{"id":36735,"date":"2022-05-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-12T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/?p=36735&preview=true&preview_id=36735"},"modified":"2022-05-17T10:39:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T08:39:00","slug":"normans-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/2022\/05\/13\/normans-wisdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Norman’s wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Norman\u2019s Wisdom<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Gone with the wind<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

A breezy Norman has become obsessed with the wind<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n

Few sportspeople pay attention to the wind like the cyclist does. Okay, sailors and windsurfers might have something to say about that, but the wind occupies a special place in the minds of bike riders. It\u2019s at once angel and demon, depending on whether we\u2019re cycling away from or directly into it \u2013 and all of the other angles in between for that matter. The headwind is that most lethal of foes, invisible to the eye but capable of crushing the morale of even the sturdiest cyclist.<\/p>\n\n

I remember a study that suggested ways of increasing performance and going faster during a hilly 40km time trial. The time taken to complete the course, found the study, could be reduced by applying more power on the climbs and decreasing power on the descents. The combined time saving was a whopping 29 seconds \u2013 29?! That might be welcome news for the committed racer, less so for this oldie.<\/p>\n\n

I might not be so fussed at the idea of manipulating wind speeds to prevail in a competitive time trial race, but I have nevertheless now taken to carefully monitoring wind speed and direction before I set out for a ride. It is true that whatever direction I set off on the bike, based on this calculation of how the wind will benefit me, I still have to climb those pesky, abominable North Downs climbs to make it home at the end of every ride.<\/p>\n\n

But any port in a storm, so to speak. My experience of climbing the vengeful Ditchling Beacon, towards the end of the London to Brighton ride that I wrote about in the previous issue, did little for my confidence for climbing steep inclines at the back end of bike rides.<\/p>\n\n

Generally speaking, towards the end of my rides home I am, truth be told, knackered, and one way to overcome this failing is to look to wind power for a gentle hand on the back. \u201cWhat?\u201d I hear you say. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you try battery-powered ebikes, Norman?\u201d Do not mention that to me just yet, please. I need to keep something in reserve. Come back to me in four years when I have reached four score and 10.<\/p>\n\n

It should be noted that favourable wind conditions seldom occur. What I\u2019m looking for with this final push up the climb to my house is a southerly wind rattling up from the Brighton coast. My favoured wind speed is between a light and gentle breeze. On the Beaufort wind scale, that comes out at something under 20kph.<\/p>\n\n

Today the wind is set to be in my favour, so I\u2019m heading out on the bike. Got to make the most of it. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you take up knitting instead if you\u2019re that fussy,\u201d I hear you ask? Hey, at 86, I need to grasp any advantage that comes my way.<\/p>\n\n

On my way out, I am quickly into Kent, where I can head east or west. The pleasant thing about riding in Kent is that lanes tend to meander, which means that the cross breeze coming from the south is mitigated at various points. I make my way in a wide arc slowly curving south, until my way home is pointing due north.<\/p>\n\n

I\u2019m now ready for the wind to push me up the Downs and home, right up that 14 per cent climb before my house.<\/p>\n\n

I read somewhere that for a tailwind to be really effective it should lie in the 160-degree arc that is behind you. From my own experience I feel that 160 degrees is much too wide. I would narrow that arc down to about 20 degrees on each shoulder, taking the spine as my zero mark.<\/p>\n\n

Luckily, on my way north there are a number of lanes that run parallel to the A22 and these lead to the foot of the Downs. Okay, there are minor deviations but they lie well within that crucial 40-degree arc.<\/p>\n\n

The first 200 metres or so of my climb are shielded from the wind, but as I climb above the tree level the wind whistles past my ears. I seem to be climbing this hill more easily than I normally do while still using the same gear ratios. It\u2019s like being 10 years younger, all of a sudden. I\u2019ve no data to prove this, but I feel that I\u2019m being propelled by the wind. The mind is capable of producing strange and unusual phenomena. Is the wind really making a difference or is it enough to think that it is?<\/p>\n\n

Perhaps it\u2019s an illusion that\u2019s gone with the wind, but frankly, my dear, I don\u2019t give a damn. <\/p>\n\n

\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Norman Lazarus
<\/strong>Cyclist\/professor<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Norman, 86, is a physiology professor at King\u2019s College London, a former audax champion and author of The Lazarus Strategy:<\/em> How to Age Well and Wisely<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Illustration David Sparshott<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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