Is cycling harder when its cold?

moonio
moonio Posts: 802
edited November 2008 in Commuting chat
Yesterday I had to take a day off from my usual 25 mile commute because my legs refused to work. They were achy and stiff and hurting, much as they were when I first started cycle commuting 6 months ago.

Could this be due to the cold? Anyone else having muscular problems since the cold snap?

I'm also having to climb a much steeper hill at the middle of my journey home due to Greenwich park being closed but I wouldn't have thought that would cause my legs to seize up..
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Comments

  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    Yes.

    But I'm just going to make a tit of myself if I attempt to feign any understanding of why.

    Something to do with dilation of blood vessels and oxygen starvation of the muscles. There. What a tit.
  • dav1
    dav1 Posts: 1,298
    I fond that IF i pick my clothing well I tend to be OK in the cold, get it wrong ans i slow right down though.

    I either use tights or jogging trousers to keep my legs warn and they tend to work quite well.
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  • linsen
    linsen Posts: 1,959
    Always Tyred wrote:
    Yes.

    But I'm just going to make a tit of myself if I attempt to feign any understanding of why.

    Something to do with dilation of blood vessels and oxygen starvation of the muscles. There. What a tit.

    Nice pic AT - what are you today? I am "healthy food"

    Cold legs. Yes. Slow. Wear woolly trousers :D
    Emerging from under a big black cloud. All help welcome
  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    linsen wrote:
    Always Tyred wrote:
    Yes.

    But I'm just going to make a tit of myself if I attempt to feign any understanding of why.

    Something to do with dilation of blood vessels and oxygen starvation of the muscles. There. What a tit.

    Nice pic AT - what are you today? I am "healthy food"

    Cold legs. Yes. Slow. Wear woolly trousers :D

    I am "amusingly shaped vegetable".
  • TheMightyHet
    TheMightyHet Posts: 36
    I find it actually easier when it's cold. I think I ride faster most probably to keep warm! lol
  • prj45
    prj45 Posts: 2,208
    I tend to get cramps in my gastrocnemius after about 10 miles in anything less than 5 degrees centigrade. I guess the 10 miles thing is because I'm close to home and winding down.
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  • Kaydee
    Kaydee Posts: 16
    prj45 wrote:
    I tend to get cramps in my gastrocnemius
    ain't the internet wonderful! If you'd just said 'calf' I would never have discovered (via google of course) that little gem of anatomy! :D
  • prj45
    prj45 Posts: 2,208
    Kaydee wrote:
    prj45 wrote:
    I tend to get cramps in my gastrocnemius
    ain't the internet wonderful! If you'd just said 'calf' I would never have discovered (via google of course) that little gem of anatomy! :D

    Ah ha, that's what they're called!
    Photos - Blog - Bike
  • prj45
    prj45 Posts: 2,208
    Oooh, it might actually be my soleus muscle that cramps.

    Unless I'm a dog 'cos dogs don't have them, only a gastrocnemius.
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  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    I know that my body just doesn't seem to function as well exercising in the cold. The warmer the better for me.
  • ansbaradigeidfran
    ansbaradigeidfran Posts: 526
    prj45 wrote:
    I tend to get cramps in my gastrocnemius
    Would that be gastrocnemii, or are you a one-legged hopping cyclist? </pedant>
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    I don't mind the cold so much - as long as I'm generating plenty of power I warm up pretty quickly.

    I'm not fond of starting out when it's cold, but 5mins into a ride I'm fine.
    I like bikes...

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  • W5454
    W5454 Posts: 133
    Just change down a gear and pedal faster.Soon get's the blood flowing :D
  • Massimo
    Massimo Posts: 318
    ...plus cold air is denser than wam air so you need more effort to push through. (Okay, I know the difference is tiny but none cyclists seem to lap it up when you spout stuff like that) :wink:
    Crash 'n Burn, Peel 'n Chew
    FCN: 2
  • girv73
    girv73 Posts: 842
    @Massimo you also get more oxygen in per-breath so it kind of balances out :lol:
    Today is a good day to ride
  • gtvlusso
    gtvlusso Posts: 5,112
    Never had a problem - I stretch and walk/jog the dog before I cycle out in the morning - guess I am warm when I get on the bike. It is still really mild out....so, I guess I have not cycled in very cold weather this year (it also helps that I appear to be made of asbestos according to my wife!).
    Wind annoyes me (as I head south west going home, and most Bristol wind is south westerley) and I was a bit miffed about getting soaked this morning - c'est la vie.
  • Massimo
    Massimo Posts: 318
    Top answer Girv73 :P
    Crash 'n Burn, Peel 'n Chew
    FCN: 2
  • fonty1978
    fonty1978 Posts: 101
    I find the cold weather refreshing once i'm moving but i usually use the first 5 mins to warm my legs up a bit. This seems to work quite well for the rest of the commute. I wear a HRM so i aim to be hitting my zone after 10 mins [usually!!]
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    In truth i love them both
  • DavidBelcher
    DavidBelcher Posts: 2,684
    Always Tyred wrote:
    linsen wrote:
    Always Tyred wrote:
    Yes.

    But I'm just going to make a tit of myself if I attempt to feign any understanding of why.

    Something to do with dilation of blood vessels and oxygen starvation of the muscles. There. What a tit.

