Why do I feel less strong in cold weather?

[moderncyclista]

Well your blood is thicker in cold weather, muscles are tense and you (and everyone else) is generally uncomfortable in cold weather.

Some of it is physiological and some is psychological. I think everyone is more sluggish in cold weather. I add at least an extra 5 -10 minutes to any journey in the cold.

[redrhodie]

Plus, you're wearing more clothes, which is more to bear.

[smurfalicious]

Ooooh! I figured this out the other day. I thought I had turned into the little pokey pony too. I've still been riding a fair bit, unemployed and all, so I couldn't figure out why I was sooooo slow. Then on a ride the other day I figured it out. Usually about 15 minutes into a ride my legs/brain get together and say "Ouch, this is HARD!" Normally, I push past that and get the sludge out of my legs. Somehow though, my brain "winterized" and I've listened to that voice. Once I ignored it the other day I found I was pretty much where I'd been all summer. Frustrating though, for sure.

[lph]

I honestly think that it's physically harder to push a bike through colder air. I mean, I do wear more clothes in winter, but once I'm wearing a winter jacket and tights, it shouldn't make much of a difference if I'm wearing one thin layer or two underneath. But I bike consistently in all temperatures and it is significantly more work to ride fast as it gets colder. There was a thread about this on bikejournal once, where there was a kind of agreement that it was a combination of a lot of things: bulkier clothes, less aerodynamic posture and clothing, more energy used to keep warm, less motivation to work hard in cold air, worse road conditions, a sluggish bike with poor shifting and more friction, but also more cold wind and "thick air", all combining to make you give up and just slug along slowly. It was interesting that everybody riding in winter had noticed the same thing.

[Selkie]

I've noticed the same thing and this year, have decided spend time on the trainer instead of torturing myself (we've had a snowy, colder than usual winter, regardless). All that time w/Coach Troy is paying off

Colder air and "winter" sunlight, or lack thereof, take the zoom out of me.

[skhill]

Maybe it's just me, but I attribute part of the winter slow-down to the changes in what I'm eating. In the warmer months I eat a lot from my garden, the farmer's market, eggs often from a neighbor's chickens, etc. Now that it's winter, I'm eating a lot of dried beans, frozen veg, potatoes, etc. And it's soups, not salads... My weight hasn't changed, but I *feel* heavier.... Anyone else notice something similar?

[arielmoon]

Yes, I feel that way too. It's usually more windy here when it's cold and I have to think that figures in there. I have more clothing on and therefore more wind resistance too. I try not to pay too much attention to it though!

[Geonz]

I figured out that a 20 mile ride in the winter feels like a 50 mile ride. So. I give myself mental credit for 50 when I get out for 20. Yes, it takes longer (but I ride slower bikes, and riding through snow *is* slower).

Next Saturday we've got the Illini Chill which is a 20 or 40 miler... but a 12 mile trip to get there and 12 more back. I'll be tired