Are There Any Wind *Rules of Thumb*?
 

sorry guys, another question.

Sould I be gauging wind in any rational way in heavy traffic, say, going over a bridge with strong (25 mph) gust crosswinds? BF is 190 pounds, 6'2 and he is not having the issues in this situation. He screams "Just pedal faster!"

I Know at some point, the physics will overcome me. If I am 135-140lbs, should I gauge the crosswind at a certain point as too dangerous? I feel I am coming close to having poor judgement by listening to him.

I can handle wind at a certain level, until the conditions change, like approaching a bridge over the ocean, with crosswinds. What should I be thinking, doing?

Best guide is your own comfort. If you're not comfortable in the cross-wind, don't ride in it. Even if it's safe otherwise, your discomfort will make you do dumb stuff.

Same rules as cornering I guess.

Cross wind gust sucks, if the wind is blowing you into traffic, stay as far right as possible, or not ride. Nothing like a sudden gust blowing you 2 feet next to a moving truck. Not comfortable riding in crosswind, ride in areas with less traffic to get your practice riding in crosswind.

I'm 145lbs, so yea, wind moves me pretty easily as well.

If you feel really good and you're going unusually fast, it's a tail wind.

If you feel like crap and you're going unusually slow, you're just out of shape.

You just need to use your own judgment. At 162 lbs, I was on my bike at lunch today, and the wind was pushing me around pretty badly. You definately want to be careful all the time because you never know when a gust of cross wind might shove you a couple of feet in any direction.

In my case today, I was descending a pretty good hill with a bridge and an intersection at the bottom, and fighting the wind all the way down. Even though I had some traffic behind me, I made sure to keep the lane until I crossed over and started up again because I didn't want to get blown into the bridge rail or off the road at 30+ mph. Even in the middle of the lane, I must have looked like a drunken sailer from behind because I was being pushed around so much.

Bottom line for me is this. When you start feeling uncomfortable, slow down or stop. Your skills are different from his, so don't let him dictate your safety.

Aerodynamics makes a huge difference. If you sit very upright, the wind will catch you like a sail. Bend over as much as you can. Upper body strength as well as smooth pedaling will help you control the bike.

Get in the drops and you'll feel the gusts less and have a more stable grip on the bars at the same time. I find gusts up to 50 mph to be… manageable. You have to be ready for it, though. A rogue gust will scare the living daylights out of me.

one "rule of thumb" i've heard in regards to cross-winds is to drop your wind-facing shoulder a bit lower than the other shoulder.

however for me it doesn't really make a difference, riding in cross-winds sucks no matter what i do.

Use him as a wind block. (seriously)

recursive has the best answer. are you uncomfortable when riding across the bridges? i am heavier than 145, but on windy gusty days going over bridges (the metal grate ones especially) the wind is particularly bad. my personal theory is to just just going and "not think about it." in any gusty wind, i try to sit as aero as all possible with my hands relaxed on the handlebars.

honestly your safety should always come first. if you have lots of room, riding diagonal (like swimming diagonally in a current) could be a compromise?

I agree that you have to judge your own safety and comfort levels. I'm a lightweight to and I do find it easier to control the bike in sidewinds when holding the handlebars down in the front of the drops. This works 2 fold in lowering your centre of gravity and has you gripping the handlebars as far forward as possible giving you maximum leverage and minimum steering sensitivity.

Regards, Anthony

The only time the wind has scared me to ride was about a month ago. I made a post on here about it. There had been tornadoes spotted about 12 hours before my ride; but I thought that was enough. I about crashed 10 times but when a huge gust came along and blew me across the road and into the other lane thats when I decided I had had enough.

bridges are going to be the scariest...especially if you are forced to ride on a small pedestrian path off to the side. no shame in walking across if you're being blown around.

ahh

good tips. I'll get lower and try not to stiffen up. No room to draft him on this particular bridge. I'll try that on the rest of the route. Sometimes buses pass me and suck me in, too. Its about 3 ft or less and about two feet higher than the traffic.

I think I might be riding too stiff (and not in the drops) my tendancy is to get stiff and high, I suspect.

I do make him pass me and go first so I can watch what the wind does to him. It's making it worse, I think, I am getting pyched out and choking on this bridge, especially the return, when the wind would blow me into the traffic.

yea, I'm choking.

thanks

if there's a risk of being blown into traffic, I will take the whole lane. It's mine to begin with, I'm just letting the motorists pass more safely when there's no wind.

+1

I'll take the lane in the city or if in the country I'll move a little further left to hopefully give me more room on both sides. I'm 125lbs and I live in a pretty windy place; I've never been blown off the bike, just a little to the right or left, you just have to go with it, lean into it and turn back but not too violently.

I'm a big guy and this is what I do too. If I'm really sitting upright my body is a pretty large sail.

My only other advice is too make subtle steering corrections. You may find yourself fighting against a sidewind that suddenly isn't there.

I don't see what weight has to do with it. I'm 205 and I get pushed around quite a bit, especially if I sit up. I also saw a 240# friend get blown over on a bridge up in the mountains.
Get low, get in the drops, and don't take chances if you're scared. One time in the Women's Challenge several racers crashed in the high winds.

I think we should start doing this, provided we can get over in front of the traffic. (It's about 40 mph and busy)
I make mistakes not thinking this way and owning the road more.

+1 to getting lower and in the drops... no tense death grip either. It'll make you jerk the bars when a gust hits you and your movements will be uncontrolled. Just stay relaxed (well, try to) - it doesn't take much more than a lean in the right direction to guide yourself back to your line.

Agreed on taking the whole lane too. I'd rather have someone honking their horn and yelling at me than being pushed in front of a car by the wind.

Crosswinds don't bother me too much, when there is a crosswind, it's usually constant with a few gusts. I keep my elbows bent while i'm on the hoods, and I steer into the wind a little bit. I can usually feel a gust coming a few tenths of a second before they hit me, so I'll kind of brace for it, but still mkae subtle movements. It's hard to explain. I'm also 155lbs.

This reminds me of the time when I was in a TT and I had a tri-spoke up front and a disc in the rear and I almost got knocked over.

The trick is to relax. BTW, don't put much stock in watching your BF. Wind gusts can be very localized and there's certain things that really amplify them. For example if a large truck blows by you as you're taking a strong wind from the left, you'll get sucked in as the truck passes (since there's no wind to fight) followed by the combined blast from the wind and the truck.

Take extra space in high wind situations. Most winds are manageable, but some are hard enough that you'll really get tossed around.

The only rule of thumb for wind is "Man up."

It sounds very much like you're describing that bridge that crosses over the entrance into Koko Marina. Unfortunately, there's no shoulder on that road! I've been blown sideways a little bit before (you know me Catherine - I'm short but I'm no lightweight:)) and the wife has experienced problems as well. Nowdays, I usually just ride on the sidewalk over the bridge. Much safer!

aloha Sprocket man! We saw ya'll the other day (we were gearing up at the windsurfing park below our house) Does moving faster help? I'm okay Molokai bound, but Ewa on my return frightens me with the traffic on my downwind side.

The bridge is the Hawaii Kai one, before the marina, over the water where you get sudden gusts off the water.