Road Cycling - The Wind

Does anyone else just get absolutely demoralized by it? Here in AZ its been real windy since thanksgiving. I went out and did a bunch of hills that I normally dont have time for and was determined to have a good ride no matter what and I did, although the strong crosswinds for most of the ride and headwinds were rough. Today I had planned on doing an easy two hours, I cut it short at 1.5 hours and was dying. My legs felt a little tired from the hill day for some reason and that plus the wind made it a long slow ride. Normally I can get going, some guy on an older bike, he had spd clipless pedals on and some groceries, was staying with me for a good 15 minutes of my ride. I should have been just smoothly pulling away but I had absolutely nothing. I know we all dont like the wind but does it beat any one else down like it does me?

I'd rather climb any mountain than spend a few hours riding into the wind.

Personally I love it -- can't get enough of it. There's no feeling greater than spending about 120km or so uninterrupted turning aside a wind. I love the feeling of gradually beating it, gradually getting on top of it, inching closer to a victory that will leave me a great story to embellish later on.

I also love the feeling of being able to just totally throw myself at something and know that 1) it isn't going to hurt, and 2) it's still going to be there for me to do it again. It's also quite amusing to see punk kids getting blown clean off their skateboards (as happened in a wind I was riding into last Tuesday).

About the only thing I love more than a spanky headwind is a spanky hill. Or maybe a spanky downpour.

Sometimes I love it, other times I hate it. It really depends on just how much suffering I want on that particular day:) Having that same wind behind you is always fun. Nothing like battling a headwind for a good while, then turning around and hitting speeds usually reserved for descents.

I don't mind so much unless it is a crosswind. Normally, you fight one way and get a little bit of a break the other way. A crosswind always feels like a headwind both ways to me.

I did have one time that was a blast though. I was in New Zealand (VERY windy). On my MTB with 2.25" knobby tires. There was a constant strong wind, no gusts. It was like being in a wind tunnel. On the way out I could only do 12kph (7.5mph). On the way back I was doing a steady 51kph (31.7mph) for miles. This was by myself, on the flat.

Three of four cars came up beside me and clocked me to see how fast I was going. The speed limit was 50kph. I must have looked like an animal. Too bad it was just the wind.

When I first started cycling, I was totally demoralized. It seems that just as I was making some progress, the wind would come along and push me back. But, I am mostly over that. The measure of a good ride is not average speed, how fast you went up the hill, or anything except power.

A head or crosswind makes you increase your power output to compensate. The more times you do this, the greater your capacity becomes.

Now, cold, 25mph winds? No thanks! That's what I have today in central Maryland. Then we have the bernoulli effect when the wind whistles through houses, down streets, and its speed increases, which lowers the effective temperature.

I will probably go to the gym and pedal a stationary bicycle for a few hours.

I ride every day in the wind in Northern Florida. It is usually blowing 10 to 15 MPH and I have become accustomed to it. On days when it blows 15 to 20 MPH it becomes more difficult. I try to ride at 135 BPM on my heart monitor and just ignore speed. The trick is to just ride at whatever speed the wind allows - with the effort you feel comfortable exerting.

I find that the constant wind helps me in training for hills - as we really don't have any. It is also a blast to ride 15 to 20 miles with the wind at your back at speeds of 30+ MPH.

Remember - it is really a mental atitude- to ride into the wind!

Hate it and i ride in it every single day.

Oh hell all you people complaining about the wind with warm weather make me sick...its 70 degrees out but there's a 15mph wind <whimper>...its when its below 40 and there's a 15 mph wind, thats when it get demoralizing...(hehe rant done, sorry)

Oh hell all you people complaining about the wind with warm weather make me sick...its 70 degrees out but there's a 15mph wind <whimper>...its when its below 40 and there's a 15 mph wind, thats when it get demoralizing...(hehe rant done, sorry)
Dont be a baby,i dont mind the cold and i wont let the wind beat me.I have to go ride right now,it only like,low 60's.

wind sucks: a. when it's cold, b. when it's ridiculously strong (i rode a tough climb last week on a day with 80 mph gusts), c. when i'm bonking, or d. when it reverses just after i finish battling a tough headwind and turn around to start back home.

otherwise, it's not so bad. tho i will agree it's demoralizing in a race situation.

