Martin Dann <
[email protected]> wrote in news:6h5vi.5831$ka7.2569
@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net:
> Also anti-clockwise will usually be shorter (about 10m or so).
>
> However I think the main differences will be the hills,
> traffic lights, and the psychology of the rider.
FWIW, I work from home and "pseudo-commute" a 3.5 mile circular route
before and after work. The highest point is about 200ft higher than the
lowest point and it's about a mile of continuous climb, a mile of continous
descent, and a couple of flat-ish bits joining them. One of the inclined
bits is littered with full-width speed humps, the other is not. So the
quick way round is to take the speed-hump section uphill and the hump-free
section downhill. That way I can get up to about 35mph on the descent while
the other way around I need to brake for every speed hump because hitting
the humps at more than about 10mph is likely to put one or both wheels out
of true (my LBS wheel-truing service has seen a lot of me in the last few
months
)
Generalising a bit, I suspect that whichever direction requires the most
braking will be the slowest. For example, (speed humps aside) if you're
turning into a minor road in one direction you will have the right of way
and can take the junction fairly quickly, while you will need to give way
and probably will take the junction more slowly when riding the other way
around.
--
Geoff