It is spring so....
Brutal, brutal surprise north wind in Omaha today.... over 30 mph for sure and steady. Far more than a nuisance. Came up on me in mid ride and I had to return into it. Ruined my first day outside in about two months. Among the two or three most un-enjoyable rides ever....

Feel free to post your negative experiences, whines and snivels here. Misery loves company!

No complaints about people.... Mother Nature only please.

Oh go fly a kite!

I rode my hills and parks route in the lee of the wind on the upwind leg of my errands run this morning. Then rode the tailwinds home.

We had a windy ride, too.

Two weeks ago Mrs Recycle and I were on South Padre Island TX. The main road is 12 miles long and straight as an arrow. We headed northeast from our hotel at the 2 mile mark directly into a steady 40 mph headwind.

It took an hour and a quarter to make the 10 miles to the end of the road, hammering as best we could in the granny gear. It only took about 20 minutes to make it back, and that was with almost no pedaling.

One surreal, other-worldly thing about the trip was the blowing sand. There were several times when we couldn't see the pavement. Another was the wind sound. Heading into the wind we couldn't shout loud enough to be heard from a few feet away. Heading with the wind, we could hear each other from 30ft at almost a whisper.

Photo shows MrsR stopped for a moment at a dune.

I love living where the wind is predictable. Spring brings a steady SE, S, SW, unless a high pressure is coming in with a northerly, but those are predicted by the weather services. Summer brings a S, SW morning breeze and a N, NW afternoon blow. I just plan my loops accordingly. Of course, there are never any tailwinds, just strong cyclists.

I rode today towards to beach on the Santa Ana trail into a light headwind. It wasn't really annoying, but coming back was terrific fun since it was pushing me.

I hate those invisible hills.

Just think of wind as a never-ending mountain lying on its side.

I went out for a walk on the local hills a couple if days ago and was almost taken off my feet by a powerful gust of wind. I was pretty glad that I chose walking to cycling that day!

When I got home, I watched the local news on TV and it was being reported that two people had died after high-sided vehicles were blown over. One was a pedestrian in Leeds city centre, crushed when the vehicle fell on him. The other was the driver of another truck which blew over and caused a multiple pile-up.

Let's be careful out there, folks!

There's always a spoilsport only thinking happy thoughts...

Delightfully harsh and brutal.... now that's what I'm talkin about!

I rode to work this morning and it was cold and the wind was blowing and my fingers were cold and the wind was blowing and I was tired and the wind was blowing and it was dark and the wind was blowing and I don't like to go to work and the wind was blowing and now it's nice and the sun is shining and I can't ride my bike 'cause I'm at work and it's supposed to get cold and rainy and windy again before I get out of work and I'm not a happy camper.

A+ is the grade from this former teacher.

Mt. Mariah!!

On my routes, I can avoid hills if I'm not feeling up to them, but the wind is a forever changing variable, so there is no point in planning or trying to work around them. They are just a part of riding. Sometimes, I do plan which direction to go so I can get the tailwind on the last leg of my rides.

or take up bowling

Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race) came through my town in April '09; part of his time here included a war story or two from out on the road. He told us about rolling through the Southwest with such stiff crosswinds that he had to "lean into the wind at a 45-degree angle" (his words). Ironic, because as soon as the group cleared the city limits, we were slammed with a 40+ mph wind that was FIRST in our faces, then crossing the route. More than a few times on this section (a US highway, not an Interstate), I had to fight to keep from being blown out into 60-mph traffic; thus, I was quickly dropped, turned and rode home, and arrived home about an hour before he arrived at his next stop, one state over! (He was riding a Tarmac, I had a MTB, never a thought of finishing the whole ride with him, but I wanted to go further....)

Last month, commuting back and forth in 10-20F weather with 15-20mph winds, I had to fight a few uphills; still felt good about it, 'cause I WAS PEDALING...

I hate the wind. Woke up today to bright sunshine, temps were due to be mild, upper 40's. Told my wife it looked like a good day for a ride. Took the dog for a walk and almost froze with the strong, cold gusting wind. No ride today. I hate wind.

I am certain someone out there has a conversion factor for what grade hill you are climbing if the wind blows at xx knots.

I did a 20 mile ride directly into a gusty 20 knot wind the other day and I would love to know what grade hill I was climbing.

mike

Typical forecast in springtime Arizona . . .
"Breezy at times' . . . is our weather forecaster's way of saying 'winds over 20 mph' . . .
Have been blown sideways on our tandem in Indiana . . .
Have been blown over by wind gusting through a saddle (a cut between 2 mountains) here in AZ . . . not pretty!
Blown sideways into the gravel, rolling over the bars, just missing a 50 ft. dropoff.
Bike was OK, but 6 broken ribs and a punctured lung.
Many times doing an out-and-back ride by the mountians and fighting a head winds both ways!
Be careful out there!
Pedal on!
Rudy/zonatandem

Look at head wind as resistance training...


By the way it was 0-5 mph here in Central FL today... I hate it when that happens....

Had to go into work this morning for a couple of hours this morning - it was sunny mid-40's but windy for my first commute of the year. Don't think I'm complaining though - thankfully when I went into town, headed North, the wind was from the WSW, and when I came home, headed South, the wind was from the West. No headwinds to deal with. They're not as bad on a 'bent, but they are still headwinds.

I have read several times that a 5 mph headwind is equal to a 1% incline. So, if you were riding into a 20 mph headwind, you would have a 4% incline on the flats.

Sorry, it doesn't work like that!

Wind resistance doesn't increase linearly with speed, it obeys a nasty power law. It is much more than twice as difficult to cycle at 30 mph than at 15 mph.

It's fascinating to play about with the numbers at https://bikecalculator.com/.

ROFLOL, me too.

I have been commuting into a westerly wind, the past couple days the snow has been melting and puddling on the bike path, then at night when I have a tail wind on the way home, I am blown across the ice patches.

As each of these commutes is in a way a training ride for my "bucket list extended tour," I try and find some gratitude that I am not riding into these headwinds with a fully loaded bike. That day is coming, sooner than I am anticipating.

Back in Nov my wife and I did the Ft. Lauderdale Urban ride. The winds were out of the north, 20-25 mph, gusting to 30. The ride leader took a vote on the route. The smart thing to do was to ride north first in the relative "shade" of the residential area, and then return south along the open beach on A1A. It was a tie, and the ride leader cast his deciding vote for the "usual" route, and head north into the wind on A1A. The rational was that all the stop lights going north on A1A are a "T" so it's safer.

The ride was going well until we hit A1A. The wind was brutal. I rode in front of my wife, and she could only maintain 5 or 6 mph. We were about 2 mi in when we came up to Sunrise Blvd. Out of no where a huge gust of wind came out of the West and blew her into the curb. Unable to steer to balance, she went down.

It was kind of an Arty Johnson - Laugh In type of slow motion fall. She reached out to catch her balance with both hands. Her right hand hit in such a way as to rupture a blood vessel in her ring finger. It blew up like a balloon and turned blue. The next day she had to have her wedding band of 36 years cut off.

Her finger is still stiff and a little swollen. The dr says she has a small fracture and if it doesn't heal soon she will have to have an operation.