This evening set out for a rehab ride. That differs from a regular ride in that I am peddling as hard as I can for the entire ride. No other purpose than to increase blood flow, help nerves to "wake up" and muscles to grow and get stronger.

Then came the Wind. Heavy wind that was dead head on or quartering except for one leg where the tail wind was blocked by trees and buildings. Spent most of the time in middle front ring and cassette.

That 15 miles flat wore me out!

Glad you made it through the ride.

Wind is a demoralizer only if you allow it to be. While it is the foe I usually can not see, it is the opposition I love to conquer most by getting into the zone. Using body, mind and machine as one is my goal, especially when forward progress is only slowly accomplished. The rewards after completing the distances are the burning muscles indicating the signs of truly being alive.

Having been a pilot wind is something you fly through and pay attention to "airspeed", not ground speed. I set my effort based on cadence and heart rate. With a head wind, I go just as hard, but slower. It took me a while to stop trying to go by ground speed.

I appreciate the comments. Until I read them I hadn'f realized a strong wind might have a nevative emotional impact. To me it just meant that I went a shorter distance than planned because I was wiped out. Oh, come to think about it, on one section the bike got a bit unruly due to turbulence and I had to keep a firm hand on the reins.

Legs are still Tired today. Must be getting old, eh?

I heard your hoot...or was it a screech... as my wife and I pushed into that wind. Holy red tailed hoot! We did get us some wind. It was interestingly blustery with the occasional blast from the side that also made me get a grip on my handlebars. I was riding no-handed at one point when the wind reminded me I just got back on the bike and could be put back on the ground very easily...

Hi,

If its windy your planned ride will be slower and longer.

If you usually go "full bore" for a given distance and time,
you need to slow down a bit, it will take a bit longer and
you can't manage "full bore" over the longer time.

The worst IMO is very blustery side winds making you
continually work to keep upright, knackering as you
are not generally used to doing that a lot riding.

rgds, sreten.

Something I recently discovered (for me) is to back off an extra MPH more than what I would normally do. I have much more in the tank when the wind does get favorable, that I more than make up the difference.