On High Winds, Cold Temperatures and the Need for Relaxed Group Rides

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More than two weeks ago I could hear the slats dancing. The wind was strong, so it made the slats for the shutters dance. I could also see tree branches dance with the wind. I could also hear the wind load the roof and make it creak. These sights and sounds made me question the rationality of going for a group ride that Sunday, and whether I would be able to do the group run on Monday.

I was able to do both but according to Suunto I dug a massive hole in fatigue. I went to 222 in fatigue. I went from keeping fit into productive training, and after the wind I went deeply into “going to hard” according to Suunto.

Part of the reason for this is that I started to wear a Suunto device, to move away from my dependence on an American fitness company, but part of it was based on wanting a good watch for running.

Running

The issue that I face is that during winter I did an enormous amount of walking and I went for a few solo runs. Both of these are activities where I set my own pace, and if I get tired I slow down. With a group ride, or run, I usually don’t have that luxury.

I am still new to running. I can run 21km but at my pace. I can run 5k to 10k with effort, but it can be done. When I run with a group I have the challenge of running the distance. I also have the challenge of keeping up with the group.

Cycling

Recently I resumed group rides with people who are specialists in the sport. They never lose their fitness from one season to the next. They ride as if winter never happened, because, for them, it didn’t. They rode from summer to winter, and back into spring. Their cycling engine is strong. Mine is not. My cardio system is good, but the muscles are not the same. I don’t have the same efficiency as they have.

They also have two advantages, aside from riding all the time. They’re riding on bikes with 34 teeth, whereas I have 30. After a discussion with MyAI this means that I have to make 14 percent more effort than they do on climbs, which means that I burn through my energy stores that much faster. Add wind, and -5°c as the “felt” temperature and you’ve got a huge energy drain. That energy drain is why when the Bise wind was blowing at 25km an hour and we did 900m of climbing, in the cold, I ran out of energy and “limped” home on reserves.

When I was fatigued I went for a group run, and then another group ride, and another, at the rate of a workout on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, but then Thursday rides resumed last week, so we’re up to four potential workouts per week, at my personal maximum.

In reality,for some people, every ride is relaxed. That doesn’t mean it is relaxed for us. The fact that I haven’t been able to get rid of the fatigue I accumulated two or three weekends ago is the reason I decided to actively try to rest while cycling.

The Group Three ‘Relaxed’ Ride

In sports science they speak of the 80/20 rule, 80 percent relaxed, 20 percent real effort. The problem with riding in Group 1 and Group 2 is that I’m riding at my utter maximum for an hour on Wednesday, and for two to three hours on Thursday and Saturday. If I had ridden with Group 2 last night I would have been very close to my maximum for the entire ride.

The issue is that for the first two thirds I might be able to cope with the load, but in the last third I almost always bonk and then I struggle to keep pace with the group, and I go from having a fun and pleasant ride to a desire just to go straight home, rather than stop and be social. I’m usually exhausted.

That’s why the Group 3 rides are great. Yesterday I rode with group 3 and I was relaxed. For the first time in a while I was on some climbs and my respiration rate didn’t seem to budge. I got to the “top” of a climb and it’s as if I had been for a stroll, rather than a group ride.

Last year someone asked me “Why do you do easy rides when you’re clearly fit enough to go in the faster groups” and the reason is that I need to recover. My body needs to have less strenuous rides, to enjoy cycling, and the landscape, and the company.

When I go for rides with fast groups I’m usually hanging on to the back trying not to be dropped. With Group 3, or Relaxed rides I’m usually at the back to provide emotional support, either through words of encouragement, or through just giving them the psychological boost of knowing they have not been ‘abandoned’. If I see someone slow down I will very often slow down and stay behind them.

On Wednesday morning a child was riding with us, and he was slowing down on a climb, so I rode behind, to ensure that cars would go around me, and slow down before they got to the child. When someone else slowed down, I sped up and continued the ride at my speed.

Yesterday, especially on the way back, once the sun had set, I was configured with front and rear lights. I also had a red wind breaker so I was highly visible. I slowed down primarily so that the person struggling to remain the group wasn’t abandoned. With the setting sun it became about making sure the group was visible to cars.

I was setup with the same lights as for morning rides. I have adopted a setup so that I can ride safely before sunrise for the 7am rides, and ride home from Thursday evening rides in Geneva, once the sun has set.

The Safety Caveat

In the last three days I changed the rear tyre due to recurrent punctures, and yesterday I was riding on a freshly changed front tyre. I noticed that braking was jumpy. I still had to wear in the tyres, as well as the rim brakes after cleaning. I didn’t want to ride at speed, within a group until the tyres, and brakes, had time to provide even braking once again. By the end of this ride braking was as expected.

A Hydration Experiment

For this ride, instead of drinking during the ride, I took the time to start hydrating an hour and a half before the ride, as well as during the ride. When there was a stop before the Molard climb I topped up both bottles so I constantly had water. I drank at least a litre and a half.

And Finally

Yesterday at the end of the ride, before heading home I talked with someone from Group 2 and she said that she should do the same. I think other people would like to go for more relaxed rides, but they feel pressure always to show “I’m good enough for group 2”. It is worth noting that I have ridden with groups 1, 2, and 3, so I can ride fast enough for each group. Whether I’m exhausted at the end is the key variable.

Tomorrow I will go for another relaxed ride, but with this relaxed ride I have an extra twenty kilometres at the start, and I need to set off an hour earlier, and then I have an extra twenty kilometres at the end. It might be “relaxed” in name, but the journey will be around one hundred kilometres. The first century of this season.

And Finally, when I ride I prefer to stick to the back. This is especially true on a slow ride. With a slow ride, by sticking to the back I am less likely to drag the group. I like to provide assistance to the person leading the group by keeping an eye on the back.

This cycling season is just beginning.