Fifty Plus (50+) - My first 15 MPH headwind.

Today our club ride was a bit light on riders. Whatever the reason we only had five riders at the start of the ride but by the end we were down to two. About ten minutes before we got to our coffee break the wind came up. We were about 12 miles from home and obviously the front was moving in for the predicted rain tomorrow or the next day. By the time we finished our coffee, whatever the other guy was drinking, and my cliff bar the wind was blowing about 10MPH with a few gusts a bit higher. The wind was blowing almost due west and we had to make a choice of the most direct route home or somewhere we could get some shielding from the wind. The two of us simply could not exceed more than 11-14 mph at any one time. It seemed a lot stronger than when we left the coffee shop. The other rider was a lot stronger than me so he ended up pulling or at least blocking almost all the way home. Every time I tried to pull up in front the wind would almost stop me and we would end up going slower. It may not have been as hard as a climb for 40 minutes but I believe I was just as tired. Did I mention my average speed typically is about 16 to 17 MPH?

15 mph headwind? I'm usually losing ground when riding into one of those.

That's not too bad. It seems like I have a headwind blowing against me half the time. :innocent:

15 is tough but do-able. I've had to ride home from work against 25 mph winds, and that will sure tire you out.

That's not too bad. It seems like I have a headwind blowing against me half the time. :innocent:

15 is tough but do-able. I've had to ride home from work against 25 mph winds, and that will sure tire you out.

Well if it was blowing much harder I might have called for AAA, (more likely have my wife bring the car.):lol: But if I tried to ride on the hoods I felt like I was going to have to shift into my lowest gear. I think because there were just two of us I was willing to put in more effort.

Don't have much experience on it yet, but I noticed that I was catching much less wind on my new RANS Stratus recumbent as compared to my upright bikes. I did ride it into a 12-14 mph wind and the resistance was there, but minimal. I imagine that those low-racer bents and trikes feel it even less.

Not fun, not fun at all. Seems I always hit the headwinds on the way home, too, and always, always, always when I have to ride uphill for some reason. Consider it training. Think of the wattage.

Headwinds suck.

No doubt about it.

It is at times like you've described that I'm glad I have drop bars on my bike. In many ways it's not unlike climbing except instead of thinking, "slide back, relax and spin", I think, "drop down, tuck in and spin." I'll have head `0 to 20+ mph headwinds on part of all of my rides until mid to late April. It just comes with the territory. Hence, my time expectations for any given ride shift... it will take longer.

My guess is that the "no-show" riders listened to the weather forecast for the day. They wanted to miss the wind so they stayed home.

Headwinds are a commie plot:notamused:

I am reminded of the time on the Bike Across Kansas that I came to the crest of a hill and had to downshift to go down hill... 10 mile an hour wind is natural here, some days less ... ...ya just have to remember the first rule of bike riding---> ride into the wind on your way out.

20 to 25 mph winds down here all spring and I still cant get use to them.

I often ride the bike path along the river here. There is always a wind. I try to ride against the wind at the start so that it will be at my back on my return. Then of course there are the days when the wind shifts in the afternoon. I find high gusting cross winds the hardest.

Had a bunch of that 15+mph winds this spring and then again this fall. If I'm just out riding, I try to go into when I leave so it's a good time coming home. If it's the commute, why does the wind ALWAYS shift during the day so I get that headwind both rides? Kind of like walking to school uphill both ways ain't it!?!

Agree that crosswinds may be worse at times. Last spring I was ridng through an open area with a crosswind and had to lean sideways into it. Felt quite odd.

I used to hate riding into any wind because it made me ride slower. One thing over the years I found is that the wind was not the only culprit is slowing me down. When I began riding with a Heart Rate Monitor I discovered that some of the the loss of speed was due to precieved excertion due in part to the moving air across my body. The HRM is a tool that tells how much you are working. Feeling the wind in my face, arms, shaking the bike etc... makes me feel like I'm working harder, but the HRM shows me that I still can ride faster/harder without blowing up later. I'll just push the pace to get my heart rate at a level I know I can ride at and stay in the drops and tight to the bike. When faced with riding into the wind I just say to myself "its the cost of doing business and deal with it A-hole". that usually works.:lol:

What does not kill you makes you stronger.

But it still sucks.

We have gotten reprieve from the north winds that have been hammering us for the past few weeks... they have been as high as 55 mph and I've been riding in them every day.

My homeward commute serves up 15 - 25 mph headwinds quite often and the drop bars really help. Talked my wife into venturing out for a 20 mile ride during the Santa Anas we had a few weeks ago. 20+ mph tail wind on the outward leg let me hit 35 mph on the flats! The return home was a bit more work. Maintaining 15 mph was about all I could do and finally gave up and slowed blow 13 so my wife could keep up.

Don't come to the UK this weekend. 30-35mph winds from the South. At least that will only be a headwind to the coffee break. Then a side wind- And then the rain will come with a change of wind direction.

