How hard is 16mph on a bike?

16mph is for the C group which never shows up. The B group will try and hang with the A group and get dropped after the 15 minute warm up and then they'll scatter. Plan on a 24mph average ride to avoid the drop.

I, Jimmy, is leading the cycling group and will make sure the cream is applied all over his bottom.

90 min should be fine.

I've found I can run into muscle cramping/fatigue if i just go try to ride 2.5+ hours after being off the bike for a while.

Don't really train that kind of endurance running.

16 mph on a bike is easy-peasy.

I biked 20 miles in 53 minutes on a stationary bike today

Depending on the bike it could be hard or easy. A road bike 16mph is probably easy. A mountain bike 16 mph is kind of hard.

goucher, hardly know her wrote:

yeah, 16:59 is what you mean by 16 min 5k

you troll

I don't know why so many think 16 min 5k is so unbelievable.

If you went to college and you ran D1 or D2 you probably broke 15:00, or darn close to it. If he did run 14:45 and stayed in reasonable shape, then 16 minutes not absurd.

I know because I was a sub-15 runner (although more of a 1500 guy). I continued to break 15:45 for years after college on modest 30 miles a week just by keeping some harder workouts on occasion. Some repeat quarters, or miles, or tempo runs.

About age 30 I completely cut back to almost nothing. By that time, age and lack of training caused me to fade quickly. At 30 I could still run 17-18 minutes on 10 mpw, but by 35 it was all over.

Clearly, he could be lying, but still running 16 minutes 8 years after college is not out of the question. Lots do it and don't think that much of it.

BTW. your butt, neck, and tri's will hurt, it's not fun for a first timer.

Ah... wrote:

Try biking? wrote:

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

Nice humblebrag there

Ya I biked 1200km over 4 days. Averaging 28km/h when I was riding and I was a 17 min 5k runner at the time. I weighed about 160lbs at the time as well and I did the trip after being o the bike maybe 3 times that summer.

Unless you have a crappy bike or you're riding o flat tires should not be a problem.

You should invest in 4 things: pedals, shoes,shorts and lube before you start.

16 is nothing as long as there aren't any hills.

As others have said, know bike rules when riding in a line. Bikers are very vocal if you don't know how to ride ( totally unlike with fellow runners).

FWIW, biking has more technique in knowing how to pedal. Do some research.

It's all about expending as little energy as you can in the line. Stay with the group even if you are feeling your oats. Otherwise, you will feel the wrath of the riders.

Let us know how it goes.

Also curious to hear how this goes. My limited experience as a skinny guy with no power is my biking ability was way, way worse than my running times and aerobic fitness. I couldn't breathe hard on a bike no matter how hard I rode, but my quads would get worn out or start burning pretty easily.

That said, on a flat and drafting, 16mph sounds close to crawling. So it sounds like there's a catch.

RI red wrote:

Bikers are very vocal if you don't know how to ride ( totally unlike with fellow runners).

Don't even get involved in group rides. Do everything solo. If your bike is fast you can just ride away from a 16mph group.

Yes, a group ride will save you energy, but for what? It only makes you go farther for the same workout, so there's no point in an exercise context. And in a transport context, how often are a bunch of other cyclists going to the same place as you by the same route? Only if you plan to start racing is it important.

That's 25.6 km/h ...very easy you can do that even on a clumsy hybrid bike

I was in about 17:30 5k shape at the time and I went out with a group who said they were doing 16-17mph. I had just bought a very good Specialized road bike for fun that I was fitted for at a professional bike shop with the clip-in peddles like the serious cyclists wear. I don't remember it being that difficult to do 16mph'ish but I think we only went like 30miles or maybe 50 but I don't think it was that much

There were a lot of people in the group and some of them weren't that fit. I felt so much safer from cars riding in a group though - it was fun because we felt like we owned the roads and could space ourselves well on the roads to have a presence and not worry about cars coming and them not being able to see us

From what I understand (and I know nothing about biking) having a decent road bike you've been fitted for is prob a must for the mph to feel easy. If I had to go 16mph long distance on a bike I bought for $90 at Target for example, I'd probably have a lot of trouble.

Totally doable as long as you aren't on a mountain bike. Just bring plenty of water.

People pretty much have it covered. If the route is fairly flat, less than I'd say 50-75' per mile, that's a very relaxed pace. Even on a mountain bike that wouldn't be hard at all...and sitting with a group would be incredibly easy.

Honestly, the only rides that speed I know are recovery or really social rides. Most spirited rides will average 18-20 if it's an on/off kinda ride with some hard sections interspersed with more casual stuff, or 22-30mph if it's a no drop competitive ride.

If the tide does get fast and it's flat, it's generally still not bad just sitting with the group. But in a normal structure you'll come to the front and be there for a bit. If the ride is fast you'll be pedalling VERY hard on the front. Keep time there short, definitely not so long it starts to hurt. When you pull off, realize it's not done. You'll slow to go back, and have to jump back to speed to get on the back. If you're too gassed from the front, you won't have the energy for this jump and will have the depressing experience of giving everything in your legs to catch back up, only to watch the group slink effortlessly into the distance.

As far as with the group, just ask how they rotate and then ride smooth, predictable, and try to signal cap in the road or sudden moves. Try not to break, especially hard, unless it's absolutely necessary. Usually you can just sit up a bit more and coast to bring speed down. Braking makes everything very jerky and erratic for those behind you. Other thing is don't ride exactly behind the guy in front. Your wheel should be behind his, but maybe a tire width to one side or the other.

If this ride is hilly, or a climbing ride, 16 mph can be anywhere from moderate to absolutely brutal...but *most* rides that are that hilly are rides that go hard up the hill with regroup at the top. As long as you aren't WAY slower than everybody else the group will usually wait for you.

Aragon wrote:

https://alancouzens.com/blog/Run_Power.htmlhttp://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm

That "Run Power" calculator is garbage. Always frustrating when you see people with fancy degrees spouting trash.

So how did the ride go?