20 min faster by just spinning????

I'm not a fast rider so I'm happy to just hop on my bike and get to work. After I put on the Hakkas I became considerably slower, doing an approx 10 mi commute (one way) in about 58 min. I wasn't pushing it really, but there was no use, or so I thought, because I felt tired and would burn out if I tried to go faster.

A curious thing happened today... there was considerable wind blowing in all directions, so I decided to go to a lower gear and spin. I'd build some momentum but then I decided to stay there and continue spinning. When I felt I was losing momentum I'd shift to an even slower gear (1 to 3) and spin more. If I felt I was spinning too fast then I'd switch gears again to a higher gear (4 to 6). But I was spinning most of my way.

Guess what? I checked my cyclocomputer and I covered the route in 38 minutes! A 20 minute improvement just by spinning? Is the computer wrong? Am I dreaming? Is this really possible? With the Hakkas on?

GreenAnvil