Which is worse?

[Drago]

Once again, a germ of an idea planted by a comment in another thread.

Which do you dislike the most? The effort of climbing a long hill, or the ceaseless pain and boredom of a long straight headwind?

Discuss.

 

[Oldfentiger]

I enjoy hills now. There'a feeling of achievement when the summit is reached, usually followed by a descent so the legs can recover.
With a constant headwind there's no respite.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Wind..
No matter how I try to avoid it, it wears me down.

 

[Milkfloat]

I like them both - but prefer when I can turn around and go the other way.

 

[lazybloke]

I might deliberately plan a hilly route, to enjoy the challenge. I never plan a route to maximise headwind.

 

[Drago]

I hate hills. I'm a steady, tireless climber, although not fast.

I don't exactly like headwinds either, but I find that I can slip my mind into some kind of zen like netherworld where I don't feel pain, don't think consciously, and just grind away in autopilot.

 

[rugby bloke]

The wind every time. At least hills end - eventually !

 

[ianrauk]

Which is worst? Wind every time.

Hills aint so bad when you get yourself in the mindset. Low gear and spin up taking your time. A nice long climb can be very satisfying.

Last September a few of us went to Spain to climb the highest paved road in Europe, the Pico Valeta. 2 of us were on the verge of panic on the morning, it's a 30 miles climb up to 11,000feet. But it turned out to be a most enjoyable experience.

 

[Ian H]

For a headwind, just get down on the bars and let it flow around you.

Wind only gets really serious when it's impossible to hold a straight line and/or it starts throwing stuff at you (medium sized bits of wood from trees, in case you're wondering).

Hills? Well, I live in Devon, it's hilly.

 

[furball]

Wind. But not just headwind. Wind from the side can blow the wheels from under you. Especially when you go past a gateway on an otherwise sheltered road.

 

[GGJ]

Hills are bad, headwinds are worse but crosswinds are the killer for me

 

[Dave 123]

German sausage.

 

[r04DiE]

I dislike the wind most. Then again, I make the best of both hills and headwinds. I try to embrace the pain and realise that the next time I am whistling along, on a still day, I have the hills and the headwinds to thank for toughening me up so that I can whistle along when conditions are good. The pain also focuses the mind; I like the way it makes me concentrate on the job at hand and forget about everything else.

If things in my personal life are tough, the pain makes me forget.

Take from pain what you can.

 

[PK99]

At least on a hill there is a sense of achievement, maybe with the promise of a view and often a swooping decent as reward - into a headwind there is just slow painful grind, then it stops, you turn round and the wind turns with you.....

 

[Aravis]

The hills I dislike most are the one that don't really achieve anything. The most frustrating roads I find are those that look as though they follow a river valley, but still find reasons to climb up the sides and come back down again. Much bigger climbs that cross real geographical features, typically from one river valley to another, are the satisfying ones.

So I've voted for "pesky hills", meaning the annoying ones I've described above.

Most of the time, I find the key with headwinds is in the mind. Don't fight it, just use normal effort and accept being a bit slower. I find the wind speed needs to get into the high teens before it becomes physically unpleasant, and I'm unlikely to go out on those days.

Up to that sort of level, I usually find I'm pleased at how easy it feels riding outwards into the wind, and then disappointed at how little it seems to help on the way back.