Its not too bad here in N. Mississippi. Actually ive only had trouble with wind before a big storm is about to hit. It is fairly hilly here (rolling hills) and we have lots of trees, so Im sure that breaks it up some.

That's how every thread in the regional forum start around this time of year.


That's how they end.

Southern California.

In my case of the 100 mph winds ... they were officially and professionally clocked at that ... and no, people, including me, couldn't stand up in those winds. Like I said, it knocked me off my bicycle. The weather professionals called it a "microburst".

What I chose to ride in today. 26mph gusting to 33. It was a 45 mile solo sufferfest. :(

Bryan

For me it isn't as cut and dry as X-wind speed is a go/no-go. It totally depends on wind direction and gusts. If it is a steady but strong wind in a "predictable" direction I ride. i just pick a route with mostly tail/head exposure and consider it a "challenge." If it is gusty (?) and/or the wind direction is changing a lot then I consider not riding. Crosswinds and gusts turn a managable windy day into a constant threat of pavement-kissing. Yesterday was supposed to be 7-12mph winds and they were real steady when I headed out. No problem. 2hrs later it was gusting at 2x the mph (my perception) as a crosswind in addition to the steady headwind. This was strong enough to slide my front end 5inches laterally into the roadway. By some miracle I did not fall but, this was definately a no ride condition despite the "7-12mph" reported speeds...

Well, I'll say that when weather.com is reporting 15-20 mph winds I am not enjoying my ride as much. Part of it is the sound effect - I gauge effort in part by sound and when the wind is up I have to gauge it by feel while my brain is disoriented. Studies show that you feel more tired when you have had wind noise in your ears for a while. I actually check the predicted hour-by-hour wind speed each day before I ride to consider my route. I don't like going long on a windy day because the effort I'd like to save for extra distance I have to put in to dealing with the wind.

Weather specialist from Fairfield (Travis AFB, I'm assuming). Yeah, I'd say he knows a little something about the wind.

Anybody have any doubts, just take a drive out on I-80 and when you get to the Budweiser Brewery, check out the trees they planted on the verge about 10 years ago. They all lean 45 degrees from vertical.

Riding in Saskatchewan is considered windy, regardless of what meteorologist say.

Generally if the anemometer on my weather station indicates anything in the +20 km/h, I know it will be hard work.

Had a windy ride today found out we had a Hurricane not too far away. Tailwind meant I was faster up a 5% slope than those coming down it and I definitely knew when I had a headwind.

In 2001 I did a metric and the weather forecast was not good. Rain all day and high winds- gusting. It did rain all day and the 60mph headwind for the last 10 miles across an open Moor meant that the Rain was horizontal. We had to ride a pace line- At 5mph at best- just to keep moving- but you got to the head and slipped straight off it again. Those that were not in a pace line- gave up. Ever done a ride where you can see pace lines everywhere?

The worst I have been out in was a day gusting to about 50 MPH in Plymouth County, MA. The Plymouth airport had 12 hrs of sustained winds 22-32 with a max gust of 55 MPH. Once I had the tailwind, it was quite enjoyable! With the tailwind at one point, I was crossing on a highway bridge on a small (like 1%) incline, and sprinting up to 40 MPH. Fortunately though, with so many trees around, the only difficult headwinds were wider roads facing directly into the wind itself (US 44 being the worst).

Before doing that, I didn't know what the worst I'd ride in is. I honestly think that a sunny day, cold front coming through after a storm, would not get any worse than this, save for the upper Midwest. I think if it could be worse, I'd probably pass.

My rule of thumb is: I won't ride if it's over 35 mph. Tends to blow you off the road.

I guess it also depends on where you live....if there are hills and alot of trees, that can effect the wind alot.....where I ride the tallest trees are mesquites that aren't any taller than maybe 6ft, and they are pretty spread out....it's also flat as a pancake...so the wind here just goes and goes with nothing to stop it...there are days I pray for a dump truck to come rumbling by.

