There is science and engineering here and a look at the airline industry is revealing as $B's are at stake. What they do is throttle up into the wind so that they are negatively effected for less time. When they have a tail wind they ease up of the throttles so that the wind can benefit them for more time.

In the USA, when flying west-to-east they have a tail wind that can be 200 miles per hour but is usually about 100mph. When they fly east-to-west they face that same wind in the face. If they did not increase the throttles into the wind and decrease with it the flight time difference would average 50% (500+100 versus 500-100) but could be more than 100% (500+200 versus 500-200). But, that's not what happens as the difference is typically less than 20%.

So, the scientific answer is to pedal harder and reduce the drag by getting into the drops when you ride into the wind and you can pedal easier with a tail wind. Again, you want to reduce the time spent fighting the wind so you MUST ride harder.


Brian