Tailwinds

There's nothing I like better than a good tail-wind on my bike rides. I had a lovely tail-wind this afternoon that got me home in near-record time.

I was thinking about how we all have head-winds and tail-winds in so many aspects of our lives. Today, for instance, I had a head-wind on my ride into work, but that meant that I would have the tail-wind on the way home.

Even with weight-loss it's the same: sometimes it feels like everything is flowing and effortless, like you've got a 20mph wind at your back; but sometimes it's the opposite. I've had days, weeks - heck, months! - where I've felt like I was riding uphill into the wind. Or, like in cycling, you get a head-wind and think that as soon as I turn this corner it will go away, but then you find that it's even windier going in the other direction.

The other phenomenon is that while cycling you actually always have a head-wind equal to the speed you are going. Just by the mere fact that you are moving through space, wind is generated. Sometimes, if balanced off by an equal or greater tail-wind it's barely noticeable. But other times it's a real drag.

But the one thing I have found is that cycling my way through a head-wind actually makes me stronger. It means that when I get the benefit of a tail-wind that I feel like I'm sailing along effortlessly. And as any good cyclist knows, you have to make yourself as aerodynamic as possible, which helps cut down on resistance.

Something a cycling friend of mine told me is that, when in a race and faced with a course that has both head-winds and tail-winds, it's actually during the head-winds that you should work harder and push harder. That way, you can cruise and recover with the tail-wind, still moving at a relatively fast speed.

So, when life throws you a head-wind, put your head down, get aero and work hard so that you can enjoy the ride when the wind shifts and it carries you effortlessly to your destination.