I rode my bike to work for the first time today and it is 4.3 mile jaunt according to Yahoo maps. I made it in 36 minutes according to the electonic marquee at work. I was wondering if that was super slow or average. I wasn't trying to haul ass, but I thought I went alot faster than I initially planned.

I don't think there's any set ruling on timing. I mean there of course is circumstantial factors to think about. If this is yr first time riding that "course" your time is bound to shorten if not for you finding shortcuts, but also as your fitness and endurance levels rise.

I could come close to running there in that time so I would say no but I'm no biker so....

I am going to say never?


haha. justkdiding. I used to do 10 miles in a little under and hour, so that sounds pretty average.

7 mph

I would say that is a bit slow, but depends on stoplights, etc. I would look to move it into double digits

about 6 AM

The Bike path that runs from our apartment complex only goes 33 blocks or from 63rd street to 30th Street, so the rest of the time I have to ride on the street and deal with downtown traffic.
This info might help a bit.
I was expecting it to take longer initially, since I used to walk 1.2 miles to work and it took me about 14-18 minutes depending on traffic and pace.

well, for reference, I can ride 11 miles in about 40 minutes, but that's going at about 16 mph average. This is also on a non-trafficked road (specifically for walkers/runners/bikers). It also depends on hilliness. I can do the same time for my lunch ride which is a little under 10 miles, but there are more hills involved.

So if I ride to work early in the morning with little traffic and am at the level of you regular bikers, I should be averaging about a 15 minute ride.

I'd say so.

15-20 mins seems about right

from home to work is about 8 miles and i usually get it done in about a half-hour. most of that is done in bike lanes on heavy-traffic streets. depending on lights, it can be up to 40 minutes, especially in the afternoons.

i bike about 10 miles each way to and from work [bklyn to manhattan] and it usually takes me about 40-50 minutes, but that's accounting for city traffic.

After hearing everyone's opinion, I now wish it would have taken me a little under a half hour for my first trip, but I am satisfied with the results.
I wasn't trying to ride fast and I hadn't rode a bike further than a block in at least 8yrs.

Then you've done just fine.

I'm slow as molasses when I ride, so I'm on your side with this one.

I bike 3.2 miles from home to work. When I started in august it would take anywhere from 20-24 minutes.

I've done it as fast as 11, I'm averaging around 14. Sometimes I'll bike to Deena's Starbucks and then bike to work. Her Starbucks to my job is 5.2 miles, and I do that in 22-23 typically.

I'm west of 94 in Chicago, so there aren't any bike lanes (except part of Diversey), there are alot of lights, and a good bit of stupid traffic and meaningless construction, so it's always an adventure. I've found that major streets are much safer to bike on than residential streets. The people who live on the residential streets aren't looking for you, and drunks drive on residential streets in the early mornings to go at their own pace and avoid cops and obstacles. Every time i've been hit was by a drunk on a residential street in the wee hours of the morning (3 times since i started commuting, but not since november).

You can't really compare yourself to anyone except yourself, i'd log it down, or get a heart rate monitor or some kind of stopwatch so you can check your progress.

Check your tire pressure every couple weeks, that's the single best thing you can do to keep your times consistent, i think.

Get a cycling computer that measures distance and average speed, and start keeping a log, like Phil suggested. I have a CatEye Mity 8 that's pretty inexpensive and does the job well. Also, if you're riding in the wee hours of the morning and evening (not so much a problem now with DST), get yourself a bike light for the rear, at the very least; for the front if you want to improve other people's visibility of you.

edit: also I agree with Phil on comparison... don't compare yourself to anyone else. Just go at your own pace, do your thang, and you'll be fine.

yeah, like i'm faster than I was, but i'm still no dana, which is fine.

Besides, it's not like you're a big old fat ass like i am.