More wind
This month has been quite windy with constant W/SW winds. My rides into work have either been wind assisted or almost wind free but my rides home have been into the wind. This really takes it out of you.
Last Monday (23rd) the headwind was so strong I rode to the train station and got the train home. Each day I would gauge my ride home based on how strong the wind was and often took a more sheltered route home to make it easier.
On Saturday I went for a nice ride to Rye and through the Rother district with my riding buddy Phil and my colleague Dom. The route for me, door to door is 60 miles, but for the other two it's less. Dom is a novice and is training for the London to Brighton on June 19. He found the ride OK to start with but the hills took it out of him. Phil had a new Specialized Allez Double in red and found the higher gearing a bit tougher than he was used to compared to the triple chainset he had before. He's definitely getting faster though.
The last part of the ride for me was 15 miles into a headwind. A slog but not too difficult. For Dom, it was too much and he really did struggle. However, he completed 50 miles that day and should be proud of his achievement.
I was also pleased with myself as I'd managed the whole day, including the climbs using no lower than a 50x25. Before I got my Rose bike with a compact 50/34 I was using a triple 50/39/30 and would always stay in the 39. I even managed to beat some of my previous climb times with the higher gearing compared to last time.
Last Monday (23rd) the headwind was so strong I rode to the train station and got the train home. Each day I would gauge my ride home based on how strong the wind was and often took a more sheltered route home to make it easier.
On Saturday I went for a nice ride to Rye and through the Rother district with my riding buddy Phil and my colleague Dom. The route for me, door to door is 60 miles, but for the other two it's less. Dom is a novice and is training for the London to Brighton on June 19. He found the ride OK to start with but the hills took it out of him. Phil had a new Specialized Allez Double in red and found the higher gearing a bit tougher than he was used to compared to the triple chainset he had before. He's definitely getting faster though.
The last part of the ride for me was 15 miles into a headwind. A slog but not too difficult. For Dom, it was too much and he really did struggle. However, he completed 50 miles that day and should be proud of his achievement.
I was also pleased with myself as I'd managed the whole day, including the climbs using no lower than a 50x25. Before I got my Rose bike with a compact 50/34 I was using a triple 50/39/30 and would always stay in the 39. I even managed to beat some of my previous climb times with the higher gearing compared to last time.
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