Slowing down now its getting colder

[DCBassman]

If I managed 5000 miles a year and averaged 16.2 mph anytime I'd be celebrating...

Me too!

 

[steveindenmark]

Cold muscles, wearing loads more gear, dodgy surfaces. You are bound to be slower in winter.

 

[Flakey]

It's the opposite of "marginal gains". It's "marginal losses" - lose a little due to more clothing, lose a bit due to cold muscles, taking more care on dark roads, ice, wind, rain etc. Etc... It all adds up.
Also. I sometimes feel, at this time of year, my enthusiasm wains a bit. Pretty sure that slows me down.
It's not just cycling by the way. Most runners see a drop in speed/performance in the winter months.

 

[Drago]

Being a big laddie therefore having proportionately less surface area for my volume I find I go quicker in the cold weather, as I can shed the heat better.

 

[Threevok]

According to Strava, the times on my evening commute have improved drastically, since the clocks went back and it got darker

I think this has more to do with the lack of loose dogs and oblivious joggers on the cycle path, than anything else though

 

[rivers]

I'm 1.5-2mph slower at this time of year. That's due more to the tyres and bike choice than anything else. Once it starts to dip below freezing, I imagine my speed will slow slightly again due to ice.

 

[Saluki]

I dream of 16mph, even in the summer. I must be exceedingly slow and useless. However, I don’t care and stopped worrying about speed when I hit 50.

 

[Drago]

I can average 16+, but only on my svelte Felt.

 

[Twizit]

Being a big laddie therefore having proportionately less surface area for my volume I find I go quicker in the cold weather, as I can shed the heat better.

Interesting. I'm not exactly a weight weenie but definitely go slower in the cold, and for me it's not being able to get my leg muscles as warm and working efficiently. Ex-rugby prop = massive thighs and when they get cold I really lose a lot of power.

 

[johnnyb47]

It doesn't matter how fast or slow we are. Just so long we enjoy what we do, that's all that matters . Some of the guys i cycle with average 19+ mph. Ive got no chance of keeping up when they start having fun.
Others i cycle with can barely break 15mph.
We all come back home though with a big grim on our faces 😊

 

[Andy in Germany]

I dream of 16mph, even in the summer. I must be exceedingly slow and useless. However, I don’t care and stopped worrying about speed when I hit 50.

That's pretty fast, to be fair.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Me too. I was actually surprised at how pronounced it is. There's about 7 years of data here.

I don't have special winter and summer bikes.

 

[Dogtrousers]

It doesn't matter how fast or slow we are. Just so long we enjoy what we do, that's all that matters . Some of the guys i cycle with average 19+ mph. Ive got no chance of keeping up when they start having fun.
Others i cycle with can barely break 15mph.
We all come back home though with a big grim on our faces 😊

15mph? Eeeeee, I dream of 15mph.
Downhill.

And I always have a big grim on my face.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Going back over my stats for the past 2 years, my average speed isn’t different even though I ride a lot in the dark. What’s interesting is that I am fittest around February/March. More time in the turbo? Rapha 500? The lure of Spring? Who knows?

 

[pjd57]

At this time of year it's all about getting there safely.
An extra few minutes don't really matter that much.
My regular 37 or 38 minutes across Glasgow for the football was deliberately slowed down last night .
It felt much longer but it was 44 minutes there and 45 back..
It took about half the homeward journey to warm up a bit on a bitter cold night.