How much wind can you endure?

[OakLeaf]

I wussed out of my club ride today, and wind was a large part of the reason.

It was supposed to be an 80 mile ride in honor of one of the members' 79th birthday. There was a 60% chance of rain in the early afternoon. Winds at the airport were steady at 16 mph gusting to 29 by 9:30 in the morning (probably stronger than that out in the country). The route they'd chosen went downwind first, so we'd be headed back straight into the wind, after noon when the winds would be strongest.

Plus, it was appliance recycling day at our solid waste district. I'd thrown a dead dehumidifier in the car on my way out, knowing that if I did the whole distance I wouldn't make it back before the collection closed, but thinking that maybe I could call DH from our breakfast stop to ride his motorcycle up to where I'd parked the car, unload the dehumidifier, and then leave the car for me to bring the bike back.....

So about 15 miles in, I'm going DOWN a 12% grade at about 18 miles an hour because the wind's so strong in my face, and at that point I got hit with a crosswind gust that literally shoved me two feet to my left, luckily no one else was near me. That's when I started thinking about when to cut off and go back. I think some of the older club members weren't going to do the whole distance, but we'd dropped them long before (they pretty much ride their own ride as a separate group, and they may not have even been taking the same route). I couldn't interest anyone else in quitting - but they were all going on about how it wasn't going to be any fun. Well, heck with that, why ride if it's not fun?! With a strong chance of rain in the forecast, I'd had enough of rain last weekend for a good long time. Without all the wind, it might've been possible to push the pace and get back before the strongest chance of rain, but not as it was.

So, I'm a wuss. It never did do more than spit rain. But at least I got rid of the dehumidifier that had been dead in the basement for three or four years. And I had a pretty nice ride, and it was fun, 36 miles total.

I do agree that wind is mostly mental, though. Obviously it takes physical strength, but mentally is where it really beats me down. You never get to a point where you feel like you've conquered something, like you do at the top of a hill. There are no goals, no landmarks - and if it's windy in the flatlands (and I got plenty of that over the winter!) there's no chance to change position in the saddle. It just goes on, and on, and on. And on. And on.

[Thorn]

Yep, funny you should ask....I'd have said I was a wind wuss, but I finished that century anyway yesterday. Over the course of the day winds were 13-22 mph with gusts hitting 29. Most of the route was farmland--flat, former glacial lakebed, unplanted corn, wind-comes-sweeping-o'er-the-plain flat.

I wasn't sure a spring century was in the books for me (it was not a great winter around here for riding), but the course was a clover leaf pattern--three loops with a central reststop. Lots of opportunities to jump ship.

We finished the first two loops in OK shape and the third loop headed out into the wind. So we went. According to NOAA, that pull into the wind was the strongest wid of the day. It was also the most open of the day--very few wind breaks.

The pull into the wind was just shy of 12 miles and about 10 times I seriously contemplated turning around, but I couldn't....you see, this was my Waterford's first century, we were riding out of Waterford, WI and the sag driver for the third loop was Richard Schwinn. A bizarre bike-geeky peer pressure said that my Waterford just *had* to finish that loop or....or....I dont know, maybe he'd take my bike away because I didn't deserve it?

But, we made it and darn proud of ourselves. So, call me wind wuss no more!

[pll]

Another wind wuss here... Today I rode 55 miles and the wind was killing me, I had to work hard on areas that were downhill, on others, I could feel the bike pushed sideways. But more than the wind itself, I hate the sound of the wind in my ears. Am I the only one? Has anyone found some solution? I while ago, I saw the following: http://bikehugger.com/2007/06/slipst...muters_and.htm
(I'm only interested in reducing the wind noise, no headphones for me.)

[Miranda]

Another wind wuss here... Today I rode 55 miles and the wind was killing me, I had to work hard on areas that were downhill, on others, I could feel the bike pushed sideways. But more than the wind itself, I hate the sound of the wind in my ears. Am I the only one? Has anyone found some solution? I while ago, I saw the following: http://bikehugger.com/2007/06/slipst...muters_and.htm
(I'm only interested in reducing the wind noise, no headphones for me.)

Try a cycling head band. I own one, and like it. I don't like the wind riping on my ears either. Maybe I'm just more prone to ear aches, but the head band helps. Some are made with a ponytail hole in the back too. That is a nice perk. In one of my LBS I saw something called "Dog Earz" (sp?). They were the same concept of what you have posted in this link.