Northern California - Cycling in the Wind: Do you or Don't you?

If the winds are consistent and powerful do you head out and fight an invisible opponent or do you find another way to get in your fix?

My neighbors Anemometer/Thermometer combo read 23mph sustained avg. and 41mph Gust high for this morning. Would you ride?

If the winds are consistent and powerful do you head out and fight an invisible opponent or do you find another way to get in your fix?

My neighbors Anemometer/Thermometer combo read 23mph sustained avg. and 41mph Gust high for this morning. Would you ride?
Not in that much wind for two reasons. One, it drives me nuts to have stuff blowing in my eyes the whole time. I wear prescription glasses, so wrap-around sunglasses are not an option. Two, I live in a neighborhood full of old, tall trees. When we have high winds we lose large branches off those trees. I've seen cars crushed by them. I don't want to end up like those cars:eek:

Yeah, I do. I mean, I won't ride when it's pouring rain, but I'll ride if it's light rain. Weather doesn't bother me much besides how slow I go.

I do. If you live in the Valley, it's your mountain.

I will ride in the wind. I hate the head on wind, but the tail wind(hopefuly on the way back) sure makes it fun.

I'm debating that right now....

I will ride in the wind. I hate the head on wind, but the tail wind(hopefuly on the way back) sure makes it fun.
Yesterday I had the tail wind on the way out. I really wish we had hills here, as they always cut down on the wind. Riding against the wind on Winding Way and Sunset Ave was no problem due to the slight grades. Once I got back on Fair Oaks Blvd. I had to fight that wind all the way back downtown.

If you give me a choice between hills and headwinds, I'll take the hills every time. I love hills, and they don't blow stuff in my eyes.

Headwinds are annoying, but it's the crosswinds which are brutal.

I bike commute, so I get what I get. Usually I'm lucky. I often have an annoying headwind on the way in, but on the way home after a long day a big tail wind, like last night, is a thing of joy.

I hate wind. I live right on the edge of the bay and the wind comes in every afternoon at 10-15mph. It's super irritating but I go out. The past few days the winds have been a little stronger than typical so I skipped riding. I'm not moto enough to get up early when the winds are lighter.

Headwinds are annoying, but it's the crosswinds which are brutal.

This. The Davis ride should be interesting tomorrow...

This. The Davis ride should be interesting tomorrow...

Yeah, I was hoping to get out there myself tomorrow, but my son's little league schedule has pretty much decimated my group ride opportunities this spring. But I did manage to make the Airport Ride last night and the wind was brutal. I didn't have the best fitness so I had to ride smart, but I didn't (I sat in when I should have been up front, I was in the wind when I should have been hiding, and I got caught in no-man's land) and I finally got popped. Feh.

You probably know this but it bears repeating: Stay up front. If you're not up front, and if the road turns so there's going to be a crosswind, scratch, claw, and burn a match to get near the front of the group. Gaps form and you don't want to be stuck behind one.

Yesterday, 25mph head/crosswinds going north, cruising at 25mph in still air returning south.

There was a girl on our ride (notable only because girls are small) riding 46mm wheels. She got absolutely shelled by the wind. At 170+, I don't mind it as much. Wind is a good chance to pretend you're on a break and you need to be aero.

Great responses, I might consider riding today. I ran 5 miles in the wind and it was insanely brutal, Im guessing I can find a lonely flat valley stretch of road to do intervals against the wind and relax with a tailwind. Back and forth, may be monotonous but it'll get the job done, especially since I have no rollers/trainer.

Blows onshore almost every day here.

Of course I ride.

After several years in Pittsburg/Antioch, what's a little 15-25? When it's 25-35, meh, so what.

When it gusts up over 40, well, then I'll complain a bit.

Is that so Curtis, Zippy, Lil'P?

Blows onshore almost every day here.

Of course I ride.

After several years in Pittsburg/Antioch, what's a little 15-25? When it's 25-35, meh, so what.

When it gusts up over 40, well, then I'll complain a bit.

Is that so Curtis, Zippy, Lil'P?

+1

Vacaville gets its share of winds. If I didn't ride because the wind was howling, I'd be off my bike more than on it.

Last week's time trial practice was harder w/cross winds than with head winds. Can't explain that but it was.

As someone else said, winds are a flatlander's hills.

I do. If you live in the Valley, it's your mountain.

This. I live in the flatlands. A hill is where the landfill is. The wind becomes our hill. I try to plan my ride riding into it and returning with it....with limited success. It's all exercise to a greater or lesser degree. Focus on the heartrate and fugedabout your speed.

I don't know if I made it clear in my OP, but I do ride in wind. Just not in gusts 40 mph and higher unless absolutely necessary. We've had three days in a row of gusty winds now and I've ridden every day so far, and plan to ride again today. However, I'm going to ride my recumbent tadpole trike which is low to the ground and much more aerodynamic than my regular bikes. Tomorrow I'm riding in the hills where wind isn't a problem so I'll ride a normal two-wheeler.

