Not going to unplug just yet...

I was thinking about power... thinking about how convenient it is to look at every effort and understand how different aspects of my cycling have grown through the time that I have had it. Certainly there have been changes in the last two years, but what is the easiest way to think about growth as a cyclist from before I had a power meter compared to now? My old friend- average speed.

I remember, probably 7 years ago... I had never raced nor did I know that there was a such thing as racing. I was fat, dumb, and happy... and I really thought I was tough and fast. I would go out to a stretch of Highway 41 (ironically the same stretch that I still use for my FTP efforts) and go as hard as I could for 10 miles, turn about and come back 10 miles. My goal for these workouts was to break 20 mph average speed. I never did it... not once. I watched the average speed ticker slowly die down below (after starting too hard of course) and would drag home.

I was looking at my data the other night to see how far I have come and relate it roughly to wattage. Now these are general relationships from looking over around the last month of data, but interesting to me non-the-less...

Average Speed........ Description
17.5 - 18 mph............1 hour easy ride (L1-L2) with 10 minute at L3
19.7 - 20.1 mph.........2 hour tempo ride (usually mid to high L3 for 1.5 hrs)
22.5 - 23.2 mph........40 minute FTP (all out effort on road bike)
25+ mph...................TT bike... away from hills preferably
30 mph.....................Team Time Trial

I guess it is amazing to me that I now can ride solo for 2 hours at a strong Tempo/L3 effort and average 20 mph when I dreamed of holding that for 20 miles in an all out effort several years ago. For all but the most gifted, cycling truly is a sport of patience...