How hard is 16mph on a bike?

It's incredibly easy, especially in a group. Riding with other people is the harder part about it. Just tell them you're new to group rides and they'll understand.

Try biking? wrote:

I am not in great shape but can still run around a 16 min 5k.

Nice humblebrag there

if you still run a 5k in 16min there is no need to worry about 90min of biking on the roads, really.

Hello, you left off a few key points. Though, you do indeed have some background here (running, so wind and leg muscles and oxygen have good basis), rather than a first time ever. How flat/hilly/inclined is the bike route? I for one am really terrible at hill climbing, regardless of how much I've been training. Next, you may want to check out the gear ratios on tour bike, as well as tire widths and pressures versus the quality of the road surfaces. Just touring along avg speed is 12-14 mph, so the group is moving up a notch. A key point made was the group ride together is more fun than a solo ride, very true, and you'll find the enormous benefit in DRAFTING = following in the wake of another rider, and taking advantage of their having broken through the air for you!!

Who are you trying to jerk off .

You own a road bike and can still run a 16 min 5k ? And you wonder if you can ride 16 mph ?

I can't even break 30 for 5k running anymore, but certainly 16mph for 90 min .

Kudos to poster who called you for humblebrag , troll .

Do you have bike shorts and a cool jersey from a brewery?

Doable but not fun for a first time buyer.

biker

That shouldnt be too hard as long as it is not hilly or windy.

Try biking? wrote:

Thinking about joining a local weekly 28 mile ride; they say you need to be able to do 16mph to keep up. I know it is under 4 min miles, but I have a hard time imagining how difficult that is for 90 minutes on a bike.

I know very little about biking, but I have a 14 speed road bike, with normal pedals and no bike shoes. I am comfortable riding the bike.

If it helps, I am 8 years removed from college running, and I still jog regularly. I am not in great shape but can still run around a 16 min 5k.

Will 28 miles at 16 mph be doable for a novice? I am not looking to get trashed by these guys, and I don't want to slow them down. I also don't want my first ride like this to be a grueling endurance test.

2/10. The bit about your current 5k time gives it away though.

On a mountain bike, not easy.

On a road bike, piece of piss.

If you are in 16 minute shape then both should be easy.

Pretty much like 8:00/mile pace running. Easy peasy.

16 mph is not hard at all

Your cardio if fine but you still may get dropped on hills. It sounds as if you haven't been doing much riding, cycling is more about power than cardio.

Try biking? wrote:

Thinking about joining a local weekly 28 mile ride; they say you need to be able to do 16mph to keep up. I know it is under 4 min miles, but I have a hard time imagining how difficult that is for 90 minutes on a bike.

I know very little about biking, but I have a 14 speed road bike, with normal pedals and no bike shoes. I am comfortable riding the bike.

If it helps, I am 8 years removed from college running, and I still jog regularly. I am not in great shape but can still run around a 16 min 5k.

Will 28 miles at 16 mph be doable for a novice? I am not looking to get trashed by these guys, and I don't want to slow them down. I also don't want my first ride like this to be a grueling endurance test.

Sure................I'm 64 and though no longer running much I'm biking 3 to 4 days/week, swimming and doing heavy lifting. I bike alone, and 16 is not tough to average. My goal is typically between 16 and 18 MPH, perhaps a bit higher, depending on the course I'm riding and the distance. This average includes my warm up and cool down and around 10 to 12 MPH. I have a GPS on the bike which averages all this out for me, including distance. Depending on how hilly the course is, you'll probably drop below that on the uphills, but exceed significantly on the down. And if you're in a group you can keep to the back and draft till you're fit enough to lead, if thats your thing. You also might try doing some training for several weeks prior to your first group ride. I have an old Univega Gran Premio I ride, bought in 1984 while rehabbing a stress fracture. Its been upgraded over the years, still works for my purposes.

I'm able to run a 14:30 5k and think 16mph isn't too bad. Although, I'm not sure how easy it'd be if you could only run a 16 minute 5k.

A lot will depend on how hilly the course is that you will be riding. As noted in an earlier post, when ridIng in group in a straight line, the ride is a lot easier. I would guesstimate it is worth 2-3 mph.

The problems develop when it is your turn to lead. As the ride progresses, each person takes a turn at the front and then peels off to the back of the line. At some point it is your turn. I found that my pulse rate climbs 20-25 beats higher in the front then when drafting. Don't be fooled by "leading the pack" and doing your share of leading. Limit your "pull" as they call it when you lead to 20-30 seconds and then drop off to the back of the line. And then don't fall asleep as you drift past the riders in the line, proud that you did your share of a pull. If you are on a faster stretch and riding 18-20 mph (remember 16mph is the 'average') when you get to the back of the line you have to accelerate to get back in line. Put your head down to decrease wind resistance and jump behind the last person. I can remember times riding for all I was worth to get back in line. This will only last for 20 seconds or so -then your pulse comes down and you find the slipstream of the line. But if you fall off you are in no man's land and will only catch up if the line slows down to let you or the life saving stoplight.

