squatchy

I swear.

Every time I ride my bike for more than30 miles the wind is in my face the entire time. It just never fails. When I first started riding centuries and or training for longer distances I would start out with the wind in my face and think to my self. "well, at least I'll have a tailwind coming home"!

As soon as I would turn around or turn just a quater turn as if on a box route the wind would change and I would find myself into the head wind on the entire route.

Any more I just plan on it. I can not think of one ride that has not been this way.

Now the inside joke with my SO is that we ride so fast we create our own weather patterns.

Johnny Mullet

This same thing happened to me today. I had a siff wind from the north and was fighting it. I figured the ride home would be a breeze. Somehow the wind changed direction.

Carbonfiberboy 

Uh, actually it happens to everyone who rides at more than about 10 mph. It's called "apparent wind" and it's caused by your forward motion. Since most resistance on a bike is wind resistance, it makes sense that we'll always outrun a tailwind and feel a headwind, though we're going faster.

OldsCOOL

Yup, I create my own headwind.

Ride in the drops a bunch and it isnt so bad when riding solo. Today I did a 35mi hill ride because the stiff 22mph+ winds and higher gusts kept me off the weekly endurance ride. I live in a very hilly and windy area and today I was hit with headwinds 3 out of 4 quadrants on the compass. Good training ride.

When else can you stuff a 40mi ride into 30?

dicktill

For a good discussion of the math (physics?) behind this phenomena, see: Cyclo-Math.

: ) Dick

Rootman

Last summer I did an 80 mile trip and was headed into the wind the way out, gusts and stiff winds facing me and keeping me from keeping my speed up. It twitched around a little and hit us at angles which pushed us around the road a bit too. We started dropping down into a large valley which made the going much more fun and easier even with the wind. About the time that we turned for home and the wind switched from the opposite direction, the same gusts and stiff wind met us - as well as having to journey up hill too! It was a loooong ride back and made for a very late day of riding.

gl98115

I create my own tailwind.

unterhausen

a couple of years ago, I was really serious about my winter training. I went out for 25 miles into a raging headwind. I didn't have enough food, and my route didn't take me past any food. It was cold, and I was bonking so bad that I was considering the call of shame. The tailwind I had was glorious, so I just toughed it out. The last hill before my house is usually a bit of a push, but on this ride I could actually coast up it.

I always thought that the sign of a long ride is if you only get sunburnt on one side of your body, but going out into a headwind and then coming back into a headwind is probably another good sign of a long ride. Around here, the mountains will occasionally turn the wind around, I have gone out on a ride that was essentially a square and had headwinds on 3 of the 4 legs. Crosswinds are pretty inconvenient too, they can seem like you are always battling a headwind

RISKDR1

I'm 69. Every time I ride it is uphill both ways.

modelmartin

Most crosswinds feel like headwinds unless they are angled behind you.

RISKDR1

yesterday we had the standard quartering headwind going down to the coast. We had coffee at an outdoor cafe and i could see the wind flags facing back towards our start. Rode all the way back with a nice tail wind. I felt supercharged and my turnover was supple and relaxed. I pulled the whole way back because my riding partner had hiked in the San Gorgonio wilderness the day before. Glorious!

rando_couche

Cyclists never have tailwinds - either the wind is in your face, or you are feeling exceptionally strong.

SP
OC, OR

Jacque Lucque

With a library of rides stored away in my head, I can usually come up with a decent 'tailwind-for-the-return' route based on the days forecast as the wind is normally funneled down all of the glens in my Highland home. (:

unterhausen

this is funny, because I often say to myself that I feel strong today. Then I look at the vegetation by the side of the road and realize it's just a tailwind. This particularly happens when I am riding into what should be a headwind in my area, which means west or southwest

phoebeisis

Hmmm
Denver-parents lived there-1970's1990's-nice town-nice area.
Now the winds MIGHT actually change there-morning to night
You have the great plains to the east-they heat up rapidly-guessing wind might come from the west in mornings to late afternoon
then maybe as the plains cool down when the sun sets-might reverse-

and the mountains might "goof up" the winds too-I could picture rapid cooling on the E side of the mts as the sun drops behind them
Perhaps that suddenly cooler denser air comes "crashing down"
Bet we have some "WEATHER PERSON" on here who could make a better guess??

But chances are you re like everyone else-
when I ride the wind is ALWAYS in my face-especially on the way home!!
Yeah 63 yo old-wind is always in my face and I'm ALWAYS climbing-in NOLA.
charlie

CharlyAlfaRomeo

This