Originally Posted by
DrIsotope
I know this is the internet, so all the time is "hike up your trousers and spin a yarn time," but really guys? Heading out in sustained 40mph with 60mph gusts? Hear that sound? That's the sound of the Improbability Meter exploding. By the Beaufort Scale, 40mph is gale force. Those gusts at 60mph are strong enough to uproot trees and cause structural damage. That magic 60mph/100km zone is where Typhoons form over water. Dial it back a little, guys.
I live in a convergence of mountain passes. We get some days of 40mph winds, and trucks have to pull over, there are accidents, freeway signs get blown over. I rode one day of 20-25mph winds with gusts to 40, and it was absolutely miserable. Just awful. Not again.
You may need to re-calibrate your Improbability Meter, it seems faulty. I'm not saying some people won't lie about this kinda sh.t, but I'm just not *that* person. To help you re-calibrate, I'll put the data behind what I posted.
Here's the
event page for the Westside Dirty Benjamin - see the posts about the 2014 ride, check the results page for Chris Nelson (Hypno Toad's alias for bike event). Here is a link to information about the
windstorm on the June 14, 2014 and historical weather data for this date on
Weather Underground (scroll to the chart at the bottom of the page). And for completeness, my
Strava data from the ride.
This reminds me of the people who don't think it *possible* to bike with exposed skin in sub-zero weather cause you'll get frostbite and die (exaggeration). I had to go through this exact exercise to tell them, yes, some people can ride with exposed skin and be nice and warm in extreme cold.