Minimum speed during peak hour

[troiks75]

Hi all

I am getting back in cycling with the intent to start riding to work. I want to build my strength before starting as i don't want to be holding people up on their way to work.

So my question is what is the average speed of forum members when crossing the Harbour bridge? and what is the minimum average speed i should be trying to attain before starting to ride to work. I will be riding from Milson's point to Bondi Junction

Cheers
Andrew

[LateStarter]

About one step per second on the northern stairs segment depending on the weight of the bike otherwise the paths are too narrow especially through the maintenance areas to speed and Kent St too busy with pedestrians and other bikes. Don't worry about your speed, just enjoy it and be thankful you are not locked in a metal & glass box.

Ride now and you will improve

[troiks75]

Thanks late starter, i am riding every day, over the bridge and then on Anzac bridge, Rozelle bay, Glebe Pt Rd, Pyrmont, then back to Milsons Point, hope fully i will build myself up fairly quickly

[find_bruce]

As long as you can ride the distance to work & back you will be fine. Don't worry about whether you are slower than others, because there will always be riders who are quicker. The toughest part of your commute will be the hill up to Bondi Junction. I would suggest starting commuting 2 days per week (say Monday & Thursday) then when you are comfortable 3 days (Mon, Wed, Fri) then 4 & 5.

Have you scoped out a route from the CBD to Bondi Junction?

[troiks75]

Cheers Bruce

That's good advice. At the moment i plan to use bike paths to get me to centennial park, kent, castlereagh, campbell, bourke and then oxford when exiting the park, my office is next to Bondi Junction station.

As i get stronger I will be looking at quicker options that involve riding on the road. I am actually doing this ride on weekends at the moment

[zebee]

What I did when starting was ride to work one day, leave the bike there and take the train home,then train in and ride back the next day. That's cos for the first few weeks I couldn't face the ride home!

[queequeg]

I wouldn't have any idea what speed I average over the bridge. It's not really something you need to think about. Just ride. Your speed is whatever it is. It's not a race track. If you are worried about being too slow, I wouldn't be. Other rides will go around you if they want to.

Your total commnute time will vary depending on many things. The difference between me smashing myself on my commute for a total solid workout, versus just cruising and enjoying the view is only about 8 minutes elapsed time. The reason is that traffic lights and other things beyond your control will stop you, but you'll soon find that for a given effort you will generally arrive within a couple of minutes of that time, every time.

[troiks75]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I may start from Monday and see how I go. I am not in a rush either before or after work so aim to sort of cruise and ride a bit harder on thursdays. Fridays will be my rest day so I can ride on the weekend.

I have been riding every day and have noticed my average speed is increasing so hope fully wont be causing any traffic jams.

Once again, thanks for the replies and advice

[gabe76]

I'm in Melbourne inner city with 7km+ each way - but not crossing the CBD. When I first got my trip computer I religiously logged my kms, times etc - until I got bored with it. I used to average 19kmh all including ride + pushing - 21kmh when actually trying to go fast and turn off the computer any time I wasn't under way. That's in all seasons & using mostly local streets & cycle lanes, avoiding the major roads.