This is generally the way riding is in NM -- wide open spaces that the wind just sweeps through. It used to bug me especially when I was getting used to fixed gear riding, but I've long since adapted. However, as I get older and warmups become more important, I've been using the flip side smaller gears a bit more than I did as a buff 50 something when the rides starts out with a headwind.
Actually, it gets worse out here, since the winds often shift from east to south to west in the early afternoon; so that, if you time your ride just right, you can have a headwind both ways. Back when I commuted to work, I'd often have a light wind off the mountains in the morning to complement the 6-7 miles of climbing (gradual), and then have a strong westerly in the evening to cancel the benefit of the down hill run. My funniest headwind experience, in retrospect, was the April 25 mile or so lunchtime ride I took on east 66 out of Gallup, with a howling westerly -- ran out of gears in the big ring, maintaining 28+ mph. Turned around, ran out of gears the other way (road triple with a 26" or so low), ran out of water, and when I got back to the office, cramped in my hamstrings when I stood upright and cramped in my abs when I bent over. It was this sort of wind that let me climb Tramway in a 75" fixed gear without undue effort, and kept me pedaling to maintain speed on the return. On Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 12:21 PM, JohnS <sharp...@gmail.com> wrote: > Yesterday I got out for a really nice ride of about 38 miles. The day > had an overcast sky with temps around 50, which made for a pleasant if not > cool ride. We're in the middle of fall here in eastern PA with all the > trees in various shades of oranges, reds, yellows and browns. My ride > started out very well. I felt great and was making it up hills in the > cruising gear on the Quickbeam. I thought that I must be getting in better > shape since some of the hills seamed easier than they had been earlier in > the season. That all changed when I got to the mid point of the ride and > turn east onto Lyon Valley road into a head wind. Ugh! No wonder why the > hills were easier, I had a tail wind the whole way up to that point and the > rest of the ride would more or less be into a head wind. I don't know which > is worse, to ride into a head with the hope that I'll have a tail wind for > the ride home or finding out that my sudden improvement in performance was > only due to a gentle push from behind by a tail wind. > > Hope you're enjoying the fall weather for riding as well, > JohnS > > -- > 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 post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews. By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. Other professional writing services. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique, Vereinigte Staaten ************************************* *The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a circumference on the rim of which all conditions, distinctions, and individualities revolve. *Chuang Tzu *Stat crux dum volvitur orbis.* Carthusian motto -- 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 post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
