Headwinds and Tailwinds

Yesterday and today were both beautiful days and I went back to the old standbys: Buntzen Lake and Horseshoe Bay. The only difference from before was that, with the weather being nice, there were a lot more people around.

You might wonder what goes through the head of someone spending hours just pedaling along. Of course, my first priority is staying alive: being aware of traffic, watching for potholes, etc. Then, there is some time to take in the scenery. There's also lots of time to think about the effort that you are making: which parts of your body hurt the most, and the payoff for the effort: how fast you're going.

There is not a direct relationship between effort in and speed out. There are other factors at play, and as you ride for a long time, you become acutely aware of those. Of course, a big factor is the gradient. Going uphill is harder than downhill, and it's pretty easy to tell which situation you're in at a given moment. The other, less visible but no less important factor, is wind.

It's not always easy to tell what kind of wind you're in. You might find yourself riding faster than usual and wonder, "is this a tailwind or am I just in great shape?" Here are a few cues I watch out for:

• an eerie silence (no wind noise)
  
• branches and leaves rustling
  
• pieces of fluff, paper, etc. tumbling along the road
  
• cyclists on the other side of the road with their heads down, struggling
  
• planes taking off or landing towards me
  
• and the most helpful hint: any kind of flag along the side of the road.
  

It's not like you can do anything about the wind, but knowing why you're going super fast or super slow helps smooth out the ego peaks and valleys. And it gives you something to think about.

Yesterday's track; Today's track.

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