[Closed] Are you slower in winter?

CErtainly on the dirt i'm slower, on the road i'm not a million miles away.

Depends... off road it doesn't matter, some of the best conditions are later on in the season when the ground gets a bit moist on the road the conditions don't always seem so good for going fast

This was on road, well towpath. It's a good section with few interruptions and apart from lots of leaves slowing my cornering I had a good run at it.

Cold air is more sense than warm air, go figure.

It's the opposite for me running (races). I'm better when it's cooler. Cycling though, I have no idea as I never record rides.

Riding speeds are always down in winter.

Knobblier tyres, loss of top end fitness, using the old bikes, carrying more clothes, wearing more clothes and thick tights. Road is more consistent and on common loops I've dropped from comfortably above 20mph average to over 18 on a good day. Social rides are slower too, no one is interested in hammering it at this time if year. MTB is too variable feels slower but mainly riding the single speed in the dark so it would be!

Always faster in summer, even though I (try to) race track through winter, even on the same bike.

Less wind, less flappy clothes, leaves will slow you, it's always dark and miserable etc.

There are a few notable exceptions when I've had a tailwind of 40mph or so.

Overall faster in the summer, but tend to pick up the odd pb and kom in the winter as I'm back on the ss. (strava nonsense - sorry !)

Are you [b]even[/b] slower in winter?

FTFY

Yes. More bulky layers. More body fat. Less time to ride. Cold air denser and lungs less efficient. Maybe.

Yes, miles slower.
Have nearly always destroyed myself with some late season challenge followed by a month off and the resulting loss of fitness.
Combine that with cold air, frosty/wet surfaces, slower bike etc.

It all adds up to a loss of ~2mph on road rides.
Very depressing having been going so well in August/September, but the logical side isn't worried as i know its part of the nature of periodisation.

<smug face> not this year I'm not as I've lost a stone in the last 2 months, got the fittest I've been in years and am currently getting KoM's on every ride</smug face>

What I understand from training advice/info is I don't think you can keep form or pace all year round unless it's a fair bit lower level pace than you're capable of with some good training. If you're going at (relative) top form in the summer you'll need to back off over the winter at some point to regain that level again for the next summer. So if that's right, fitness is built up in micro+macro cycles of stress and recovery.

just year round awesomeness

I put more effort in to stay warm

so consensus appears to be that it's not down to any of my personal failings, that's the important bit I think.

Mixed bag, mental state plays more of a part in my speed than anything else, warm, sunny and dry and I'm pretty happy and I'll zip along - frosty winter rides can be even faster rolling, but my body can stiffen right up when it's cold and if I studying every root and corner for ice I’ll be way off the pace - but sometimes when the planets align... I posted 6 PBs at BPW on Sunday, conditions were far from ideal.

Funnily enough I was thinking about positing something on one of the old avg speed threads about this 🙂

Thick air definitely plays a part. As does bukly draggy (non aero) winter kit and bike. As well as focus on lower zones.

Reliably slower in winter on road bike.

MTB also but mainly due to soft ground conditions, have had a few PBs recently in that amazing dry spell.

I am, combination of factors, as mrblobby says - more clothing, more fat, less riding, no speed training (even when I did such things), slippery roads meaning I'm more tentative, heavier bike etc etc.

So yes, I'm markedly slower in winter, always have been. I've got friends who seem no different though, very odd.

Jeez, I'm always slow.

Can't say I notice any difference in the winter, probably getting older.......

just year round awesomeness

Ditto to all of the above for me too. Road isn't that much slower but definitely more careful cornering on wet and muddy roads, and I approach them more as 'touring pace' rides instead. MTB is usually a bit muddier and with slower tyres. I try and accept the seasonal difference and approach winter as slower plodding in general, but still have fun. It does wear thin sometimes, but it's been such a kind autumn weather wise I can't complain too much.

Exercise performance deteriorates in colder weather - there's a ton of published research available about that, such as this:

Never really been one for riding in the gloop but now I really enjoy it,I'm actually now faster in muddy conditions and riding the bike more is giving me confidence to push it, still crash a lot but I'm now finding my limits to were I can push myself and the bike.

This will be the 1st winter were I'll be constantly out on the bike in poor conditions as its making me a better rider.

Slower by a fair bit.
When it's dark and cold I stay more upright and corner slower.
I have also found that in the years when I was giving the CX racing a good go,if I got a cold or bug ,it seemed to hit me harder. Not sure if it was because I was still training hard and fast in the cold or what,but now that I don't race,lurgies seem to pass me by.
I still put plenty Winter miles in though and it feels nice to reach the spring with some fitness in the bank.

Well, offroad, I tend to be slower when it's wetter just because of grip. But leaving that aside... If I get the clothes right, I'm quicker/ride harder in winter. I don't overheat on a hard effort and I'm not so keen to stand around and cool down. But I run pretty hot in general.

I'm not sure that's possible.
Any slower would require a tricycle.

God yes. It's the wind, the wind.

My body really doesn't like the cold, but I run hot so can't layer up too much without overheating yet somehow still struggle to keep my legs warm. So I just accept that I'll need an extra 5 mins on my commute when it's cold or dark or windy. I feel like I work harder than I do when I was setting those PBs back in September though, but that doesn't translate into speed.

slower on-road despite being as fit if not fitter than the summer (racing CX now, don't do any other form of racing). Down to a mixture of the heavier less racey bike, more restrictive clothing but more significantly the awful road conditions. Riding a couple of weeks ago when it was -8C was interesting but still safer than it is now, with the rain and damp lifting weeks worth of crap out of the road surface (be it farm crud on rural roads or from building sites on urban).

Exercise performance deteriorates in colder weather - there's a ton of published research available about that, such as this:

It is noticeable if you ride to power, RPE definitely higher for a given power when cold.

Also don't really like riding too hard and taking heavy deep gulps of cold damp air.

Do wonder how much more effective a winter training regime you could have in a warmer drier climate.

Overall I tend to find I'm quicker off road,overall average, not really looked at strava segments or anything. I put it down to the trails being quiet more than anything else since I tend to ride the same bike and Cath most of the same stuff with perhaps less water, just a few more layers. Road I do tend to find my road average goes down a bit as I tend to favour wet leaf strewn lanes.

I am .& I get tired quicker . Probably because I'm expending energy keeping warm ..?
Too many pies too.

This time of year my coughing and wheezing can be heard for miles. This winter seems to have really tickled my asthma.

I'm much faster downhill.

Yes, except when you get a hard frost and the shrub is still short. Particularly slow at the moment, but the new shed is coming on nicely.

Actually, I'm faster in winter. Don't have problems with overheating like in all other parts of year (guess what happens when you are from scandinavia and move into central europe).

But my other problem - slow in morning, until lunch. I get faster and stronger until my peak at early night. Don't have idea why.

Morning commute is absolute pain, night ride to home is quick as hell and my ss is unstoppable.