Minimum speed on a Brevet?

[Ken Freeman]

I read somewhere there is a minimum speed required on brevets.  I'm planning for a 200k in April, and 13:30 is the max time.  

So, is there a minimum speed?  What is it?

[Greg]

I don't mean to be a smartass, but technically it's 200km / 13.5 hrs = 14.8km/hr or 9.20mph. This is a bit deceptive, because if your moving speed is average of 9.2 mph, and you took 45 minutes off the bike to check in at controls, use the restrooms, fix a flat, etc., then you're not going to get to the last control before it closes.

A better way to think about it is to give yourself an hour off the bike for controls, bathroom breaks, getting lost and back on course, etc. Then you need to cover 200km in 12.5 hours, or a moving average of 16km per hour, or about 10mph.

If you can ride at least 10mph, you'll be able to make it to all the controls before they close.

Greg

[Jake Kassen]

On Jan 11, 2015, at 10:37 PM, Ken Freeman <kenfre...@gmail.com> wrote:

I read somewhere there is a minimum speed required on brevets.  I'm planning for a 200k in April, and 13:30 is the max time.  

You can look it up on RUSA's website (http://www.rusa.org/octime_alg.html) and on the Brevet card you are given. For a 200k the fastest you may go is 34kph or 5:53.

Interesting fact: ACP (and RUSA) awards a 10 minute bonus for the 200k. Riders should only have 13:20 given that the slowest they can travel is 15kph but really you are given extra time. If the event is a RUSA Brevet and the publicized distance is 201k you have less time allowed then if was exactly a 200k! The same is true with a 400k where a bonus is given to round up the time 27 hours. 

Permanents and Brevets both have max and min speeds but they aren't exactly the same. 

Jake

[Craig Robertson]

The minimum speed for a brevet is 15 kilometers per hour out to the 600km point.  The allowed times for 200km and 400km brevets are rounded up to the next half hour.  But the closing times for all the intermediate controls are still based on 15kph.  

Beyond 600k the minimum speed drops.  Between 600k and 1000k you are allowed 35 hours, which gives a minimum speed of a bit over 11kph (400k/35h) and then it goes back up a bit to 13.33kph from 1000km to 1200km (200k/15h)  

Craig

On Sun, Jan 11, 2015 at 5:37 PM, Ken Freeman <kenfre...@gmail.com> wrote:

I read somewhere there is a minimum speed required on brevets.  I'm planning for a 200k in April, and 13:30 is the max time.  

So, is there a minimum speed?  What is it?

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[Lynne Fitz]

about 15 km per hour. Or about 9.5 miles an hour, including stops. Clock is always running.

[Stephen Hazelton]

There's a minimum average speed, distance/time, as noted above.  There will normally be intermediate controls with their own cut-off times.  As long as you make the times, it doesn't matter how your speed varies along the way.  So going slow up a hill and fast down, or slow into the wind and fast with a tailwind, are expected.

If you look up past results for the ride in question, you can find out how fast people typically ride the route.

If you anticipate actually needing all of the allotted time, it can be a real problem, due to the wind/hills, stopped time, etc.  It helps to have some leeway in there.

On Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 9:37:56 PM UTC-6, Ken Freeman wrote:

[Eric Norris]

765 miles in 90 hours divides out to 8.5 miles per hour, *if* you’re always moving. It’s not that easy.

You’d be amazed how quickly time on the bike adds up over three-plus days of riding. In practice, you need to go a lot faster than that.

—Eric N
campyo...@me.com
www.campyonly.com
www.wheelsnorth.org
Blog: http://campyonlyguy.blogspot.com
Twitter: @campyonlyguy

> On Jan 11, 2015, at 7:58 PM, Lynne Fitz <fitz...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> about 15 km per hour. Or about 9.5 miles an hour, including stops. Clock is always running.
>

[Ken Freeman]

Greg, this is exactly how I'm thinking about it - 10 mph pedaling average, with up to an hour of stop time.  I'm concerned about training due to the northern winter, and this will be my first long ride in a few years.  Just as big a challenge will be keeping warm - the ride is in Detroit.

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Ken Freeman
Ann Arbor, MI USA