I have presented the data as the difference between the average for each split compared to the average of the whole ride. Thus a positive value shows that for that split I rode more quickly than the overall average speed and a negative value shows I was slower over a split. I have used a 5 mile split distance as its long enough to cover a varied amount of riding but no so short that its possible to have massive differences.
This first example is a 75 mile loop from home. Average speed just over 18mph so a better ride form me over that distance. Firstly a simple linear fit of the split data shows a drop of ~1.6mph average speed from start to end of the ride. Clearly this is a good example of me losing performance over the ride, so although I had a pretty good average this was a result of some good pace at over the first 20-25 miles which I then lost in the last 20-25 miles. This early example was how I felt that I normally rode so the data confirmed the perception. It also showed that my pace is incredibly inconsistent over a ride.
The next split data is from my Ride London 2014 (My Ride London 100):
For this ride (which is unique amongst the many rides I have ridden) we can see that I actually got faster through the ride. The first split was quite quick - not surprising given the very wide roads so plenty of room for all the riders. Then slightly slower as we moved through Richmond Park (I was early enough not to get held up as much as those passing through after me) and it then slowed further as there was a stretch of quite a narrow country road, and then even slower for the 3rd split when I think both the weather turned for the worse and also the only climb left (Newlands Corner) caused people to crawl all over the road. However once over the "hill" the pace picked up somewhat as did the weather and clearly quite a lot from looking at the data.
There was a good stretch up the A24 where I was part of a small but fast train and got a good tow (over 20mph) for a number of miles. The roads also were wide enough all the way back to London to stop slower moving cyclists blocking faster moving ones. Although there was a bit of a headwind in the run back to London again there were good wide roads and enough people to get a good tow from. I was please to see the highest average speed I have ever achieved over this sort of distance and the high pace for the last 1/2 or so of the ride showed I could have pushed a bit harder I think.
The next ride to look at in detail was my "Malvern Mad Hatter" at the end of August 2014 (I might write a blog entry for this if I get around to it).:
This was a partial spur of the moment ride. I had seen it advertised (from an email I think) and kept prevaricating whether or not to ride it. In the end I turned up on the day and rode it. I rode the 100 mile route (103 actually) and did not really look at the climbing - it was rated by the organisers as a 3 I seem to recall. Again a failing I made was not to look to closely at the route profile - I knew there was a big climb near Malvern itself at about 35-40 miles from memory but the rest of the route looked "rolling". The Malvern climb was pretty big but (at the time) I was doing big miles so it was not really a problem (and after uploading to Strava I was briefly 7th). The data shows a big drop in average speed at this point. The climb may have been "OK" but I wasn't racing up it by any means. Once by the British Camp which marked the top of that part of the route there was then a reasonable down hill stretch hence the following higher speed section up to about 50 miles.
I passed the 1st and 2nd feed stops not needing anything and relying on what I had in my pockets which was some cereal bars and gels. The 2nd stop was actually the start and finish of the extra loop for the 100 mile ride so formed the 3rd stop on the return. Shortly after the 2nd feed stop the "rolling" terrain was clearly more testing than just rolling and there was a fairly tough 10-15 mile section where again my speed dropped significantly below the overall average. I was also feeling pretty low on energy and was down to the last gel in my pocket. It seems on all 100 mile rides I do that there is a stretch where I feel low, both in energy and mental drive and this can been seen in the data. I wasn't bonked by any means but I was rolling more than riding.
The 3rd feed stop was very welcome and I ate quite a lot and filled my pockets and water bottles as well. I really needed the energy and although the 1st 5 minutes back on the bike was hard I could feel the energy coming back and I was riding harder again. There's also something psychological was well about being on the home stretch - even if that's 30+ miles and 2 more hours riding. However the difference on this ride was the help of another rider. I looked behind with about 15 or so miles to go and could see someone catching me. I could note have gone any faster and anyway I am never that worried if people are faster than me and will pass me. It took a few minutes for him to catch me but as he passed I thought I'd make an effort and hang on for a bit. In reality the chap was just a little faster than me and I was able to get a decent tow, so my speed rose for minimal extra effort. I also took a few turns on the front but I think I was not quite fast enough as I would be re-passed after less of a turn than the other rider. However on the remaining small climbs all the way back I was clearly stronger (lighter?) and could easily take the front.
After a few miles I think we both realised that it was in our interest to work together to our mutual benefit. As a result we made cracking speed and even caught and passed a few other people. The other rider was older than me but faster. He'd left about 5-10 minutes behind me so was in line for just about 6hrs. I hope I am that fast still in another 5 years or so.
We sped to the finish line and passed a few more people in the last few hundred meters or so as well. A bit of mutual back slapping and that was it - the ride was over. For me it was a really good achievement: 103 miles in 6 hrs 7 mins and 6535ft of climbing. The average pace works out at 16.9mph, and if I was optimistic I'd have said that I rode for sub 6 hours given the stop time at the 3rd feed stop - so my long standing target of 100miles in sub 6 hours was almost completed.
The split data shows that the average speed rose imperceptibly all the way through the ride despite the big climbs and the 4 segments/20 miles were very quick and contributed to the average. At the end of the ride I felt tired but not spent by any means - clearly filling my face at the ~70mile point worked very well and the working with the other rider also helped. Looking at what the split times showed I could achieve I am glad that I stuck with the other rider and pushed myself.
A good month in August (The Mad Hatter was on 30 Aug) meant I was closer than I have ever been this early in the year to my 5000mile target, and about 4300. I'd been turning out an average of 650 miles per month since about May and this put me close to the 5000 in early October. I think that given some other things to factor in this spurred me to try and get to the 5000 by the 2nd week of October and so September saw another huge mileage effort from me. However the effort was I think starting to get to me. A lot of the September miles were commuting and its easy in good weather to get 3 commutes in and get 100 miles a week. With that an some 75-80 mile rides on a Sunday I reached 4900 miles by the end of September. I still seemed to be doing the miles and pace seemed OK (based on the overall average) but some of the splits showed I was fading in the 2nd half of the ride, as shown here:
In the 1st week of October I made an extra effort to close off the 5000 miles by the 1st weekend. Some commutes and an 80+ mile ride on the 5th October saw the 5000 miles pass and 20000 miles total on Strava. I also completed about 3 Strava challenges as well including the October MTS. However, again despite an average of 17.6mph (that a year ago I would have been ecstatic with) I was almost completely destroyed at the end of the ride. The reason for pushing was twofold - it was getting too dark to feel comfortable to commute and I was going away for a long weekend in October with my wife for our 25th wedding anniversary - so it was a welcome chance for a good long non-cycling break.
After 2 weeks off the bike I went for a windy 75 mile ride, and even accepting that it was a strong headwind on the return half of the journey here's what 2 weeks off the bike can do (along with getting over a huge milage and 5 days in a hotel and eating out:
Its clear that I just blew up pretty spectacularly on the way home. Three rides on from this date its pretty much the same! I am assuming that even after just 2 weeks my bike fitness has evaporated
Its been a long post but what I have hoped to show is that looking a split times is useful for me to relate how I feel to some actual data. I appreciate that average speed is a poor measure for many reasons, but its helpful in the absence of power meters etc
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