Originally Posted by
Fizzaly
^^Yes snow multiplies the slowness effect by a million%
Even today though riding on my slicks i was riding along at about 17-19mph, two months ago when morning temps where in the mid 50's i would be at 20-22mph, im not by any means a well educated person but, are we using more calories in the cold or something. I mean i understand the eyes thing in the cold i get the same thing, but im sure everyone here will probably say their times are slower in the cold there has to be a reason.
Yes that is true. The amount of calories used to keep the body warm goes up as the temperature goes down. This is offset somewhat by heat being generated while cycling. But then again the faster you go the faster you lose heat from the wind.
There is an inverse effect in warm temperatures, where overheating causes more calories to be used.
There is probably an optimal temperature range in which you can go fastest and anything much above or below that will be slower. Though its harder to tell on the colder end, because of all the other slowing down factors in the winter. In the heat the only thing that slows you down is the extra water you have to carry