bikenh

Call me an unbeliever...at least until today I was.

I had been wanting to pull off a sub 5 solo century here in NH for the past year now. No such luck. Not even able to come close. I kept wandering if it was the fact of being out of shape or if it was the topography. I had come as close as 5:33 last Thursday and 5:35 back on May 21st. Nothing else even came close. I was typically always doing under 6 hours but never close 5 hours. I always used to have no trouble at all doing sub 5 solo centuries when I lived in Ohio. Granted that was 15 years ago and I was in my early to mid 20s at the time. Granted given the fact I'm still a young-un I shouldn't have any kind of trouble pulling it off now. I had come to realize with some of the riding I've did this year that it was the topography that was keeping me from pulling it off more than the lack of being in shape. Today I came to learn of somethign else that made it easy to do sub 5's in Ohio but make it hard to do them in NH.

On August 3rd last year I did my 3rd of 3 doubles for the year. I was shocked right from leaving home as to how fast I was going. I finally feel below the 20 mph pace about 55 miles into the ride. Last Thursday I was following the same start to ride from last August only I was only going 17-18 mph. I'm in far better shape now then i was back then. I knew it. I also knew the temperature when I started the ride last year was in the lower 60s and it was only 44 last Thursday. Both times I was only riding in shorts and t-shirt. This year I didn't have a pack on my back like I did last year. I knew it all had to come down to the air density being low last year that allowed to go so much faster.

Today was going to be the real eye opener...to say the least. I woke up this morning to 62 degrees and mostly clear skies. After grabbing breakfast I headed out the door and got on the rode at 4:35AM. I hadn't even made it down the road .5 mile and I already could tell I was making a big mistake going where I was planning on going(stop light he!!). 2 miles down the road and I really knew it. The air density was so darn low that their was little to nothing holding me back. The riding was very effortless unlike usual. I made my way to top of the "main" drop and rode down the nice decent that normally I would see 35-38 mph going down it for the fastest pace. As I got down to the bottom I looked and saw that I just crushed that...44 mph. I really knew I was going to the wrong location. The further I went the more I knew I was goofing up big time. This was looking to be the first time I was going to be able to truly pull off a sub 5 solo century. The pace was shocking. I'm definintely not use to riding that fast, yet alone doing it continuously. Their was no air resistance like I normally have to deal with. I could feel it big time.

I made my way to the 2 hour mark and the start of stoplight he!! and I had 43 miles in 2:01. Totally an unheard of pace for me since I moved to NH. To say the stoplights kicked my a$$ would be an understatement. I always end up with three separate times for any ride anymore, total time(clock based start to finish), on bike time(including sitting at stoplights, parking lot exits, etc) and moving time(minus stoplights, parking lot exits, etc).

Over the course of the ride I managed to make back some of the time when I could get away from the stoplights since I was typically averaging 22+mph when I wasn't having to slow down/speed up at the stoplights.

At the end of 100 miles I ended up still falling just short:
4647 feet of climbing
5:03:25 moving time
5:11:30 on bike time
It was 91 degrees at my house when I got home from all 141.33 miles of the ride

Bummer. I should have listened to my original thoughts and went somewhere else without all those darn stoplights.

I must admit over the winter I noticed how much slower my times were compared to last summer. I knew it wasn't all about the extra drag from the winter clothing. I knew it was about the air density. Today really showed me how much air density comes into play when you start looking at speed. I'm not so sure that air density isn't far more of a factor than gravity when it comes to determining your overall speed...irregardless of what kind of shape you are in. High air density can make the most physically fit person into a slow rider while very low air density can have just the exact opposite effect. I was looking through someone's blog post just last night, he lives in AZ, and he was hinting at the same thing without coming right out and saying so.

After the 100 mile mark and making my way into Concord I said the heck with and went into conservation mode. I know I have 3 more rides, nothing less than 190 miles, I would like to get in before the end of the month for a personal challenge I gave myself several months back. The dateline I placed on completing the challenge was the end of June. The ride today was necessary toward the challenge. I decided not to push it any further and just save energy/the body for the remaining rides of the challenge. My average speed by the time I got home was down around 17.25mph. Didn't bother me in the least.

Now to get home from the library, where I'm at right now and get into the laundrymat and get the clothes washed. By the time I get home from there I will be sitting at 10,000 miles for the year. Never thought I would ever ride 10K in one year, until last year came along and I ended up doing 12K. To do 10K in less than 6 months is purely unbelievable. I still can't figure out how I have ever managed to pull this one off. I don't think I could do it again even if I had to.

Richard Cranium

I don't know what to think - I never I heard of anyone really measuring air friction. You realize of course that even a 5mph breeze represents a significant "pressure front" or "isobaric-manifestation" - if you wish -- making the thesis of your comments spurious.

However, I digress. Anyway - doing a 5:11 with over 4000 feet of climbing is a great achievement. hat amount of potential cycling energy could easily have resulted in a 4:50 century on a flatter route.

