Headwind, shifting, and brakes

[lph]

I find the hardest thing about a strong headwind is the unpredictability. I like riding hills, it's my strongest point and I really enjoy finding a good pace and just settling down to plug along, but wind feels much worse. I think it's because even a steady wind is never completely steady and therefore harder to "read" and adapt to than a physical hill, so I'll find myself either spinning too much on a light gear and moving too slowly, or more often, struggling along on too hard a gear. Also on hills I like to break it up by standing a lot, but in a strong headwind this just makes you come to a complete stop

Check your brakes by holding the wheel off the ground and spinning it, then brake slowly and try to see if one pad hits well before the other. They're rarely perfectly centered, but if one hits way before the other it should be adjusted. A bike shop will do this very quickly, or post a pic of your brake here and someone will tell you how to do so yourself.