Crosswinds are when we fatties can make the skinny guys suffer.

You don't need to tell me about wind. I lived in KS for 7 years.

I hear complaining about the wind really helps.

My 10.2 mile ride in to work today was like something out of the Wizard of Oz. I take the Dr. P. Dudley White bike path along the Charles and at a certain moment the wind came whipping down the river with a pelting rain that made me seriously wonder if I were in the middle of a tornado. Saw two other cyclists pulled over and literally huddling against buildings as I whipped by pushed hard by the wind. Tree branches were flying down in front of me and that was scary.

On the road home it was a steady grind into powerful wind of about 30 mph. There was a big tree down across the bike path about a mile from my home.

Fierce. Glad I survived it. And in retrospect really kind of fun!

When going back (commuting from work), headwind is not a problem. I'm in no hurry. It is a nuisance, but not a problem. Winds can get pretty strong here, but not as strong as to stop you from riding - no hurricanes. Also, they tend to blow strong along Danube (river) bed, so no changing direction (i.e. getting headwind both ways!). :)

P.S. I hope these posts don't anger the wind gods and make us all regret! :)

Stiff wind out of the SW this morning and it's supposed to shift to the NW this afternoon, so I'll get the double-whammy -- headwinds both ways. The upside is that it's helping me burn more calories, which I need to do after gaining some weight over the holidays.

The wind rarely gets over 5mph here. At least not during my commutes. Most of my commutes are less than 2mph winds. Of course I complain about the 2mph headwind.

Yep... if the weather's not so great - blowing snow, drifts, etc. - it's time to take the fat bike out for a spin!

If, on the other hand, you were planning to ride into work today with all that "work stuff" you need to bring - and wind chill is -18C and wind gusts expected to peak at 50 km/h - ah, it's not so much fun... :(

Yesterday I did a 20 mile loop to pick up a gyro from my favorite Middle Eastern deli, and the final leg was an 8 mile stretch into a 20+ mph headwind pushing a good amount of icy snow crystals (not flakes!), and by the time I got home I needed a warm shower before I could even eat the gyro. Yes the wind sucked, but the icy snow made it far worse.

Generally I just treat the wind as hills these days, because since moving to central Indiana I really miss climbs in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains of CA, so without the snow I would have just had a great ride.

I am fortunate (and I know it) since in the morning I have either no wind or a mild tail-wind; in the afternoons I almost always have a decent tail-wind (off the ocean) heading east as the wind comes out of the west.

Okay, there have been exceptions to the above rule, but fortunately not very often.

When riding RAGBRAI several years ago I saw someone wearing a T-Shirt with the message "The Wind Doesn't Blow, it Sucks!" I rode some brutal all-day-long headwinds crossing Iowa.

Rick / OCRR

Hills I can see and shift to the appropriate gear. Wind comes and goes with no warning so I can never get in the right gear. That's what bothers me most about it.

I have often ridden 5 miles past my house into a headwind, just so I can turn around and finish with a sweet sweet tailwind. I am sure I am not alone.

Yesterday I had a head wind on my morning commute, the wind switched during the day and I had a head wind all the way home as well, that was a bummer. But wouldn't you know it, today made up for it. I had a light tail wind this morning, and a howling tail wind this afternoon. I was flying home!

The confession thread is on the roadcycling forum :)

Rode home in a 30mph headwind on Friday on my Trek Allant (i.e. very upright position). Took me 30% longer and was not fun at all.

Lucky for you, you don't have to count on me. Otherwise, you sir, would be very much alone.

Am I reading too much into your post, or are you suggesting that Kansas is a good place to go to meet small women?

Well not if they come with a house and red shoes. And you happen to be green;)

Head winds I can deal with,it is cross winds that I hate and that can be pretty dangerous

Great thread.

I hate headwind, but cross-winds can get dicey sometimes, especially in heavy traffic. The only way that I can even remotely appreciate headwinds is when I pretend they are making me a stronger cyclist. Unfortunately, reality usually sets in pretty quickly and I just tend to hate the wind.

Rode 52 miles yesterday with friends and it was very windy. Although the temperatures were fairly mild for winter (40s), I was cold the whole ride due to the wind, which was out of the NW. When I got home, I wasn't at all sweaty and my fingers were still cold -- after riding for 3:15 hours. On my 1-hour commute this morning, the temperature was a good 15 degrees colder, yet I sweated more because there was very little wind.

Wind is a hill with no soul
-- unknown

If you encounter a headwind on your commute to work, there's no better reason to turn around and head home and have the wind at your back.

well, we can whine about something which we have no control or do what this enterprising young Guy did

Little late to the thread but I feel your pain. If anyone lives in Portland and has ridden the bike path on Marine Drive then that's all I have to say. For a little more clarification for those that don't live here, well the winds coming out the Gorge can be intense. On a good day it'll be calm with a slight feel good breeze, other times you could be riding into 25-50 mph winds, just depends. I actually stopped taking that way to work and took other surface streets that were ten minutes out of the way just so I wouldn't have to ride in it.