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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

How much wind?

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Old 05-30-11 | 05:05 PM
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How much wind?

Is too much?

20 mph, 25 mph, 30 mph winds?
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Old 05-30-11 | 05:07 PM
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If the gusts are >50mph I won't ride.

If the gusts are to 40mph (like they were today) I will do intervals or hill repeats to keep the ride to an hour or so.
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Old 05-30-11 | 05:08 PM
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All wind that is not tailwind is pure evil and thus too much.
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Old 05-30-11 | 05:31 PM
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Old 05-30-11 | 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by RUOkie
If the gusts are >50mph I won't ride.

If the gusts are to 40mph (like they were today) I will do intervals or hill repeats to keep the ride to an hour or so.
Yes.
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Old 05-30-11 | 06:09 PM
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Dang, I'm disappointed.

I thought this was another "fartin' in the paceline" thread.

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Old 05-30-11 | 06:43 PM
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Too windy to drive a car == too windy to ride a bike
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Old 05-30-11 | 06:50 PM
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If you are as lite as my wife 110lbs, 35mph it will stop her dry and nearly throw her into a roadside ditch. I have yet to ride in a wind that i found to be dangerous. But we do not have large drop offs to worry about.
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Old 05-30-11 | 06:52 PM
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I have alternate routes that I end up taking if it's too windy (30+ mph). They're mainly just more sheltered paths and roads.
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Old 05-30-11 | 07:01 PM
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Maybe this windy:

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Old 05-30-11 | 07:11 PM
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Headwinds make me happy.
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Old 05-30-11 | 07:13 PM
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Originally Posted by mmmdonuts
Maybe this windy:
I love the part where the guy can't get his bike down onto the ground again.
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Old 05-30-11 | 07:19 PM
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that's funny
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Old 05-30-11 | 07:28 PM
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That is the funniest thing i have ever seen! the 20 mph wind I road in today was nothing.
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Old 05-30-11 | 07:54 PM
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I have to ride in the wind. It never ceases.
Gusting 70kmh today.
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Old 05-30-11 | 08:02 PM
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A cross wind gusting over 40 around here is a bit dangerous as the margins between bikes and cars aren't that great.
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Old 05-30-11 | 08:04 PM
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Gusting to 35+ today and I was due for a rest day anyway, I decided not to ride. I'll ride in strong winds (I consider 30+ strong), especially if riding in a group where you can share the work. If I'm solo, I'll usually keep it to an hour or so on really windy days. I know that some folks probably think 30mph winds are nothing, but that's about the wind speed that starts to take the fun out of it for me.
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Old 05-30-11 | 08:08 PM
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Originally Posted by grwoolf
Gusting to 35+ today and I was due for a rest day anyway, I decided not to ride. I'll ride in strong winds (I consider 30+ strong), especially if riding in a group where you can share the work. If I'm solo, I'll usually keep it to an hour or so on really windy days. I know that some folks probably think 30mph winds are nothing, but that's about the wind speed that starts to take the fun out of it for me.
That's along the lines I was thinking...

Spending 2-3 hrs riding into headwinds really blows!
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Old 05-30-11 | 10:41 PM
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For me it's all about consistency. I can handle strong wind from any direction, but the gusts out of nowhere that almost throw you in front of a truck then back into a ditch as you correct your steering, those are just stupid. If I can't reroute my ride as a headwind-tailwind ride in strong gusty conditions, I'll call it off.
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Old 05-30-11 | 10:52 PM
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Originally Posted by mmmdonuts
Maybe this windy:

I can't help but think if it's so all-fired windy, then maybe driving a car right behind and beside a bike group is not the smartest thing to do, either.
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Old 05-30-11 | 11:48 PM
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Originally Posted by anthony 555
If you are as lite as my wife 110lbs, 35mph it will stop her dry and nearly throw her into a roadside ditch. I have yet to ride in a wind that i found to be dangerous. But we do not have large drop offs to worry about.
i am very close (bike + rider = 135lb) and yes wind sucks!
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Old 05-31-11 | 09:24 AM
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I ride in highish winds A LOT. Since I live in a rural mountain community that is noted for it's consistent northeasterly winds and is thus one of the major wind energy producers in the US, 30-50mph winds with 70+ mph gusts are quite commonplace. What's not commonplace, is no wind. The wind is always blowing. Some routes are worse than others, though. There are a few roads here that no matter when you ride them, you have to ride leaning toward the (cross) wind or a gust will easily push you clear off of the road.

I plan my rides around peak winds hours as much as I can, but I often get caught in it, since the low wind times are usually only 2-3 hours long.

Last edited by rat fink; 05-31-11 at 09:28 AM.
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Old 05-31-11 | 10:05 AM
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No choice but to ride in the wind here.
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Old 05-31-11 | 10:31 AM
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I'll put up with high headwinds.....giggity......but I seem to experience a strange testosterone decrease in strong crosswinds. Dr's are still working on it......
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Old 05-31-11 | 12:19 PM
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Since I primarily ride alone, I have no drafting partner and have found that anything north of 35 mph starts to make the bike unstable in crosswinds.

A bike ride is not worth getting killed over.
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