Cycling and wind ....

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
John Hunter
Posts: 114
Joined: 16 Jul 2009, 8:52am
Location: Sheffield

Cycling and wind ....

Post by John Hunter »

No ..... not a thread about the weather (although I didn't cyclmute today coz of the gales) but one about this question ....

Does cycling long distances give you wind? Since I started doing the full commute to and from work last June (about 23 miles) I have had wind, the kind of which I have never had in my entire life!!!!!!
Formula for how many bikes you should own = n+1 (where n is the number of bikes you already own)
iandriver
Posts: 2521
Joined: 10 Jun 2009, 2:09pm
Location: Cambridge.

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by iandriver »

Well, exercise certainly gets the system working, all of it in my experience, especially the gently rocking motion (no pun intended) of cycling. Has the extra exercise led you to change your diet?
Supporter of the A10 corridor cycling campaign serving Royston to Cambridge http://a10corridorcycle.com. Never knew gardening secateurs were an essential part of the on bike tool kit until I took up campaigning.....
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Si
Moderator
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Joined: 5 Jan 2007, 7:37pm

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by Si »

are you eating extra roughage to power you for the commute?
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speedsixdave
Posts: 868
Joined: 19 Apr 2007, 1:48pm
Location: Ashbourne, UK

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by speedsixdave »

It gives me wind too! You are not alone! I asked that very same question on here a few years ago and was met with an agonising silence.

Having said that I have no good advice, and no solution. It doesn't get me every time, and only ( I think) on the road bike, on which I am more bent over and stretched out. I expect the crunching up of the guts is partly to blame.

Thinking about it now, it's not been so bad recently. I've had a bad back which has resulted - in cycling terms - in raising the bars and shortening the reach on all my bikes. Mebbe this has resulted in less wind? I have no proper evidence.

Would you be prepared to lose that low aero position for the sake of your belly? DO you ride drops?

Best of luck with it!
Big wheels good, small wheels better.
Two saddles best!
thekelticfringe
Posts: 120
Joined: 31 Oct 2009, 7:32am

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by thekelticfringe »

I did a three day ride which covered about 80 miles a day for three days consecutively. I ate more than usual, particularly breakfast, and did try to concentrate on slow burn carbs - so brown pasta, jacket potatoes, baked beans ( :D ) dried fruit, that kind of stuff - and yup, sure enough, wind-assisted for considerable periods of the ride!

No problem on my normal (14 miles each way) commute though.
Pedal faster, I hear banjos!
gilesjuk
Posts: 3270
Joined: 17 Mar 2008, 10:10pm

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by gilesjuk »

Swallowing air when drinking from a bottle can cause wind.

If it's only happening when riding then it will be something you're eating combined with the above. Some people are lactose intolerant and get lots of wind.
james01
Posts: 2116
Joined: 6 Aug 2007, 4:48am

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by james01 »

For heavens sake don't tell the motoring lobby about this, they'll accuse us of increasing global warning :shock:
John Hunter
Posts: 114
Joined: 16 Jul 2009, 8:52am
Location: Sheffield

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by John Hunter »

Our staple diet at home is pasta and lentils ..... cheap and cheerful. I also have a couple of pieces of fruit each day.

I think it is the processes of breaking this food down to fuel the cycle that causes it!!!!!

Either that or I'm rotting from the inside out!!!!
Formula for how many bikes you should own = n+1 (where n is the number of bikes you already own)
reohn2
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by reohn2 »

-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
herzog
Posts: 64
Joined: 10 Nov 2009, 10:55pm

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by herzog »

Is this not the cycling equivalent of a KERS button in F1?

Herzog
Jonty

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by Jonty »

I call it switching on my turbo charger.
jonty
AlanD
Posts: 1733
Joined: 27 Mar 2008, 1:29pm
Location: South Oxfordshire

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by AlanD »

Think of it as rocket propulsion PRRRRP
MaxHeadroom
Posts: 1
Joined: 20 Nov 2009, 10:10pm

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by MaxHeadroom »

Yep, the more I cycle the fitter I get, the fitter I get the more wind assistance I produce :D. It got so bad I even asked my doctor about it and he said it was very common. Apparently people who do a lot of long haul flights and have high stress jobs use tough fitness regimes to help them cope with the stresses of air travel and this is a common problem for them too. I was told there is medication to reduce the fragrance but not the volume.
thekelticfringe
Posts: 120
Joined: 31 Oct 2009, 7:32am

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by thekelticfringe »

John Hunter wrote:Our staple diet at home is pasta and lentils ..... cheap and cheerful. I also have a couple of pieces of fruit each day.


Well then - there you go! Get a steak down you :mrgreen:
Pedal faster, I hear banjos!
sharpy
Posts: 129
Joined: 15 Jan 2007, 7:07am
Location: Sheffield

Re: Cycling and wind ....

Post by sharpy »

John Hunter wrote:Our staple diet at home is pasta and lentils ..... cheap and cheerful. I also have a couple of pieces of fruit each day.

I think it is the processes of breaking this food down to fuel the cycle that causes it!!!!!

Either that or I'm rotting from the inside out!!!!


John,
I seem to remember that you were always a little vocal in the 'personal wind' area. Swapping from a Gi to bike will not cure this particualr affliction :D
Best Wishes
Paul
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