Saturday I went for a 58 mile ride with my frequent riding buddy Mike. We probably have ridden over 2000 miles together and we know each other's abilities well. Mike is quite a bit lighter than I am (I win by 230 to 180) and he always drops me on longer hills. I make it back up on the flats and downhills in typical Clydesdale fashion. This may be the first time we have ridden in windy conditions (Thanks Ike!) though.

Anyway, the first 30 miles of our ride was northbound with a nice 15 MPH tailwind. We rode together as always with him pulling me on the hills and me playing catch-up as required. We stopped at a Hardees for a breakfast and then turned into the teeth of the wind for the return trip.

I took the lead as we started and by then the wind was up around 20 MPH and gusty. I got in the drops and set a pace that I could comfortably keep. We were in fairly heavy traffic so I did not turn to check on Mike and the wind noise was so great I couldn't hear if he was behind me or not. At the first turn (about 4 miles), I checked and Mike was over 1/2 mile back!

I stopped and waited and we began again and within 5 miles I had once again dropped him by over 1/2 mile. This happened every 4 - 5 miles on the return trip and each time he said he felt fine. I really didn't feel that I was having an exceptional ride but I killed him on the return trip.

My question is: Does wind affect smaller or lighter riders more than it does us "Big Guys"? I have never been able to run off and leave Mike like that. I just wondered what the experience of others on here was concerning this. Maybe I have found another specialty. I was already a world class downhill rider with gravity and my 230 pound butt working together. Maybe I'm a "Wind Machine" too!!!