I wouldn't go out in this, but I did ride Thursday in the wind, and on Monday of this week. I'm willing to ride through a lot more stuff now that my riding time is so limited. Before the baby was born, if it was moderately windy I'd crack a beer instead and hang out inside :)

Unfortunately, mother nature has decided to make my tt training a misery. Any time i decide to get on an aero position she sends big gusts of crosswinds that has me ****ting my pants. As soon as i give up and get back on the hoods, crosswind dies down and turns into headwind.
This has been happening for the last few days. I have a pair of 404 zipps that i'm hoping to try out, but i'm scared ****less to do it with all this wind.

Rode the 100k tour de cure out of Roseville in the winds today. They didn't seem to keep people home. It was brutal on the first half of the ride - which went straight north directly into the wind. Also pretty cold, but that improved around 10 or 11am.

Living on the coast in NOCAL it is basically ride in the wind or stay home. If you can choose equipment that is aero in all directions (good luck) you are better off. Rode MTB in Marin Headlands with my 20-y.o. son today and the way out was tough, big headwind, but got nice tailwind on the way home tho the little bass tard still smoked me on the final climb.

Find low profile tubing, wheels and spokes help if you live in areas with a lot of cross wind, even if they are not as good for slicing the air forward.

Living in Livermore I would never ride if I avoided strong winds. I have only ever been blown off my bike once and that was a huge gust at the top of Patterson Pass. If possible I like to adjust my route to have a tailwind home but in the summer that would mean only riding West.

If I had planned to ride at that time, I'd be out there. It might suck, but you've gotta take the rough with the smooth. I've had 50mph gusts on Diablo almost blow me to a standstill, but also been the recipient of tailwinds. It all balances out.

Hey, at least it's not raining. I don't know how hard the wind was blowing when I was climbing the back side of Patterson Pass. Maybe I just left my brains at home when I was doing that. One thing about the wind, is that with me, if there's enough pollen in the air, it could affect my eyes and my sinuses (and that's what happened on Saturday).

I'm starting to enjoy the wind :o Well, not enjoy, but not shy from it either. The only thing worse than riding in the wind is staying inside because it's windy.

Get a power meter.

Truly, nothing makes you enjoy riding in wind as much. Instead of being discouraged by your puny avg speed, you can instead thrill to your mighty avg watts.
In sustained headwinds & crosswinds, you can also experiment with positions to see which is actually the most aerodynamically efficient. e.g. if it takes fewer watts to sustain 16mph in a ferocious crosswind in the drops vs. with your forearms resting on your flats.

And if, like I used to be, you are conditioned to flinch and clench up when the wind shrieks in your ears, get some headphones. (Please don't derail this thread with safety arguments. I understand very well they're not safe on public roads, and recommend them only for dedicated bike paths. Offer void where limited; other restrictions may apply.)

Get a power meter.

Truly, nothing makes you enjoy riding in wind as much. Instead of being discouraged by your puny avg speed, you can instead thrill to your mighty avg watts.
In sustained headwinds & crosswinds, you can also experiment with positions to see which is actually the most aerodynamically efficient. e.g. if it takes fewer watts to sustain 16mph in a ferocious crosswind in the drops vs. with your forearms resting on your flats.

And if, like I used to be, you are conditioned to flinch and clench up when the wind shrieks in your ears, get some headphones. (Please don't derail this thread with safety arguments. I understand very well they're not safe on public roads, and recommend them only for dedicated bike paths. Offer void where limited; other restrictions may apply.)

Nailed it. When I do intervals, I'll seek out a headwind, and I have a bike path that's on a levee top and totally exposed, so I get the full force of it. I set the Garmin to show time and wattage -- don't know or particularly care about the speed.

Central CA is full of wind :). Its a fact of life for us.

Central CA is full of wind :). Its a fact of life for us.

Pity. Belgium and Holland are also windier than stink and that's probably the reason no good riders have ever come from there.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, so cycling never really took root in those countries.

;)

Pity. Belgium and Holland are also windier than stink and that's probably the reason no good riders have ever come from there.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, so cycling never really took root in those countries.

;)


Lucien says "HTFU."

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kMkW2x8N-Y8/TbTNrl-DPfI/AAAAAAAADNI/V3wc6GiUxoc/s1600/565px-Lucien_Buysse.jpg

Check this. If you're in a hurry, FF to 0:45 for the best bits.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8qgjyqibwY&feature=player_embedded

Hahaha--"Yes Michael, you do have the lightest bike." http://forums.youthrights.org/images/smilies/rockon.gif :roflmao2:
Forgot how miserable it was to ride in that crud without a power meter.

Check this. If you're in a hurry, FF to 0:45 for the best bits.


Looks like Diablo North face on Saturday...

What kind of power meters are you guys using? I don't race seriously so a power meter would be a 'fun' thing to have and they are $$ it appears.

I got an SRM with my '09 Xmas bonus. It wasn't the most financially sound move I've ever made, but windfalls must be enjoyed quickly and vigorously!
In the year that I've had it, my FTP (max power) has improved 13% and my enjoyment of riding has nearly doubled. (Heck, it's quadrupled if the wind is blowing hard enough.)

I don't like to but sometimes it's unavoidable. I'd rather ride in wind than rain or worse. Although I've ridden in a hail storm, a windy one, I don't recommend it.

Livermore was extremely gusty Saturday, the Wente RR was insane -- wind on the downhills controlled my speed better than my brakes.