Results of a recent study from UBC asking 260 people about their bike trips — purpose and how fast (among other things).
It’s seems that the 2000+ bike trips were mostly for utilitarian reasons: 75% (school, errand, work).
Also, in the coming months we will share research reports and papers generated from this data on our website.
Dr. Alex Bigazzi
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering and School of Community and Regional Planning, The University of British Columbia
Interesting. None of it is a surprise to me but it does tells me that I’m pretty typical. I mostly average 12 km/h and the reasons are mostly to work and to shop. Rarely for leisure (but often the trip to work is pleasant.) and never for exercise. (Walking is more of a work out when you have a good bike.)
This also shows something else. That very few people are cycling faster than 30 km/h. I wonder if the data could be broken down to see how many, if any, are going 50 km/h. I say this because the anti-bike propagandists have tried to scare people by claiming that they’ll be plowed down by crazed cyclists going 50 km/h.
People making those claims have generally never tried to do 50 km/hr on a bike, IMO.
I can do 50 km/hr for some sections along the Barnett Highway (62 on the hill, 38 sustained on the flats) on one of my bikes, but it is a lot of work.
I log average speeds of 25-30 km/hr on the sport bike, 20-25 km/hr on the touring bike when not loaded up too much, and 15-20 km/hr on the city bike (shorter trips). Lower on a MOBI, or if riding in a congested area.
I agree there are very people cycling faster than 30 km/hr average. On a fundraiser ride in Coquitlam (Wheel to Heel) we were on public roads, early morning with no traffic, with no luggage, in 50 km/hr and higher speed zones. We finished with an average speed over the 100 km route of just over 30 km/hr, but there weren’t many left in front. 1% seems about right.
The concept of speeding cyclists is so bizarre. George Affleck tried to use this in a twitter exchange regarding the new bike lane on the Cambie Bridge. It would be interesting to compare average cycling speeds to average driving speeds in Vancouver. Especially during “rush” hours.
Another absurdity is cyclists’ putative need to have showers available at their workplace. Walkers and runners might require showers. Motorists may require ‘ludes and therapy. But a cyclist that works up a big sweat should just get in the zone and enjoy the ride. Cycling, overall, is not a great fitness tool.
“Cycling, overall, is not a great fitness tool.”
Not true. It is a function of how hard, and how long, you ride. There are many types of bikes, of people who ride than, and different levels of exertion. It is an error to lump them all together simply because they all have two wheels.
I always wonder about that too when I hear that workplaces “need to put in showers for cyclists”. I suppose if somebody is cycling to work for the first time and it’s a hot day they might sweat a lot but once you’re a bit in shape that stops.
Still, if a company puts in a change room with showers, sure, but it could just be presented as for any employee to freshen up regardless of how they go to work. It doesn’t have to be a bike thing.
I was struck last June by somebody turning left across a bike lane. She said that I was speeding in her defense. Not only did the ICBC claim adjuster find this ludicrous, but I was able to show that I was only doing 28k before I hit the binders, by way of my Garmin, and Strava. People get bent out of shape about bicycles speeding, and then they’ll go drive their cars at 80kph down 16th.
Similar story here. My wife and I were in a serious bike crash some years back. During discovery, I estimated that we were going 32 km/hr at time of impact, as that was our maximum speed on that particular day’s ride to that point. I backed that up with my bike computer, showing average and maximum speeds, with the distance from the start of the ride to the crash still logged. No GPS, but we didn’t need it, the data was accepted. The defendant’s lawyer then tried to make a case that we were speeding in a school zone. It was a 50 km/hr zone, as we demonstrated with pictures; there was a speed sign right near the crash site. The defence then folded and soon settled, though it had taken years up to that point. They had tried hard to paint a picture of speeding cyclists causing havoc, even though there was no speeding, the crash was not caused by the cyclist (we were riding in a bike lane that the defendant entered against a traffic light and signs), and it was the cyclist who was in hospital.
Cycling is good for cardio. For overall fitness it is not. I routinely cycle 20 plus kms per day – often with substantial loads. As besotted as I am with cycling, and doubt anyone on this blog has cycled more than me, excepting, possibly, Iron Butt Arno, and can state categorically that, as fitness programs go, it is very limited and unnatural. Walking, running, swimming, climbing – all of which I do – are all superior proprioceptively and kinaesthetically. Spinning with back hunched – doesn’t matter how hard you do it – does not measure up.
If you are spinning with your back hunched, it may be worth checking into a proper bike fit, and how to position yourself on the bike. You want a neutral spine (not hunched), relatively straight, with your core muscles engaged. I think that Pilates is a good complement to the bike riding, as it builds awareness of these issues.
When you say spinning, I think of a very high cadence and low resistance, like in a spin class. Perhaps you just meant pedalling.
All of my bikes fit properly, mountain, racing, touring, and cruiser. The only bikes on which one does not hunch are cruisers and ‘bents.
My cadence, a term which many do not properly understand, is also unimpeachable.- shift, shift, shift. Whatever term you use, whatever energy you put in, you are spinning – which uses very specific muscles. Pilates is good. Yoga is better. Hanging/climbing is better still. Swimming is especially good for breath control and development of your core – cycling, not so much.
For the benefit of those who don’t know when to shift, if your legs are fatiguing, you’re pushing too high a gear. If you’re getting out of breath, you’re spinning too much. Unless you’re In the Tour and have extra blood injected. That’s how many Tours were won – spinning up mountain passes.