Demoralising!
a4ndyp
Posts: 16
Anyone else find a headwind really demoralising? especially when climbing?
I had a relatively light headwind today for around 20 miles and i was climbing for around half of that. kept on thinking about throwing the towel in.... or perhaps i should just MTFU?
I had a relatively light headwind today for around 20 miles and i was climbing for around half of that. kept on thinking about throwing the towel in.... or perhaps i should just MTFU?
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I'm the same, as soon as I hit a headwind I'm going backwards. I'm told its a fitness thing.0
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Getting used to riding on the drops and hunkering down with a flat back really helps - go for a ride along the North Sea coast in Belgium or Holland and you'll soon learn to cope.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
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Even more demoralising when going into a strong headwind on a flat road and you are struggling to turn the pedals.0
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Even more so when going downhill into the wind and struggling to get the cranks over!ForumNewbie wrote:Even more demoralising when going into a strong headwind on a flat road and you are struggling to turn the pedals.
I do think it's partly just mental though, subconsciously you have an idea of what speed you should be travelling at for a given effort and when you're travelling slower than that with no visible reason why like a gradient it just feels hideous.0 -
Yup it's awful and entirely a mental thing as said you expect a certain speed for a certain effort.
On the flip side going with the wind is amazing as it doesn't feel windy at all you just feel super human able to do mighty speed for no effort!
Last week I was struggling on the flat at 15mph then turned a corner and I was doing 20mph up hill0 -
Somebody with a much more poetic turn of phrase said that riding into the wind is a mind game. It's all about getting into a state of mind where you accept the conditions and ride as well as you can. get as aero as possible, use it as an opportunity to try to get down low and still press on.
It's a challenge, not a problem...0 -
Do wheelies yo keep you interested
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Monty Dog wrote:Getting used to riding on the drops and hunkering down with a flat back really helps - go for a ride along the North Sea coast in Belgium or Holland and you'll soon learn to cope.
This. Holland in particular tends to have no cover and lots of open water.JackPozzi wrote:Even more so when going downhill into the wind and struggling to get the cranks over!
I do think it's partly just mental though, subconsciously you have an idea of what speed you should be travelling at for a given effort and when you're travelling slower than that with no visible reason why like a gradient it just feels hideous.
This too.ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH0 -
Using a power meter does give you an insight to how it's all mental. I can be doing x watts and it feels easy...turn into a strong head wind and the same watts suddenly feels a lot more draining...it's all in the mind!0
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my legs dont make it feel like its just a mind game, it feels like flippin hard work. There was a 20mph head wind to contend with on todays ride, which looks to have added nearly half a minute per mile, compared to my average times on the same route, and nearly a minute off my best.0
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I don't have a power meter but interesting what you say. While I agree it is mostly in the mind, I think it is also draining as all of a sudden your cadence drops in a headwind, unless you quickly go down the gears even if you are on the flat. So in theory if you are doing a cadence of 90rpm and you turn into a headwind, if you immediately drop down the gears so you keep up the 90rpm cadence with the same effort, you will be going a lot slower, but providing you mentally accept this it should not be any more draining ... in theory. I think when in that situation we all automatically try to fight against the wind so it is more draining.DavidJB wrote:Using a power meter does give you an insight to how it's all mental. I can be doing x watts and it feels easy...turn into a strong head wind and the same watts suddenly feels a lot more draining...it's all in the mind!0 -
yesterday i had the demoralising headwind, plus a demoralising feeling of needing to vomit for the first 10 miles. that was fun!0
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Went out today and once I rode out of cover got a strong wind with hail blasting straight into my face. Turned round and went back home. Wind and rain is fine but being sand blasted is no fun.0
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If people don't like the wind then why do they ride outside when its windy? Why not do a turbo session.
The good thing with a headmind is that it means you'll most likely get a good tail wind somewhere else on your ride if you do a loop. You need to take the rough with the smooth.0 -
A lot of cyclists don't particularly like going into a headwind, but that wouldn't stop them going out when there is a headwind. As you say it is a bonus when on a loop you then get a tailwind, so always worth going out unless there are dangerously strong cross winds forecast on the route you are planning.BrandonA wrote:If people don't like the wind then why do they ride outside when its windy? Why not do a turbo session.
The good thing with a headmind is that it means you'll most likely get a good tail wind somewhere else on your ride if you do a loop. You need to take the rough with the smooth.0
