and cross now, which is a real shame.

OTOH, a place like Medford is an awful place to test the waters. Fields are stronger, course has a killer turn that creates carnage, and it's 400 miles away. So I think you can pick & choose. You need to jump in an A ride first though. JMO.

I don't really think the OP was looking at the race answer. Racing adds more to this equation than just "What is fast for 1500' in 30 miles?" Make that a race and fast is 24, even for the slow guys.
 
Thanks again guys...

Great perspective...I have been doing the Princeton freewheelers A ride on tues and Thursday for a few weeks. And that spurred the question as many of those guys are pretty sketchy when they reach the limit!
 
ChrisG said:
Strongly second this. The rider who is purely the fastest is not always the winner of road races, but he/she wins the TT every time.
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That's why it's often called "The Race of Truth"...You want to know what your true limits are? Sign up for one, makes cross feel like your coasting downhill:drooling:

-Jim.
 
I think you should try one of those TT things that JimV does all the time to see how you compare. Make sure you get a funny hat first.
 
jimvreeland said:
That's why it's often called "The Race of Truth"...You want to know what your true limits are? Sign up for one, makes cross feel like your coasting downhill:drooling:

-Jim.
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Ha i gotta disagree with you on this one Jim! CX makes me want puke while TTs still hurt I don't find them nearly as bad. Of course this is all subjective, I have a really flat power curve right now and don't recover quickly when I jump into the redline. Which explains why I was of no help to my team at Zeppelin a few weeks ago. Lol

TT though is a pure test of how fast you are though, man vs man, provided you are riding the same type of bike.
 
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