Originally Posted by mjw16

When people ask me how the ride was, I tell them I had a headwind in both directions, which is the case roughly 70% of the time. They don't seem to believe that the wind changes direction by the afternoon. I'm curious to see if the weather service tracks those trends, I'd like to verify this.

I start looking for signs of wind direction as I leave work: the flags around the Wash Monument, trees, flags atop construction equipment near Pentagon, flight paths, speed of oncoming cyclists, etc. I can usually confirm that it's a headwind by the time I've crossed the 14th Street Bridge-the wind socks at the airport only serve to rub it in. In the morning, it's not really obvious until about the time I hit the airport, since I've been riding surface streets that are buffered by buildings/houses.