Commuting - I love a strong tailwind when biking home

Today the temperature will reach the low 60's (the first time this year), it will be sunny, and they forecast a south wind of 27 mph with possible gusts up to 40 mph. And I bike due north with the wind at my back going home today. That will be fun biking because it is fast and easy!

Do any of you have good memories (or otherwise) of strong tailwinds?

not really commuting, but we once had a century on a west --> east route and had a tail wind the whole day. it was hard to go less than 20mph. blissful.

My commute home is 6mi N, 2mi E.

There have been memorable days of massive tailwinds for the N part having me keep the brakes on when stopped to avoid being pushed by the wind into intersections.

Then I turn right and spend 2mi dealing with very gusty x-wind making it hard to travel in a straight line.

But still makes for a great ride home.

Al

yuck, i have to ride into the wind on the way home today. 30ish mph from the SSE. I only have like 4.5 miles to ride... On top of that, I'm frickin' tired...

The wind can go that way??

More often than not it is a side wind for me.
However, if you ride enough the stars eventually align and a tailwind occurs.

I had a 35 mph tailwind last summer that ended up pushing me to a top speed in the high 30s in a MUP. Let me tell you, the small curves MUPs have in them tend to be difficult to navigate at that speed. To save my hide I ended up slowing down into the 20s.

I prefer a tailwind on my way to my job. Don't have to worry about being late. :D Speaking of that... looks like the lovely tailwind I had this morning is still pointing the same way. Headwind on the way home...

A few times I've had the wind change directions while I was at work and I caught a headwind in both directions. All I can do at that point is put my head down, pedal harder and laugh.

One of my favorite recreational rides is to ride with the prevailing winds north from my house to Plano, about 45 miles. I then hop onto DART (Light rail) which dumps me off 5 miles from home.

It's like cheating! :D

Ugh. I get tailwinds on my morning commute, unfortunately the ride is almost all downhill and I gain speed too easily. On the way home, which is of course all uphill, those same winds are then head winds, making even a small commute a pain.

Whenever the tree's are moving outside my window, I know its probably going to be a bad day.

Well, i had a tailwind on the way to work yesterday, but on the way home it was a 30-40 headwind for probably the 1st. 13 miles. It beat me up pretty good. I even drove today so I could igve the body a rest. (Maybe I'm getting weaker as I get older). But I love a good tail wind, but headwinds are a great way to get an extra workout.

And I bike due north with the wind at my back going home today. That will be fun biking because it is fast and easy!

Do any of you have good memories (or otherwise) of strong tailwinds?

Well, well, I wonder if you go straight up Penn Avenue South. I took that route this morning going south INTO that wind. I have a stop planned on the way home, WITH the wind, but it occurred to me to skip the errand and try for a personal time record. Normally my trip is 35-40 minutes, but one year with a strong tailwind I made it home in 28. I look outside right now at 3:26 PM and the flags by the office building are straight out, pointing straight north.

Prevailing winds here usually help me with my homeward commute, which also happens to be entirely uphill. When a good Santa Ana gets going, though, I will take advantage and FLY downhill to work but then usually wind up taking the bus most of the way home. Seeing all those flags snapping and thinking of climbing 12 miles against a 40 mph headwind - no thanks!

Of course when a really good Santa Ana gets going something is usually on fire by the time I am heading home. So it's not just a headwind - it's a crunchy headwind....

What does it mean - TAILWIND?

Nermal,
I assume you are really asking what a tailwind is (don't they use that word in NM?).

A tailwind is a wind coming from directly behind a moving object (blowing against your "tail" side). See http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=tailwind&db=*

What does it mean - TAILWIND?

wind blowing with your direction of travel, reducing fluid resistance

love a strong tail wind. Just have to watch out for cars that don't expect you to be going the same speed they are.

What does it mean - TAILWIND?


There have been rumors that such a word as "tailwind" exists in some deep and secret location far beyond the mere reaches of man. However, no one who claims to have met with the mystical creature has been able to provide proof for their lofty tales/ils.

The only thing I don't like about tail winds is that it makes you believe you can go that fast at any time so effortlessly.

I had a magnificent tailwind on my way home on Monday.
My 18 mile commute normally takes 1:15 door to door, but I made it in an hour for the first time.


The only thing I don't like about tail winds is that it makes you believe you can go that fast at any time so effortlessly.

Indeed. Occasionally I get a moderate tailwind on the way to work and think how much fitter I must be getting. Then I ride home and realise the truth.

Yesterday was fun. I am commuting on a 26in MTB, and kept spinning out due to the same great midwest tailwind you refer to. I think I hit nearly 40mph at one point on the flat MUP, felt like I was riding a rocketship.

I don't know what kind of imaginary world you people live in, but you obviously don't know the two rules of cycling:

1. The wind is always against you.
2. See the first rule.

Do any of you have good memories (or otherwise) of strong tailwinds?
Not very many -- usually if winds are strong, they cut at least partially across my path. I've had a few tailwinds, but only one of them was truly great. I once got caught in a windstorm where the wind was so strong, it overtook me at times even though it was a direct push from behind and I was spinning at some insane cadence in my top gear.

I had a strong crosswind for part of my ride home, then a tailwind when I was riding up the hill. Perversely, I don't like the tailwind pushing me up the hill - it always seems to be going exactly the same speed I am, and I get too hot from pedaling up the hill with no air moving around me to cool me down!

The few, the fun, the days with a tailwind. Last thursday was Great, It was a westward blowing wind, at about 24mph. I got home in 20 minutes, 8.25 miles, wished I had a bigger gear, but alas, i was riding a fixie.

But then there are the rest of the days. Last night bit the big one, with the 46mph winds going straight north. thank goodness I only had to go 2 miles straight south through barren farm field. I had to zig zag across the road to get any forward momentum. I felt like a sailboat tacking and Jibing. The next 6 miles were thankfully all crosswind, It was kind of fun to lean 20 degrees into the wind and not tip over.

Sometime you just hit the lottery numbers.....

After I don't know how many times having the weather switch at mid day so that I had head winds both ways I've had a couple of days over the years where it was a strong tail wind both ways. Those are days for the memoires...

I don't know what kind of imaginary world you people live in, but you obviously don't know the two rules of cycling:

1. The wind is always against you.
2. See the first rule.



Yup the rules are working well here.

Sometime you just hit the lottery numbers.....

After I don't know how many times having the weather switch at mid day so that I had head winds both ways I've had a couple of days over the years where it was a strong tail wind both ways. Those are days for the memoires...

Hooray for double-tailwind days! So rare and magical.

There is seldom any wind when I start out on the morning commute, but by mid-day the prevailing wind is usually from the west or southwest. Happily, my ride home is generally northeast so I often get some help.

But the most memorable winds for me were on a vacation to Hilton Head Island, SC. That day, I rode a rented bike on the paved path along the main highway in a northeast direction. The headwinds kept getting stronger and it was a lot of work.

When I crossed onto the beach and headed back, there was a fierce, sandblasting wind blowing down the beach in exactly the direction I wanted to go. I had to be moving 25 mph or more and there was absolutely no wind noise in my ears the whole time. What a great ride!

I had a cafe ride years ago when I rode the 25 miles to the cafe with a 30 mph tailwind, riding along at 25mph without much effort all the way.

When I got to the cafe I sat there not looking forward to the ride home. I eventually left and got behind a truck doing 30 mph and it took me all the way until about 2 miles from my house :)

I had a 24.5 mph avg for a cafe ride...

I think if I did that ride for the next 40 years that would never happen again :)