As winter is now with us, we are faced with the question of why do our regular rides seem to take much longer than just one or two months ago? With little else to do my riding buddy and I have considered this question and come up with an answer. The obvious thing to consider when comparing distances that can be ridden is the speed of the ride in miles per hour; however, miles per hour needs a little more thought if we are to understand more clearly how to go quicker and reduce the time of the ride. Mph has two components miles (distance of the ride) and hours (time taken). ‘Distance’ is the fixed distance of the ride, ‘time taken’ however has basically two sub-divisions, the time spent pedalling and the time spent stationary. For me and my buddy our summer speed averages 7.5mph but our pedalling speed is 9mph, in the winter these figures drop to 6.5 and 8 mph respectively. This means we lose approximately 1.5 mph with stops for gates, food and clocking the views etc. Theoretically we could increase our overall speed by 1.5mph if we did nothing more than have zero stops. We have tried this and it does work, eating while pedalling, dashing through gates as fast as possible or picking a route with few gates all increase the overall ride speed. So there we have it, two options to increase ‘trail’ riding speed; increase the pedalling speed or reduce the stationary time. Increasing pedalling speed sounds like hard work to me, more miles on the bike, interval training, a road bike for miles during the winter etc. with me it is just not going to happen. As we pedal along there are many distractions, bike kit needs to be discussed, politics need to be commented on and work issues aired. Reducing the time taken with stops appears to be simple, but is it? Gates take time to open and close and in many cases provide opportunity for a rest. Food needs to be eaten (with my healthy lifestyle I favour SPAM and tomato sauce sandwiches) and views need to be looked at. Winter brings added complexity due to ground and weather conditions, together with more layers of clothing. In addition, I believe there is a psychological element that makes me go slower during the winter; it could be ‘winter fat’ or just purgatory. As the temperature falls the muscles get colder and not as elastically responsive as when nice and warm. Therefore, either more effort is required with the associated danger of injury, or we ride within the limitations imposed by the weather conditions and our bodies, inevitably taking a little longer. My attitude is go for a ride when you feel like it, for a comfortable distance and at a comfortable speed, include some new terrain challenges where possible but don’t examine the speedometer and don’t worry about what others can do. Keep life simple.
Nomad Mike
