Progress

I'm told I should be aiming for an average speed of 16mph, compared to my typical 8mph. So this evening I decided to establish a proper baseline time for my favourite ten mile circuit round Winter Hill and Cookham. That way I can start to work on improving my speed, and I can assess progress (if any).

I reckoned ten miles was a decent starting point, because I can repeat the exercise fairly regularly. This particular route isn't a bad one to work at, because it is fairly hilly, and (mostly) fairly free of traffic.

Last time I timed myself round this ten-mile circuit it took me a full hour. So I can take a rough stab at my previous speed being 10mph, without taxing the brain too much.

This evening the same route has taken me just under 47 minutes, or an average of 13 mph. On the steady climb up to Winter Hill I averaged 12 mph. On the steep drop down into Cookham, my speed is normally testicularly limited to about 20mph, although on this occassion I seem to have hit 25mph a couple of times, and briefly managed to keep up with someone in an Aston Martin (they are not short of a shilling around those parts).

From there on, the route is flatter, and my speed seems to have been a bit more regular, although it dropped off as I climbed back through the edge of Maidenhead, followed by a bit of an effort to finish quickly.

So I'm feeling quite pleased with myself. That was faster than I thought I could do, it shows things are progressing, and what's more it takes my total distance this week to more than 100 miles, which is a new high.