jet16lg

Yeah, the wind and I are not friends. Being a 300lb clyde I feel like a kite in it. I've actually semi plan my route around the wind so that my return trip is with the wind at my back. Last night the wind was pretty strong during my ride, at least a consistent 20mph.

tortugaflats

rode the wind sat morning. we hauled our bikes to columbus n.m. and road back to el paso 68 miles avg 22.5 mph. about 3.5 hours. lot of fun

kennytb

You're not the only one. On Saturday I just knew that my time on the elliptical this winter had finally paid off. I was averaging about 26 mph on a usual ride. Then I made the turn around. I am proud, however, of the 15 mph average I made on the way back.

dgrenthum

Ahhh, the wind I used to not care, till i recently purchased a bike trailer to tow my 40lb son in. It acts like a parachute, so needless to say in 20mph headwinds I may average 11mph. It sux

megarot

What timing! Just yesterday I picked up my new / old little commuter bike. It's a girly step through that has you sitting much higher than a road bike and heavier than my old bike (stolen). I rode 6 miles in a head & cross wind in Chicago city traffic (nearly landing me in front of a bus) with winds approx 20-25 mph with gusts something like 35. It was the longest 6 miles I've ever rode in my life!!

I nearly gave up and grabbed the bus home but I'm very stubborn and determined and finally made my way back but I was about to kill anyone who got in the way of my apartment and the water within.

Surrealdeal

Just keep shifting down until you find the gear that you can keep spinning in... and of course, KEEP SPINNING. There's a lot to be said for ground that you had to fight every inch for.


A local cycling group that rides out along the Atlantic beach has a jersey that reads, "The wind is always blowing, shut up and ride."

CliftonGK1

What about when your only gear is 44/18?
Looking forward to grunting my way through 11 miles of headwind for the commute home today. I've been doing singlespeed for most of my recovery/comeback in 2011, and while my midsection is still a bit on the doughy side, my quads are chiseled from granite.

jr59

I chant! The wind is my friend...the wind is my friend...the wind is my friend!

It helps me find a rhythm.

I do it on long steep hills as well
The hills are my friend...the hills are my friend...

I find once I have a rhythm it's easier. NOT easy, but easier.

Tom Stormcrowe

Looks like RAAM! When I crewed for Rob Lucas, we got caught in a storm that literally blew him sideways and off the road into a cemetery.

Homeyba

The bottom one was RAAM 2006. The top one was the Furnace Creek 508, on the tandem. That's the thing with ultra racing, the weather is what it is and you just deal with it. From my experience, the winds in the deserts and the plains are generally the worst. Just because there is nothing there to protect you from it. In RAAM 06 I was in an accident with a van about 80 miles from the start. While I was in the hospital getting put back together another rider came in who was blown off the highway out near the Salton Sea. I was able to get back on the bike and finish, unfortunately he wasn't.

freetonik

Was biking along Ottawa river today, wind almost blew me into water.
Pretty awful.

WonderMonkey

Stop your whining. This lady had it worse!

Surrealdeal

“It doesn't get easier; you just get faster.” Greg Lemond

Neil_B

Can't say I like it myself.....

megarot

I thought that desert picture looked familiar. I grew up in the high desert cities near the Salton Sea (Palm Springs-ish).
Although I live in Chicago 'the windy city' and yes we do get occasional wind - it will NEVER compare to the desert winds.

bradtx

Unless I get a tailwind somewhere on the ride it's like riding uphill only to find a plateau rather than a down side.

Here on the Costal Plains there is always wind, it's just a part of cycling to be taken in stride.

Brad

youcoming

I don't mind the wind if it's a loop ride but I hate it if it's to a destination where I will not be returning, like work. Sucks pounding into that wind and then no tailwind return.

tristen

i live in an area where i commute to work into a headwind and commute home in a headwind

the wind normally shifts back against me early in the afternoon.

sometimes i curse it, but it keeps me strong as an ox.

Keith99

The mountians can get pretty nasty too. Actually a lot worse in many ways as the wind is often more gusts than steady.

Years ago I drove part way up Angeles Crest Highway and then rode the rest. Well except for Islip Saddle where i got off and walked, the gusts were from the side and nasty. I was vindicated on the way down. I saw a couple of motorcyclists at the side of the road, that just did not look right. I stopped to make sure they wer all right, they were, but one had gone down because of the wind gusts and the other had barely stayed up. They were waiting a bit before continuing.

Homeyba

I've been in some nasty gusts in the mountains for sure. I got blown across two lanes of traffic at 60mph on the Hoo Doo 500 one year. No doubt you can have bad wind and severe gusts anywhere but for non-stop constant wind there's nothing like the plains or the desert. One year on the Furnace Creek 508 we had sustained 40-50mph headwinds with gusts of 70-80mph for almost 100 miles! The wind was so bad that it ripped two bikes and the bike rack off the roof of our car. All that was left was holes in the roof where the rack was. I believe over half of the racers in that race dnf'd.