Originally Posted by Phamilton

Hello,

My family and I have been car-free for about 9 weeks now. My work commute is 12 miles each way. I live on the extreme northeast corner of the city and my job is in a small town to the northeast. My route is basically on county roads through farmland. The prevailing wind here is from the southwest - obviously there is some variation but most days I can expect a little tailwind on my way to work and a little headwind on the way home.

Yesterday afternoon we had a wind from the west at 20 gusting 35. Basically all the roads on my route are on the country grid, so rather than heading home to the southwest, it's like a mile south, then a few miles west, a few miles south, and so on. So on the westbound "legs" I was riding directly into the wind, and during the peak gusts I could hardly keep the bike moving (I ride an old Raleigh road bike for reference). It made a small but noticeable difference to get down in the drops, but I spent the majority of the time riding into the wind in like 1st and 2nd gear, spinning the best I could and maybe maintaining 8-10mph?

Is my experience common? The wind slowing me down that much can add as much as 30 minutes to my ride - I usually make it in about 45-50 minutes but it takes me around 60-75 minutes when it's that windy. What does the wind do to anybody else? Are there some special "techniques" to employ? Any articles to read that have been helpful to anyone else? I do my best to not fight it and just relax and try to enjoy the ride.

Sorry if my post has a whiney tone. I awoke this morning to find that the wind had shifted to the northeast so I had a headwind on my ride to work. It was 22 degrees as well, my first time riding in weather that cold and I was not prepared so was suffering when I got to work. I have made some progress - the first couple times it got that windy it was all I could do to refrain from stopping and smashing my bike on the road and chucking it into a field!!!

Dealing with the wind is sometimes difficult.