Comparison might be the thief of joy, but it’s still a trap many bike riders fall into when it comes to ride stats. PRs, leaderboards, average speeds – they’re out there for all to see on ride platforms like Strava, Zwift and Garmin Connect. Whether it’s against your ride buddies, the random internet cyberpeloton, or even yourself, the comparison game is somehow a very easy one to play as a bike rider.
Average speed is an enduringly popular compara-stat, and more recently power figures have crept into the equation, no matter that they’re highly personal.
But how about average ride length, not just that of your ride mates, but of the whole world? That’s something harder to glean, but intriguing all the same, right? Are you riding longer than most, or shorter? And, does it even matter?
Data can help provide the answers to the first two questions. As to the third, well, we’ll take a look at that too.
The ‘average distance’ answer isn’t quite as simple as you might imagine because there are numerous platforms where cyclists record their rides, but Cycling Weekly has been able to obtain data from the three biggest platforms, and we’ll have a look at a these in turn.
Before we go on…
Just briefly, before we go any further, what do you think is the average riding distance for riders around the world? Thought of a number? Good. With that in mind, read on.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Garmin averages
The GPS and fitness tech giant released its cycling and running data reports earlier this month, yielding some intriguing data and sparking this whole thing off for us.
First off, the key riding figure. It’s 28.6 miles, or 46km. A surprisingly big distance, perhaps, considering it’s an average across all rides. However, in its report Garmin points out that most rides are recorded on Sundays, so these are not brief spins at lunch time or the workday commute.
Like the other platforms we spoke with, Garmin also provided an average ride time which, of course tallies well with the distance: 1hr 55min. That works out as an average speed of 14.89mph or 24kph, which will no doubt be recognised by plenty of road riders, although perhaps not quite so many gravelists and mountain bikers.
Strava averages
With a claimed 195 million users, Strava is the most popular platform of its kind, so it should theoretically offer the most insightful look at the facts and figures when it comes to the average ride.
If you were disappointed at just how wide of the mark your own guess was when you read the Garmin statistics, this one might be for you. At 12.8 miles / 20.6km, the average Strava ride in 2025 is less than half the distance of the average Garmin ride.
While the latter’s users most often record on Sunday, the lower distance belonging to Strava people suggests that more commuting and perhaps utility runs are being included – though that is speculation.
In line with the distance, time taken is also reduced, with those 12.8 miles taking 1hr 4min 47sec. Those eagle of eye or mathematical of mind may have spotted that this equates to a reduction in average speed too, which is 11.86mph / 19.1kph in the world of Strava.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Zwift averages
Anyone who regularly uses any of the virtual riding platforms will be aware that they’re a great way to hop on and squeeze in a bunch more miles than you usually would in a given time frame. Alternatively, if you’re feeling down about the way your IRL average speeds are going, Zwift et al will give you a comforting cyber-pat on the back and a few more mph to boot.
The most popular of the virtual platforms, Zwift defaults to 50% of actual gradient on all hills, and doesn’t feature headwinds either; no wonder it’s faster. That isn’t to say it’s necessarily easier – there is no freewheeling, so you’ve earned every mile. Just like the most basic indoor trainers of old, Zwift is often used for interval workouts and races, which is about as hard (and as fast) as it gets.
We got in touch with the folk at Zwift, who pulled out the latest statistics for us, and it wasn’t a surprise to learn that the average speeds posted by its users are the highest we have here. The average distance is healthy too, but with the vast majority of riders completing their long ride of the week outdoors (unless the weather is awful), it’s not as high as it might be.
The average ride distance posted over the past year is 16.8 miles / 27km, and that was dashed off in just 55 minutes. That’s clearly a brisk old pace: more exactly, it’s 18.33mph / 29.5kph – an average speed that most of us would be more than happy with on the bike.
But what does it all mean?
Averaged out, we can see that cyclists recording activities across the three platforms above ride 19.4 miles / 31.2km in 1hr 18min, at an average speed of 15mph / 24.1kph.
How did the distance compare to your own guess? Answer our poll below to see how you and others fared.
Learning about averages like this definitely scratches the ‘intrigue’ itch, but in truth it doesn’t offer many, if any, useable takeaways for our own riding. Because this is an average, it’s perfectly possible – probable even – that most riders are riding somewhere above or below all of these averages. A short commute in the week, for example, boosted by a longer weekend ride.
Our riding can be affected by numerous variables that make it difficult and pointless to compare your own personal averages to somebody else’s.
Your own personal calendar – how your life is arranged, essentially – will play a significant role in determining the distance and times of your rides, while road surfaces, hills (or lack of them) and weather can boost or cut down average speeds, meaning you won’t ride as far for the same time on the bike.
Perhaps biggest of all, though, is whether or not you ride much gravel or other trails. Depending on the nature of the off-road stuff you’re riding (which could range from summer hardpack to sticky winter mud), and what percentage of it you include in your ride, it can drastically reduce the distance you ride.
The message from all of this is to just get out and ride – and enjoy it. Don’t get hung up on average speeds and distances; if you really want to worry about anything, worry about time spent on the bike, effort levels (could be high or low, depending on the day), and most of all, enjoying it.
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