Wind weenie

[Catrin]

Have fun tomorrow if you do go!

My ride today was rather....exciting I apologise in advance for the book, but it was quite an experience!

Even though I said that I would wait until 6 this evening to ride, at 3:00 I couldn't resist the sunshine and 57 temps any longer. Changed, grabbed Camelbak, bike, and headed for the country! This was my first country ride for the season.

It lasted an entire 30 minutes Tail wind was awesome, cross-wind was so wicked that at one point I was literally praying to not get blown over - and on one downhill I was pushed into the other lane Going up hill I needed the granny gears like I never have in my entire 2,000 miles of cycling! I know that isn't much, just work with me

My heart rate in those 27.35 minutes averaged 147 and maxed at 175 and rode an entire 4.5 miles! I actually was a little nauseous by the time I made it back to my car... I've no idea what the wind gusts were, but I suspect they were a lot higher than 22 mph!

That wasn't the end of things though, 27 minutes just wasn't enough. So...I drove to the large park across from my apartment and put in close to 10 more miles. This is a nature preserve type of park with lots of hills, so the trees and topography both serve as great windbreaks. I still felt the wind a little, but not like out in the country. In the end I rode an entire 14.5 miles and am quite happy with that! Not the long ride I had wanted to do today - but I will take what I can get

[Jiffer]

I rode today. Weather report says 21 mph winds. I didn't quite realize how windy it was until I got out there and then I decided to change my route. I was going to do a route that forced me into the headwind for a long period, then turn around and come back. Instead, I did a loop near my house twice. So I only had the headwind off and on for relatively short periods. Plus I think there are more trees, etc. to block the wind on the loop. Wasn't too bad and I wasn't out there to kill it anyway or ride a lot of miles. I haven't ridden since Monday, haven't been feeling well and just needed to get out there and move. So mission accomplished.

[Kerry1976]

My main sport is running and I'm knee deep in half marathon training. But Sunday is a great xtrain day where a morning ride would be perfect. I was all gung-ho about going tomorrow....but just saw we are supposed to have sustained winds of 24 mph with gusts of 40+....along with rain and some thunderstorms.

well, might be walking and or hooping instead.

[emily_in_nc]

Amazingly, we rode! The weather station I checked when we got home said sustained winds in the 20-25 mph range with gusts to 35, and I believe it. It wasn't so bad when we left at 9:30 am, but built during our ride. The tailwind on the way back was AWESOME!

I wouldn't have done it if we lived in the plains or were riding in rural areas with open fields, but this was an urban, campus, and surburban ride with plenty of trees and hills and buildings to help break up the wind gusts.

The only scary moment was when we were making a left turn across busy lanes of traffic at a light, racing to get through before the light changed, and the visor on my helmet was caught by the wind and pulled the helmet as far back on my head as the straps would let it go (which wasn't very far). It was just a strange feeling as it felt like a sail catching the wind. I've never had that happen before, and I kept my head down for the rest of the ride when we were heading into the wind!

We ended up with 21.4 miles at a utilitarian pace, with stops at the farmer's market, food co-op, and Trader Joe's, and full panniers coming home. That's when tailwinds are much appreciated!

Tomorrow is supposed to have much lighter winds (5-10 mph), so I'm looking forward to a longer and less 'exciting' ride!

[Julietiede]

Well, here is one answer for you. My husband did the 508 a couple of years ago (48 hours, 508 miles) and winds through Death Valley were 50 mph. The only bikes that were blown over were the recumbent bikes. So as long as you are holding on-no time to take your hands off the handle bars you should be good. We rode yesterday in 30 mph winds and it was miserable and we loved it (when it was over with!) We get wind a lot so refuse to change our plans. We always say it makes riding on flats like climbing so it is great training and will power you up! Happy Trails,
Julie

[mariacycle]

How do you handle the wind on your ears? My ears feel like they're being boxed if I ride in extreme cold, wind, or both. Ear warmers? Ear plugs?

[redrhodie]

How do you handle the wind on your ears? My ears feel like they're being boxed if I ride in extreme cold, wind, or both. Ear warmers? Ear plugs?

I wear a headband over my ears.

[nscrbug]

My name is Linda, and I am a wind weenie. There...I said it. I hate the wind...no more like, despise it. That being said, we get a lot of windy days in "the Windy City"...so, I try and not let if affect my decision to ride. The past 2 days have been extremely windy here. My cycling buddy and I headed out at 7am, both today and yesterday. Even at that early hour, the sustained winds were at least 15-18mph, with gusts around 25+mph. And as the morning wore on, the winds only got worse. It was brutal...I literally felt battered and beaten down by the end of the rides. Yesterday was 63 miles, today was 57...and tomorrow doesn't look to be any less windy either, with forecasted winds of 15-25mph out of the N-NW...lovely. I'm secretly kind of hoping that it is still raining in the morning (severe storms forecasted for overnight), so that we can bag the ride for tomorrow and I can recuperate from such a tough riding weekend.

[withm]

25 miles today, winds 20-25mph sustained, and mostly cloudy, so it was downright chilly unless the sun came out from the clouds. Flags sticking straight out everywhere. Still it felt good to finally have a good ride.

If I didn't ride in 20mph winds, I'd never get to ride. I'm a flatlander for sure. No hills but we make up for it with the wind.

[indysteel]

You gals are my heroes. I need to have one of you play devil's advocate the next time I want to bail. Linda, doing 25 miles in high winds is awesome, doing 63 is totally impressive. You rock!!!

[emily_in_nc]

Today the winds were down a bit, though they picked up in the afternoon to 12-15 mph. Tomorrow they're calling for sustained 15-25 with gusts to 35, and of course it's my work at home day (so I could slip out for a lunchtime ride or after I'm done for the day), and forecast to be 83 degrees!! So I'd love to ride again, but I surely wish it weren't going to be so darn windy. I guess we'll make the call when the time comes.

[Chicken Little]

63 mph gust at the airport, and half my states on fire. I'm not trying this.

[redrhodie]

63 mph gust at the airport, and half my states on fire. I'm not trying this.

That makes you a wise wind weenie. Seriously, the danger from breathing in the smoke alone makes staying inside a great decision.

[Dogmama]

"Spin, spin, spin in the wind"

[Catrin]

Question - in my little 30 minute very windy ride Saturday afternoon, my stomach became upset. Not to the point of having to pull over, but I did become nauseous and it took some time for that to dissipate.

My heart rate DID reach almost 180 in fighting the wind, and it pretty much stayed there for much of that 30 minute ride - could this have caused that? This is my assumption - my normal average HR on a ride without strong wind is around 125 - my average HR for THAT ride was 145... Interestingly enough my legs weren't burning or anything from the effort of pedaling in that headwind, but I was so focused on staying vertical that I may not have noticed it.