Road Cycling - Wind is fun!

Just rode home against 29mph winds gusting to 39mph, and man, it was the toughest, most grueling ride I've had in a while. Almost got blown over a couple times when a 20mph gust of crosswind would decide to hit, but let me tell you....


it was a freaking blast.

You're a bit masochistic bdcheung

Odd, that's what my wife says too...

Have the wife drive you 50mi upwind and ride home, now that's a blast!

To give you an idea of how well she drives... I asked her, and she gladly obliged, to follow me in the car for one of my rides (a particularly biker-unfriendly stretch of road) and she ended up "spacing out" and nearly hitting me from behind.

she ain't driving me anywhere.

To give you an idea of how well she drives... I asked her, and she gladly obliged, to follow me in the car for one of my rides (a particularly biker-unfriendly stretch of road) and she ended up "spacing out" and nearly hitting me from behind.

she ain't driving me anywhere.

She doesn't drive down near Warrenton, does she? If so, make sure you PM me so I'll ride the rollers that day.

Been pretty damned windy around the dfw area the last couple days too. Not as windy as you're reporting, but windy enough for my tastes and then some. I think yesterday's winds were capping out at about 28mph when I was out test riding the Gazelle.

yeah. it's swell. if you like it so much, why don't you move to amsterdam for the winter so i can sit in your draft until may.

I don't mind a stiff prairie wind in my face while on the road, so long as it's at my back for the second half of the distance!

Wind sucks. Or it blows. Whatever, I hate it.

Wind is like one of those killer hills where you think the top is around the next curve, but then when you get to the curve, you see that no, the top must be beyond the next curve. Except all hills end when you conquer them, but not wind.

Unlike hills, wind is demoralizing because riding really hard into the wind is only a little teeney bit faster than taking it easy, due to the nonlinear nature of wind resistance.

I like to head out into a headwind on an evening ride, just to have the wind die down (or better yet, reverse!) for the return trip. :rolleyes:

Probably the worst feature of wind is that it slows you down even when you are riding in a direction perpendicular to it.

I don't mind a stiff prairie wind in my face while on the road, so long as it's at my back for the second half of the distance!

Yea, one of the real defining moments for a road rider is when you stop picking training routes that start down wind. Half the noobs on a typical road ride (and a surprising number of older riders) want to do "the same ride as last week" even though the wind is from the other direction :lol:

And today's echelon is left to right. No matter what the wind is doing!

I don't get too many hills where I live, but the wind is my invisible hill. You just get used to it. The only issue is that it can be tough mentally. At least with a hill you can see the end and you may even get a nice view at the top. But with the wind, it may not end until you pull into your driveway and the view can be quite lackluster.

Headwind = evil!
Hills = evil!

When I get in better shape then maybe I'll take that back.

Not really evil, but a stiff headwind or better yet crosswind does require you to refine your drafting technique. Event's example, the often ignored yet simple practice of pulling off Into the wind, is a good one. So going out on a ride you may rotate one way, coming back another. An acomplished road cyclist is always, always aware of wind direction and it's impact on the group. This separates the real cyclist from the riders.

Not really evil, but a stiff headwind or better yet crosswind does require you to refine your drafting technique. Event's example, the often ignored yet simple practice of pulling off Into the wind, is a good one. So going out on a ride you may rotate one way, coming back another. An acomplished road cyclist is always, always aware of wind direction and it's impact on the group. This separates the real cyclist from the riders.


True, and definitely the way you should race. But not always practical on open highways.

You're a bit masochistic bdcheung
Just a bit?!

Wind sucks. Or it blows. Whatever, I hate it.
+1

I absolutely, positively HATE wind. I will gladly ride a mega-hilly course with 0 mph wind conditions than a fairly flat course with 15-30 mph+ winds.

There were even a few days this past spring when winds were gusting in the 30-40 mph range, and I opted for the indoor trainer instead.

Yea, one of the real defining moments for a road rider is when you stop picking training routes that start down wind. Half the noobs on a typical road ride (and a surprising number of older riders) want to do "the same ride as last week" even though the wind is from the other direction :lol:

Around here, the way the wind seems to "swirl" around the hills (sorta wish we had mountains, so that they would block the wind on the lower elevations), getting an actual stiff tailwind for any amount of time can be very difficult - you can be riding on the same road in the same direction, and one minute have a little tailwind, and the next minute have a headwind. It's really quite annoying actually.....

i hate hate hAte wind. makes u feel incredibly slow when ur doing 15mph on an otherwise nice flat because u have a 25mph headwind. out here wind always comes with cold, making it even more miserable to ride. *sigh* wish i was back in cali again.

living in "blowing green" as it is called makes me have to love the wind. except crosswinds that try to push you in the road. and when you have a headwind, just remind yourself on the way back its going to be a fun ride.

Living in an area where the wind never blows unless I am alone or with somebody I have only not ridden once this fall because the wind was to much. Tuesday I stepped outside into a North wind of about 35 mph, the temp was a balmy 30 degrees, I did not ride. I live where the wind swirls around so you never know what direction it will be coming from. It is not unusual to ride against the wind for an hour turn around and ride against the wind all the home!

I remember early spring, (when the legs were not there), i had to stand up and mash into a uphill head wind that almost stopped me in my tracks. I was laughing like a madman trying to get past that wind. It was then that I realized I prefer hills...They can be conquered and spit on upon completing but the wind spits back in your face.

Wind sucks. Or it blows.

Funny how when the wind blows, it sucks.

:)

I do hate the wind. Whenever I ride around the perimeter of Manhattan I always seem to get a headwind in both directions, North and South. Not fair at all :(

It's worse kayaking or rowing though...especially against current. Nothing like giving it your all and watching yourself go backwards with respect to the shore!!

living in "blowing green" as it is called makes me have to love the wind. except crosswinds that try to push you in the road. and when you have a headwind, just remind yourself on the way back its going to be a fun ride.

yeah that is until you find out that in the 3 hours you were on your bike the wind has changed directions and it's going to be just as miserable going home as it was leaving. happens to me at least 1/3 times

On windy days I stay in Prospect Park if I ride at all. It's a loop road so you always have both headwind and tailwind. I don't know how many times I've made the mistake of thinking I was having a really good day only to turn around to head home and find myself with a brisk headwind. And this after I'd already gone further and faster than I would have otherwise.

I have though made peace with the wind. Just tuck yourself in, lower your gear, increase your cadence and go as fast as it allows. You're not going to be as fast as you go without it.

I'll take hills anyday though. At least they have an end.