Yup. Same for here once the harvest is in, or before it grows tall enough (late June-July).

It's pretty darn flat around here but almost always windy. I ride a compact double and when I'm in the small ring going slightly downhill and sinning like crazy to maintain momentum, that's how I know when it's a strong headwind.

20 kts and the bike stays parked. Above that it's not fun anymore.

Another GTA rider here and if it hits the 25km\h+ range then I know it will not be fun. Most rides are done in 15-20km/h winds that seem to always change direction and strength. Today's ride for instance started with a 5km/h southwest wind...we headed west...Coming home the wind had changed to a west wind at 17km/h. That is pretty well pare for the course around here...

I've yet to call off a ride due to wind. Usually if the wind is getting into the high 30km/h range then there's a T-storm coming and I'm off the bike.

I hesitate to post here, but...

Checklist to determine whether or not a given geographic area is "windy"
1) lawn furniture is chained down.
2) mobile homes have tires or other weights applied to roof to keep them from blowing open
3) shingled roofs exist only in sheltered areas
4) trees grow no taller than 15 ft
5) fragile crops such as corn and sunflowers cannot be planted with a full expectation of harvest.

If three or more of these apply, you are in a generally breezy, maybe even windy area.
If none apply, well, you aren't.

I've lived in MI, OH, IN, and New Mexico. The midwest has moments of breeze, but these are few, and except for the occasional tornado (or other momentary anomoly) gentle as a rule.

And while the winds of NM can be calm, the standard deviation is ridiculously high. They only have the three seasons, Summer, "Not Summer", and "Wind." Microbursts & gust fronts do knock over trucks from time to time, but on the plains it is not uncommon to have 40-50 mph sustained winds for days or even weeks at a time (airport meas.)

When I hit a perfect 4 iron from 190 yards and the ball lands 20 yards short of the green :(.

it's always windy here too, ive grown used to it but just two weeks ago, the wind was coming sideways gust of about 25 mph, for the first time it almost knocked me over. I have a TT felt with 343 zipps, that didnt help into making my bike feel act like a sail either.

Unless the wind is sideways, ill ride in just about anything. I have to or id never ride down here if I wait for the calm.

I don't know about all of these claims of riding in 30mph+ winds. Riding into a 20mph headwind at 15mph requires >300watts. 30mph headwind requires >500watts for 15mph. If you can sustain that you a quite the cyclist. 20mph is about where I cut things off unless the direction is such that I don't have to ride head into it much. The struggle for me has been day after day of 15mph winds from the sea breeze in the afternoon when I ride, by the time you get to your fourth day of this it is not much fun.

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ65...19.94578.shtml

These readings are taken a kilometre or two away from where I usually ride past. I'd say any time where it's gusting over 50km/h it starts getting a little unpleasant to ride in, below that it's not so bad.

It's usually pretty windy here - small hot island in the Middle East. The sand heats up faster than the surrounding sea, hot air rises, creates low pressure, and surrounding cooler sea air rushes in. Pretty much every day, but more in summer. (You weather experts, what's that effect called? Cata-something, I've forgotten!)
I should know better, but I don't - time after time I set off for a bike ride, and think, wow, I'm strong today, I think I'll try a long one. Then I reach the turnaround point!

I have lived in a few different places and my favorite is how "relative" the description of wind can be in forecasts. When living on the East Coast, I remember some days with forecasted 15-20 mph winds as being "windy", where as in the Great Plains 30mph winds are called "breezy."

I don't think you should discount stories of severe wind, I certainly have been hit by gusts that nearly stopped me dead in my tracks. Gusts are bad, but the sustained winds are almost worse. It is like climbing a mountain, but there is just never a summit (until you turn around).

If you discount wind, travel to a place in southwest MN (huge wind farm there) near Marshall, MN (corp home of Red Baron, Tony's, and Freschetta pizza and Schwan's Ice Cream) and ride for a week. It is pancake flat sure, but the wind will sap your will to ride.

ever heard of the santa ana winds? ive seen those winds uproot trees after a rain.