Windy!

[Aggie_Ama]

Yeah, it is very windy here in Texas. Gusts over 35mph. I'm a little worried that I will get blown over on my bike. Has anyone actually had this happen, or am I worrying over nothing?

Learning to control yourself in windy conditions is very hard. For a while I felt very sure I would get blown away and it hasn't happened yet. I am around 150-160 and ride a carbon bike. I have been blown off my line by a crosswind and it is very scary.

I did have a friend of a friend who was an avid cyclists, 160-ish lb male get blown into a car. The winds were very high that day, gusting well over 40 mph. So yes, it can happen but it probably won't. However, if you don't feel comfortable or safe I wouldn't ride.

[nic840]

I know that bladed spokes are an issue in the wind. My riding partner weighs about 105 and the guy who built her bike steered her away from them for the "wind-catching" factor.

My mechanic friend weighs around 220 and one day I was riding with him in high winds. He was having a hard time keeping it straight with the bladed spokes. I could only imagine what would happen to someone lighter.

[Mr. Bloom]

I weigh 165. I'd rather have a strong headwind than a stong crosswind any day. Despite my heavier weight, I don't think anyone is immune from the risk.

[btchance]

Oh my goodness - I've just moved to TX and am already sick and tired of these winds. I had to post-pone a couple of rides I had this week in the morning because the winds were gusting up to 40mph. At 8am! Then the two days I did go out, it was supossed to be 13mph - well, that didn't last long and by the time I finished the short rides it was up to 30mph. Ugh!

And yep - I've come very very close to losing it in the winds. My friends back in AL always gave me a very large berth when the winds were high as I was prone to be pushed over on the road. And yes, I am pretty small, which I think has something to do with it.

[Kano]

I don't think it was anywhere near that windy here today, but I sure did notice it! At first, I thought there was something wrong with the bike when my front end got wobbly. Then I realized I was riding in a crosswind....

I'm with Mr. Silver -- the headwinds are better!

Karen in Boise

[Aggie_Ama]

Oh my goodness - I've just moved to TX and am already sick and tired of these winds. I had to post-pone a couple of rides I had this week in the morning because the winds were gusting up to 40mph. At 8am! Then the two days I did go out, it was supossed to be 13mph - well, that didn't last long and by the time I finished the short rides it was up to 30mph. Ugh!

DH and I have lived in Texas all our lives, I say this is abnormal and he says it has always been windy. I do know that last year I only recall two or three times not riding because of the wind. I also logged 500+ miles in May of last year and I wouldn't have been out riding 60-70 miles in winds like this. I think DH is mistaken.

[Steph_in_TX]

These wind speeds are not the norm. I'd say 15-20 MPH is not unusal at all and 20-25 MPH happens more often than I'd like. These huge winds we've had all week aren't normal and they stink. I didn't ride when they were really bad earlier in the week, but I've ridden all weekend and you just have to be careful when you turn into a cross wind. I'm pretty small and have bladed spokes. I've been tossed around quite a bit, but I haven't felt like I was going to blow over. I've just been giving myself extra space when passing stationary objects. On the upside, heading north has been a lot of fun.

[BarbaraAlys]

I'm quite heavy (close to 200) and the other day happened to be looking down when a gust of wind moved me sideways about 6 inches. That was pretty unnearving, even though I was in no danger. I imagine a lighter rider might have been blown farther, though their smaller size would make them less of a sail than I am.

Barbara

[csr1210]

Lifetime Texan here - it IS abnormally windy this year! I am sick of it. I thought it was just my area (way south of San Antonio), but my brother lives near Corpus Christi and claims that it is much worse than usual there too. We've had sustained winds over 20 and gusts up to the 40s which is very unusual for us.

Be careful turning corners etc. I had a close call last week where I just about got blown off the road as I rounded a corner.

I recently changed from an out and back route to a loop, and that has helped a little mentally. I guess the effort ends up about the same, but changing directly every few miles gives a little relief and seems less frustrating!

Hope it gets back to normal soon

I keep telling myself that I'll be really strong from all the wind, but we'll see

Christy

Edited to add: Oh Yeah, it it pretty great for those moments on the route where I get a pure tailwind, but mostly it's cross winds - blech

[Geonz]

Somewhere around 30 is where I figure I would be ashamed to explain why I was riding by choice to the folks in the ER, 'cause I lost control or something blew by and hit me.

It's been in the20's lately, though. I was out in the cornfields on the weekend and up from the grass between road and corn comes this helium balloon! It proceeded to sail up into the sky off to the NorthEast... but how it got down in the grass half a mile away from anything is a bit of a mystery.

Oh, and carbon bikes blow all over the place... steel and even aluminum are better. I've protected light guys on light bikes sometimes