Stop snickering at the back of the class - not that type of wind.

One of the weather traits this year has been continuous high winds making rides less enjoyable. Is anyone aware of any research into the effect of such winds e.g. What is the equivalent of various speeds of headwind in terms of riding up a gradient?

i dont know about gradient equivalents but I do know that drag goes up as the square of the relative wind velocity
where relative wind is the true wind plus your velocity (of course to be accurate u have to find the relative wind velocity using vector addition)
thus if the relative wind is 20 the drag is 4 times that of a relative wind velocity of 10

charlie

Go to one of the on-line bike calculators and you'll be able to see the amount of power required to maintain a given speed at various gradients and wind speeds.

Edit. Looks to me as if 7 to 8 kph headwind is roughly equivalent to 1% gradient at my weight.

I know that this is one of the windiest spring and summers in the Las Vegas area. It has been so consistent and strong that I plan my rides into the wind going out and letting it blow me home. Emotionally the wind has been discouraging when I know I should be averaging 18-20 on certain stretches and I am grinding granny gear from the drops and have to take a break.

Sometimes I've found headwinds to be really annoying. Other times I've bored a nice clean hole through the wind making, not great speed, but good progress anyway. I conclude that my attitude during headwinds is the principal factor.

Cycling into the wind is my FL. mountain climbing, except a summit is never in sight.

I'm kind of in that boat.
I'm still recovering from my broken tib & fib last Oct.
I want to do more miles, but with the amount of wind and my lack of conditioning, it's hard to climb on the horse to NOT enjoy myself.
I've taken a bit different attitude in that I'll just putt along, instead of gassing myself out (emphysema).
Maybe another year older is having an effect too? It seems like I've aged 5 years over the Winter.

Headwind sux. Aerobars help a lot.

Re the connection between gradient and headwinds? That would depend on a lot of factors, including your weight, your cross sectional area and your Cd. Play around with this for a while:

https://bikecalculator.com/

This graphic about the winds each day may help all plan their rides........

https://hint.fm/wind/

Very interesting. I've never looked at this sort of thing before. This morning my ride included a sea level 6 mile stretch directly into a headwind of 15 mph, gusting to well over 20 mph, riding an mtb on 1.5" slick tyres. Based on playing about with that calculator I reckon it was equivalent to a 6 mile ride up an approx 4 to 5% incline - and it felt like it

Ursa Minor is correct. All else being equal, twice the wind velocity requires the four times the effort to maintain the same speed. This is usually one of my test questions I give in my meteorology class.

Personally, head winds sux, but can be overcome with determination and effort. Tail winds are a gift from heaven. Stiff cross winds are from the devil.

The Great Demoralizer.

Nothing worse than pedaling twenty-five to thirty miles into a strong headwind all afternoon only to have it die down when it's time to turn around. That happens a lot around here in the Ohio Valley.

There is Airspeed and there is Groundspeed in aviation .

And if the tide runs against you.
You might as well drop anchor for a few hours, until it slacks before it turns the other way..

wisdom shared has the Pacific Coast cycletourists riding north to south for good reason ..

Side benefit, the Sea views are on your right , rather than across the Highway..

Except while the force goes as the square, power goes as the cube of wind speed. So what question exactly are you asking?

There are many times this year where the wind turned 360 on the way home . I find its alot windy this year then previous years .

What is it with people today? Seriously.

The weather was not that good till the end of April and then we lost some of the cold weather and rain but not the wind.25 mph and it is just on the limit of me not riding. I can find a few sheltered routes and I can always go against the wind on the way out to get a tailwind back. BUT 25 mph is a killer. Even in the garden I was unable to stay there long because it became tiring. At that strength any body warmth is whisked away quicker than you can build it up. Finished wearing the ear band and the wind proof bike top just to spend 15 minutes in the elements before I had to go inside for a rest.

But we may have to put up with high winds for a few years to come. The Jet Stream has moved South and has been sitting above the UK whereas it is normally 1,000 miles North. Last year it sat above Spain and gave us plenty of rain along with the wind. However Summer may be on its way. Next week and we have been promised NO rain and PLENTY of sun with a temp up into the 90's. I'll believe it when it happens.

As someone has been quoted in the bike world:

Either you are riding into a wicked headwind or you are enjoying a really good day!

You mean versus yesterday?

yes there is pedaling into the headwind and turning around to have the wind change directions...then pedaling back into a headwind.

The aerodynamic advantage of a recumbent bike should mean that I have less to complain about with a headwind.
Still feels like pedaling into a damn headwind!

The Ohio Valley is a maelstrom of Evil, where the winds are perpetually in your face regardless of when and where you ride in it. Winds disappear in the Vortex of Vile and reemerge in the Bermuda Triangle.

Still. Life is easier on the bent, especially with gusty crosswinds.

Yes I would more often ride into a headwind that a strong cross wind, especially if there are a lot of gusts. Fortunately here in Kansas the winds are fairly predictable and can be planned for. This time of year I start a lot of my rides by charging into a south wind and then coasting back home. East-West routes are saved for days with milder winds.

yes. very true.