Wind is your adversary! You must break it as often as possible!

I've not enjoyed the wind at all. Primarily because I've been measuring my progress via miles and speed and a windy day usually means I'll falter a bit (regardless of the tailwind I have on part of my outing). I've since gotten a HRM and I am focusing my exercise on that. So what if I'm doing 9 mph into a 20 mph wind. My HR is where I want if to be...

I'd rather climb any mountain than spend a few hours riding into the wind.

Same here.
The wind is really demoralizing for me. Some days, I'll be flying, but other days, on the same roads, I'll be crawling against the wind. The wind is extremely physically irritating as well... what I mean is, I can't stand the actual physical feeling and noise of the wind getting in my way. (I hate having windows down in vehicles too)

When I say crawling, I mean I go down to one of my lowest gears, on the flat road, and struggle to keep enough pace to not get dropped by any kids on tricycles.

I use it. I will ride into the wind for as long as I can, then turn around and go home. Great for training. The whole time I'm riding into the wind I've got a smile on my face cuz I know how sweet the ride home will be with that wind at my back. :D

otherwise, it's not so bad. tho i will agree it's demoralizing in a race situation.

I think that all depends on attitude. Just remember that whatever the wind does to you it's doing to everybody else out there.

Not fond of wind, whether it's crosswind that makes the bike hard to control or headwind that robs speed and is downright chilly.

So far, the best trick I have found is to continue to spin at 75-90 rpm as usual, but in a low, low gear. The worst one can do is to stick to the usual gear and push hard.

Regards,

I think that all depends on attitude. Just remember that whatever the wind does to you it's doing to everybody else out there.

well, that's my problem in general with race psychology i tend to put too much pressure on myself in races and thus don't account for the possibility that others are suffering as much as me. i tend to have to see (awkward pedaling, heaving chest) or hear (ragged breathing) indications that they are before i believe it ...

tho i'm getting better as i've been riding with people more often. today i'm pretty sure i could've dropped a cat 3 guy i hooked up with midride. i was out on my mountain bike (because my road ride got destroyed by a car a coupla months ago) and he was on his road bike. it felt pretty good in sort of a guilty way to hear him rasp a little on the last climb - and to realize that i could sprint still.

i assuage my guilt over being so competitive on a casual ride in the winter by remembering that i chose not to sprint.

With snow on the ground and a temp. of 25° I would love to ride in a warm wind.

Like brent_dude said, the sound really gets to me. I find myself turning my head to try and make the sound go away just for a few seconds. I'd rather climb hills too. Thats what I was doing on thanksgiving, maybe thats why the ride wasnt bad even though the wind was. I wouldnt mind the wind so much if I did get a tailwind coming back home. But AZ seems to me (might be in my head, then again I dont think it is) to have whirl winds that change direction as often as you do. So headwind one way doesnt always mean tailwind going the other way.

With snow on the ground and a temp. of 25° I would love to ride in a warm wind.

If you get on a highway that has the snow melted off, that 25 degree air isn't bad if there isnt any wind. Just wear proper clothing. I like it.

To give an idea of how much I hate wind... a few months ago I went on a long ride in heavy rain when it was about 35 degrees... I went on a few favorite climbs as well. It was one of my funnest rides of the year. But I always hate riding in heavy wind. I don't mind bad conditions (I prefer riding in the rain), as long as it isnt windy.
Maybe part of it has to do with a couple of my worst days (cycling and in general) happened to be spent riding and getting frusturated in heavy wind.

Wind can be discouraging.

I have found ways to limit it.

For one thing, I go out to get a work out. Logically it does not matter if the wind is blowing or not. I am still doing the work. Of course, seeing my mph down at 12 mph instead of 22 mph can be discouraging if I let myself get fixated on that :( .

