Stratocaster

I have today and the next 4 days off from work. Here in eastern PA, today is the best of the bunch - supposed to be partly sunny and in the upper 50's. The other 4 days is forcasted to be around 40 degrees, with possible snow on Sunday.
Anyway, I decided to head out today and get on the bike to get some exercise.
...but there's a nasty, gusty wind howling - up to 30 mph - but it seems to be blowing constantly at least at 15-20 mph.

That is NOT fun, and I have pretty low-profile wheels. I was being blown around - and with all the howling it was basically impossible to hear any vehicles approaching from behind.

I guess it's back to the trainer for another week until I'm off from work again...hopefully the weather will be nicer.

Yes, I'm a fair-weather cyclist.

Tycho Brahe 

I hate hate hate wind.

I was once talking to a cyclist from the Netherlands and I was telling him that the Netherlands would be a boring place for me to cyclist since I love climbs. The bigger the climb, the better. His response that they had wind to make cycling harder and that it was equivalent to hills. He made cycling in the Netherlands go from bad to worse.

Stratocaster

Ha!
I think some of it is psychological. I mean, you can SEE a hill and prepare yourself, pace yourself, or at least formulate some sort of plan of attack.
The wind? - You can't see it...it can gust unpredictably...and it can make a cool day feel cold.

dr_lha

Yeah, I was going to go out and ride this afternoon, but the windows in my office are creaking due to the wind, not a good sign!

FBinNY 

Wind is just another thing to live with as a cyclist. Steady winds are a royal pain for the obvious reason, and high winds can be torture. But gusty winds especially form the side are in a class all by themselves. They make holding your line extremely difficult if not impossible. But, as I said, it's just something else to adapt to and live with.

Hypno Toad

Funny, me and couple guys I know where all pumped up to see 30-40 mph winds on Wednesday... we were out to get Strava glory (sad, I know). I had 9 achievements, including 4 to 10s and a KOM. The KOM isn't impressive, but the top 10s were on heavily used routes for local teams and group rides. Wind is a better riding buddy than a fast group ride

As a rider that competes in events running around the farm fields, I force myself to ride in the wind. This way, I am able to handle a windy race. That said, I'm very selective about routes on windy day, avoiding roads that are busy and/or narrow. Getting pushed around by the wind when there's fast traffic is not fun.

Damien09

i look at wind as character building days, especially the 70mph wind gust range days. and we have avg climbing around here,about 1500ft per 25mile ride. and like what a poster above said the real windy days are one direction kom days.

Hiro11

In his autobiography Fignon notes that it's wind, not hills, that's the true enemy of the cyclist. Here outside of Chicago it can be brutal. Crosswinds are the worst for me: it's like a headwind with the added benefit of trying to push you off the road.

I rode two weekends ago in a steady 25 MPH wind with gusts up to 40MPH. I have a 1 mile straight section of road that cars are prevented from using that I use for intervals. The section of road happened to be exactly in line with the wind direction. Riding into the wind, I couldn't get out of the small ring and about half way up the block, in the drops full gas, not moving. With the tailwind: 53x13 or 12, absolutely hauling ass, no ambient wind noise.

Looking at Strava, my avg mph into the wind: 15.2 MPH. Avg mph with a tailwind: 33 mph.

Dan333SP

This. The unpredictability is what I hate. I've definitely screamed obscenities at the wind on many occasions. It just feels like a big hand selectively pushing on your forehead , just to annoy you and ruin your efforts. I'll take mountains over strong headwinds any day.

Doctor Morbius

It's definitely not fun, but you'll appreciate those nice sunny low wind days much better.

aubiecat

Had an organized ride last weekend and for most of the second half of the ride I had a fierce headwind no matter which direction I was going.
Gusts up to 25 mph.
The reason I know how fast the was blowing is towards the end of the ride I finally got a brief tail wind; I was going 25 mph and the air around me was dead still for about 30 seconds. Sweat was dripping straight down onto the road. I've never experienced anything like that.

TimothyH

Wind, traffic, red lights, flats, other riders not holding their line, too hot in summer, too cold in winter, too rainy on my commute, too hilly where I live, no hills where I live...

It's like a fisherman complaining about the sea, all part of the cost of doing business IMO.

Beats whacking a ball with a stick or sitting in traffic on the interstate.

caloso

If you can't ride in wind don't go to Europe.

RollCNY

I find wind to be brutal on the single speed, and nerve racking when in groups. But on solo rides with gears, I have found wind to be part of the challenge. I especially like it when it is laden with snow and/or hail.

rmfnla

Hate wind.

Here in SoCal we get Sundowners, the result of air cooling off when the sun dips behind the Santa Monica mountains.

Just in time for my commute home...

mercator

If I didn't ride when it was windy, I'd probably never ride at all.

dtrain

I really disliked riding Mavic Ksyriums in gusty winds. Seemed like those wide spokes worked like a sail.

redfooj

thats why i ride on a trainer with a box fan behind me

ptempel

I doubt that its the wheels since you're the biggest thing on the bike. But I guess disc wheels or wheel covers can be problematic in the wind.

Dunbar

You should try deep section CF wheels in really gusty winds. That will get your attention.

mcours2006

Just put your head down and pedal. HTFU!

mercator

That's why I like aero front wheels.
When I have my head down, grinding away, feeling like I'm hardly moving I tell myself it would be worse if that thing I was looking at had 32 round spokes and then I feel much better.

caloso

Actually, windy days are the days I ride my 32spoke box rims, not my Williams 58s.

Marcus_Ti

LOL what sunny low wind days?

////someone who lives on the Great Plains////

Every year on Tour de Nebraska people show up with 50 and 60mm carbon rims....and I cannot help but giggle a bit.

dim

wind in your face is your friend .... it makes you stronger for when you have to ride up steep hills

that's what I tell myself on bad windy days

but some days, no matter which direction I ride, it always feels like the wind is in my face