Why does my small ring feel so big in the cold?

(Mark Scardiglia) wrote in message . com...
I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
density of the air...

I am so glad to hear other people talking about this! I've noticed
the same thing over the years and I figured either (a) I was really
out of shape (depressing) or (b) I was just being a wimp that day. It
never occurred to me that the body might require more energy to warm
the cold air.

Off-hand, I'd guess the benefits of cold air a dense air = more O2
per breath; cold air may mean tires won't deform as much (?) --
anything else?? Doesn't sound like much.

The drawbacks a denser air = higher drag for any given KPH; more
clothing = constricted breathing, higher drag coefficient and heavier
load; cold lubricants = more effort; cold air = possibly more energy
spent keeping body warm.

Neither one sounds like much -- everything is probably on the order of
0-2% of total power/resistance, but the drawbacks do appear to
outweigh the benefits in terms of performance.

In any case, it makes me feel better to think the cold weather is just
a tougher environment for riding...

JR

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In article ,
Mark Scardiglia wrote:
I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
density of the air...


_ This may sound conter-intiutive, but you are likely
overdressed. You go slower because your muscles are
overheated. From my exeperience, you can actually go
faster at 40 degrees, since you don't need to waste
energy cooling off. However, this requires that you
either take off one or two layers after warming up,
or dressing lightly enough so that you're pretty
chilly until you warm up. This varies greatly from
person to person, but in general people tend to
overdress in cold weather. The trick to cold weather
is to remove layers before you get sweaty.

_ Booker C. Bense


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In article ,
Mark Scardiglia wrote:
I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
density of the air...


_ This may sound conter-intiutive, but you are likely
overdressed. You go slower because your muscles are
overheated. From my exeperience, you can actually go
faster at 40 degrees, since you don't need to waste
energy cooling off. However, this requires that you
either take off one or two layers after warming up,
or dressing lightly enough so that you're pretty
chilly until you warm up. This varies greatly from
person to person, but in general people tend to
overdress in cold weather. The trick to cold weather
is to remove layers before you get sweaty.

_ Booker C. Bense


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"Booker C. Bense"
.stanford.edu wrote in
message ...
| -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
|
| In article ,
| Mark Scardiglia wrote:
| I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
| how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
| below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
| density of the air...
|
|
| _ This may sound conter-intiutive, but you are likely
| overdressed. You go slower because your muscles are
| overheated. From my exeperience, you can actually go
| faster at 40 degrees, since you don't need to waste
| energy cooling off. However, this requires that you
| either take off one or two layers after warming up,
| or dressing lightly enough so that you're pretty
| chilly until you warm up. This varies greatly from
| person to person, but in general people tend to
| overdress in cold weather. The trick to cold weather
| is to remove layers before you get sweaty.
|
| _ Booker C. Bense
|

It's really unnecessary to undress, or over/ under dress.
If you wear tops with zippers, and headbands, the ability to expose more or
less flesh in the critical areas of the neck, throat, chest, and head will
make all the difference. Exposing the wrists to the cold will draw off much
heat, as they are another area of the body where there is a great amount of
blood flowing close to the skin's surface.
At riding speeds, a few square inches of flesh exposed in these areas will
readily zap heat off the body. It does pay to anticipate:
Bundle/zip up on the long, low energy output/high wind chill downhills.
Unzip as you approach long. slow (low wind chill/ high energy output)uphills
to adequately vent waste heat.

ED3

"Booker C. Bense"
.stanford.edu wrote in
message ...
| -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
|
| In article ,
| Mark Scardiglia wrote:
| I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
| how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
| below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
| density of the air...
|
|
| _ This may sound conter-intiutive, but you are likely
| overdressed. You go slower because your muscles are
| overheated. From my exeperience, you can actually go
| faster at 40 degrees, since you don't need to waste
| energy cooling off. However, this requires that you
| either take off one or two layers after warming up,
| or dressing lightly enough so that you're pretty
| chilly until you warm up. This varies greatly from
| person to person, but in general people tend to
| overdress in cold weather. The trick to cold weather
| is to remove layers before you get sweaty.
|
| _ Booker C. Bense
|

It's really unnecessary to undress, or over/ under dress.
If you wear tops with zippers, and headbands, the ability to expose more or
less flesh in the critical areas of the neck, throat, chest, and head will
make all the difference. Exposing the wrists to the cold will draw off much
heat, as they are another area of the body where there is a great amount of
blood flowing close to the skin's surface.
At riding speeds, a few square inches of flesh exposed in these areas will
readily zap heat off the body. It does pay to anticipate:
Bundle/zip up on the long, low energy output/high wind chill downhills.
Unzip as you approach long. slow (low wind chill/ high energy output)uphills
to adequately vent waste heat.

