trueyanksfan

I just started road biking late this spring. I have been doing 20-40 mile rides each weekend. Yesterday I attempted my longest ride yet, 56 miles due West. The only problem was a sustained wind of 15-20 mph in my face the entire ride. I ended up with an average speed of 11mph, but I didn't give up. Was it normal for me to be periodically yelling at the sky? :-)

FlashBazbo

Don't feel alone. Yesterday's Clarksville, TN Sunrise Century ran most of the early half of the circuit against a 5 to 10 mph wind. Then a front came through -- perfect timing for those averaging about 23 mph -- and we ran almost the entire second half against a 20 to 30 mph wind. Brutal. At times, our PACK was down to 10 or 12 mph and pushing into the red zone. My group bucked headwinds or strong sidewinds all but about ten miles of the century. (But those ten miles of tailwind were a lot of fun.)

Reynolds 

Speed doesn't matter, but your willpower to face the wind. Maybe Pazuzu was angry that day.

TheGefish

It's such a pain in the butt with wind. I'd take a good solid hill rather than a gusty headwind. Because atleast with a hill you know it's going to be over and you'll be able to coast on down. But with the wind, all you can do is flail and feel silly going 10 mph on a flat street as jogging ipod-zombies pass you on the sidewalk (hyperbole I know). I'm glad you took it and didn't choose to go the easy route and turn around.

trueyanksfan

Thanks for the responses. It's funny because at one point I did pass a jogger, but I didn't exactly fly past him. That was the low point of the ride but I feel a little better now.

psuaero

Didn't you at least catch a tail wind on the way home (east)?

I always check the weather and look at the wind forecast (especially in the fall). I try to plan the route so I can benefit from a tailwind on the way home when I'm starting to slow down. My 72 mile ride on Saturday was mostly into the wind (or at least partially across it) for the first half. The second half I was repaid in full. I was able to manage almost 2mph faster on the second half despite being pretty tired from a hard ride the day before. My power output was down ~20 watts on the second half as well but I still went faster.

Wylde06

I rode yesterday into a 20+ mph headwind for 53 miles. I was supposed to do a century but the wind completely drained everything out of me. I know it would have been easier on the way back but my legs werent having it. At one point I was going downhill and had to pedal to speed up.