Using the power/speed calculator at http://bikecalculator.com/veloUS.html, for me, 150 lbs at 150 watts yields 17.62 mph with no headwind and no grade. A 15 mph headwind cuts this down to 9.88 mph at the same power output, which is slightly slower than the 10.13 mph that a 3% grade yields. Now think of that 3% grade being many miles long, with too frequent steeper portions when the wind gusts. Welcome to the Great Plains! :)

Unrelenting headwinds are tough. Sometimes going uphill into the wind is a relief because at least the wind is partially blocked.

Cross wind can be fun, too. Be aware that a strong cross wind should be taken into account when deciding which side to unclip first. You can imagine how I found this out!

I just got back from the Outer Banks late last week and did several rides on US 12. After a cold front came through, I rode from Buxton to Hatterias with a 25 mph headwind, and gusts to 35 mph. With the headwinds, I was able to average about 16.5 mph and with the return tailwinds, between 21-25 mph. I was afraid to go any faster, with the tailwinds, because of the horrible condition of the roads. The total distance was about 27 miles and my average speed came out to around 17.5 mph. The hotel never looked so good! Rode the next morning from Buxton to Rodanthe in the AM, without much wind, and still averaged about 19.0 mph because of the road.

This thread makes me feel better. On the Florida east coast where the wind is often 15 or there abouts I feel better to know that I'm not just being a weenie when the wind gets that high. Today is only 10-12 mph but it's raining.

I have noticed that when you ride a bicycle you learn more about the tarrain in your area and you can feel the weather changing. I knew the low was coming in because rain clouds pull the air towards them as they build into thunderheads. I could feel the moisture in the air and the temperature dropping. But like many others have expressed I am glad I had drops to use when the gusts were higher. I just never realized how hard it was to keep peddeling in such a wind. There is no coasting when you are running dead into the wind.

Over half of my riding is related to my daily commuting so for that I have no option about what direction to head. For the other half, I don't think I've ever stopped to think about it before I start off, rather I just complain and moan when I do find myself confronted by a headwind. But I have added the wind as one of the elements of my ride journal. My final thought. For the past couple of years I have been trying to do as much of my cycling without having to put the bike in (or on) a car to get to a ride. This means that my rides are either out and back or circular routes. With that pattern it is difficult to avoid headwinds in at least one direction. Since it has been brought up, maybe I'll start to see if my rides go better by taking the leg into the wind first whenever possible.

Here on Cape Cod the wind this time of year is a steady 20 mph & up. Then factor in that the wind is off cold water... 10 mph is still air around here. Then again there are no real hills out here. When I get up I check the wind direction to see if its a headwind into work or coming home.

When forced to ride against a headwind I just poke along at a comfortable pace and remember that it still beats walking. I may not get the health benefits that I could by powering strongly into the wind but I don't have any stress about power vs speed vs rpm's etc. etc. For me it's just ride and enjoy.

Blasphemy, I know.....but that is who I am. :)

We have not ridden without wind here for a month now an it is getting tiresome. One 21 degree day recently we got fed up and, using two cars, set up an entire 20 mile ride downwind. What a blast!

Over half of my riding is related to my daily commuting so for that I have no option about what direction to head. For the other half, I don't think I've ever stopped to think about it before I start off, rather I just complain and moan when I do find myself confronted by a headwind. But I have added the wind as one of the elements of my ride journal. My final thought. For the past couple of years I have been trying to do as much of my cycling without having to put the bike in (or on) a car to get to a ride. This means that my rides are either out and back or circular routes. With that pattern it is difficult to avoid headwinds in at least one direction. Since it has been brought up, maybe I'll start to see if my rides go better by taking the leg into the wind first whenever possible.

I'm in the same position as you when it comes to wind. A lot of my riding is for basic transportation, so I don't have the luxury of staying home because it's windy. I can cry about it, but crying won't get me where I'm going and it won't make the wind blow softer.

I like your idea about doing the first leg into the wind. It seems like I'm fressher at the beginning of a ride, and can use a little boost when I'm coming home. Sometimes I'll break it up--ride into the wind until I get tired, then turn 90 degrees and ride crosswind to get a little rest. I also know a lot of alternate routes--some of which are more sheltered from the wind.

My commute home yesterday was the hardest ride I've ever taken. Aside from the drizzle there was a head wind with gusts of 62mph. I was only in the open for a half a mile, the rest of the way I was in amongst the trees, but still it was so bad that even though today is a nice day, I got out the car to drive as my legs are a mess.

A week and a half ago, I decided to ride my upright Raleigh 3-speed to the Saturday breakfast ride. I think it was winds of 18 or 19 mph, gusting to 30-something. I normally ride to the meeting point; went I got there, I was bushed. Luckily the breakfast place was back in the direction I just came, and my house a little further in that direction, so once I met up with everyone I had a tailwind. When everyone else turned to head back to the meeting point where their cars were parked, I declared that I had already done that part of the ride and I was going home!

The Raleigh's a cool bike, but not built for that kind of weather!