Mercia CC Lloyds Cycles Bulletin 11/02/23

How much slower does winter make us? This coming weekend marks the beginning of the 2023 time trial season, events will come thick and fast now and time trials are popping up all over the place. You might be thinking that it’s a bit cold to be riding around in a skinsuit, and you wouldn’t be wrong. One such race is taking place on the BS19 course in Ely near Cambridge. This is a 25.2 mile time trial course. It’s likely to be a chilly affair. Often, time trials feel slower in winter – in fact this applies to riding in general. But how much difference does the weather make and how much of it is down to kit (and rubbish winter legs)? Why is cold air slower? It’s simply physics but cold air really is quite slow. When we ride our bikes, we have to push air out of the way. The amount of air in the way on any bike ride is not fixed. The force required to move the air is proportional to the amount of air particles that are in the way. If there’s less air in a given space (thus, lower air density) it’s a [...]