Road Cycling - Measure wind speed and direction?

Is there a simple instrument out there I can purchase where I can measure wind speed and wind direction out there?

This morning, I got up and checked the weather channel, and once again, they were incorrect with their weather forecast. They claimed the wind was currently from the east at 5 miles per hour, and I got my butt kicked all over the place because it was more like 10- 15 miles per hour with SSE winds. That got me thinking- if I had something I could simply put on the rack as I was packing my bike, it could measure the correct wind speed and wind direction so I can at least be prepared and not be wondering why I'm feeling like I'm struggling when it's because I'm cycling against the wind!

I know I could just stick my finger up, but seriously- I just did a century yesterday, and I thought that I was just feeling tired, and it wasn't until I passed my halfway point and turned around and got that tailwind that I realized exactly what was going on.

Grrrrrrr... why should Lance pay for a wind tunnel training session when he could just ride the lakefront with me and get all the wind he can handle, and then some for nuthin'??!!

Koffee

wind direction is easy if you know where north is. as for wind speed: here's a way you can make your own device:

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/projects/anemometer.html

Try Radio Shack, they have some electronic anemometers.

Keep in mind when you get the wind report it could be up to an hour old, and there are a lot of local variations to take into account, such as buildings, valleys etc.

The report you're getting could have been taken miles from where you are as well, they're typically taken at airports, although that can vary.

Yeah, I know.

I typically go by the Midway airport readings they give- they are the most accurate to where I am riding. Most of the time, they are right on the money, but sometimes, they are off. I just like to know what kind of wind I'm dealing with before I go out so I can adjust my ride accordingly. I was super tired today too from doing that century ride yesterday, and if I'd known it was going to be that windy, I would have just stayed in bed this morning! But that's why I do want something to measure the wind with.

I will look for the electronic anemometers at Radio Shack. Thanks for the help, everyone!

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
but sometimes, they are off.

No they are not. Those aren't forecasts, they are observations taken at every hour (wind speed and direction is always the average of the last two minutes prior to the lecture of the instrument) and as aerobat says, direction and speed vary widely every instant.

By the way, I work in a weather station and contrary to what people say, forecasters are extremely accurate. One thing I learned is that people always exagerate when talking about the weather.

As for a gadget, it sounds to me like you don't know what to do of what's left of your check. ;) Just wet your finger and stick it up in the air for direction.

Personnally, unless I need to go to a specific location, I always start against the wind so I can get a tailwind on my way back. I also check wind forecasts for when I expect to be back 'coz mother nature has a sense of humor too!

Something else about windspeed and direction Koffee. It can vary with terrain. A given terrain can shelter you from a wind. This is especially true of tree lined roads. Or a given terrain can funnel winds like a wind tunnel.

One of the best examples of this I have ever seen was coming into Jackson Wyoming from the north. The Grand Tetons are to the west and another range of moutains are to the east. And right next to the road which runs down the valley is a high razor back ridge. Well the wind was coming from the south and it got in between that east range and the razor back and picked way, way up. At one point, I was coming down a nice little grade and going pedalling and going only something like 14 mph into that dern wind. I came up on some riders in our group. Jackson was visible about a mile away and they had stopped for a rest even with town in sight because at this point with the headwind, you were going to go only about 12 mph.

Also wind speed and direction can change very quickly. It is called "gusts". I recall on one ride, a tornado touched down near us. That was a real crosswind, let me tell you! We learned about the tornado later and it was a lil bitty one.

I just go by guess and by gosh. Even if I could measure the wind, to do so, I would have to stop and set up the apparatus. And knowing the windspeed wouldn't CHANGE anything now would it? It would still be there.

Wind changes, as I discovered 50km into a 225km ride on Saturday (practical upshot being that I ended up riding about 160km of it against the wind). I'm still not convinced headwinds are such a bad thing really. If you want to get stronger, there aren't many more effective ways of going about it.

Originally posted by Erick L
No they are not. Those aren't forecasts, they are observations taken at every hour (wind speed and direction is always the average of the last two minutes prior to the lecture of the instrument) and as aerobat says, direction and speed vary widely every instant.

By the way, I work in a weather station and contrary to what people say, forecasters are extremely accurate. One thing I learned is that people always exagerate when talking about the weather.

As for a gadget, it sounds to me like you don't know what to do of what's left of your check. ;) Just wet your finger and stick it up in the air for direction.

Personnally, unless I need to go to a specific location, I always start against the wind so I can get a tailwind on my way back. I also check wind forecasts for when I expect to be back 'coz mother nature has a sense of humor too!

Yes, they ARE off- they were off the day I left out. I know what a E wind at 5 miles per hour feels like, and that morning, they were OFF. It was more like a SSE wind at 10- 15 miles per hour. They did say there would be no gusts, which they were correct on. It was a continuous wind. A ride that should have been an easy zip turned out to be a taxing struggle for about half the ride.

