Commuting - ARG, the wind!!!

I'm new to bike commuting, so I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing, snow, hail, or torrential downpours yet ... but I think I already know that my worst enemy will turn out to be @#$&% wind!!!! :cry:

Yup, here in Michigan, the fall/winter westerly wind is starting to kick in. All summer I enjoy doing the 10.5 miles home in 34-36 minutes. Well, the wind has started up, my legs are feeling it, and my time isup to 39-42 minutes. It'll hit 55 minutes on horrible days in the dead of winter on studded 30 PSI tires over snow. These are the days that test men's legs. Ow.
It's just extra training. Enjoy it :-)

Wind blows. ;) Get in an aero tuck, grit your teeth and remember that headwinds turn into tailwinds when you go home. Or vice versa. And get a roadie and clip on aero bars.

i feel your pain.
what i can't figure out is why no matter what direction i am travelling, the wind is always against me.
i haven't had to deal with any real rain yet either, but i too am an enemy of the &*@#$*^% wind.

I normally get a head or cross wind.

On the way home tonight I had a tailwind, and man did I use it.

17.25 miles in 54:25 at 19mph on a mountain bike!!!

Awesome ride. In the morning I'll get it head on though. Oh well, that's the way it goes.

Hmm, let's see.

"OKLAHOMA, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain!"

Yeah, wind sucks.

I'm in Michigan too...and I swear, in the morning the wind comes down from the north (in my face as I head to work), and in the afternoon, it comes up from the south (in my face as I come home).

I've had a few days where there was no wind and I make the 8 mile trip in about 28 minutes. The days that we have wind, I've been slowed down as much as 10 minutes.

and the waving wheat can sure smell sweet....when the wind comes....

Wind is nasty, but it can be a lot of fun too. I cycle on a dedicated path along a river that goes literally for hundreds of K's. Not too long ago I had battled into the head wind, but coming home I was cruising at 47Km/h! (Thats almost 30mph!) I almost ran out of gears and I have a MTB with a 39/52 up front!

For those who work the swing shift (3 to midnight, or thereabouts), it's rarely the case that the wind you fought on your way to work is the same wind that will guide you safely home.

Seeing as how wind is a function of temperature differentials (warm air rising and cool air taking its place), once everything cools off at night, fuhgettaboutit.

Usually. Sometimes you get lucky and have the wind filling your sails in both directions. Not often, but enough to keep you feeling blessed.

Yep, I seem to be experiencing the phenomenon that others have talked about - headwinds no matter whether I'm going to work or coming home from work.

It's making us stronger, right?!?!

I've been noticing this myself. Had to battle more wind on the way home last night than I have in previous weeks... Possibly remanents of the tropical storms that always blow down South around this time of year. But I was taking it easy since I need to repack my bearings (that's another story altogether) and didn't want to bust my knees up pushing the wind.

remember that headwinds turn into tailwinds when you go home.

You don't live in Michigan. Best you can hope for is crosswind or no wind. I can't remember the last time I had a tailwind.

In the morning it is fairly calm, no help, then in the evening it blows in my face from the west.

I suppose there must be some people who work to the west of where they live. If any of them shared my route, I bet the wind would figure out a way to blow in opposite directions on opposite sides of the road. Or more likely it would just gust in random directions and settle for just pissing everyone off.

I ride a recumbent trike with a front fairing.

What's this "wind" you speak of?

;)

Nasty Wind my body was so cold last night when I finished

Im on the pac ocean coast for my whole commute. Cross winds EVERY day. Usually cross/head, except for two days ago, I had a tail/cross wind and took total advantage. On the 8 mile wide open part of the commute, I didnt drop below 21 mph, and at one point I was cruising on a flat at 26. I love tailwinds, especially since I battle the cross/headwind every day, Ive just gotten used to it. A tailwind for me is like going down a hill. Rare in these parts, but VERY nice to have nonetheless.

The @#$&% wind killed me this morning.
I've gotten used to timing my entry onto First Avenue just in the end of the pack of cars that makes the light. First Avenue is five lanes wide, a straight shot up Manhattan. I can hang with these cars for four or five blocks, and then they pull away from me. And then it's car-free at about 19 mph for THIRTY BLOCKS, hitting all the green lights.
Except today, I kept ducking under yellow lights, and was finally caught at 14th Street. Not until I read this post did it hit me that it was the wind that slowed me down. I was thinking, Man, shouldn't I be getting stronger? Faster? So, I guess I owe thanks to the @#$&% wind. Today, at least.

