bad_mojo

I'm in Oklahoma City right now which stinks as it is flat and windy and I end up very angry during long pulls into a headwind. At what speed of wind (if any) do you decide not to ride outside? Once the wind gets >20 mph (not counting gusts) I just don't enjoy myself.

And please don't flame me for being a weenie, I already know.

botto 

depends on what you've been eating.

milchad

Greater than 20 with even stronger gusts, I usually look up at the sky and tell mother nature how much she sucks sometimes and go back into the house. Sure, we can ride in that crap (and have done it several times) but let's be honest, it isn't that much fun getting tossed around out there.

Treker

Concur with the not-too-fun-being-tossed-around comment. Even less fun when the temperature is a nominal 2 degrees C.

Treker

Concur with the not-too-fun-being-tossed-around comment. Even less fun when the temperature is a nominal 2 degrees C as it was this morning.

Reynolds 

The other day I rode into a storm with about 60 kmh gusts. Nearly threw me off the road. Anything over 30 kmh is bad.

fosmith

i lived, rode, and raced in Oklahoma until 2006 when i moved up here to wisconsin. you can count on it being windy from mid march till mid june. riding in the wind is a fact of life for okla cyclists. steady 20mph winds are nothing. i distinctly remember riding in 40+mph winds. it was like riding in a sandblaster! our practice crits would routinely be held in 30mph winds.

it sucks but it makes you stronger, guaranteed!

so i come to wisconsin and the wind blows 20mph and folks think conditions are unrideable. it's all perspective. i thought okie winters were bad until i came up here!!!

ericcox

At one time, I hated riding on windy days and would stay home if the reported sustained wind was above 20. Now, the only reason I even look up windspeed is to judge whether I need to leave a few minutes earlier on my commute. I figure I have 2 choices on windy days. I can not ride and curse the wind, or I can take the attitude that it is better to spend some time on the bike than it is to curse the wind. Heavry precipitation usually keeps me off the bike, but not the wind.

And if you need motivation, think of it this way. A windy day lets you test different positions on the bike -- it is remarkable how much speed I can pick up by riding in the drops as opposed to the hoods on a windy day.

Doggus

Get a power meter. All you care about after that is the watts. Wind just makes the ride distance shorter.

JMT114

It depends on which direction I'm going.

rbart4506

Last night my wife and I called off our ride short due to the 40+km/h crosswinds...Not sure what the guts were, but they sure felt like they were getting close to 50km\h. When we were in cover it wasn't too bad, but out in the open it was dangerous. It made controlling the bike on the roads a tad tough, and with not giving you a lot of space to begin with, we thought it best to call it a night....

Ended up only doing 30km, but that's better then sitting on the couch eating bonbon's...

mrbUSA

South Florida chiming in here: consider the wind your ascents. 9 out of 10 rides here it seems as though the wind funnels straight down and blows in every direction. Wind in the face always the case. Unless I ride to the beach, only then generally do I have get an easy Westward ride home

melonyogloo

To me, I ride when wind gust less than 35miles/hr as long as it is about 40F. I tried to ride with 30mile/hr gust when the temp was 0F, never again.

veloGeezer

you are safe until it gets to a gale force. then you could get hit by flying debris if you stay out.

you should look at wind as a training opportunity.

if you go out and ride the worst of the spring wind, the rest of the year is all gravy.

FormerBMX'er

I destroyed an entire house out in Colorado one year; I put it down to the altitude

catherine96821

In busy traffic, over 20 mph, I go for a protected quiet neighborhood loop and let JB ride solo because I am just not willing to be permanently handicapped over it. I had to figure that out by sizing it up a few times and came close to getting blown into traffic on a bridge crosswind. It's not the hill I want to die on.

Unpredictable gusts are the worst.

aham23

more power to those who ride into 20 and 30 mph winds. if the forecast is showing 15 mph or above i get bummed because where i ride it is wide the freak open. wide i say. later.

stonecrd

Let's see 30-40mph wind, 10mph = 300-400 watts. Nah, I'll pass. 10-15mph pretty usual around here and that is enough work for me.

Paul L.

Did 130 miles into a 20-25 mph headwind with gusts into the upper 40's before turning around on a 400k (temps were in the 30's not counting wind chill, it was raining with snow expected as well). Was it enjoyable? No (the tailwind back was pretty cool though, it was like riding down an endless hill). Ever since then though I have had a different perspective on wind. But anything over 20 is heinous in my mind.

veloGeezer

yea, why bother riding when the wind's over 20mph

they never hold time trials on windy days, do they?

VARacer

+1

Before I got a PT wind used to really anger me. After the PT purchase speed is irrelevant and all that I care about is watts. Now tailwinds have been known to bother me....

wfrogge

Not as strong as me.

Machka 

When it gets up around 80 km/h, it starts to get a bit scary.

mrt10x

I have discovered that if I wait for days with less than 20mph winds here in Hawaii to ride.. I would ride about 20 days a year.

TRaffic Jammer

See, she knows!! .... 20mph pffft!