Weather has been a little gloomy recently, and I've been feeling I've neglected training, so I decided to hop on the rollers for a short, perfunctory spin. Cadence and speed started out slow, as usual (low 70s, 14-16 mph), but after about 15 minutes, I managed to get it up in the 90-100 range, and since it didn't feel like any effort, I put it up on the big ring and started dropping cogs. Well, I managed to spin it up, and was quite surprised to see it registering in the 30s, and at one point sustained a solid 36mph for about half a minute. I was rather incredulous, because normally, on a stationary bike (the only time I really pay attention to these things), I'm lucky to get it to stay in the mid 20s and peak at maybe 30 momentarily. Why can't I do that outside? I wondered dumbly. After catching my breath, I spun it up again, and managed to get it to hold 40-41mph for about half a minute. WTH? Did I break my computer? Seriously - those numbers are completely anomalous; but it's true, I was on 53/12, spinning my legs like crazy.
Sure, lack of wind resistance would make a big difference between what can be done on rollers and what can be done outside, but that doesn't explain why those numbers were so much higher that what I've ever experienced on a stationary bike. Who else has had this experience, and to what would you account such a leap? Proper fit/positioning, maybe?