Ride time calculator: how long will my ride take?
Pick your ride and your average speed and see how long it takes, moving and in total with your stops. Not sure of your speed? Choose your experience, surface and terrain and it uses the speed our cycling plans assume. A century at 16 mph, for example, is 6 h 15 min of riding, or 6 h 45 min with 30 minutes of stops. It assumes you hold that average all day, which wind and hills decide as much as your legs.
How it works
Moving time is the distance divided by your average speed: 100 miles at 16 mph is 100 ÷ 16 = 6.25 hours, or 6 h 15 min. Stops are added on top to give the time from start to finish. Without a speed, the page uses the speed our cycling plans assume for your experience, surface and terrain, the same one they use to turn ride times into distances.
Use your average moving speed from recent long rides, not your speed on a short fast one: most riders slow a little over a long day. Wind, climbing, heat and riding alone or in a group can each move the answer by an hour or more over a century, so treat it as a planning number.
Use it to plan your start time, food and drink (most riders aim to eat something every 30 to 45 minutes), daylight and lights, and the time you will be on your feet at stops. Ride time is also how our plans grow your long ride week by week, so the hours here are the ones you will build up to.
Ride times by distance and speed
Moving time only, at an even average speed; add your stops.
| Average speed | Metric century (100 km) | Century (100 miles) | 200 km (brevet) | Double century (200 miles) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 mph (19.3 km/h) | 5 h 11 min | 8 h 20 min | 10 h 21 min | 16 h 40 min |
| 14 mph (22.5 km/h) | 4 h 26 min | 7 h 9 min | 8 h 53 min | 14 h 17 min |
| 16 mph (25.7 km/h) | 3 h 53 min | 6 h 15 min | 7 h 46 min | 12 h 30 min |
| 18 mph (29.0 km/h) | 3 h 27 min | 5 h 33 min | 6 h 54 min | 11 h 7 min |
| 20 mph (32.2 km/h) | 3 h 6 min | 5 h | 6 h 13 min | 10 h |
| 22 mph (35.4 km/h) | 2 h 49 min | 4 h 33 min | 5 h 39 min | 9 h 5 min |
Questions
- How long does a century ride take?
- The riding itself is 100 miles divided by your average speed: 6 h 15 min at 16 mph, 7 h 9 min at 14 mph and 5 h 33 min at 18 mph. Then add your stops. A 14 mph rider who spends 45 minutes off the bike should plan on about 7 h 54 min from start to finish.
- What average speed should I plan for?
- Our plans assume about 14.0 mph for a first long ride, 15.0 after one or two, 16.0 after several and 17.0 for an experienced rider, on road and rolling terrain. Gravel takes about 15% off that, mixed surfaces about 8%, and mountains about 12%; flat roads add about 5%. Your own average from recent long rides beats all of these.
- How many stops should I plan for?
- Most riders stop every two to three hours to refill bottles and eat, for ten to twenty minutes each, so a century usually has two or three stops and 30 to 60 minutes off the bike. Organised rides with busy food stops take longer. Keep stops short and purposeful: legs stiffen after twenty minutes, and the clock keeps running.
Build a plan for this ride
A free week-by-week plan that builds your long ride up to the hours this ride takes, with the right mix of easy riding, harder sessions and rest, from the riding you do now.