Cycling Time
Calculator.
Find out how long a ride will really take. Enter distance, average speed, elevation gain and planned stops to get moving time, total time and an arrival estimate.
Results update as you type. The climbing allowance uses the standard rule of one minute per 100 feet of gain.
How the calculator works
Distance divided by speed is the easy part. The reason ride estimates go wrong is everything that gets added on top: the climbing, and the time you spend not pedalling.
A useful check: anything over about 50 feet of climbing per mile counts as a hilly route, and your usual flat average will not hold. Drop your planned speed by 1 to 2 mph before you even start adding the climbing allowance.
Cycling time FAQ
At a casual 10 mph a flat 20 miles takes 2 hours. At a recreational 14 mph it is about 1 hour 26 minutes, and at a fit 18 mph it is 1 hour 7 minutes. Add roughly 1 minute for every 100 feet of climbing, plus whatever time you spend stopped.
Divide distance by average speed to get moving time in hours, then multiply by 60 for minutes. A 45 mile ride at 15 mph is 3 hours. Then add a climbing allowance and your stops, because a real ride is almost never the same as the maths on paper.
A widely used rule of thumb is one extra minute per 100 feet (about 30 metres) of total elevation gain. A 3,000 foot ride therefore costs roughly 30 extra minutes compared with the same distance on flat roads. Steeper, punchier climbs cost more than the same gain spread over long gradual drags.
Stops are the usual culprit. Traffic lights, junctions, refuelling, photos and mechanicals all add up quickly, and most riders underestimate them by half. Headwind and fatigue over the second half of a long ride also drag the average down more than people expect.
For planning, use your honest recent average rather than your best day. Casual riders should plan around 10 to 12 mph, recreational riders 13 to 16 mph, and fit club riders 17 to 20 mph on rolling terrain. Gravel and mountain biking typically run 3 to 6 mph slower than road for the same effort.