I think you are missing the point- that morning, I turned on the television at 3:38AM to determine what the wind speed would be so I could decide if I had the energy to get out there and ride, or just take the day off, or even modify my ride. I'd done a century the day before, and I didn't want to overtax myself. To that end, I relied on the weather channel to give me an idea of what I'd be facing. I am aware that there would be differences in the wind between locations- you get MUCH more wind coming straight off the lake than if I'd chosen a route that was on the other side of the city. That's why I get concerned about the wind factor before I do my rides. So I need to be more than a do-hick slackjaw yokel who spits on their finger and holds it up in the air. Wind on the lakefront varies widely from wind when you are located in other parts of the city, and depending on how far I ride, other parts of the state. I don't expect them to be perfect with the weather forecasts, but when they were that off, that got me frustrated. To that end, I would prefer to have some kind of instrument that I can leave outside while I'm headed to the bike room that will tell me what the wind speed will be on days when I'm feeling particulary tired or taxed for one reason or another so I can modify or change my training plan.

Yes, that's anal, but some people DO look at all aspects of their training- my training log book shows my heart rate, average speed, distance, time (hours, minutes and seconds), start and end point, and wind speed, and includes wind gusts and other weather conditions I encountered while riding. That's just me, and I think by being as accurate as possible, I can note improvements, even the small ones, and I would really appreciate it if I got a real response for what I consider a real problem for me rather than a "put your finger in the air and guess the direction of the wind". For me, there's a lot more to why I'd like to know the airspeed.

Thanks,

Koffee

Go outside,lick your finger and hold it up.Thats the cheapest.

koffee- as an affirmed weather geek, there is no better sight than www.wunderground.com that can fine tune your weather down to your zip code (you're 60610 or 60611 right?) that has weather for every hour - even historical weather (what it was doing last 9/1 for example)

after years i just know what the speed is. after checking after rides i know the wind speeds now (like i know cadence after looking at cadence on my computer for years)

and there are helpful things like it takes a 16 mph wind to blow a large flag stiff (insert joke here)

since you can't do anything about wind speed (except change routes) wind is your friend (that's what Chris L tells me)

There's nothing slack-jaw yokelish about putting your wet finger in the air. It's pretty accurate if you know your direction. And if they claim the wind is currently at 5 mph from the east, you better believe them. Well actually, if you read that at 3:38, it means they were 5 mph from east at 3 o'clock. These readings are not taken with anemometers from Radio Shack. Airplanes rely on that, I don't see why you couldn't. Even if you have your own anemometer, it won't tell you what the wind will be but only what the winds are at your specific location. You would often get a different reading if you put the instrument on your roof versus at street level, or wether you'd put it in the street or your balcony. Buildings in the city act like corridors and the fact that you live by a large lake doesn't help.

Maybe that you did a century the day before played a little. ;)

Perhaps... but I watched the update again at 3:58AM, 4:08AM and 4:18am just in case the weather pattern changed. They claimed it didn't.

Winds coming out of the east are considered easy days for me, since I go north and south. In fact, whenever we get straight west or straight east winds, my times are greatly decreased. I look forwards to those days.

This was definitely a SSE wind- tired legs could have had something to do with me struggling through my ride, but like I said, I needed something that was a little more accurate for me. To that end, I would like to have my own device to measure wind speed and wind direction. I know you probably find it a personal affront if I don't rely on the weather folks anymore and instead look to my own devices to help me figure things out, Erick, but that's me- I tend to be independent, and if I can do it on my own without having to rely on others, that's what I would like to do. And there's nothing wrong with me wanting a instrument to give me better and more accurate readings than the "stick your fingers in the wind" assessment. I bet if you stood in front of your audience and said you're going to skip doing airspeed measurements with instruments and go outside and stick your finger in the wind... "be right back!", people would look at you crazy. It really grinds my teeth sometimes when I'm trying to be serious about something that I find an important aspect of my ride to be taken lightly, and to not be taken seriously with a response that gives me the answer I'm looking for. What may be funny and insignificant to some people can be considered important to others.

Regardless, currently I'm at the point where I make a push the next day after a century so I can try to work on doing a double century. However, if I'm feeling particularly tired, I need to look at other factors and see if I this push is possible. Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't. I was teetering between staying at home and getting some extra sleep and getting up and getting out there for a long ride. Based on this last factor, I decided to go out and do instead. Normally, they are pretty accurate with predicting wind and wind speed, but there have been times when they've been off- and I've been caught unexpectedly. I would rather not be glued in front of the television every morning- I waste time waiting for weather reports, when I can simply open my window and stick an instrument out there, and in a few minutes, I've gotten one aspect of my ride down and I can plan accordingly. This is all I'm asking for- well that, and the right to be taken seriously every now and then when I post a question on the board asking for some answers.

