Riding into a headwind is like climbing a hill, but without a summit to aim for and no view to enjoy. However, the same key principle applies.

Drop down a gear or two in order to maintain a smooth, steady cadence. If that means dropping into the inner ring in order to keep on top of the gear and spin the legs, rather than churning the pedals, then so be it. You – and your legs – will be thankful for it.

That, inevitably, means riding slower, but effort (be it power, or the response to power, heart rate) should be the measure of a training ride, not speed.

Use ‘feel’, a power meter or, more likely, a heart rate monitor to monitor effort and ignore average speed. Wind, terrain, traffic and your route all have a significant impact on speed and it’s not necessarily an accurate gauge of a ride’s difficulty.

Of course, if speed is a defining feature of your ride – in a race, for example – then you may have little choice but to get stuck in and chew the handlebars.