Tricking the mind to ride into a headwind

[Farmguy]

First off, I know its all in the mind and there might be a saftey issue depending on where you ride, but for me it has helped the few times I have tried it.

Seems like more ofter than not when ever I take off....damn, theres a headwind again, after a while I got tired of the roaring in my ears, 10-20 mph headwind plus 15-18mph makes for a lot of wind noise. So, from riding motorcycles and having the same issue I put in a set of earplugs to deaden the noise Holy ****, my speed increased 1-2 mph. I compared rides several differant times, same route with winds as close to the same as possible and every time I rode with earplugs I posted a higher avg speed. Like I said, its just a mind trick, I ride with a HR monitor but after a while just listening to the wind beats you down. Its a pretty simple trick and will let you ride in the wind with a smile. I didnt find this topic after a search so I posted away.

BYW, riding mountain bikes and road bikes for over 25 years, during peak riding 100-120 road miles a week.

 

[RelevantAaron]

That's great advice. I always wear ear plugs on my motorcycle and the reduced wind noise really makes you more relaxed and less fatigued over time. Using a decent set of ear plugs is actually safer since it attenuates the wind frequency and will allow you to hear other sounds more clearly.

I use these: http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx

 

[blkhotrod]

First off, I know its all in the mind and there might be a saftey issue depending on where you ride, but for me it has helped the few times I have tried it.

Seems like more ofter than not when ever I take off....damn, theres a headwind again, after a while I got tired of the roaring in my ears, 10-20 mph headwind plus 15-18mph makes for a lot of wind noise. So, from riding motorcycles and having the same issue I put in a set of earplugs to deaden the noise Holy ****, my speed increased 1-2 mph. I compared rides several differant times, same route with winds as close to the same as possible and every time I rode with earplugs I posted a higher avg speed. Like I said, its just a mind trick, I ride with a HR monitor but after a while just listening to the wind beats you down. Its a pretty simple trick and will let you ride in the wind with a smile. I didnt find this topic after a search so I posted away.

BYW, riding mountain bikes and road bikes for over 25 years, during peak riding 100-120 road miles a week.

and how do you hear the fat pig redneck in the pickup truck or the soccer mom with the anal cell phone and latte between her legs coming at your backside??

 

[Animator]

That's really interesting. I had this same problem the other day where my wattage was far below my target range going into a blistering headwind. I could not convince myself to push harder and eventually gave up. The poster above asks a relevant question though...can you still hear vehicles coming up from behind?

 

[Farmguy]

Yes you can hear, most ear plugs will only deaden the sound to a certain level, say for example down to 80 decibels, so a car coming from behind you can still hear. Actually, a little better as you have less wind noise, plus, I never ride without a mirror, one that fits in the end of the handlebar, glance very often.

I have used the little foam plugs, less than a dollar apeice as well as the rubber ones tied together on a rubber cord, both help. Plus what I didnt memtion, your heart pounding in your ears is WAY cool. Nice way to save on a HR monitor...lol


....and carefull, as you might guess from my nickname, I can almost be called a redneck.......

 

[Animator]

There's a few good choices here I think...

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/nasopl.html

 

[rwinthenorth]

Yes you can hear, most ear plugs will only deaden the sound to a certain level, say for example down to 80 decibels, so a car coming from behind you can still hear. Actually, a little better as you have less wind noise, plus, I never ride without a mirror, one that fits in the end of the handlebar, glance very often.

I have used the little foam plugs, less than a dollar apeice as well as the rubber ones tied together on a rubber cord, both help. Plus what I didnt memtion, your heart pounding in your ears is WAY cool. Nice way to save on a HR monitor...lol


....and carefull, as you might guess from my nickname, I can almost be called a redneck.......

I'm going to try this. I am so whipped with head winds, even if my times don't increase, I love the peace and quiet on the road.

BTW, if your on this forum, I'd doubt your a redneck. Farmers aren't necessarily rednecks and rednecks aren't necessarily farmers. Thanks for the tip.

 

[slyjackson]

I tried this yesterday and it did help. I used a pair of foam ear plugs and I was still able to hear traffic. During the ride I hit some cross winds and some head winds. when i took the ear plugs out for about a 2 miles in the headwind, my cadence dropped. Each time I heard the wind in my ears and felt the push on my chest I slowed.With the ear plugs in my cadence was barely affected, at least it did not drop as much with the plugs out. When I did not hear the wind blasting in my ear that well, I felt comfortable even though I could feel the wind push against my chest, it did not seem to bother me. I just push a little harder on the pedals and all balanced out.

So there may be something to this. The sound of wind blowing in your ears does seem to affect the mind into backing off on the pedals. But to declare this as being gospel, some study needs to be made on this by the physics and physcolgist weenies...

 

[Farmguy]

What I have found..or maybe like to think that the push on the chest from a wind is to be expected, if you are riding 18-20+ mph you will feel the wind, but the noise from headwind as well as riding wind .


But, it kind of fun to play tricks on the mind, and cheap ones at that.

 

[Farmguy]

What I have found..or maybe like to think that the push on the chest from a wind is to be expected, if you are riding 18-20+ mph you will feel the wind, but the noise from headwind as well as riding wind .


But, it kinds of fun to play tricks on the mind, and cheap ones at that.