Joe Bikerider

My (69 years old) usual ride is just a few miles. Lately the weather here has been really hot and my pace has declined a lot. Like coming home yesterday I was just trying to just make it grinding up against a hot wind. But this morning, the weather was a lot cooler, like around 63F. Who da thunk it? My legs kinda came to life and I was cranking. Then when I passed a couple riding together I got another reason to go. After I passed them, I could hear them talking behind me and that was even more motivation. The guy seemed to be telling the woman about a recent date. Like “she was OK, blah blah blah”. That made me pedal even faster. Glad to leave them behind. A very nice ride.

Iride01 

85° - 90° F is my sweet spot for riding. However more so than temperature, humidity is what saps me. My rides at 90°F and less than 80% humidity are faster than rides at 90°F and 90% plus humidity.

Probably has a lot to do with why I wait till midday to ride after the humidity has dropped to tolerable levels even though the sun is high, hot and shade on the road fewer.

Or did I miss the point and you aren't really talking about ride temps?

Carbonfiberboy 

Yes, doesn't that feel good! We geezers do have our good days.

Wildwood 

Hitting a sweet ride that’s also a ‘swift’ one (regardless of fitness level) is golden for every cyclist. IMHO.

big john

Unbelievably cool here, too. We even got drizzled on, in August! I definitely know what you're talking about when certain people are chatting behind you.

freeranger

Tried out some new tires (Michelin Pro4 Service Course) which I found on sale, and the reviews were good, so gave 'em a shot. I like 'em. Seem to roll very well and are comfortable. Put 20 miles on them yesterday (8/21) over varied terrain-some relatively flat with mild hills over some bridges, and some hilly riding. As hot as it got, I either had a good day or the tires helped, maybe some of both. Seemed to pick up 1-1/2 to 2 mph on the flat sections.
Glad to still be riding the hills, as I see many younger than me walking them.

shelbyfv

I suffer in the heat and humidity. If the temp is high 80s or 90s my heart rate will be 20bpm higher on a given climb compared to lower temps. It's annoying.

rsbob 

Good tires with low rolling resistance can make a huge difference in many respects.

Flip Flop Rider

Had the same kind of ride today. Unusually fast compare to normal

rsbob 

Twice shows your first ride was not an aberration. You can knock these out all Fall and Spring. Congratulations

delbiker1 

I had, for me, a fast ride today, maybe a little to do with the tires. I had a quite noticeable wobble on my front wheel. Last night, when I was dismounting the tire, I realized the threads along the bead were fraying and one bad spot on the bead would not seat properly in the rim. I trued the wheel and replaced the tire and now have a straight, smooth running front wheel/tire. I think the big difference for the speed was a lower temp and humidity, and my legs felt strong. Along with that, I have upped my consumption of sodium and other electrolytes. At the end of the ride, I felt like I could have kept that pace up for a good bit longer.
Also, I have been doing quite a bit of work on this bike, Orbea Avant, and think I finished the fine tuning on the fit. I wanted to kick it up and the bike just felt like it was faster. I believe that if you think you are, or might, be faster, you will be faster. I got in 35 miles to give me my first 200 mile week of this year.

Dudelsack 

…crushing the souls of those who you fired out the back like a retrorocket…