AeroPod, PowerPod and Newton

As I was struggling to pedal through a section of sand on an otherwise smooth trail my speed slowed and my effort level went way up. The section of sand was about 200-300 feet. However, my PP didn't show power going up but registering lower at about 120w. Is riding through sand a situation that PP does not cope well with?

Thank you

The reason it's harder to ride through sand is because it is a soft material that deforms when bike tires roll through it. This "softness" translates into a much higher rolling resistance.

PowerPod assumes that rolling resistance conditions do not change. That's a fancy way of saying that it doesn't know when you are riding in sand.

If you post a .ibr ride file, please indicate the place where there is sand. I will show you how do deal with this.

Thanks, John. Interesting. Then if I were out riding and there were sections of mud the same thing would happen.

I believe it was at 1:47:33 where my pedaling efficiency went down momentarily

Thanks

I note that you had a perpetual headwind (which is unreasonable), so I used the Check Calibration feature to get your wind readings to a normal value.

You have a 6 minute section, starting around 1:47, where your gear ratio drops. I assume this is where you were riding in sand.

To account for the sand, here is what I did:

1) Using the "File/Split File at Cursor" command, I created 3 ride files: A. Up to 1:47; B. 1:47 to 1:53 (sand section); C. 1:53 to end of ride

2) For ride file B, I set Crr to 0.012 (the approximate value of Crr when riding in sand). I saved as file "BSand"

3) I used the "File/Split File/Append File" command I opened File A, then appended file BSand, then appended file C.

In sandy section your watts increased by about 50W.

Corrected ride files and profile attached.

Thank you. Will check it out.