How windy is to windy?
 

I have scheduled a 65mile ride with a few individuals, family and friends. It is the longest ride of the year for anyone planning to attend. It is also one of the last weekends available for a group ride with these individuals until next spring.

So I ask; how windy is to windy? The forecast is 25mph with 42mph gusts. The biggest problem is we would be heading out with the wind at our backs for the first 25 miles.

no such thing.

however, if the wind is blowing you into traffic or off cliffs ..
then
it still isn't too windy, but you may want to ride different routes


you guys stay in a nice paceline and switch up it'll be ok

Disagree, when you see a lady on an old style lady's bike with a basket, just about the right size to hold a small dog fly by you (yes literally fly, wheels no longer on the ground) it is too windy.

I'd reverse directions. I've always found that I get more tired the more miles I ride (genius moment of the day), and that the prospect of the last number of miles having a headwind to be quite depressing. A true headwind will really slow you down, while wind at angles may just be more of a nuisance.

A 25 mph headwind can be pretty brutal.

Last one I had to buck was with full touring gear. I'll never forget that ride!

Reversing direction if possible is a good option, supton.

I'm not interested in doing a paceline with people I've never ridden with before... including a teenager with ADHD! Also one is on a recumbent... not sure how well that would work.

Reversing direction might be an option... However we are starting from my house... Fall colors are in full glory, but it's all open farm land into the wind and winding lake roads in the direction planned. We may load the bikes up and head to the turn-around point... Bike till we drop then turn around and let the wind push us back.

I also say that there is no such thing as too much wind.

I have given up MANY great days to ride because I kept saying "it's too windy." All of a sudden you are out of days to ride. Plus, the more you ride in the wind, the easier it gets--or the less horrible it feels. Something like that...

Riding solo, I adjust my forward speed as the wind varies. In a strong gust, I always slow down rapidly, sometimes to walking speed and on a few occasions I've stopped dead (for example on a bridge with a gusting crosswind) until the gust died down. My limit is probably around 30-35 kts or so solo.

For group riding, my comfort limit is probably around 15-20 kts. Lower if gusting severely.

Coming from the Windy City...I second that remark. :D

Getting REAL comfortable in the drops helps a whole lot. I ride %95 in them now.

From experience, when it gets over 45mph, it gets too windy. It's especially dangerous when the wind gusts at high speed and changes directions often (in an unpredictable way).

Strong winds are not a major problem but Gusty wind is Dangerous.

Many moons ago I did a ride in which the wind got up to gale force strength and it finished up with 10 miles across an open Moor with a 70 mile headwind. It was almost impossible to ride in but we got a pace line working and it was the only way to keep going. Ever ridden in a pace line at 5 mph? It was still hard but only for the 10 seconds you were on the front.

But another ride with a side wind gusting to 50 mph was scary.

At 25 mph, it really dangerous to ride on the road, as the gusts and lulls caused by passing traffic (especially trucks can bounce you right into the traffic.

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its too windy when you go flying and cars fly by you........... i call that a hurricane.

Arrange a car shuttle. Park one car at the downwind side, ride to it, and shuttle stuff back by car. Like riding downhill all the way.

25 mph tailwind sounds great. the rest sounds dicy and/or difficult.

I consult this National Weather Service hourly chart almost daily. Any of the blue lines over 30 usually means no go for me.

It is RARELY too windy to ride. I suppose if there were a tornado or hurricane, it might be too windy, but other than that it'll just be slow going.

Wrong. If wind gusts risk throwing you off the bike or push you into traffic, then it is too windy.

Yeah, but that's what I'm saying ... it's RARELY like that. In the 13 years I lived in Windy-peg, I recall 4 rides I was on where it might have approached "too windy", and I rode a lot there ... much more than I do now. I also took wind on as a challenge there because there were no hills ... I deliberately rode in the wind.

what I hate are those side gusts when the wind is erratic. A 60 plus mph from the side can blow you over. Lost two days this week of riding due to the winds. 30 mph winds. Kids' stuff. I worry more about those gusts from the side rather than headwinds. Headwinds make you stronger, within reason.

Well, Maybe you're very small and don't catch much wind. I can barely steer the bike when a 35-kt gust hits me. And they're very common around here. Steady winds are very rare here.

This is where I cut off. Having gusts broadside you hard and unpredictable on a populated street is a red flag. Or that one time the wind broke an awning and I was whipped by the support cable that was holding it up a moment ago. Constant wind is okay.

Love the avatar, madhouse.

I hate wind. Much prefer hills. Riding slow on level ground is torturous for me.

When the wind forces you to ride backwards on a Fixed gear trying to ride against it, it's too windy ;)

Now for my real statement, if the wind causes a serious risk of loss of control, it's too windy ;)