ED3

"Mark Scardiglia" wrote in message
om...
I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
density of the air...

It takes much more effort for me to get warmed up, but in the end I feel
stronger in the cold even as low as the 20's. In the cool to hot temps I
have problems staying hydrated. I'm really happy that temps are coming
down.

Dave

"Mark Scardiglia" wrote in message
om...
I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
density of the air...

It takes much more effort for me to get warmed up, but in the end I feel
stronger in the cold even as low as the 20's. In the cool to hot temps I
have problems staying hydrated. I'm really happy that temps are coming
down.

Dave

Booker C. Bense
.stanford.edu
writes:

In article ,
Mark Scardiglia wrote:

I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
density of the air...

_ This may sound conter-intiutive, but you are likely
overdressed. You go slower because your muscles are overheated. From
my exeperience, you can actually go faster at 40 degrees, since you
don't need to waste energy cooling off.

Cooling is not an active process, therefore you don't "waste energy
cooling off." FWIW my personal experience is that I ride fastest and
easiest when the temperature is between 80 and 90F. I'd probably be a
happy guy living in New Mexico or Arizona, as I like it hot. Here in
Minnesota there are only about six weeks of good warm weather a year,
and 6 1/2 months of generally OK weather- and four months of generally
annoying weather, at least from the cycling perspective. Sadly
they've not been good months for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing
for most of the past 10 years

However, this requires that you either take off one or two layers
after warming up, or dressing lightly enough so that you're pretty
chilly until you warm up. This varies greatly from person to person,
but in general people tend to overdress in cold weather. The trick
to cold weather is to remove layers before you get sweaty.

I'd agree with the practice you describe, as a way to prevent initial
overheating and then getting cold when the insulation provided by your
clothing is compromise by moisture, but not the underlying reason you
propose.

Booker C. Bense
.stanford.edu
writes:

In article ,
Mark Scardiglia wrote:

I'm OK riding in the colder weather, but it never ceases to amaze me
how much more work it seems to be to make the bike go once it gets
below 40 degrees. Just don't tell me it's mostly got to do with the
density of the air...

_ This may sound conter-intiutive, but you are likely
overdressed. You go slower because your muscles are overheated. From
my exeperience, you can actually go faster at 40 degrees, since you
don't need to waste energy cooling off.

Cooling is not an active process, therefore you don't "waste energy
cooling off." FWIW my personal experience is that I ride fastest and
easiest when the temperature is between 80 and 90F. I'd probably be a
happy guy living in New Mexico or Arizona, as I like it hot. Here in
Minnesota there are only about six weeks of good warm weather a year,
and 6 1/2 months of generally OK weather- and four months of generally
annoying weather, at least from the cycling perspective. Sadly
they've not been good months for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing
for most of the past 10 years

However, this requires that you either take off one or two layers
after warming up, or dressing lightly enough so that you're pretty
chilly until you warm up. This varies greatly from person to person,
but in general people tend to overdress in cold weather. The trick
to cold weather is to remove layers before you get sweaty.

I'd agree with the practice you describe, as a way to prevent initial
overheating and then getting cold when the insulation provided by your
clothing is compromise by moisture, but not the underlying reason you
propose.

Tim McNamara wrote:

Cooling is not an active process, therefore you don't "waste energy
cooling off."

Yes, it takes energy to cool the body, since the heart has to work
harder. Based on what I've read:

When it's hot, more blood is directed to the surface of the body,
leaving less for the leg muscles. Because of this, heart rate
increases about 1 beat for every degree above 75F.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/