24 km/h

A couple of weeks ago, on two separate occasions, when I mentioned to relative strangers that I cycle around 30km to work they both said, "So that takes, what, 40 minutes?"

I went home and cried myself to sleep, thinking that if 40 minutes was a reasonable expectation then I was so far below the bar as to be completely underground. Okay, I didn't really cry myself to sleep, but I did feel mightily inadequate.

Here's a typical morning for me when I ride:

• Take Martin Goodman trail to the Humber trail: 20 minutes
• Humber trail to Eglinton & Scarlett: 25 minutes
• Eglinton trail to East Mall: 15 minutes
• Eglinton Ave to work: 15 minutes (including locking up)

Add it up. That's 75 minutes, which is almost double their estimate. This upset me for a good long while, until I realized the following:

• It's completely possible that neither of these estimators have ever been on a bicycle
• If the point was speed then I'd drive my car
• I regularly pass other cyclists when I ride. Yes, they're very old, why do you ask?
• I'm very old
• Going faster would likely involve wearing brightly coloured spandex (since that's what people who pass me are wearing), and I just can't do it.

Posted by Ken Allen at October 5, 2005 5:46 PM