General Cycling Discussion - How much wind is to much?

I'm not talking about the high winds thath accompany bad storms. I'm speaking of the winds that blow on a nice warm sunny day, from any direction.

So for you how much is to much for you to not go out and ride?

P.S. This includes wind gusts as well as the steady mph of the wind.

[1] Remember what the windspeed and gusts are that day.

[2] Go out for a ride.

[3] If you feel yourself getting blown over, decrease your threshold by 5MPH else increase by 5MPH.

[4] Goto 1

When it's blowing you AND your bike off the ground.

We have those kinds of winds in Chicago all the time- we learn how to ride and adapt to the winds, but when it's that windy, and I'm struggling to keep my bike on the ground, the ride is over.

Koff

Personally I don't like any wind. I think that we all (cyclists of the world) agree on "the less the better" policy. On a windless day friction from the air while riding is enough to cool me off, but some breeze here and there wont hurt.

The wind always blows here, I will ride in 20-25mph, after that its just too much effort.

I always check the wind direction before I ride and plan my ride into the wind, so I can have a tailwind coming back.

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
We have those kinds of winds in Chicago all the time- we learn how to ride and adapt to the winds, but when it's that windy, and I'm struggling to keep my bike on the ground, the ride is over.


And after growing up in Chicago and riding year-round there, there have been few days I'd call "windy" anywhere else. Indeed, most of what other people call "weather" seems to me to just be sort of interesting air.

RichC

Some of the windstorms we get here in the Pacific Northwest would make Chicago windstorms feel like a cool breeze. Last winter I was coming home from a ride where winds across Lake Washington were clocking at over 70MPH. I elected not to cross by bike. They ended up closing the bridge for a while. At the same time the wind gusts in the pass near my house was recorded in the triple digits. And of course everyone remembers watching old film footage of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in high school physics class. ;)

I just work on pedaling form on windy days where it is so strong it adversely affects my cycling.

If you've got to ride and it's windy, you ride... or walk the bike.

The Tasman Bridge (about 130 feet above the Derwent River at its highest point) is the tester for me: 30mph lifts the helmet up and the light poles sway; 40mph and the railing starts humming and I am close to walking; 50mph and I am walking and staying upright and with the bike with great difficulty. In summer, we have a seabreeze every day at 15 to 20mph, so you get used to the wind. Gusts are unpredictable, and I've had one pick me up and throw me against the side railing. Not nice. The worst I've seen for the bridge was 65mph, and I was on a yacht going through underneath. The water was white and spitting bullets. The yacht race was cancelled that evening (wimps!).

N_C, as a recumbent rider (IIRC) you are probably less sensitive to headwinds than the rest of us diamond-frame riders. But I suspect side winds will affect you just as badly. And they have the potential to cause you real damage --a bad 35mph side gust (say, from between buildings) can push you right out on the road and possibly into oncoming traffic if you aren't prepared for it.

I like khuon's formula. And talk to ChrisL who is the wind-masochist on this list. In the end, only you can determine what you can handle. And remember, one person's headwind is another one's tailwind.

R

I took on 70km/h on the way to work one day last February and loved it! Mind you, that might have been because it brought our first decent rain for two years with it. I also get quite a few side gusts between buildings in Surfers Paradise on my current commute. They don't bother me so much, but I can see how they'd be a problem the first time someone encountered them.

I had one last Sunday on the way home that was lifting sand off the beach and blowing it along the road. That can sting a little sometimes, but I was having too much fun to notice! The thing I love about headwinds is the feeling that you're literally throwing yourself against something (and not having to worry about the fact that it's going to hurt).

Originally posted by Chris L
The thing I love about headwinds is the feeling that you're literally throwing yourself against something (and not having to worry about the fact that it's going to hurt).
So it's a wind fetish, not masochistic delight?

Originally posted by SamDaBikinMan
I just work on pedaling form on windy days where it is so strong it adversely affects my cycling.

That's what I use to do. When I lived in Wyoming, the average winds were 10 - 15 mph. It definitely made me stronger (and a more efficient peddler).

Originally posted by Rowan
So it's a wind fetish, not masochistic delight?

You mean there's a difference between fetishes and masochistic delights?

Any wind that's not a tailwind sucks.