    Nice pic AT - what are you today? I am "healthy food"

    Cold legs. Yes. Slow. Wear woolly trousers :D

    I am "amusingly shaped vegetable".

    2 questions:

    (a) Isn't that a tomato and therefore a fruit not a vegetable?

    (b) Whatever did happen to That's Life? :wink:

    David
    "It is not enough merely to win; others must lose." - Gore Vidal
  • bluecow
    bluecow Posts: 306
    Not really muscular problems, but definitely my joints are feeling the cold.
    I wear M&S merino wool tights under my normal cycling tights.(Cheaper than buying new winter cycling tights)
    I think my main problem is that in the depths of winter i stay in bed as long as is humanly possible and then hop straight onto the bike (ok so i get dressed first). Maybe the sudden change in pace of a morning is a bit of a bad idea and could lead to aching muscles. Just a thought.
  • bluecow
    bluecow Posts: 306
    fonty1978 wrote:
    I find the cold weather refreshing once i'm moving but i usually use the first 5 mins to warm my legs up a bit. This seems to work quite well for the rest of the commute. I wear a HRM so i aim to be hitting my zone after 10 mins [usually!!]

    Yeah, first ten mins can be pretty nippy but after that im sorted. Would much rather be a bit cold at the start than boiling alive for 3/4 of my ride.
    I wear a hrm too, whats your average HR for your commute?
  • NWLondoner
    NWLondoner Posts: 2,047
    It's my nose that does me in when it's cold. Don't wanna be gross but how the hell does your nose produce so much snot so bloody damn quickly???
  • linsen
    linsen Posts: 1,959
    I know you didn't ask me the question but I also wear a HR monitor to work - average is 156 over 50 minutes.
    Emerging from under a big black cloud. All help welcome
  • STEFANOS4784
    STEFANOS4784 Posts: 4,109
    DavidBelcher wrote:
    Always Tyred wrote:
    linsen wrote:
    Always Tyred wrote:
    Yes.

    But I'm just going to make a tit of myself if I attempt to feign any understanding of why.

    Something to do with dilation of blood vessels and oxygen starvation of the muscles. There. What a tit.

    Nice pic AT - what are you today? I am "healthy food"

    Cold legs. Yes. Slow. Wear woolly trousers :D

    I am "amusingly shaped vegetable".

    2 questions:

    (a) Isn't that a tomato and therefore a fruit not a vegetable?

    (b) Whatever did happen to That's Life? :wink:

    David



    I though it was an apple with a hard-on, correct me if i'm wrong.......
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    Summer beast; http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff015.jpg
  • Belv
    Belv Posts: 866
    If current weather conditions are classed as 'cold', then I doubt there's much in it physically but maybe psychologically.
  • lost_in_thought
    lost_in_thought Posts: 10,563
    linsen wrote:
    I know you didn't ask me the question but I also wear a HR monitor to work - average is 156 over 50 minutes.

    Now then, I used a HRM in the gym last night, my resting pulse is apparently about 65-70, which is not bad but not great, but as soon as I start exercising at the level I usually aim for, it's up to 180+ pretty quickly, and stays there.

    Is this too high? Hmmmm... going to go and start another thread...
    FCN 7/1
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  • damage36
    damage36 Posts: 282
    lost_in_thought wrote:
    linsen wrote:
    I know you didn't ask me the question but I also wear a HR monitor to work - average is 156 over 50 minutes.

    Now then, I used a HRM in the gym last night, my resting pulse is apparently about 65-70, which is not bad but not great, but as soon as I start exercising at the level I usually aim for, it's up to 180+ pretty quickly, and stays there.

    Is this too high? Hmmmm... going to go and start another thread...

    You mean I have to go aaaaalll the way to another post to reply. *sigh*
    Legs, lungs and lycra.

    Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
  • fonty1978
    fonty1978 Posts: 101
    bluecow wrote:
    fonty1978 wrote:
    I find the cold weather refreshing once i'm moving but i usually use the first 5 mins to warm my legs up a bit. This seems to work quite well for the rest of the commute. I wear a HRM so i aim to be hitting my zone after 10 mins [usually!!]

    Yeah, first ten mins can be pretty nippy but after that im sorted. Would much rather be a bit cold at the start than boiling alive for 3/4 of my ride.
    I wear a hrm too, whats your average HR for your commute?

    Hi, depending which way i go and which way the winds blowing my HR is about 156 over 25-30 mins, i find that i often spend up to 10 mins around the 170 bpm range on the climbs.

    Incidentally where in North Manchester are you and which way do you commute? I travel from Failsworth [Lord lane, not far from Droylsden / Newton Heath border] to Royton [Oldham] every day which means plenty of climbing whichever way i go.
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    Best Bike Merida Road Race 901-18

    In truth i love them both
  • bluecow
    bluecow Posts: 306
    Incidentally where in North Manchester are you and which way do you commute? I travel from Failsworth [Lord lane, not far from Droylsden / Newton Heath border] to Royton [Oldham] every day which means plenty of climbing whichever way i go.[/quote]

    I cycle through Failsworth, start at Bury and end up near Worsley.
  • bluecow
    bluecow Posts: 306
    hang on
    i mean farnworth.

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