Wind just IS. I'm learning to smile at it because I live in a really flat area, and it stands in for climbing. It makes me stronger, it improves my spin, and it gives me WAY too much pleasure to pass an aerobar-riding roadie on the way home.

Still - hearing the forecast this morning made the excuse gremlin's wheedling a bit more strident.

Headwind with 30mph gusts this evening... :|

Think of it as a training aid.
I also find enjoying these roadblocks to be less stressful than getting pissed. Relish your challenges. The only exception is when the wind is so strong that I could potentially get in an accident.

Still, I enjoy hills more than wind. For an odd reason, hills are more predictable and do actually end.

I'm new to bike commuting, so I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing, snow, hail, or torrential downpours yet ... but I think I already know that my worst enemy will turn out to be @#$&% wind!!!! :cry:
Yeah it was windy in southern Ontario yesterday. I park outside an office tower and the turbulence was wicked as I was loading up last evening. One time I came out to eat my lunch at a picnic table out front on a windy day and there was a women with waist length hair and it was blowing straight up.
If you have to ride over any bridges or overpasses out there in Burlington, be aware you can be blown right over the side in bad gusts.

What u guys complainin about wind for? I love wind!...

I'm not sure who said it, but someone on BF had a good way to think of it. Wind is like traffic to the cyclist. You can't get around it, so just downshift, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Yeah it was windy in southern Ontario yesterday. I park outside an office tower and the turbulence was wicked as I was loading up last evening. One time I came out to eat my lunch at a picnic table out front on a windy day and there was a women with waist length hair and it was blowing straight up.
If you have to ride over any bridges or overpasses out there in Burlington, be aware you can be blown right over the side in bad gusts.

No bridges or overpasses, thankfully, just found it extremely difficult - I was wiped by the time I got home. I couldn't even take a break by coasting down the few hills on the way home - if I stopped pedalling, I came to a complete stop. Sheesh!!!

{Edited to add another gripe: I noticed when I check the weather forecasts that the winds seem to be calm during the middle of the night. Is this a changing of the seasons phenomenon? Or is winter going to be even more interesting?**

my ears are burning

my ears are burning


snortle

I normally get a head or cross wind.
On the way home tonight I had a tailwind, and man did I use it.
17.25 miles in 54:25 at 19mph on a mountain bike!!!
Awesome ride. In the morning I'll get it head on though. Oh well, that's the way it goes.



I got it all right. Same commute this morning on my road bike 14.3 MPH, uuugggghhhh.

Crosswinds eeeek....
Almost met the maker....
Dang Kansas winds!

I noticed when I check the weather forecasts that the winds seem to be calm during the middle of the night. Is this a changing of the seasons phenomenon? Or is winter going to be even more interesting?

In the absence of a frontal system, winds generally back down overnight. I do most of my recreational riding a night in the winter, partly for this reason and partly because I'm more visible with my lights than I would be in the subdued light on winter days.

It doesn't help with my commute though. :-(

Yup, here in Michigan, the fall/winter westerly wind is starting to kick in. All summer I enjoy doing the 10.5 miles home in 34-36 minutes. Well, the wind has started up, my legs are feeling it, and my time isup to 39-42 minutes.
+1

The morning commute is before the sun is up, and generally windless, but my afternoon commute is NW....generally 12 miles into the wind all the way this time of year.

There was a fairly nasty breeze trying to puch me back home during yesterday's commute. I'm not a fan of headwinds but I try to use them as an opportunity to build strength.

I hate wind. So damn loud. I never realized we had prevailing winds around here until I started biking. Then I start doing math in my head ("Even a 5mph breeze feels like 20mph when you're going 15mph ...") and it gets ugly inside my head. Instant demoralization.

28MPH head wind on the way home today :(. It added 15+ minutes to my commute. I had to pedal going downhill to go anywhere.

Somewhere around 20mph on my way home. Just sat in the drops the whole way and was all of 5 minutes late. That and I planned my return commuting clothes to have less drag. I had the choice of a nike dri fit shirt, my form fitted jersey, a poly long john shirt, and a baggy jacket. Went with the dri fit shirt under my form fitted jersey. Now if I can do something about this annoying thing on my neck. :p