Degrees of difference

I just got back from an evening 30 mile ride, the temp was 65F and it was the best ride I've had since I began riding at the start of summer. For the past 3 months I've been riding 3 or 4 times a week, the temp has usually been in the 80s or higher and my average speed for my 30 mile route stayed stubbornly at 15 mph. Tonight it was 17.4 mph and I finished feeling as if I could do it all over again. Its amazing how much effect temperature has on performance, does anyone have information about temperature/performance issues.

 

Haven't got any data as such but I find 18 degrees C is a pretty comfortable temperature to ride in, about my favourite. Much above 24 degrees C and it all becomes hard work and much below 12 degrees C and I start thinking about the indoor trainer (going soft in old age!).

It must be a function of a balanced heat loss, making the body thermo-regulatory system more efficient at certain temperatures?

 

More likely, you probably had more of a tailwind on this particular day.

-Bikeguy

 

No tail wind, I ride on a sheltered bikepath.

 

How is it that people know their path well enough to be able to get their average speed down to tenths of a mph? Do people not include the cooldown portion of their ride in all of this?

 

I ride the same 30 mile route 3 times a week and then go for a longer variable ride at the weekends. I have 2 miles to ride through traffic before I get to the start of the bike path and take my numbers for the time spent to do the round trip on the bike path, there are some variables like getting stuck behind other path users, but these should even out. maybe taking the mph to the 1st decimal place was a bit unnecessary.

 

Makes sense, i'm new to the cybercycling world so i'm still learning some of the ways and conventions that people measure their performance.

The bike path I regularly ride on used to have markings that someone took the time to paint every half mile, but alas, in the time that I have been gone from the sport (had my last bike stolen about 10-12 yrs ago and didnt buy another till recently ) the numbers are all but gone.

To toot my own horn , I just got back from a 20 mile ride (long for me, like I said, just getting back into it) and did it in 1hr15min from the time I left my house till the time I got back which averages out to 16mph even with short stops for water/cd player and my warmup/cooldown at the start and end of the ride.

Feels great, but pushing the headwind coming towards the beach sure burns, feels awesome headed back though.