Commuting - Headwinds both ways

Does this happen to anyone else? I commute north along the Willamette River to work in the mornings, and south the same route in the afternoon. It seems like I've been getting a headwind both direction a lot of times. What gives?

I noticed that yesterday in Chicago, I was really looking forward to a strong tail wind on my way home

I'm in Toronto and it happens to me all the time. After doing this for 15 years I've observed two things:
1. Around the Great Lakes, sometimes the wind is in one direction in the morning and the opposite at night. For example, as a rule, the wind is out of the west when it is fair. Easterlies predict precipitation. When the wind is out of the north it will be cold and out of the south it will be hot. On a day when it is hot and sunny in the afternoon the wind is out of the west in the morning and out of the south in the afternoon. That means if I'm commuting west in the morning I get the headwind, but it seems just as bad in the afternon because I have serious southerlies.

2. The general rule of commuting is that there will always be a headwind. We don't do it because there is one and we don't not do it because there is not.

Yes, this happens to me quite often. Or at least it seems that way.

If there is a headwind, it is ALWAYS during the evening.

I noticed that yesterday in Chicago, I was really looking forward to a strong tail wind on my way home

It's funny, whenever I'm fighting a headwind I always think about all you Chicago folk who must have to deal with it all the time.



We don't do it because there is one and we don't not do it because there is not.

Well said. I'll also elaborate with a few mantras I use to get me through them:

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
A headwind on a bike is better than traffic in a car.

I have a MUCH easier time with headwinds since I switched from a hybrid with a straight bar to a touring bike with drops. Man, those drops make an amazing difference in the wind!

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
A headwind on a bike is better than traffic in a car.


:D

My ride home is wind in the face the whole way no matter which way I turn lately. Funny though, the mornings are so calm.

Yeah, certain times of the year-like now for example, it is common around here. Just think of it as training for the summer.

Local wind conditions are usually the result of landforms that produce pressure differentials, such as between an ocean/sea/large lake and the shore, or between a mountain and valley. During the day, especially in the morning, the sun heats the slopes of valleys, causing the warm air to rise up toward the mountains and creating low pressure in the valley. This low pressure draws air up the valley, creating a valley breeze. In the evening and night, the process reverses, as the cool, heavy upper air descends into the valley and goes down it, a mountain breeze.

Since you are going down the Willamette valley in the morning, the headwind you are experiencing might be the effect of the morning heating of the upper parts of the valley, drawing a wind up the valley. The afternoon wind, though, doesn't seem to fit the model, since cooling shouldn't be happening until the evening. It might make some sense, though, if by afternoon you mean 5:00 or later.

My ride home is wind in the face the whole way no matter which way I turn lately. Funny though, the mornings are so calm.

It's that fixie of yours, making you so blazing fast, everything feels like a headwind! :D

Local wind conditions are usually the result of landforms that produce pressure differentials, such as between an ocean/sea/large lake and the shore, or between a mountain and valley. During the day, especially in the morning, the sun heats the slopes of valleys, causing the warm air to rise up toward the mountains and creating low pressure in the valley. This low pressure draws air up the valley, creating a valley breeze. In the evening and night, the process reverses, as the cool, heavy upper air descends into the valley and goes down it, a mountain breeze.

Since you are going down the Willamette valley in the morning, the headwind you are experiencing might be the effect of the morning heating of the upper parts of the valley, drawing a wind up the valley. The afternoon wind, though, doesn't seem to fit the model, since cooling shouldn't be happening until the evening. It might make some sense, though, if by afternoon you mean 5:00 or later.

Wow, gettin all scientific on us, there.
:D

But it does make a lot of sense... I knew there was probably some sort of explanation like that for it. Oh, and yes, my commute home is right after 5:00, so it does fit your model.

It's that fixie of yours, making you so blazing fast, everything feels like a headwind! :D

That's my theory. If you have a tailwind, you're not riding fast enough.

I get that here in portland. today was a good example. I go two directions and get the wind on one of them and no benifit from it. coming home the wind has changed and again it just slows me down. usualy at night it is getting me while going uphill too. it really sucks (G)