What to enjoy? The feeling of speed in a straight with a very smooth flowing feeling; eating while you ride - bring a gel or bar; drinking without all over you (no gatorade - too much sugar); and the adrenaline rush of leading. You get to see roads miles away from home that you never see on a run.

Issues - you are on back wheel of the person in front of you. Utilize hand signals to the person behind you when slowing. Be verbal but don't be surprised if the person behind you does not hear you as you are talking into a wind. When you come up to an inatersection and a car is stopped waiting for you to pass - watch the hub caps of the car and not the driver to see if the car is moving forward and you have to slam on the brakes.

Things to bring/buy- biking gloves. Your hands do get sore leaning on the handlebars. Water bottle; I will always bring two if my bike has two holders. Helmet-mandatory or don't ride. AND! You have to fill up your tires to the correct pressure. Riding even 5 lbs under will cause you to work harder. If you have some oil put it on your chain. I know being over the top here but sunglasses are important - a bug in the eye ends your ride.

My guess is that you have clips on your bike pedal to wear your racing flats and put your feet in and not biking shoes that do not use pedals. This will alert all that you are new to the sport and ok, but verbally tellling everyone is also a must.

After the ride - yes you can run 5:00 pace per mile for a 5k, but riding uses different muscles. Expect to have extremely sore quad muscles after the ride and taking steps 1 at a time.

Show up on time. If hot, see how you can bring more water. 80 degrees or warmer is not a bike and deceiving. Even though the wind is cooling your body you do not see your body sweating; and have no guideline to drinking.

Two years ago I rode with coach Dave Waldorf of Wheaton college and 3 others. Dave led the entire ride and we would average 23.8-24.4 mph for 40 miles. I only had to sit at the back. Going down decline you could stop pedaling and enjoy the ride and riding fast. Going up s small incline I would stick on the wheel in front of me, reduce my air resistances, paying attention to when the pace slowed, and ride hard. Pulse would sky. Riding with Nancy Swider-Pelz (5 time speed skating Olympian older than me) and her 20 something daughter (also speed skating was all business and intense. But great fun. Fun....the kind that you think about the ride multiple times during the day.

And to be a major troll and other words that are used for bragging - thx for saying you were a 16m 5k runner. It helped everyone on this post know what kind of shape you are in and thus, how hard the ride will be for you. If you were a 21m 5k runner this would be a hard ride.

Js

13:15

Try biking? wrote:

Thinking about joining a local weekly 28 mile ride; they say you need to be able to do 16mph to keep up. I know it is under 4 min miles, but I have a hard time imagining how difficult that is for 90 minutes on a bike.

I know very little about biking, but I have a 14 speed road bike, with normal pedals and no bike shoes. I am comfortable riding the bike.

If it helps, I am 8 years removed from college running, and I still jog regularly. I am not in great shape but can still run around a 16 min 5k.

Will 28 miles at 16 mph be doable for a novice? I am not looking to get trashed by these guys, and I don't want to slow them down. I also don't want my first ride like this to be a grueling endurance test.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Some of these responses are way off. You RACE a 5k at a little under 12mph. And now you want to average 16mph for 28 miles! I hope you realize how much faster that is.

People say that biking is faster than running, and it is, under the right conditions, but don't be ridiculous.

Every one of these guys can run a 5k in under 13:00. Because...of course they can! How else do you think they're AVERAGING 3:50 pace for almost 2 hours, even with the minor advantage of the faster equipment? I would start by looking for a ride at around your tempo pace (~11mph), see if you can hang, and go from there.

For what it's worth, I'm a 30-something in ~2:50 marathon shape who bikes hard to work a couple hours per week but never rode with a group. I went on a group ride that they told me was going to be 2 hours at about 17 mph (almost exactly your 16 mph). Considering I'm more of an endurance than pure speed guy and some of the folks on the ride were well into their 40s, I figured this ride would be a piece of cake, and, for the first 30 minutes, it pretty much was. It started to get a little tough around 45 min to an hour, and by 90 minutes, I was playing catch up at every stop sign. By 35 miles, I was completely trashed, dropped, my legs were noodles, and I had to find my own way home. It was a very hilly ride, and when I looked at the ride details after I crawled back home, I still averaged almost exactly 20 mph for 40 miles. Moral of the story - biking fitness is WAY different than running fitness. Other moral - if they really are doing 16 mph and it's pretty flat, you'll probably be fine.