The unusually strong wind guts today almost cost me my life. I was riding along, minding my own business this afternoon in NYC. I was riding with traffic along the right hand side of the street fighting the serious headwind when all of a sudden the wind wiped out on my right side and nearly knocked me into traffic. I literally had to fight to keep my front wheel straight as the distance between me and the moving cars on my left began to quickly lessen. I was literally being forced sideways into traffic!

Luckily, I reached a red light but as I came to a stop at the corner the wind literally pushed me so hard that my wheel turned and the wind started pushing at my back, literally forcing me across the street. At that point, I couldn't turn because turning back into the headwind on the bike was impossible. I hastily dismounted the bike and had to quickly job my bike back across the street and up on the sidewalk against the harsh headwind. It was brutal!

I walked my bike with the wind forcing me to the side. (I've dealt with strong winds before but never anything like this. Holy moley!) I barely made it to my destination in one piece. I'm staying in for the rest of the day and night. It's just too dangerous.

I hope you fellow brave bikers in the NYC/NJ area make it to your destinations safe. The wind has already claimed two lives in NJ. Be careful out there!