runner66 wrote:
I wish I was that good. I am not even close to front pack. I am 53, don’t race anymore since my running days are behind me, and am not fast. I was working hard and could only manage 22+ mph for an 8 minute interval. I hope my PM pedals are accurate. Not sure how I would test that, but I have been using them a long time and they appear to be accurate. For instance, last week I did 20 minutes at about 90 percent effort at 258 watts on the trainer. I have always been able to produce more power outside.
But still, the average speed for my 8 minute intervals is not great. The power I was putting out should have resulted in a much faster average speed I would think.
It's possible that your PM numbers might be off (?miscalibrated).
Even though you don't race, with a real FTP north of 270, you should feel like one of the fastest riders in public, even in a bike-crazy place where I live in Norcal where serious road cycling is prevalent. You should literally be blowing by the vast majority of riders at what seems like 2x the speed while doing steady state or higher efforts. You should certainly feel 'fast', if not 'super fast' compared to every other cyclist you randomly encounter on the roads.
For sure, if you did race in triathlon though, FTP 270+ will have you dominating your AG on the bike in local/regional races. You definitely will not be just front of middle of pack even with terrible aerodynamics on a road bike, with that kind of FTP.