Cycling Mystery

How is it that, in the afternoons when I ride home, I go up and over hills like they’re nothing, but in the mornings, just pedaling on flat land is a struggle as if the bicycle chain rusted and I gained 50 kilos overnight?  I never skip breakfast, so it isn’t that I’m out of fuel. 

My friend, John, said that throughout the day, body movements allow your muscle to become warm and flexible. So that, even though you're tired, you do physical things easier than when you’re just starting to move around for the day.  That makes sense! It occurred to me then that I don't do any stretching before I hop on the bike for my 35-minute ride. I decided to try that and see if there was any difference. 

I kept forgetting to do stretching exercises in the mornings until the week before spring break, but the mornings were super-windy that entire week.  And the wind was blowing at me sideways, so riding to work was a struggle of a different sort.  I was at risk of being blown into traffic on one side or into the rice fields on the other side of the bicycle path.  So I still don’t know if stretching is what I needed to be doing in order to have a smoother time in the mornings. 

March 27, 2020