VolksDragon

So it's been COLD in CO for the past few weeks. I will usually ride to work if it's 35 or warmer, but I haven't in a couple months due to snow, ice, et al. Well this week it has been almost 50 degrees in the mornings, so I have been all jazzed up to bike to work for the week.

I had my bike set up, had all my gear ready, had some clothes at the office, etc...I was good to go. Riiiight up until I hit the end of my block this morning and was introduced to a 25mph headwind. Well isn't that nice...

I probably burned twice the calories and pushed twice as hard this morning just to maintain 15mph...what a workout. My commuting bike has flat bars with no drops, so I become a 6'4" windsock. My 6 mile route is usually a quick run with the hammer down the whole way, but it kicked my ass this morning. I really need to get back into riding shape...

Anybody else get beaten up this morning?

mickey85

Not this morning, but last Friday, I got SLAMMED with a stiff headwind the entire way (I go west about 2 miles, north for 7-8 miles, and the wind was out of the NNW) Fat, ex-smoker me wanted to die by about mile 5. However, when I left school that afternoon, it was a wind straight out of the north...can you say cruising with a hybrid and North Roads bars at 22 mph? hee hee...

unterhausen

I just try to remember it's better exercise that way.

apricissimus 

I thought headwinds blew.

VolksDragon

Hahahaha....indeed they do!!

Yeah, I kept telling myself that as I was plodding along...it was an excellent workout for sure. I hope the wind is still from the west on the way home, I'm going to sail...

dclaryjr

I have to ride home in 20+ winds quite often. It can wear you down mentally if you let it but I just gear down and spin. Fortunately my commute is short (5 miles) so the struggle doesn't last forever.

The only time the wind is sure to lay down is when a major wind surfing competiton is scheduled!

evblazer

Whether it is 20 or 110 I prefer headwinds to tailwinds. Everyone I ride with thinks I'm a loon but I overheat very easily in a tailwind because there is no air movement but in a headwind I keep nice a cool.

spock

Here in FL there are no hills, but the winds compensate for that in a big way. You only get about 2 days a month of mild winds and only when it's raining. Yes, they blow and suck at the same time...I'd rather have hills.

FredOak

Last night it as 8*F going home with a 15-20 MPH head wind, according to my cyclocomputer I burned 250 more calories then I normally do on that route. And my legs felt every part of it.

apricissimus 

Yup. You're crazy.

VolksDragon

I much prefer hills....at least with hills, I know that at some point I get to back down. I may have to investigate some drops, but luckily it's not windy around here very often.

VolksDragon

Loon....you must have bumped your head when you were learning to ride. Headwinds are the devil.

X-LinkedRider

I know exactly what you mean. In NE PA we have been getting ultra cold and really quick wind gusts at like 20+ mph. My eyes instantly freeze in place and I start tearing up.

ItsJustMe

I can see that to some point in the moderate temps of 20+ degrees. But this winter I've ridden into some headwinds at -15*F, and I got the frostbite on my cheeks to prove it. I ordered a neoprene mask that evening.

ian123

i love headwinds do them in the highest gear!!!

weavers

if i don't feel the wind then i don't mind. its a struggle, but a fun one because you can overcome it.

what i don't like are cross winds on my commuter, sure i got drops, but a basket in the back with a bag, my huge body, and semi-aero wheels with bladed spokes. its a bit scary to correct and over correct steering. atleast thats what i had today in rain.

sknhgy 

I noticed this yesterday when I rode out on the trail with a tailwind, then rode back in with a headwind. I sweated a lot more going out but as soon as I turned into the wind I stayed dry and more comfortable. I'll still take a tailwind, though. I'd rather be fast and clammy than slow and dry.

unterhausen

This past weekend, I went on a ride where I had headwinds for about 80% of the ride. I'm still trying to figure out how that works. There are mountains involved. I need to remember to do that ride the other way around.

I rode 55 miles the previous weekend. Fairly high winds, so I planned it so I went out into the headwinds, and came back with the tailwinds. That part worked out ok, but the winds were so strong it took me 3 hours to do the first half of the ride, and I didn't really have enough food for that. At the halfway point I was going through a gap in some mountains and the wind was so strong it was a struggle to go forward. On the way back, I was thinking about calling for backup, but the tailwind was so strong I felt compelled to finish. I actually got pushed up one of the hills near my house. That was pleasant. It was also cold enough that I got a mild case of hypothermia.

rule

Best training partner you will ever find though.

KitN

Ha-ha! I have the same setup and I've become a 5'7" windsock!

jeph

In the summer I often have head winds on my ride home. I think it is physiological thing. If x MPH headwind is equal to a Y deg grade what's the big deal? I think my mind was seeing it flat and I would try to pull too high of a gear. If I consciously thought that this is like a hill and accept the fact I need to be in a lower gear and have a slower speed it seemed to work for me.

Yes, I rather be on a grade with no wind but it did make for a better work out.

On the other hand when it's cold they really suck.

My $0.02

Jeff

breakaway9

Last night on the way home I rode in a 30 mph sustained headwind with 55 mph gusts.... It was crazy.... I found myself in the granny gears cranking away and doing 4 mph... I thought I lost my mind and started laughing out loud it was so ridiculous, but fun....

VolksDragon

You have a point, Jeff...I was seeing my commute as it's normal, fairly flat stretch but with the added annoyance of the wind, and I was trying to maintain my usual speed and timetable, and it was wearing me out.

If I had simply accepted the headwind as a part of my ride instead of trying so hard to overcome it, I would have geared down a bit, slowed down, and just hammered it out. Seems a change of perspective might be just the ticket!

Andy_K 

Actually, as I understand it, wind is caused by air rushing from a high pressure area into a low pressure area. So, in this sense, I really think it's more technically correct to say that wind sucks than that wind blows.

timmhaan

i've been loving not having a speedometer on my bike this winter. too discouraging to look down and see 7mph or something pathetic like that.