North of the 49th parallel (Canada/USA border), we don't get hurricane-force winds as a general rule, but Vancouver has lots of bridges, and every couple of days each year, you have to be careful crossing with the crosswinds trying to divert the front wheel.

Riding the Borrego Springs Double this year, we were getting high winds the days leading into the event. On the day, the wind blew as hard as ever, but much of it was a tailwind up the initial 20-km climb. And then you'd go around a corner and hit a solid wall of wind that would bring your climbing speed close to zero. I heard one guy got blown over. Yes, this was going up the "Glass Elevator," Montezuma Road.

The best wind I had was at a masters stage race in Mexico City back in the 90's. One of the stages was an individual time trial, but it was point-to-point, and we got a tailwind all the way. I didn't have aero bars, I just used the road bike, but I put it into its biggest gear & just spun it the whole distance. The computer was up around 50 kmh+ all the way. I think I won that stage, as I recall...

Luis