Windy in the Midwest
 

Hey all,

It's really windy here today in Saint Paul- the average wind speed is in the 30-40 mph range, with gusts up to 60. I'm wondering if I should suck it up and just take the bus home instead of biking home. The weather report said it might be a dicy commute for light cars and trucks. Anyone?

A 60MPH gust could easily push you where you don't want to go. I'd also be worried about tree branches (hell even whole trees) coming down.

it's was raining pretty aggressively this morning in chicago, so i took the train to work. they say the high winds will stick around until tomorrow evening. looks like i might be riding the train tomorrow as well (Boooooooooooo).

here in detroit, similar story- i'm off the bike till thursday,
i've tried riding in 30+ winds and it's not fun- a couple of times I was blown into
traffic

Yup. I’m in the Chicago suburbs and also bailed today. Better to be off the bike for two days and be back on Friday, (I'm off Thursday) than to have to take several weeks off recovering from a crash!

Yeah.. crap. LOL I don't want to take the bus home.

I thought I was doing good in 20-30, with gusts to 45 mph. Headwinds like that just blow, ya know?

I rode this today in Minneapolis without any real problems. The headwind almost brought me to a full stop on a bridge over I-94 just south of downtown, but otherwise I made it home just fine. Very memorable ride, actually.

I'm not so much bothered by the headwinds- it's the gusts that rapidly change directions on you that freak me out a little bit. In retrospect, I should've just put my bike on the bus rack and taken it home with me, cause now I've gotta take the bus back to work tomorrow morning.

despite the high winds, i decided to ride this morning. it wasn't too bad, but that's because i had mostly tailwinds out of the southwest. going home could be "interesting". there were a few dicey moments where some skyscraper downdrafts nearly knocked me over, but that's just life in the big city and i've become quite accustomed to those over the years of daily riding through chicago's street canyons.

It's not just the midwest. However, our winds seem to have calmed down a bit.

Yeah. As a matter of fact, I ran into a bit of road block on my way home last night:

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...m/38aca34e.jpg

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...m/a0aaf4fd.jpg


There was a guy there with a TV camera and as I pull up he says: "You're going to have to turn back. There's no way you're going to get through that." After he sees me get off my bike and start to walk around the tree he says: "... or you could just walk around." ;)

Yeah, I rode this morning too. SW winds, was funny going north. Now let's see about going home tonight. The winds weren't quite as bad as originally forcasted, it seems.

Another Chicagoan here. Yesterday I ditched the bike but I did ride today. It wasn't bad save for a few gusts that swayed me pretty substantially.

It was windy here in Louisville yesterday. My morning commute was windy, but warm. I figured with my short commute the wind wouldn't be an issue, and it wasn't, until I got downtown. The buildings funnel the wind, and I almost fell over at an intersection.

The ride home was more normal, but colder.

No problems getting to UMN Twin Cities this morning.

I didn't bike in this morning, cause I left my bike in my office yesterday. It didn't occur to me that I could've taken it with me on the bus, cause they're all equipped with bike racks until after I was on my way home. I'm planning to bike home tonight.

Which department are you in Scheherezade? I'm on the Saint Paul Campus in BTI.

Quite windy in CO as well, althoug manageble due to a very wide shoulder on my main artery. Looks like its calming down.

Agree, that the gusty cross winds are the most difficult to deal with.

Paul

We had 50mph gusts yesterday along the foothills, especially by the hogback and here in Golden. Wind was strong enough to turn a semi-truck over along C-470 near Morrison...

http://www.9news.com/genthumb/genthu...31UGCImage.jpg

I rode home yesterday and wished I hadn't. It was freaking cold and the wind was having fun knocking me around. Didn't help that the wind was primarily coming from the west and I was heading mostly south...

^^^Yes, crosswinds are only marginally better than headwinds. Forecast is for calmer winds the rest of the week. Still chilly...

I think quite the opposite. Crosswinds are what can cause real trouble for you. A headwind makes it tough to pedal, sure, but a strong gusting crosswind can push you into traffic or off the road.

I have had a strong crosswind push me into the middle of a 6 lane street through a snow drift. Fortunately, it was at 4am. My solution was to turn around and take the bus. I was about a mile from home.

Ha Ha! I've had construction people tell me to turn back because of road work or powerline work. I love the dumbfounded looks on their faces when I just ride through peoples yards and/or ditches until I am around the obstruction.

I'm studying music on the West Bank in Minneapolis.

Chicago here too. Rode yesterday and today. Yesterday sucked, was winded ater only a mile.

Today was interesting. Hopped on my bike and not even 2 crank rotations and this gust of wind came and pushed me off the sidewalk (right in front of my building) and down the grass slope. Wasn't ready for it and almost wiped out.

Today seems better, no sign of rain. Yesterday got caught in some rain. But riding into that headwind is hard. You waste so much energy and make very little progress.