Jtgyk

I woke up to a nice sunny day planning to do an easy 20 miler.
(I've been promising myself to ride at least 20 miles every Sunday)
Then saw the wind.

Ok...I've ridden in wind before...no problem...just extra work.
**I cut into the wind like a sheet of plywood (carried broadside)

The official Temp was in the mid 40's...wind chill was mid 30's...add riding into that.....
OK! I wussed out, turned around, did NOT pass GO, did not collect $200, and rode home!

Total Mileage - a whopping 4 miles.
I'll have another 3 - 5 miles commuting to/from work today. (depending on which route I take)

I need to find cold weather gear in size "Woolly Mammoth." Aerotech does ok for shorts and short sleeved jerseys. (4X) But longer layers don't abound for my size. I'm stuck with sweats and a fleece top (that can be too warm and hold sweat)

(whine...mewl...puke)

Ever had a ride that should have been doable, but you just weren't "Feelin' the Love?"

jgjulio

I dont "feel the love" everytime there is a lot of wind! I woosh out everytime.

billydonn

Find a course where there is some wind relief and you can do repeat loops? Another really fun option, though perhaps somewhat un-manley, is to do a 100 percent downwind ride by having someone drop you off or positioning a pickup ride at an appropriate stopping point. It does wonders for the self-esteem!

flattie

Don't feel bad. I completely understand - I have a similar aerodynamic profile. At least you found out how the wind was affecting you on the outbound leg. I have a route that I ride an 18 miler that runs parallel to the beach. Since it's close to the ocean it is not unusual to encounter a stiff breeze. One night I'm on the outbound leg and I look down at my computer and I'm cruising along at 17mph. I was pretty proud of myself - I figured that my conditioning was improving.

Well, some of it may have been conditioning but the majority was the 20 to 25kt winds out of the west. Which was fine until I had to turn around and head into it for the 5 miles of my 9 mile return leg!!

At several points I seriously considered calling my ride support team (wife and kids + car) but knew if I did I would be real unhappy with myself. I took longer than usual to get home but felt great about it. In this case it wasn't the wind chill - mid 40's + wind - but the effort required to pedal into that 20 to 25kt headwind. Now I pay a little more attention to the wind speed and direction and plan accordingly. Anything upto 15kts doesn't affect me - over that I start thinking about doing a loop where the first half of the ride is into the wind - knowing that I'll have a wind assisted boost on the return leg makes it easier for some reason.

PS. First time posting here - lurking for a while. 6'2" 265lbs at start of the summer now 255lbs thanks to cycling. It's coming off slowly but surely and hopefully for good. I ride a Raleigh m20 hardtail ATB with 1.95" knobbies. Just added some bar ends to get additional hand positions and looking to participate in the Montauk Century on May 18, 2009. My Christmas wish list includes some Conti Sport Contact 1.5 slicks to "roadify" my bike along with planet bike super blinky and beamer to replace my el cheapo schwinn lights and if I'm really good a Garmin Edge 305 so I can see what my heart rate looks like and get a sense for cadence...

Herbie53

At least you had the good sense to ride into the wind first!

Nothing like riding like a hero for an hour or two only to turn around and find it hard to go 10 MPH.

Redskin8006

I know the feeling. I had one of those days last week. Temps were in the mid 40s, overcast and blustery. I managed to ride 24 miles out and back. Luckily I had some wind breaks at the beginning and the end. The middle part was a bear.....it beat the crap out of me. I was exhausted afterwards. I was dressed warm enough except for my feet. I wore my regular socks and couldn't feel my toes when I was done. I didn't think it was cold enough for the wool socks. I didn't factor in the wind chill and lack of sun.

Seems like it's been windy in the DC area all year. I've pretty much gotten used to it, but that ride last week was a tough one.

EasyEd

Every commute I do has wind. Not as much as you were talking about, but a gentle, steady breeze out of the north is common around here. Riding to work, (going south) my easy cruise speed is 14 or 15. Maybee 17 or 18 in some spots. Going home, almost always into a slight head wind (sometimes not so slight) it's more like 11 or 12. Takes me about fifteen extra minutes to get home. I seem to suffer from a slight aerodynamic deficiancy too... Oh well.

txvintage

I hear ya on the wind. You would think it's March the way the wind is howling.

You beat me on mileage though, I think my total distance could be measured in hundreds of yards. Needing your granny gear to go downhill into the wind is not my idea of fun.

Jtgyk

Been there! Pedalled like hell to hit 10 -11 mph on a downhill.
Felt really weird.

How come we can't have those winds behind us on the big climbs?

mcmatthews

That North Texas wind can be brutal. The plywood analogy is exactly how I feel.

After the beautiful fall we've had, and reading about the conditions some members ride in it's hard to complain about the cold (of course we have the summer to deal with).

txvintage

Last May I thought I would outsmart the wind and change my route heading into the wind. Struggled like mad getting to the 8 mile point and turned around. Within a mile the wind shifted right back into my face.

I'm fairly certain it's payback for a misspent youth, lol.

jesspal

i did a ride this mornign 18 miles, in Miami we have a wind advisory and tornado watch today. for 9 miles i pedaled into the wind, took me an hour. then turned around and went same way and it took 10 minutes. I averaged like 8 mph going and 23mph coming back. I kept going because i wanted a really tough work out and the fun of riding back.

