Folding Bikes - The damn wind

I swear I prefer a steep hill over constant headwind any day. Earlier I was riding at a great pace, on the last gear. I was probably going over 20mph and then I turned the corner and hit a strong headwind that pushed me back to like 5mph and it lasted for like 4 miles! ARGHHH!

I once had a whole day riding 120 miles into a horrible cold headwind that took my average speed from 17 miles an hour to 10. I swear I was working twice as hard too as I had been at 17. Half way through, starving and cold, I was almost sobbing at the prospect of another sixty miles. In the middle of nowhere, I stopped at a farm and asked the lady to feed me some bacon and eggs (for money of course). That put me in better spirits.

But hills aren't funny either. A couple of years ago, I did a UK coast to coast tour that involved 7500 feet of climbing. In the end, I got off and walked.

Cycling is hard work once you go over a few miles.

I once had a whole day riding 120 miles into a horrible cold headwind that took my average speed from 17 miles an hour to 10. I swear I was working twice as hard too as I had been at 17. Half way through, starving and cold, I was almost sobbing at the prospect of another sixty miles. In the middle of nowhere, I stopped at a farm and asked the lady to feed me some bacon and eggs (for money of course). That put me in better spirits.

But hills aren't funny either. A couple of years ago, I did a UK coast to coast tour that involved 7500 feet of climbing. In the end, I got off and walked.

Cycling is hard work once you go over a few miles.


+1 on long rides into headwinds....did a 200km solo one a few years back, all the way into a howling wind...but it got even better.....heavy rain and stinging hailstones......nearly gave up cycling :eek:

I might have given up life, let alone cycling with that Steve.

There are times when lying down in a ditch might seem ok.

I might have given up life, let alone cycling with that Steve.

There are times when lying down in a ditch might seem ok.


Yeah, and I'm not trying to do one better with that story, but there has been times in my cycling experience where I've chosen the hard path instead of the easy one, 'cos I figure it's good to look back on the crazy things we did and smile, if we survive. Like climbing the highest mountain in the Grampians, Victoria, during torrential rain on our MTBs...high winds, heavy fog and very cold.... doing the same thing on a local Mt....descending was very tricky..........sheer madness ;)

Do you also like being tied up and lashed with metal tipped whips?

:eek:

Headwinds suck. I have actually delayed a tour by a few days to avoid having headwinds for 3 straight days of riding. Worst I have ever had were sustained at 25-30mph and having to pedal down hill into the wind to avoid falling over. That will really mess with your mind.

Aaron:)

Headwinds suck but they became much more bearable after I put drop bars on my Dahons (thank Thor).

The worst I've experienced was about twenty years ago cycling from the Netherlands into Belgium. Completely flat road and we were cycling in the 'granny' gears of our 18-speed touring bikes. The next day we learned that a hurricane had hit Great Britain (destroyed many huge 200-year-old trees) and we were cycling into the tail-end of the winds.

hehe Thanks ..lol

about them headwinds.... combine it with a constant uphill grade and not a tree or anything in sight
.........at least with a peak there is a reward on the other end...

ever rode in kansas ?

thor

about them headwinds.... combine it with a constant uphill grade and not a tree or anything in sight...

Add in a 'washboard' road for good measure. Sucks the life right out of you.

Since I am a "chicken" on descends, head wind when you are going down might help a lot.

I'll take hills to a headwind. At least with hills once you pay the gravity god, he will pay you back. I've had headwinds in one direction that turned when I did and gave me a headwind on the return as well!

FAT: + 1 on the hills... at least there's some energy return on the way back...


*L* I've had similar experience both on a bike and rollerblades... I remember specifically thinking

"god must hate me!"

I do not own a single roadie... but I sure look like it on my folder or MTB... all tucked in... cursing under my breath...

The worst I've experienced was about twenty years ago cycling from the Netherlands into Belgium. Completely flat road and we were cycling in the 'granny' gears of our 18-speed touring bikes. The next day we learned that a hurricane had hit Great Britain (destroyed many huge 200-year-old trees) and we were cycling into the tail-end of the winds.

LOL I'm sorry for your troubles on that day.

You say we lost many huge trees. We lost 15,000,000 trees. You are lucky it had decreased in strength or you may have been blown backwards into central Europe.

:)

You say we lost many huge trees. We lost 15,000,000 trees. You are lucky it had decreased in strength or you may have been blown backwards into central Europe. :)

You're not kidding! There were a few times when walking seemed like a viable option. I kept thinking "They told me the Netherlands are flat and often windy. But this is ridiculous!" At the former hunting lodge where we stayed that night, we tried to find out what was going on, but we only caught snippets from the local French-language radio stations. It wasn't until we'd returned to Canada 10 days later that we learned about the scope of the devastation.

Do you also like being tied up and lashed with metal tipped whips?

:eek:


Nah, but if you know how to do that while I'm riding.............

You're not kidding! There were a few times when walking seemed like a viable option. I kept thinking "They told me the Netherlands are flat and often windy. But this is ridiculous!" At the former hunting lodge where we stayed that night, we tried to find out what was going on, but we only caught snippets from the local French-language radio stations. It wasn't until we'd returned to Canada 10 days later that we learned about the scope of the devastation.

It was a once in several hundred years event that one. Fifteen million trees down, eighteen people died, thousands were without power for a significant period, and the insurance costs ran into over a billion pounds for restoring buildings and damaged property. I can't imagine you will ever ride in a worse wind, even though the weather had improved by the time it moved into Europe.

hehe Thanks ..lol

about them headwinds.... combine it with a constant uphill grade and not a tree or anything in sight
.........at least with a peak there is a reward on the other end...

ever rode in kansas ?

thor

Yep, but it was on the return leg of a cross-country trip and after 3,500 miles or so nothing fazed us.

The worst was the Texas Panhandle with a tornado cruising through the county above us in Oklahoma. Nothing like trying to put a tent up in 60mph winds. We also found that the campground was at the end of a SAC base runway and were woken up by a B-52 landing. I jammed out of the tent to take a photo, but all I could see was the landing gear through the viewfinder. The ground was shaking like jell-o.