Catrin: 2 and Wind: 0

[ny biker]

I hate riding in the wind!!! But it does give you a good workout. And makes you appreciate the sunny unwindy days even more.

[marni]

headwinds, like hills, make your butt stronger. The best piece of advice about riding in the headwinds that I ever got was to think narrow- you can get low, but it makes a big difference if you can also ride narrow to cut down on the resistance. That being said, riding in the winds is a mixed pleasure. I did a 45 mile ride yesterday and on the8 miles where I had a tailwind instead of a headwind or quartering headwind/side wind, I was going 25-30 mph while my overall speed for the whole ride was 16. It's a matter of resignation and soldiering on in most cases.

tomorrow it's supposed to be 20-35 with gust stronger. I'm of mixed minds about riding or the gym.

marni

[newtobikesmama]

The wind is very intimidating to me. I went out for a ride in 20 mph winds and haven't gone out in the wind since then...gotta overcome that if I ever want to get out again!

[bikermaze]

Good job. Pretty brave of you to stand that. Almost nothing can stop you now then. :P

[WindingRoad]

Dear Wind,

I hate you so very, very much. Blow all you want but I WILL prevail in the end! You may think it's funny that I always end up behind the girl who is 5 feet tall but Wind, I survived and who's laughing NOW.

WR

PS - That doesn't mean my quads are screaming today though

[OakLeaf]

Woo-hoo! I HATE wind. Props to you for having fun in it!

[chicagogal]

in chicago, riding in the wind, especially this time of the year, is the rule rather than the exception to it. We don't have hills around here, so wind becomes our answer to hill training days. Approach wind and hill climbing in a similar way: spin easyish gears and try to keep your cadence up, spread your weight evenly over the bike with your hips back and your shoulders over your handlebars. In addition, get low and aero and stay lose when riding into the wind.

Staying lose and relaxed and not having a death-grip on the bike is especially important because the gusts of wind will have the tendency to push you off your line. Don't fight it too much. Instead, go with the flow, and let the bike do what it needs to do. When relaxed, you will naturally and easily make the minor adjustments necessary to stay upright and stay the course.

Of course, when I talk about wind I am talking about 20+mph winds with gusts up to 35mph. Anything more than that, I usually avoid!!!