The thing I remember is that the alternative to not riding in the wind is not riding that day. And ANY ride taken beats any ride not taken. :D

Like i said before,i ride in it every ride.I'm within 10 miles of the beach so it always onshores that get pretty stiff in the afternoon or here,santa ana's which is dirty,harder blowing winds.The only thing i wont let the wind do and this is my thing is not let my mph drop into single digits.Sounds dumb but it gets tough sometimes to maintain that,for me at least.

I live in a area which gets very and it makes me want to ride on the trainer, but trainers in So CAL are against the law....lol
On most of my rides I'm riding in a cross wind which gets kind of scary at times...nothing worse than flying down the hills at 30mph+ and being blown around on your bike. I can handle the head winds as they seem to only hurt my feelings as they drop my speeds.

I live in a area which gets very and it makes me want to ride on the trainer, but trainers in So CAL are against the law....lol
On most of my rides I'm riding in a cross wind which gets kind of scary at times...nothing worse than flying down the hills at 30mph+ and being blown around on your bike. I can handle the head winds as they seem to only hurt my feelings as they drop my speeds.
But dont ya hate those dirty Santa Ana's?

First off, here in Southern NM, 10 to 15mph "wind" is considered a breeze. Wind starts at 15mph plus and really should not be counted until it reaches 20plus. You either ride in wind or you don't ride period. I'll agree with a comment in a earlier post - I prefer hills to wind because eventually you reach the top. In SNM, especially in the Spring, the wind never stops.

I find the differance between Winter winds and Summer significantly much greater, somehow despite a wind of the same velosity. winter winds are much more difficult to ride into than Summer.
Probably winter carries much more moisture thus making the air a lot heavier than a dry warm Summer blow plus of course wearing much heavier and weightier garments..

Yep shokhead those Santa Ana's are dirty! And HOG-I, I'd settle for the 10 to 15 mph winds as well, but our 20 to 30 mile winds and occasional 30 to 50mile & up gusts make it quite hard to ride, but I still go for it!

Yep shokhead those Santa Ana's are dirty! And HOG-I, I'd settle for the 10 to 15 mph winds as well, but our 20 to 30 mile winds and occasional 30 to 50mile & up gusts make it quite hard to ride, but I still go for it!
Boy your eating some dust i bet at those really high winds.

hog-i, if it makes you feel better, the northwest part of the state is just as bad. There are a few trees, but they just keep the dust from blowing across the road and blinding you. No riding from March through May sucks. And you can't ride in it. People say, 'Oh, you could ride in that!' and I just laugh. I've tried. Almost crashed four times in a half mile, turned around and almost crashed 3 more times from the wind. Gotta have good winter clothes to ride here; the season ends in February and picks up again in June.

Wind can be discouraging.

I have found ways to limit it.

For one thing, I go out to get a work out. Logically it does not matter if the wind is blowing or not. I am still doing the work. Of course, seeing my mph down at 12 mph instead of 22 mph can be discouraging if I let myself get fixated on that :( .

The thing I remember is that the alternative to not riding in the wind is not riding that day. And ANY ride taken beats any ride not taken. :D

I agree with Pat, I go out for a workout. But I'm not crazy about the wind, I don't mind when its not too hard, but its no fun to ride into a 25 mph wind and freezing cold. In the SF Bay Area, its bearable year round as long as it stays dry.

here's what I do to minimize the wind. Ride in a group, it does take skill to ride in groups when its windy, but we can keep the speed up by rotating the lead. toss the jacket, I like wearing a long sleeve coolmax undershirt with a jersey and arm warmers. I don't like the jacket flapping around in the wind and it doesn't get much below 40 so with long gloves and layering, I'm not cold.

The thing I remember is that the alternative to not riding in the wind is not riding that day. And ANY ride taken beats any ride not taken. :D


Amen! I guess windy days are why I have that 3rd chainring! My speed and distance may decrease, but the workout is why I'm riding anyway!

not sure if anyone cares, but david foster wallace has a pretty entertaining story called "derivative sport in tornado alley" in his book a supposedly fun thing i'll never do again. he talks about growing up in middle illinois, playing tennis in the serious wind they have down there. very funny story, with some useful "philosophy" about living w/ the wind.

ps, he's also a great author if you havn't read anything of his before. there are some great essays in that book.

enjoy.


dan