Originally Posted by
Stadjer
No, especially those ones that aren't trained physically to do that. But the training is just a matter of riding a bike a lot. And maybe the 12 mph isn't achievable for everybody, but 10 or 11 mph will do for a short commute. The point was that sweating is a choice, it doesn't have to come with riding a bike and the distance doesn't necessarily have to change that. The other point was that cooling down while pedalling is very hard, so you have to slow down before you start sweating and avoid peaks in energy input.
And there it is! No, I...and others...aren't "out of shape" because we sweat. A 12 mph pace is an aerobic pace and no one should expect to
not sweat when doing that speed. I don't personally need "training" nor do I need to "ride a bike a lot" to learn how
not to sweat. I do ride a lot. My normal year is around 3000 miles with occasional spikes to 5000 miles when I tour for weeks at a time. I
know how to ride and I'm
trained more than the average person. I also happen to sweat at just about any speed. And, no, a mile or 2 per hour isn't going to make any difference to how much a normal person sweats when riding aerobically. Maybe half that speed but not just a small adjustment.
And, no sweating isn't a "choice". It's a physiological response to aerobic activity. There's a pretty good reason that 12 mph is considered a
moderate aerobic activity as well. Around that speed, wind resistance starts to have a major impact on the energy output require to move the bicycle. Your contention that "anyone should be able to ride at 12 mph without sweating" is just wrong.