On Monday, February 24, 2025 at 1:04:28 AM UTC-6 Patrick Moore wrote: I remember 30 years ago when I started riding fixed in our ABQ winds: I’d fight them and get discouraged. It took me what, 5 years, perhaps more, to learn to back off and slow my cadence to match the resistance. I was glad today that I’d internalized that lesson, and the ride was very pleasant and the pace sustainable despite the harder work.
Back on the nominal topic - we have had a depressingly windy fall and winter here. Or, maybe I'm just getting older and crankier. One of the things I took from training with a heart rate monitor was respect for how much extra effort it took to ride in the wind, especially when it's cold. It was a surprise to see exactly how much slower I had to go to maintain a steady level of effort. Cold weather means not only is the air more dense, but also bulkier and sometimes flappier clothing, both of which significantly increase air drag. Not being limited with a ss or fixed gear, I usually shift down and keep my cadence up going into the wind. My favorite "training" ride, though, is to ride single-speed, not allowing myself to shift. On a windy day that means grinding into the headwind and up the hills, and spinning out with the tailwind and down hills. It's my way of replicating the old-fashioned practice of riding a fixed gear in the spring. And on the side topic - I have been going to 165mm cranks the last couple of years. I still have 172.5 on my Riv Road. I would not bet a large amount of money on being able to tell the difference in a blind test, but I do think I feel better in my knees and hips on longer rides with the shorter cranks. Relevant stats: my PBH is 825mm and my shoe size is a Lems 9.5. Ted Durant toujours le vent in Milwaukee, WI USA -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e0a5a00a-b30c-4510-b8fd-330cbeaa354bn%40googlegroups.com.