If I were you I would forget the "air" aspects - and get with someone who knows how to make a good route. Typically this involves using the early part of the ride to get upwind and then returning with a tail wind or at least a favorable breeze when finishing the ride. Normally winds are always weakest at sunrise..... you get the idea......

Although I've ridden more than 40 solo sub-five hour centuries - I would think that perhaps only two or three of them had more than 3,000 feet of climbing.

bikenh

Hey Richard,

Come on up to New Hampshire and try to find a 100 miler with only 3000 feet of climbing...GOOD LUCK! Most 100 milers around here have 5-6000 feet of climbing and 200 milers start around 8000 and go up from there(if your lucky you can find 8000). I don't live in the flats of the midwest like you do. I use to live in NW Ohio so I know all about doing sub 5 centuries and having flat ground to ride on.

Up here in NH its much more difficult because of two factors...gravity and we don't get as warm as you guys get. Study a little on air density and you'll see how much of a difference air density makes on any ride you do. Higher air density can make you from 15-30% slower than when you have lower air density to ride in. Air density is mostly controlled by temperature/humidity/barometric pressure. The colder the temps the higher the air density. The drier the air the higher the density.

I kept wandering last winter why my average speed tanked like a rock. I use to be averaging mid 16s to mid 17s mph last summer on long(100 mile) rides. Once winter arrived that speed tanked and during the coldest part of the winter I wasn't even able to break 15 mph. Extra clothing made a slight difference but most of the difference came from the increased air density. I could feel the heavier air. I can go out for a ride anymore and tell if its a good day to go for a time trial ride or not. I can feel the difference in the air quite quickly. The wind doesn't have the same push against like it does when the air density is higher. It's more like I'm slicing through the air instead of pushing through the air.

I did start the ride at 4:35AM, a good 45 minutes before sunrise. I was trying to get the ride in before the hottest part of the day hit. Since we don't see many 90 degree days up here in NH I don't get much of a chance to get acclimated to the riding the heat like you do in St Louis. I saw over the winter how well the body can acclimate to the conditions once it has had a chance to acclimate. I could go out riding for hours on end when the temps were only 10-20F and I wouldn't get cold at all, not even the toes...after I had acclimated to biking in the cold. Prior to acclimating, I would always end up getting cold toes and fingers and it would make the ride much more unpleasant. Since I don't have the same chance to acclimate to the heat I was going to get out and get the ride done before the heat could build too much. As a result of starting early, I didn't really have any wind until the very end of the 100 miles. I admit that it was a head wind. I knew I would have to possibly deal with the wind coming home but I also knew I was going on the ride to accomplish a particular goal I'm trying to accomplish and I only have through the end of the month to get it done.

In reality I wouldn't be surprised at all to have did even faster than 4:50, in flat terrain, given the quality of the day yesterday. It was one of the best days I've seen in a long time. I had seriously started to question if a sub 5 solo century, without aerobars would even be doable in NH or not. After yesterday I realize it is completely doable...you just have to pick your days very carefully. There aren't many of them available each year...unfortunately.

Rowan

Talk to the indoor velodrome guys about how much difference air temperatures and humidity can make in the speeds they achieve. Those air density differences are highlighted if race times are slow or fast, and the comparisons are relevant because the wind factor is removed.

bikenh

I believe it whole-heartedly. Once you have spent an entire year riding in all different kinds of temperature/humidity ranges you can feel the difference in the quality of the air. You can tell when your pushing versus slicing through the air, even in calm morning conditions. The one thing that didn't really shock me yesterday when I was going back looking at same sample calculations of air density was how higher humidity makes for lower density. I've noticed on more humid days right before rain arrives it seems like the biking is much easier. Just taking another look it really makes sense now. The lower the air pressure, the more humid the air, the hotter the air(can you say Florida) the low the air density the less air resistance you will experience. Want to set records go to Florida, not Alaska.

I may try once again tomorrow to see if I can pull off a sub 5. Temps in the morning are suppose to be lower 60s again, unfortunately with drier air moving in thanks to the storm front that is suppose to go through later on this afternoon into tonight. I know the route looks like I'll be just shy of 5800 feet of climbing by the time I hit the 100 mile mark. I can give it a shot though. The temps are in my favor.

KevinF

I don't know where in NH you are, but: https://www.granitestatewheelmen.org/...C-HomePage.htm

It's (mostly) in NH, it's flat, and assuming the wind co-operates, it wouldn't be that hard to break five hours.

bikenh

I'm in Sunapee. There is nothing around here that gives any kind of flat riding. The seacoast is about the only area where you can ride and find flat terrain. You have to get there first. Admittedly I did a 227 miler back a month ago to the seacoast but most of the riding I do, since I don't own a car, is typically in the western part of the state. I've pretty much ridden all the state highways west of I93 so far this year. Got a few more up in the Whites to finish off in the next week to meet the challenge of doing them all before the end of June.