"Newbie" here. This afternoon was absolutely beautiful in NY. It was sunny, in the 80s, and there was a nice breeze...or so I thought.

​​​​​​First let me start by saying that it went from winter to sunny and 80* overnight (typical for my state). As I headed out, my anxiety tried to get the best of me because of the heat. I ignored it and pushed through. The 20 mph wind gusts on the other hand lol. I wasn't aware of the resistance you get from the wind. I guess I hadn't given it much thought. It was just as hard as climbing if not worse haha. Anyhow I went 10 miles and got 328 ft gain.

I was able to get a quick picture when I stopped at the beautiful creek a few miles from my house. Here I am with my little white bike!

I get wind here like mad in some seasons. It can be rough. Nice ride! Upstate NY has some of the nicest views.

I don't blame you! It's a good workout, but my legs are pretty sore. I did do 10 miles yesterday as well. It might not seem like much to the advanced riders, but I'm trying to condition myself slowly and build up my stamina.

Thanks! Yes, definitely some nice views here. I'm not a fan of winter anymore, so I struggle through the cold seasons.

I met up with another cyclist on the road today. She was on a Jamis hybrid. Her tires were much narrower than the ones on my bike. I told her I'm planning on getting a road bike next spring, and she suggested I just put true road tires on my bike. I'm kinda on the fence about it. I think I want one bike for each purpose lol. Spoiled brat I am.

Wind is the ever-present enemy of cyclists. This is the primary reason I went with drop bars on all my bikes. Getting down nice and low helps with head and side winds. It doesn't get any easier; you just get faster, as some famous cyclist once said. I hope you got to enjoy the tailwind at some point. That's the reward for your efforts.

Also, as much as I dig the barefoot thing, might help if you wore shoes.

I would definitely get two bikes. If nothing else you have a loaner, lots of people who don't have their own love to go on little bike rides with their friends.

Makes sense about the drop bars. I have never ridden a bike with drop handlebars, other then a quick sweep up and down the aisle inside of my LBS. Definitely planning to "upgrade" to a road bike. Yes, I did at least get to enjoy the tailwind!

Oh and I had sneakers on for the ride lol. I took them off to walk into the creek, and then grabbed my bike for a quick photo opportunity.

Exactly my thoughts! I'm trying to get friends and family into riding. It's so healthy and such a positive sport. A Trek Emonda is on my wish list. I could splurge right now, but I'm refraining. I want to get use out of my hybrid while I learn and build muscle.

Why stop at a road bike, get a recumbent and have even less wind resistance.

Yeah, same here (my state is Illinois). Went from early-spring winter to near 90 overnight with 20 mph constant and higher gusts. My RT commute was 28 mi, wind 2was 15+ on the way in against me, and 20 mph+sometimes with me on the way home.

Wore me some but I will take the warm temp and wind over cold. I don't like riding in the cold, give me 80-100 temps and I am a happy camper.

Beutiful pic of scenery, bike and you - you look pretty happy

OMG , are you riding barefoot?

Tail winds are a myth.

yeah, you are just fitter & faster ... sometimes.

I used to avoid the wind but it's been unavoidable this spring in Texas so I've gone with it. As a tailwind it's boosted my Strava times, which is fun. But as a headwind it's significantly improved my hill climbing. I'm still not a fast climber, but I'm nowhere near as slow as I used to be. I've improved from dead last on most climbs to the midway mark last year to the upper third this year, and even cracked the top ten on one segment.

In fact Wednesday I waited for the wind to peak at 22 mph steady out of the south to concentrate on riding steadily while fasting. I hadn't eaten in more than 12 hours and wanted to see if I could handle it without bonking. The wind forced me to concentrate on riding steadily, no sprints or exaggerated efforts. Rode 30 miles in two hours, felt great, only drank a couple of bottles of water, never needed the gels and energy bar I stashed in my pocket for emergencies.

We don't have many long climbs, so a headwind is the next best thing. The longest continuous climbs in my area are only 1.5 to 2 miles, averaging 2% but with the usual undulations from flat to 6% or so. But with a carefully chosen route I can ride for several miles into a headwind and concentrate on improving my aero tuck over distance, a steady cadence and other stuff I tend to ignore in the pursuit of raw speed. On every ride of 20-40 miles I try to get in 1,500-2,000 feet of total elevation gain, which is tricky here since it means looping some segments to get in extra laps of climbing. But I don't dread climbs like I used to.

But keep that twisting, whirling, gusting wind. Nearly getting blown off line into traffic ain't fun.

