j_young_80
12-11-2009, 10:08 AM
Go With the Gusts
Last week we promised to conclude our recent attention to wind by sharing thoughts on how to use the invisible force for training.
It helps to remember that headwinds can actually help your fitness. If you're creative and think positive about the wind you can make it a training partner. Here are 3 ways:
Power producer. A headwind makes you work harder for every inch you cover -- terrific for power building. Then when you get a tailwind, you can use its helping hand to improve your spin.
Natural wind tunnel. A headwind gives you the chance to tune your position. It's almost like being in a wind tunnel. Make changes to upper-body posture, then watch your cyclecomputer to see the difference in speed.
Experiment with aerodynamics by putting your hands in different locations on the bar, moving your elbows in or out, and altering the angle of your back. Then you can use what you learn even on windless days when you're pushing hard and in need of more speed. For instance, when riding a time trial or trying to catch cyclists up the road.
Hill skill. Long grinds into the wind are a lot like ascending a long climb. Sit and concentrate on a strong, round pedal stroke. Simulate out-of-saddle climbing by shifting to a gear high enough that you need to stand against the wind to keep your speed. Both approaches build overall strength and power to improve your climbing ability.
Given the twists and turns of a loop course, you'll get chances to escape the brunt of a headwind. Relax, recover and "climb" again when the next turn points you into the gale.
Great, but what about days when the wind is so gusty that it threatens to blow you off your bike?
Most of us have experienced these white-knuckle rides when it's even risky to take a hand off the bar to reach for a water bottle.
Roadie Thom M. of Bend, Oregon, wrote to RBR about the nature of wind. He's thought hard about it, being a small-aircraft pilot and a sailboat racer as well as a cyclist. He gave us an insight about descending on windy days.
Next time you're barreling downhill and get hit by a gust, Thom's advice might come in handy:
"As a young pilot," Thom writes, "I was always trying to correct for the wind, and thus I was always in a state of overcorrection. So now when I'm on my bike, I do not adjust my steering during wind gusts."
He explains that "wind travels in cells. Gusts are the leading edge, the outer membrane, of those cells. So it's my experience to just let the wind push my bike around on fast descents, knowing that soon I will be inside the wind cell and in more stable conditions. Things will return to normal quickly. What you don't want is to be dealing with very dangerous high-speed overcorrections."
In other words, go with the gusts. Don't be too quick to counterpunch the invisible foe.
Last week we promised to conclude our recent attention to wind by sharing thoughts on how to use the invisible force for training.
It helps to remember that headwinds can actually help your fitness. If you're creative and think positive about the wind you can make it a training partner. Here are 3 ways:
Power producer. A headwind makes you work harder for every inch you cover -- terrific for power building. Then when you get a tailwind, you can use its helping hand to improve your spin.
Natural wind tunnel. A headwind gives you the chance to tune your position. It's almost like being in a wind tunnel. Make changes to upper-body posture, then watch your cyclecomputer to see the difference in speed.
Experiment with aerodynamics by putting your hands in different locations on the bar, moving your elbows in or out, and altering the angle of your back. Then you can use what you learn even on windless days when you're pushing hard and in need of more speed. For instance, when riding a time trial or trying to catch cyclists up the road.
Hill skill. Long grinds into the wind are a lot like ascending a long climb. Sit and concentrate on a strong, round pedal stroke. Simulate out-of-saddle climbing by shifting to a gear high enough that you need to stand against the wind to keep your speed. Both approaches build overall strength and power to improve your climbing ability.
Given the twists and turns of a loop course, you'll get chances to escape the brunt of a headwind. Relax, recover and "climb" again when the next turn points you into the gale.
Great, but what about days when the wind is so gusty that it threatens to blow you off your bike?
Most of us have experienced these white-knuckle rides when it's even risky to take a hand off the bar to reach for a water bottle.
Roadie Thom M. of Bend, Oregon, wrote to RBR about the nature of wind. He's thought hard about it, being a small-aircraft pilot and a sailboat racer as well as a cyclist. He gave us an insight about descending on windy days.
Next time you're barreling downhill and get hit by a gust, Thom's advice might come in handy:
"As a young pilot," Thom writes, "I was always trying to correct for the wind, and thus I was always in a state of overcorrection. So now when I'm on my bike, I do not adjust my steering during wind gusts."
He explains that "wind travels in cells. Gusts are the leading edge, the outer membrane, of those cells. So it's my experience to just let the wind push my bike around on fast descents, knowing that soon I will be inside the wind cell and in more stable conditions. Things will return to normal quickly. What you don't want is to be dealing with very dangerous high-speed overcorrections."
In other words, go with the gusts. Don't be too quick to counterpunch the invisible foe.