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

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/

Raptor wrote:

Forgive me if I haven't read everything
carefully enough, but is anyone numerically confident that riding in the
cold is slower?

My hill time trials are slower in the cold, so yes, I have numbers
to show the slow-down effect. I can't explain why, however.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

Raptor wrote:

Forgive me if I haven't read everything
carefully enough, but is anyone numerically confident that riding in the
cold is slower?

My hill time trials are slower in the cold, so yes, I have numbers
to show the slow-down effect. I can't explain why, however.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/

Tim McNamara wrote:
Terry Morse writes:
Okay, I'll buy the argument that cooling requires little increase in
caloric energy. But I'll respond to that with a "Who cares?".
Increase in temperature substantially limits the ability to produce
power to the pedals, and that's the important fact. Time trial
results on very hot days are reduced.


Interesting. My average speeds are 1-2 mph higher on hot days versus
cooler days within a given week in the summer. I feel loose, relaxed
and efficient above 80 F, not too bad above 65 F, and from thereon
down I feel tighter and less efficient when pedaling. Granted this is
all subjective, but as the temps drop my average speed drops as
well. YMMV.

Living in a four-season climate (presumably I'm not the only one), I
acclimatize myself twice a year and enjoy exercising outdoors in all
weather, eventually. More so in Summer for obvious reasons. I would
expect my performance to be more of a function of my current state of
acclimatization than mere temperature.

If you are patient and determined, I believe you can acclimatize
yourself to perform well from roughly -40F (clothed) to roughly 110F
(scantily clothed but sunscreened).

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

Tim McNamara wrote:
Terry Morse writes:
Okay, I'll buy the argument that cooling requires little increase in
caloric energy. But I'll respond to that with a "Who cares?".
Increase in temperature substantially limits the ability to produce
power to the pedals, and that's the important fact. Time trial
results on very hot days are reduced.


Interesting. My average speeds are 1-2 mph higher on hot days versus
cooler days within a given week in the summer. I feel loose, relaxed
and efficient above 80 F, not too bad above 65 F, and from thereon
down I feel tighter and less efficient when pedaling. Granted this is
all subjective, but as the temps drop my average speed drops as
well. YMMV.

Living in a four-season climate (presumably I'm not the only one), I
acclimatize myself twice a year and enjoy exercising outdoors in all
weather, eventually. More so in Summer for obvious reasons. I would
expect my performance to be more of a function of my current state of
acclimatization than mere temperature.

If you are patient and determined, I believe you can acclimatize
yourself to perform well from roughly -40F (clothed) to roughly 110F
(scantily clothed but sunscreened).

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

Terry Morse writes:

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.

Close enough to no energy expenditure as to be lost in the noise.

Terry Morse writes:

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.

Close enough to no energy expenditure as to be lost in the noise.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
Tim McNamara wrote:
Booker C. Bense
c.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."

_ Poor choice of words on my part. While cooling off may not be
active, sweating certainly is. If you're sweating you're wasting
energy and water.


FWIW my personal experience is that I ride fastest and
easiest when the temperature is between 80 and 90F.

_ YICK, I grind to a halt at about 80 and when it's 90 I
just suffer home. I can't really go fast at all until it's
60 or below.


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.

_ Based on my experience in XC skiing races, I think there is more to it
than that. I'm faster when I don't sweat. If you're sweating your
muscles need to be cooled faster than the environmental
conditions alone can cool them.

_ Booker C. Bense

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In article ,
Tim McNamara wrote:
Booker C. Bense
c.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."

_ Poor choice of words on my part. While cooling off may not be
active, sweating certainly is. If you're sweating you're wasting
energy and water.


FWIW my personal experience is that I ride fastest and
easiest when the temperature is between 80 and 90F.

_ YICK, I grind to a halt at about 80 and when it's 90 I
just suffer home. I can't really go fast at all until it's
60 or below.


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.

_ Based on my experience in XC skiing races, I think there is more to it
than that. I'm faster when I don't sweat. If you're sweating your
muscles need to be cooled faster than the environmental
conditions alone can cool them.

_ Booker C. Bense

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Tim McNamara wrote:

Terry Morse writes:

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.

Close enough to no energy expenditure as to be lost in the noise.

Okay, I'll buy the argument that cooling requires little increase in
caloric energy. But I'll respond to that with a "Who cares?".
Increase in temperature substantially limits the ability to produce
power to the pedals, and that's the important fact. Time trial
results on very hot days are reduced.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/