StephenH

It was windy, but looked like a good workout, so I went anyway. The car thermometer showed 52 or so a few minutes before I left out. I wore a tee shirt, a long-sleeve tee-shirt underneath it, and my jeans, and that kept me warm enough. I rode from my house in south Garland down to White Rock Lake, then over to the White Rock Creek trail, up to the trailhead at Valleyview, back down to the lake, around the lake, and back to the house. Got in 41 miles total. There were a few cyclists out, but not a bunch. The first one I saw after I got to White Rock Lake was a little girl on a bike with training wheels.

Jtgyk

I think....I hate you.

All I know was it wasn't any 52 freaking degrees at 8:30 when I was able to get out.
You got to ride while I was cooped up working!
It was much better this evening riding home, though.
Took the longer route home.

Jtgyk

-"I rode from my house in south Garland down to White Rock Lake, then over to the White Rock Creek trail, up to the trailhead at Valleyview, back down to the lake, around the lake, and back to the house. Got in 41 miles total."-

That sounds like a good route...I'll have to give it a try once I HTFU and regain my manhood.
Nice pics too!

Mr. Beanz

I'm sorry but I gotta call "WUSS" on this one!....It takes me 10 miles to warm up even on a calm day. After that, I'm golden. So stopping a ride cause of the wind is not in my book. Give it time to warm up, you'll be fine!

We (my wife) ride in 40 mph winds. So many others won't give it a thought and I can't figure out why. You work hard one way, then float back. Or, float out and work hard back!Pffft! It's all mental!

And I mean "wuss" in a heartwarming way so don't take it hard!

StephenH

There's a Dallas bike route, I think it's 280, that starts on Barnes Bridge Road west of LaPrada. That bike route is how I get to White Rock Lake. It changes streets a few times, but is signed all the way out there, and is on non-busy streets (crosses a few busy streets, though). There's an irritating hill on LaPrada between 635 and Barnes Bridge Rd, though. I left about 1:00 and got back about 4:30. I had been to and around WRL from my house before, and have driven over to the White Rock Creek trail and rode down from 635 before, but never had put the two together. I don't normally ride that far, but I didn't get out yesterday, and may not tomorrow.

txvintage

I was hoping for good weather in the morning. I was off work this past week and my sleep schedule sort of migrated to the Day Walker side. As a result I really didn't get much in the way of sleep today even though I stayed up late Saturday night and got up at 4:00 Sunday morning.

I think I'll be snoozing fairly early in the moring.

Jtgyk

Beanz you're so freakin' strong you CREATE 40 mph winds!
(By the way...were you riding when those Santa Anna Winds kicked up? Coincidence? I think not!)
No wonder everyone wants to draft you.

As far as the 10 miles to warm up...I'm in the same boat. 8-10 miles of nasty followed up with a nice glow for the remainder of the ride. It's just getting past that first 8-10 miles now that the wind and low temps are here.

So...Yeah...I'm gonna man up tomorrow and hit the Whiterock Creek Trail with the LeTour (replaced the index with friction shifting) and leave the temperamental Trek at home!
The wind was bad enough without brifters misbehaving.
Still, I had the opportunity to change bikes and keep on riding...but had to log on BF and whine about the wind.

Jtgyk

Whiterock Creek and Lake tomorrow without a computer on my bike.....Whatever shall I do?

Mr. Beanz

Strange, hardly a wind at all today eventhough the forecast called for SA's!...Maybe cause they were traveling in one direction and I, the other!. Kind of neutralized one another!

Hey man, wish everyone had your disposition and sense of humor!

Jtgyk

Hey...life's too short to take offense at any and every imagined slight.
We all know you're a good guy. (Weird sense of humor...but a good'un)

Besides, there are enough easily offended folks on A&S and Roadie Forums.

txvintage

The wind is back

On a brighter note, it's gonna be 70 degrees tomorrow. Of course it's going to freeze tonight.

neilfein

Yeah, this happened to me yesterday. I get to the shore, and it's windy, raining, and just generally cold. I had already ridden two days of a great tour, and the third day was a ride down the shore, for no reason other than to make the tour three days. I'll do that shore ride when it's a nice cold calm day.

Jtgyk

Didn't do the WR Creek Ride today. I ran all my errands with the Letour in the van, though.
Wound up finally finishing the essential "honey do's" around 11:30 and had time to hit the Chisholm and half the Bluebonnet Trail in Plano. I'm glad I had to wait, as it was much warmer by then (about 49F).
I don't think my legs ever really felt warm.

The wind was a big bucket of suck...but I had nice scenery (for the most part.) The Bluebonnet Trail runs down a high power line corridor, so it's pretty bare and open.

The Chisholm has some really nice parks and trees...not what I expected. (pics to come)

The ride went pretty well after I finally got the Brooks Saddle dialed in to a more tolerable configuration. (stopped 5 or 6 times at the beginning to diddle the angle and setback)

The LeTour is a comfy, kind of springy, ride after the aluminum Trek. Now If I can just get the geometry of the Trek (longer top tube) in a steel frame (+ with reliable shifters)...I may have the bike I really need.
Man...I really liked that 2008 Randonee I test rode....

Just shy of 14 miles for that ride and another 6+ change miles for my commute this evening (Taking the longer ride home to make my 20 for the day).
Don't know if it was more maddening or liberating to ride without a computer.