I had to stop mid ride today - riding a route - this knocked my average speed right down on strava - is there a setting where I can auto pause - without affecting average speed
No there isn’t a pause that stops the ride, but average speed isn’t really a metric that means anything. If I’m climbing VenTop then my average speed will be much lower than a pace partner ride on tempus fugit, but my effort will be much higher climbing than sitting in a draft on a flat route, so what’s the point in tracking average speed?
???
If thats the answer - well whats the point of tracking anything. 
The purpose would be so next time you rode the same route you could see if you were getting faster or slower.
there are metrics that point to actual fitness increases, average speed isn’t one of them. One ride could be with a big group in the draft and an other could be on a TT bike, very different speeds…
average power on the route would be a better metric, strava should be able to tell you that
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Ah right. I thought the fitter you got the faster you go
Does this discounting of average speed apply just to zwift or is it outdoors as well ?
My average speeds tend to rise throughout summer when I’m putting more miles in - I’ve always thought that meant I was getting fitter.
Doesn’t Strava show moving time & elapsed time?
That would solve the problem.
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Normally strava does show time and moving time. But it hasn’t on my zwift rides so far.
Have you clicked view analysis?
It has the two values in there.
What I don’t know is if Strava picks up the pausing on a Zwift ride. I don’t tend to stop.
yup sure does, here is an example from the website version of strava too
Sorry yes -it does show in analysis - it shows I stopped for 3 minutes.
I’ve only done a few zwift rides so far all my others have been around 16mph - but with this 3 minute stop it’s knocked my average down to 11
My watts are also about 20 lower.
Guess I will need to do a few more rides …(without stopping)
I think the average speed is based on moving time and not elapsed time.
As others have said ignore average speed for Zwift rides. Yes if you are doing an identical route it’s an easy metric to compare but don’t forget time in a draft can affect this as can equipment choice.
I’d use your wattage as the metric. That way you can compare rides over any course. Your average speed on a flat course compared to hilly will be totally different but you could compare your power output to see if you’ve improved.
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But the watts were down quite a bit as well.
Check link out below. It talks about long breaks and I’m not sure if it works for short breaks. On NYE I tried for a long route badge and got cramp up the Alpe. I needed 2 hours off before starting again. The 2 hours did not show on my CA activity, Strava or Intervals.
I might try on shorter breaks to see if there is any difference.
To be devil’s advocate a bit… you can have 2 rides of same power on the same course, with one achieving a higher average speed than the other. Avg speed can tell you how well your ride/race-craft is improving. Where it’s best to exert more vs less watts for a return on speed is worth knowing and tracking.
Peter - I think you will find riding the Jungle Circuit route on a road bike knocked your average speed down to 11mph. Notorious gravel route for very slow speeds, many people don’t ride this route.
The route has quite a bit of drop in elevation. Sometimes hard to apply enough watts going downhill, this might have reduced your average watts.
You really can only compare speeds (and to some extent watts) if you are comparing against exactly the same route and are on a TT bike to ensure no draft affect from other riders.
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Does this discounting of average speed apply just to zwift or is it outdoors as well ?
I’d say outdoors as well. I once had a 40-50 mph tailwind on the way home from work one day… that was the fastest average speed I ever got on my commute, and I didn’t even work particularly hard for it 
. That’s an extreme example but you see what I’m getting at… even a +/- 3 mph wind can make a big difference in your average speed.
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