The Peachtree Road Race was held on Monday near my house. The course is 10
km, or 6.2 miles. The winner took about 30 minutes. The record for this
course is 27 minutes, and I think this is a 10 K world record, or close to
it. In other words, the champion runner averaged 14 mph, which is incredible.
Wheelchair racers leave 30 minutes before the foot racers. The wheelchair
record is 19 minutes, or 20 mph.
Here is food for thought. Take any middle-aged person in reasonably good
shape, such as my wife. Put her on a bicycle, and she could easily beat the
world's fastest runners on this course. (I could probably outrace the
fastest wheelchair racer as well.) I am sure of this because we have often
ridden in that area so I am familiar with the terrain, and I have accurate
bicycle speedometers. They show things such as average speed while in motion.
A bicyclist in no great hurry will travel 4 or 6 mph up a steep hill, but
coming down the other side she will easily reach 18 to 24 mph, so the
average is usually around 12 to 14 mph. If she hustles a bit she can beat
the world champion runner. On a long, level, paved surface such as the
Silver Comet Trail (http://silvercomet.tripod.com/) it is not difficult to
maintain 16 mph for an hour or more. Anyone can go 80 miles in a day (the
only problem is saddle soreness the next day), whereas the Olympic marathon
race is 26 miles.
Tour de France bicycle race racers generally average ~22 mph I think, over
gruelling terrain. The record is 31 mph over a 120 mile stage of the race.
This demonstrates the incredible mechanical advantage that a bicycle
offers. This is why millions of people in Japan, China and other countries
depend on bicycles for urban transport. A person + bicycle is the most
efficient transportation system on earth, far better than any other animal
or mechanical system. Birds are the most efficient animals. A soaring bird
or a fish carried along in a river current expends no energy, but this is
equivalent to a bicycle traveling downhill the whole way.
- Jed
- Olympic runners versus bicycle riders Jed Rothwell
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