I used to hate the wind, then I moved to Wyoming and learned I hadn't actually had to deal with actual wind much.

Now I love the wind. Just get low and narrow and power through!

Origin8 drop bar ends a cheap way to try out drop handlebars on your flatbar hybrid. They really helped against wind on my mountain bike.

Lol!

I use Strava also. I'm hoping the winds help me to improve my climbs as well! Awesome to hear about how much your stamina and rides are improving! Reading about all of the progress here in the forum is a great encouragement. You are very brave going out for 30 miles while fasting. I am prone to low blood sugar. I have had to watch my intake and increase protein since taking up cycling. I had one morning episode the day after a long ride (long got me starting out). A reminder to be careful with eating too much sugar.

I'm learning how to get lower and ride. Not quite used to it yet. Awesome that you now enjoy riding in the wind!

Thanks a bunch for the suggestion! I'm going to go Google these and purchase them to try them out!

​​​​​​
*Heads to Google to research Recumbent bikes*

Absolutely agree with you! I much prefer the nice weather. When I started out in early March I had some pretty cold rides (even wore snow pants a couple of times lol). You had some good speed during those strong winds!

Thanks for the kind words. I always feel happy during a ride... and I did have sneakers on LOL. I took them off to walk into the creek and then just got my bike for a quick picture.

​​​Are they??

Oh dang how have I never heard of these!? Will be looking into, thanks!

going out in the wind is always better than the alternative, which is not going out in the wind. Like the Trek

Winds are unavoidable here in Indiana. What I try to do is alter my route on windy days but it never fails that I at some point am riding into a strong headwind. I also have a Trek Hybrid (Verve 2) and it has probably the widest tires and I have thought about putting some narrower ones on it now that I've logged more miles with it. However, I do ride some gravel trails so the wider tires are nice for that. Guess it just depends on how and where you ride. Looks like a nice ride.

Been 10-30 mph winds here since January. Somehow no matter the direction of it or me it feels to be head on most of the time. Turning or changing terrain only changes the impact from bad to worse or slightly less bad. Rarely ever "good". This weeks rides were with a 0-3 mph wind and it was amazing.
When it is windy the impact is immediate and obvious and no need to confirm with stats but they confirm it too. Same hill, one with very little wind, the other with 20 mph, 3 days apart.

Speed 17.4mi/h
Cadence 91
Heart Rate 143 bpm

Speed 12.1mi/h
Cadence 95
Heart Rate 158 bpm

I did a C&O/GAP ride. I did the 20 something mile climb out of Cumberland to the divide, it wasn't bad at all but mentally I was planning and expecting and pacing myself for an upcoming relatively easier "decent" after the divide. It wasn't. There was a steady constant breeze up that side of the slope that made that no better than the previous climb. Even though I was alone, I yelled out loud WTF and complained about it not being fair!!!! It probably wasn't much of a wind but what was there was being funneled and directed between the trees right up the path.

I'd rather ride in sub-freezing temps with little or no wind than deal with sustained wind over 15+ MPH. The cold.. I don't mind. The wind... I despise.

^^this^^

Rode a tour last month, big loop in eastern NC & down the Outer Banks. Second day over 50 miles right into a NNE headwind. No problem, tomorrow I'm headed south. Next day wind shifted directly out of the east so I was hit broadside for over 50 miles. Following day I turn SW. Yep, wind shifted to SW & for the next two days I rode right into the wind. Okay, last day I'm headed NNW so at least the wind will be sort of quartering from the rear. Nope, shifted west and hit me broadside for the last 45 miles.

Meh, wind is part of riding. It has no malicious intent, no conscience, no will of its own. It's just there, like hills. You just look at it as part of the overall picture and keep pedaling.

In my experience, cross winds (from the side) are more annoying than head winds. I'd rather ride directly into the wind than have it gusting at me from the side.

Don't ever go cycling in Iceland then! But yeah, it sucks. My first after work ride of the year on Tuesday dealt with a 15-20MPH headwind on the way back, was not prepared.

This, +1000.

Wind is a fact of life.

Parked cars, dogs, traffic, sudden rain showers in summer, an occasional flat tire, pot holes, heat, cold, running out of daylight, red lights... Might as well complain that the sky is blue.

My only complaint is that cyclists complain too much.

On a particularly windy weekend here in Atlanta the complaints got so bad that [MENTION=25235]BluesDawg[/MENTION] posted a ride on Strava with the title "Yeah, we all know its windy." I LoLoLoL'd.

Ride where you live and while you are still alive. Relax and enjoy it.


-Tim-