diff --git a/internal/ackhandler/sent_packet_handler.go b/internal/ackhandler/sent_packet_handler.go
index 73bbff6a..ccd7c6c3 100644
--- a/internal/ackhandler/sent_packet_handler.go
+++ b/internal/ackhandler/sent_packet_handler.go
@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@ const (
 	// Maximum reordering in time space before time based loss detection considers a packet lost.
 	// In fraction of an RTT.
 	timeReorderingFraction = 1.0 / 8
-	// The default RTT used before an RTT sample is taken.
-	defaultInitialRTT = 100 * time.Millisecond
 	// defaultRTOTimeout is the RTO time on new connections
 	defaultRTOTimeout = 500 * time.Millisecond
 	// Minimum time in the future a tail loss probe alarm may be set for.
@@ -567,11 +565,7 @@ func (h *sentPacketHandler) queuePacketForRetransmission(p *Packet) error {
 }
 
 func (h *sentPacketHandler) computeHandshakeTimeout() time.Duration {
-	duration := 2 * h.rttStats.SmoothedRTT()
-	if duration == 0 {
-		duration = 2 * defaultInitialRTT
-	}
-	duration = utils.MaxDuration(duration, minTPLTimeout)
+	duration := utils.MaxDuration(2*h.rttStats.SmoothedOrInitialRTT(), minTPLTimeout)
 	// exponential backoff
 	// There's an implicit limit to this set by the handshake timeout.
 	return duration << h.handshakeCount
@@ -579,11 +573,7 @@ func (h *sentPacketHandler) computeHandshakeTimeout() time.Duration {
 
 func (h *sentPacketHandler) computeTLPTimeout() time.Duration {
 	// TODO(#1236): include the max_ack_delay
-	srtt := h.rttStats.SmoothedRTT()
-	if srtt == 0 {
-		srtt = defaultInitialRTT
-	}
-	return utils.MaxDuration(srtt*3/2, minTPLTimeout)
+	return utils.MaxDuration(h.rttStats.SmoothedOrInitialRTT()*3/2, minTPLTimeout)
 }
 
 func (h *sentPacketHandler) computeRTOTimeout() time.Duration {
diff --git a/internal/ackhandler/sent_packet_handler_test.go b/internal/ackhandler/sent_packet_handler_test.go
index 37df5965..04c32a49 100644
--- a/internal/ackhandler/sent_packet_handler_test.go
+++ b/internal/ackhandler/sent_packet_handler_test.go
@@ -781,10 +781,6 @@ var _ = Describe("SentPacketHandler", func() {
 	})
 
 	Context("TLPs", func() {
-		It("uses the default RTT", func() {
-			Expect(handler.computeTLPTimeout()).To(Equal(defaultInitialRTT * 3 / 2))
-		})
-
 		It("uses the RTT from RTT stats", func() {
 			rtt := 2 * time.Second
 			updateRTT(rtt)
diff --git a/internal/congestion/rtt_stats.go b/internal/congestion/rtt_stats.go
index 539410dd..f0ebbb23 100644
--- a/internal/congestion/rtt_stats.go
+++ b/internal/congestion/rtt_stats.go
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ const (
 	oneMinusAlpha float32 = (1 - rttAlpha)
 	rttBeta       float32 = 0.25
 	oneMinusBeta  float32 = (1 - rttBeta)
+	// The default RTT used before an RTT sample is taken.
+	defaultInitialRTT = 100 * time.Millisecond
 )
 
 // RTTStats provides round-trip statistics
@@ -38,6 +40,15 @@ func (r *RTTStats) LatestRTT() time.Duration { return r.latestRTT }
 // May return Zero if no valid updates have occurred.
 func (r *RTTStats) SmoothedRTT() time.Duration { return r.smoothedRTT }
 
+// SmoothedOrInitialRTT returns the EWMA smoothed RTT for the connection.
+// If no valid updates have occurred, it returns the initial RTT.
+func (r *RTTStats) SmoothedOrInitialRTT() time.Duration {
+	if r.smoothedRTT != 0 {
+		return r.smoothedRTT
+	}
+	return defaultInitialRTT
+}
+
 // MeanDeviation gets the mean deviation
 func (r *RTTStats) MeanDeviation() time.Duration { return r.meanDeviation }
 
diff --git a/internal/congestion/rtt_stats_test.go b/internal/congestion/rtt_stats_test.go
index 55c8ed18..e8f8c69c 100644
--- a/internal/congestion/rtt_stats_test.go
+++ b/internal/congestion/rtt_stats_test.go
@@ -37,6 +37,12 @@ var _ = Describe("RTT stats", func() {
 		Expect(rttStats.SmoothedRTT()).To(Equal((287500 * time.Microsecond)))
 	})
 
+	It("SmoothedOrInitialRTT", func() {
+		Expect(rttStats.SmoothedOrInitialRTT()).To(Equal(defaultInitialRTT))
+		rttStats.UpdateRTT((300 * time.Millisecond), (100 * time.Millisecond), time.Time{})
+		Expect(rttStats.SmoothedOrInitialRTT()).To(Equal((300 * time.Millisecond)))
+	})
+
 	It("MinRTT", func() {
 		rttStats.UpdateRTT((200 * time.Millisecond), 0, time.Time{})
 		Expect(rttStats.MinRTT()).To(Equal((200 * time.Millisecond)))