Koffee

Thanks for that site RiPHRaPH, as a weather nut I'm always on the lookout for something new!

I was serious! My point is that, unless you carry a device that can measure and record wind as you ride (I bet such a thing cost a bundle), I don't think taking a reading with a personnal anemometer at starting point will be much more accurate than the closest weather station. Wind readings at airports are done within certain standards. If you get something different at home, it just shows how much it can vary from place to place. I won't stop you from buying one though, it's your money!

"Updates" at every ten minutes are just repeats. Forecasts are usually updated every 6 hours and current conditions at every hour. Special observations are made but the weather channel don't display them. This means a thunderstorm can pass between hourly observations and they won't mention it (they should have predicted it in the forecast though). Personnally, I read TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) (http://aviationweather.noaa.gov/awc/taf/chitafmdw.html). They are a bit more precise, especially for winds. The wind is the 5 digit number followed by "KT" (knots). The first three digits is direction and the last two is speed in knots. Just remember that the time is universal time (Greenwich time). Maybe there's text version of this somewhere but I don't know it.

The beaufort scale is a great way to measure wind without instruments. I have adopted this for long range shooting. It works real well.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html

Hunter, that is the most accurate scale I've seen yet... and it's just using descriptions of the water to show the wind speed! Since I ride right along the lakefront, it would certainly help to explain what the wind speed is. Using this scale and taking the time to determine the wind direction should enable me to track the weather better before I take off for my rides.

Thanks to everyone for contributing.

Koffee

Koffee,

I know your original question is about instruments but have you
checked out any of the websites like weatherbug? They have
a network of locations in most areas, not just airports. There
are usually many locations in an area so you can switch between
them to see the current conditions locally and other locations
10 or 20 miles away. I use it a lot when I am going on long rides
to see what the weather is like at my destination.

Steve

There are small handheld devices, smaller than the size of a pack of cigs. I use one for wildland firefighting. They measure the wind speed, some can measure the humidity, due point etc... The simple ones with only the wind speed are less than $100 There made by Kestrel. Good luck

Buying a stand-alone anemometer looks to be an expensive proposition. I didn't see many for less than $50.

As for the wind where you are vs. the forecasters, if you're near water, you could expect stronger wind off the lake because of all that convection, etc stuff. Trees could have an effect, etc. Just think of the times you've stood behind a building on a windy day. That's a difference of 10-15 mph. Unless the anemometer from which the forecasters take measurements is in a position similar to your bike on a ride, you should expect significant variations :) Even the beaufort wind scale isn't much more specific than 5mph increments. Wind speeds can vary significantly over just a few miles. :)

If you're serious, the $300-400 weather stations (w/ anemometers) are really useful to have around (and fun). I have one (w/o anemometer, cost about $120) and it's really helpful for planning rides (humidity, trends, etc)

Hey! Get a wind sock! As funny as that sounds, that's a great indicator of wind speed and direction :)

I'd love to get an anemometer for the back yard- that'd be cool. However, I am actually pretty good at estimating the wind speed by how the branches of the trees move. Also, check out any flags flapping- if it's nearly straight out, that's a pretty good 40k breeze!

Try a different website!

I believe Weather now has a display at the bottom of the computer screen that they offer as a 'freeware...but if you are using weather.com.....

Try weatherbug.com This program that puts a temp display at the bottom of your computer screen, and most sites are real-time, or very close. You can see the readings update, and you can choose which sites you use. I am close to Lake Michigan, which has some bizarre weather patterns (cool close to lake, different winds within 5 mi of lake michigan, etc) so I can surf several sites (mostly schools & airports) within 20 miles of my house to get an idea of what the weather is like. And you can see what locations you can trust, or are taking readings in sheltered areas. I live in a pine forest, which gives poor readings for both temp & wind if you go about 1/4 mi away & get away from the trees.

It is cheaper than buying an anomometer and you can get several 'readings' from locations at your choice. Not that I am cheap, but....

koffee- maybe you can log onto the meig's (oh sorry....you're beloved mayor fredo took care of that....)

Here's a simple little device you can carry in your camelback or seat bag. You can also get more complex ones, including a GPS one, too.

http://www.nkhome.com/images/k1hand400.jpg

And here's the link to the table of all their models:

http://www.nkhome.com/ww/wwindex.html

Hope this helps.

Originally posted by RiPHRaPH
koffee- maybe you can log onto the meig's (oh sorry....you're beloved mayor fredo took care of that....)

First of all, it's mayor guido, not fredo.... ;)

Second of all, meigs was worthless- I never even bothered to log into anything dealing with meigs, so you can't miss what you never bothered with to begin with anyway...

BTW, it's not meigs anymore- it's now called Northerly Island- get it right! ;)

skiahh- that Kestrel looks good- I'm definitely going to look into that one- wouldn't mind getting one that read the humidity too! Thanks!

Koffee